Short answer: you don't need Zoom to run live sessions on Ruzuku. The platform has built-in video meetings — students click a join button and the meeting opens in their browser. No Zoom account, no app download, no separate tool to configure. The built-in meetings include breakout rooms. Zoom is also there as an integration if you prefer it or need a larger group, but it's optional.
The choice in plain terms: use the built-in meetings if your live sessions are smaller than 60 people and you'd rather not ask students to install Zoom. Use the Zoom integration if you regularly run sessions with more than 60 active participants, or your students are already comfortable with Zoom and that muscle memory matters. You can mix and match within the same course.
I've been building Ruzuku for 14 years. The "do I need Zoom?" question comes up often enough that I want to answer it, with the tradeoffs both ways, so you can pick what fits your situation instead of defaulting to the tool everyone else uses.
Why this question keeps coming up
Most course platforms don't have their own video meetings. Teachable and Thinkific use external meeting tools. Kajabi has native browser video in Coaching/Course Products; scheduled Cohort Courses require Growth or Pro. See the Kajabi live-video FAQ. So the assumption baked into a lot of online-course advice is that Zoom is the live-session layer and the platform is everything else.
Ruzuku is one of the few that has both options. That's confusing if you've used other platforms — you keep looking for the "connect Zoom" step and don't find it, because the platform already has a meeting tool built in. So the practical question becomes: which one should I use?
How the built-in meetings actually work
You create a meeting from inside your course (Manage Course → Meetings) and pick a type: video conference (everyone has audio and video, supports up to 60 participants) or presentation (only the host streams audio and video, with text chat for the audience, supports up to 250). You set the date, time, and a title students will recognize. That's the setup.
For the live session itself, students see the meeting on their course page with a join button that becomes active around the scheduled time. They click it, the meeting opens in their browser, and they're in. No account creation, no software install, no separate confirmation email with a meeting link to find later. With recording turned on, the session records automatically and the replay appears under Past Meetings in the course.
Behind the scenes, Ruzuku's built-in meetings run on BigBlueButton, an open-source platform built specifically for online teaching and used by universities and learning organizations worldwide. It's not a Zoom clone — it was designed for classrooms first, which is why the host controls, presentation mode, multi-user whiteboard, and polls work the way they do. You don't need to know any of that to use it. But if you're the kind of person who wants to know what's running, that's what's running.
Ruzuku's built-in meetings work in the browser on Chrome (most reliable), Firefox, and Safari, including on tablets. Students need to grant microphone access when they join — that's it. No download, no account.
How the Zoom integration actually works
You connect your Zoom account once (Account → Integrations → Connect with Zoom), and then when you create a meeting in your course, you pick "Zoom" as the type. Ruzuku creates the Zoom meeting on your account, surfaces the join button on the course page, and sends reminder emails with the time in each student's local timezone. If you record to Zoom's cloud (a paid Zoom plan), the recording copies into the course automatically after the session.
The integration works with any Zoom plan, including the free one. Your Zoom plan still determines meeting duration limits, participant capacity, and whether you can record to the cloud — Ruzuku doesn't change any of that. It just handles the scheduling and student-facing layer so you're not pasting Zoom links into emails or hunting for the right meeting URL each session. See Zoom's pricing page for current plan details.
Side-by-side: built-in meetings vs Zoom
| Feature | Built-in meetings | Zoom integration |
|---|---|---|
| Setup required | None (works on any plan) | Connect Zoom account first |
| Video conference capacity | Up to 60 participants | Depends on your Zoom plan |
| Presentation capacity | Up to 250 participants | Depends on your Zoom plan (Webinar add-on) |
| Breakout rooms | Yes (host opens rooms during the meeting) | Yes (pre-assigning people requires them to sign in to Zoom) |
| Waiting room | No | Yes |
| Cloud recording | Download from Ruzuku | Through Zoom's cloud (paid plans) |
| Student experience | Opens in browser, no account | Opens Zoom app or browser |
| Cost | Included with Ruzuku | Your Zoom plan (free or paid) |
When should you use each?
Use the built-in meetings when: your group is under 60 active participants (or under 250 for a webinar-style presentation) and you'd rather not require students to install Zoom. This covers most coaching cohorts, small workshops, Q&A calls, and presentation-style live trainings. The big advantage is friction: students click a button on their course page and they're in. No "did you install Zoom?" support emails. No second account to manage.
Use the Zoom integration when: your regular sessions have more than 60 people on camera, you need a waiting room (for coaching sessions where you want to let people in one at a time), or your students are already in a Zoom-using community and that muscle memory is part of the experience.
Mix and match: nothing stops you from using both in the same course. Plenty of creators do — built-in meetings for weekly small-group calls, Zoom for the once-a-quarter all-hands webinar with more people than the built-in rooms hold. Each meeting you schedule is its own choice.
What the built-in meetings can't do
I want to be straight about this: the built-in meetings cover most cases well, but they aren't a full Zoom replacement. Here's what they don't do:
- No waiting room. Anyone with the link who's enrolled in the course can join. For most courses this is fine (everyone in the meeting is supposed to be there anyway). For coaching sessions where you want to admit people one at a time, you'd want Zoom.
- 60-participant cap on conference mode. For groups bigger than that, presentation mode handles up to 250 — but only the host streams. If you need 80 people on camera with each other, you need Zoom.
- No virtual backgrounds or Zoom-specific UX. Things like Zoom backgrounds, reactions, and the specific Zoom muscle memory your students may already have — those don't transfer. The built-in meetings have screen sharing, a multi-user whiteboard, polls, and threaded chat, but they look and feel like their own thing, not like Zoom.
None of this means the built-in meetings are second-rate. It means Zoom is a more feature-dense tool, built specifically for video conferencing, with over a decade of engineering and a much larger product team behind it. The built-in meetings are designed to handle the most common course-creator use cases without a second account. They do that well. For the cases where Zoom's specific features matter, the integration is right there.
What do Ruzuku creators do?
A workshop creator I'll call Summer (she runs an online program with classes that "sell out in minutes") came to support recently asking how many people could attend live meetings inside Ruzuku. She wasn't asking about Zoom — she'd already decided she wanted to use the built-in option. Her question was about capacity. That's a pattern I see often: creators with smaller, established audiences picking the built-in meetings because the friction reduction matters more than anything Zoom adds.
Other creators run hybrid setups. A coaching program might use the built-in meetings for weekly group calls (15-30 people) and the Zoom integration for the launch webinar, where the audience is bigger than the built-in rooms hold.
How does this compare to other course platforms?
Teachable uses external meeting links, and Thinkific offers a Zoom app for scheduling. Kajabi offers native browser meetings in Coaching/Course Products, with scheduled Cohort Courses on Growth/Pro. See the Kajabi live-video FAQ. Compare the product and plan you need, rather than assuming every platform requires Zoom.
For more on how the platforms compare for live workshop programs specifically, see the best platforms for live online workshops.
Bottom line
You don't need Zoom to run a course on Ruzuku. The built-in meetings cover most course-creator needs without a second account. Zoom is there when you need larger groups or a feature the built-in meetings don't include — and the integration handles the scheduling layer so you're not juggling links and reminders.
Use this test: will more than 60 people need to be on camera at once? If yes, you'll want Zoom. If no, start with the built-in meetings — you can always add Zoom later for specific sessions when the need comes up.
Already on Ruzuku?
Schedule a built-in meeting in any course (Manage Course → Meetings → Video Conference) and run a 5-minute test with a colleague or a friend. If the quality holds for your session and the features cover what you need, you can cancel Zoom on the next renewal.
Stuck? Reply to any Ruzuku email and a person on our support team will walk you through it.
New to Ruzuku? Try it free and run your first live session this week — built-in or Zoom, your call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Zoom to run live sessions on Ruzuku?
No. Ruzuku has built-in video meetings that run in the browser — students don't need a Zoom account or app. The "video conference" mode supports up to 60 participants with audio and video. The "presentation" mode (host streams to a passive audience) supports up to 250. Breakout rooms are built in for groups up to 60. Zoom is available as an integration if you need more than 60 people on camera or you already use Zoom — but it's optional.
How many students can join a live meeting on Ruzuku?
For built-in meetings, the video conference mode (everyone has audio/video) supports up to 60 participants. The presentation mode (host streams to a passive audience with text chat for questions) supports up to 250. For larger groups or different formats, you can use the Zoom integration — capacity is set by your Zoom plan.
Can I use Zoom and built-in meetings in the same course?
Yes. Each meeting you create can be a different type. You might use built-in video conference for small group discussions and Zoom for a large webinar — all in the same course, scheduled side by side.
When should I use Zoom instead of the built-in meetings?
Use Zoom when you regularly run interactive sessions with more than 60 active participants on camera, when you need a pre-meeting waiting room, or when your students are already comfortable with Zoom and the muscle memory matters.
Does the Zoom integration work with the free Zoom plan?
Yes, though with limits. The Ruzuku-Zoom integration connects with any Zoom account. However, automatic cloud recording and replay sync into your course require a paid Zoom account, as free Zoom accounts only support local computer recording and enforce a 40-minute meeting limit.
Do students need a Zoom account to join the integrated Zoom meetings?
No. Students join Zoom meetings from their browser without creating a Zoom account. If they have the Zoom app installed, it may open automatically. Ruzuku surfaces the join button on the course page — students click and they're in.
About this guide
Written by Abe Crystal, PhD (UNC-Chapel Hill, Princeton), co-founder of Ruzuku. The capacity numbers, modes, and integration behavior described here come from the live product and the Ruzuku knowledge base. The customer scenario referenced ("Summer") is anonymized from a support conversation. For the step-by-step setup of the Zoom integration, see the Zoom for live course sessions guide. For platform comparisons, see Best platforms for live online workshops.