Whereby vs Zoom
Whereby is a European alternative to Zoom: same project management & productivity use case, headquartered in Norway and governed by EU GDPR, while Zoom is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Integrate customizable WebRTC video calls into your website or app using a flexible API and SDK. Ideal for Telehealth and Digital Mental Health.
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- Primary privacy law
- EU GDPR
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- Yes
Zoom became the default video conferencing tool during the pandemic and is still widely used for meetings and webinars. Free calls are capped at 40 minutes; paid licences are sold per host. Zoom Communications is based in San Jose, California, so meeting data and metadata are handled under US law.
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
Whereby vs Zoom at a glance
| Whereby | Zoom | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Norway | United States |
| Data jurisdiction | EU / EEA | United States |
| Primary privacy law | EU GDPR | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Best for | Teams that need project management & productivity built for European data-protection requirements | Teams already invested in the Zoom ecosystem |
Choose Whereby if…
- You want a provider governed by a European privacy regime
- GDPR or public-sector data-protection requirements apply to you
- You want to start free and scale up later
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Zoom if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Zoom ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
About Whereby
Whereby is a Norwegian browser-based video conferencing platform that requires no download, no install, and no account for meeting guests. Rooms are permanent, so you share your link once and it works every time. That makes it the simplest way to run video calls for customer-facing teams, telehealth providers, and SaaS products that need embedded video.
The Embedded product provides an SDK and API for integrating video directly into your own application, with custom branding, programmatic room creation, and controls over layout, chat, and recording. Breakout rooms, virtual whiteboards, file sharing, and AI-powered transcription handle the full meeting workflow without additional tools.
Key benefits:
- No download required since guests join via a browser link with no account or install
- Permanent room links that work every time without scheduling ahead
- Embeddable SDK for integrating video into any web or mobile product
- Custom branding with your logo, colours, and domain in the room interface
- Breakout rooms for splitting large sessions into focused smaller groups
- Recording and AI transcription with automated meeting summaries
- HIPAA and ISO 27001 certified for healthcare and regulated use cases
Whereby is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, an EEA member state with full GDPR applicability. The platform holds ISO 27001 and HIPAA certifications and stores data on European infrastructure. As a Norwegian-owned company, Whereby is not subject to U.S. cloud jurisdiction, FISA, or the CLOUD Act.
Used by telehealth providers, online tutors, customer support teams, and SaaS builders who need reliable, no-friction video experiences embedded in their own products.
Why choose Whereby over Zoom?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Zoom is headquartered in the United States, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
Whereby removes that overhead. As a Norway-based provider, it operates under EU GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.