Zoom is a meeting: a link, a grid of faces and silence when it ends. Virtual office software is a place: a space your team is in for the working day, where you can see who is around and talk without scheduling. They are not competitors so much as answers to different questions, and most remote teams need the second one more than they realise. Katmai is the version of a virtual office that looks like an office: a photorealistic 3D space in the browser where your team is present as real people on live video, at $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests. Other virtual offices show avatars or a map of rooms, with video only when you meet; the category is compared below.
This guide is published by Katmai, which makes virtual office software. Zoom's prices are on zoom.com/pricing; competitor prices come from each vendor's own pricing page in October 2026. Check them before you buy.
What virtual office software is
A virtual office is software your team opens at the start of the day and stays in. It has desks, rooms and a floor plan. You can see which colleagues are present and which are busy. You approach someone to talk instead of sending an invite. Guests come in by link. The products differ in what you see: real people on live video in a 3D office (Katmai), avatars on a 2D map (Gather, Kumospace, SoWork, WorkAdventure), a map of rooms (Roam, Sococo) or video tiles on a flat map (Cosmos Video, Flat.social).
What Zoom is
Zoom is video conferencing: scheduled or ad hoc meetings, webinars, chat and phone. It is excellent at the thing it does, which is getting a group of people onto one screen at an agreed time, especially people outside your company who already have it. It has a free plan and paid plans priced per user on zoom.com/pricing.
The difference in one table
|
Virtual office software (Katmai) |
Zoom |
|
|
What it is |
A place your team works in all day |
A meeting you join and leave |
|
What you see |
Real people on live video in a photorealistic 3D office |
A grid of video tiles for the length of the call |
|
Presence |
You can see who is at their desk, in a meeting or free |
None between calls |
|
Starting a conversation |
Walk over and talk |
Send a link and wait |
|
Guests |
Free, joining by link into your office |
Anyone with the meeting link |
|
Price |
$25 per user per month, every feature included |
Free plan; paid plans priced per user on zoom.com/pricing |
|
Replaces |
The office |
The conference room |
How the virtual office products compare
|
Product |
What you see |
Free plan |
Published price |
|
Katmai |
Real people on live video in a photorealistic 3D office |
No; starts with a demo |
$25 per user per month, every feature included |
|
Gather |
Pixel-art avatars on a 2D map |
None; 30-day free trial |
Essential $12 per member per month billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
|
Kumospace |
Avatars in a browser space |
Up to 5 registered members |
Business $16 per user per month, paid annually, minimum 5 |
|
SoWork |
Avatars in a 2.5D space |
Up to 10 members, 30-minute meetings |
Basic $5.40, Premium $12 per member per month, billed annually |
|
Roam |
A map of rooms |
None listed; 14-day trial per new member |
$19.50 per active member per month |
When Zoom is enough
If your team works mostly asynchronously, meets a few times a week and does not miss being in a room together, Zoom plus a chat tool covers it. The same is true for a team whose meetings are almost all with outsiders.
When you need a virtual office
If the calendar is full of fifteen-minute internal syncs, if new hires take months to feel part of the team, if "got a sec?" messages pile up, or if clients only ever see you as a tile, you are using a meeting tool to do an office's job. A virtual office gives the day a place. In Katmai that place looks real, your team is in it as themselves, and clients join free by link. Katmai runs in the browser with no download and no headset, recommends 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better, and starts with a demo, then a configuration meeting where the Katmai team sets up your spaces and adds your users.
FAQ
Is a virtual office the same as Zoom?
No. Zoom is video conferencing for meetings. A virtual office is a persistent space your team works in all day, with presence between meetings.
Can virtual office software replace Zoom?
For internal meetings, yes: your team is already present on live video in a virtual office like Katmai. For calls with outsiders who expect a Zoom link, most teams keep Zoom alongside.
What does virtual office software cost compared to Zoom?
Zoom has a free plan and paid plans priced per user on zoom.com/pricing. Virtual offices range from free tiers to about $12 to $20 per user per month for avatar and room-map products. Katmai is $25 per user per month with every feature included, no minimum number of users and free guests.
Which virtual office software uses real video instead of avatars?
Katmai, in a photorealistic 3D office, and Cosmos Video and Flat.social on a 2D map. Gather, Kumospace and SoWork use avatars.
Does Katmai need a headset or a download?
No. Katmai runs in the browser, with 16GB of RAM and an i7 processor or better recommended.
Related: Katmai vs Zoom · Can a virtual office replace Slack and Zoom? · Always-on virtual office · Katmai pricing · Book a Katmai demo