How to record a Zoom meeting: host permission, cloud recording and no-bot recording

You can record a Zoom meeting in two ways. Zoom’s recording saves to your computer or the Zoom cloud, but the host has to start it or allow it, and cloud recording needs a paid plan. The other way is an app that records without a bot: qatip captures your computer’s sound and writes a transcript and report minutes later.

Who can record a Zoom meeting?

In Zoom, the host holds the keys. Zoom’s guide to computer recording says the host must record the meeting or grant the ability to record to a participant. If you’ve joined as a participant and the Record button is grayed out, this is why.

The host grants permission during the meeting. They open the Participants list, click More next to your name and pick Allow Record, and you get a notification. To take it back, they choose Forbid Record from the same menu.

Cloud recording is stricter. According to Zoom’s cloud recording article, only the host or a co-host can start one. If someone else needs to record to the cloud, the host makes them a co-host.

Company accounts add one more layer. An admin can lock recording settings at the account or group level, and if the option is grayed out in your settings you’ll need to ask your Zoom admin (recording settings).

How to record a Zoom meeting to your computer

Local recording works on free accounts too, but it needs the Zoom desktop app on Windows, macOS or Linux. It isn’t available on iPhone, iPad or Android.

1. Start or join the meeting in the Zoom desktop app.
2. Click Record in the meeting toolbar.
3. If a menu appears, choose Record on this Computer.
4. A recording indicator appears in the top-left corner, and participants see it too. Use the same controls to pause or stop.
5. When the meeting ends, Zoom converts the recording and opens the folder once it’s done.

By default the files go to a “Zoom” folder inside Documents: an MP4 for video and an M4A for audio only. Don’t shut the computer down while conversion is running, or you may end up with a broken file.

How to record a Zoom meeting to the cloud

For cloud recording you need to be a licensed user on a Pro, Business or Enterprise account, with cloud recording turned on. On paid accounts it’s usually on by default (enabling cloud recording).

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop app.
2. Start the meeting as host, or join as co-host.
3. In the toolbar, click More, then Record.
4. Choose Record to the cloud.
5. After the meeting, wait for the recording to process.

Zoom says processing usually takes about twice the length of the recording and can occasionally take up to 24 hours. You don’t need to stay in the meeting. If email notifications are on, the host gets an email when it’s ready, and the recording shows up on the Recordings & Transcripts page of the web portal. Cloud recordings also have an optional audio transcription setting.

Recording Zoom without a bot, using qatip

Zoom’s recording gives you a video file. Finding out who said what, or what was actually decided, still means scrubbing through it yourself. Note-taking bots do that work, but they join the call as an extra participant with an unfamiliar name, and the host can leave them sitting in the waiting room.

qatip doesn’t add anything to the call. It records the sound straight from your computer, which also means it doesn’t depend on Zoom’s recording permission.

On Mac and Windows

1. Install qatip on your Mac or Windows computer and sign in.
2. On a Mac, grant the permission it asks for (System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording). That’s what lets it hear the other side of the call.
3. When a Zoom call starts, qatip notices and offers to record. Accept.
4. Finish the recording when the meeting ends. The transcript and report are ready a few minutes later.

On a Mac, qatip reads who’s speaking from the Zoom window and uses those names in the report. Slides shared on screen can be captured into the report as well.

With the Chrome extension

If you join Zoom from the browser, qatip’s Chrome extension does the same job there. It records Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams calls in Chrome.

Either way, what you end up with is something to read instead of a video to watch: a line-by-line transcript with each speaker’s name, then a summary, decisions, action items with owners and dates, and open questions. It handles close to 100 languages and detects the language on its own. You can email the report to everyone who was in the meeting in one click, or share a link that opens without an account.

Zoom recording vs qatip: comparison

	Zoom local recording	Zoom cloud recording	qatip
Who can start it	Host, or a participant with permission	Host or co-host	Whoever records, no Zoom permission needed
Account	Basic (free) and above	Pro, Business, Enterprise	qatip Free plan includes 300 minutes a month
Where it runs	Zoom desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux)	Zoom desktop and mobile	Mac, Windows, Chrome extension
What you get	MP4 video, M4A audio	Video and audio in the Zoom cloud	Transcript, summary, decisions, action items (no video)
Bot in the call	No	No	No
Do participants see it	Zoom shows a recording indicator	Zoom shows a recording indicator	No indicator in Zoom, so telling people is on you
When it’s ready	After the meeting, once conversion finishes	After processing, usually about 2x the recording length	A few minutes after the meeting

If you need the video itself, say to share a training session or a demo, Zoom’s recording is the right tool. If you need to know what was said and decided, a transcript and report get you there faster. Nothing stops you from running both.

Tell people before you hit record

Whichever route you pick, let everyone know you’re recording. Zoom shows its own indicator when it records. qatip isn’t visible inside Zoom, so that part is entirely on you, and qatip reminds you before every recording.

If the Record button is grayed out

Ask the host for recording permission, or ask to be made co-host if you need a cloud recording. If what you want is the written version of the meeting, qatip is another way to record Zoom: see the Zoom recording page for how it works and pricing for the plans.