How to record a Zoom meeting: local, cloud or on your Mac

Last updated 21 October 2026

If you're wondering how to record a Zoom meeting, there are three routes: Zoom's own recording to your computer, Zoom's cloud recording on a paid plan, or a recorder running on your Mac next to Zoom. Each one has different rules about who can start it, which plan you need and what the other people in the call see.

This guide covers the Zoom side first, from Zoom's own documentation, then explains how to record and transcribe a Zoom call locally on a Mac, with and without QuietNote.

Zoom's two recording types

Zoom documents two kinds of recording. Both capture the meeting's video, audio and chat text; they differ in where the files go and which plan you need.

Computer (local) recording: saved to the hard disk of the computer that records. Available on every Zoom account, including Basic (free). Not supported on iOS or Android.
Cloud recording: stored in Zoom's cloud and available from the Recordings & Transcripts page of the web portal and from Zoom Hub in the desktop app. Requires a Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise account, and only hosts and co-hosts can start it.
Storage: Zoom's pricing page lists Basic as local recording only, Pro and Business as local plus 10 GB of cloud storage per licence, and Enterprise as local plus unlimited cloud storage. The Basic plan also limits meetings to 40 minutes.
File formats: MP4 for video, M4A for audio-only, plus a text file for the chat. A local recording is named along the lines of video[number].mp4 and audio[number].m4a.

Cloud recording has a few extras that local recording does not: an audio transcript (when the Create audio transcript setting is on), reactions and non-verbal feedback, and layout choices such as recording the active speaker and gallery view separately. Zoom's local recording page states that audio transcription is not supported for computer recordings.

Recording a Zoom meeting as a participant

By default only the host can start a computer recording. If you are not the host, you need the host to grant you recording permission during the meeting. Cloud recording cannot be delegated this way: Zoom says only hosts and co-hosts can start it, so the workaround is for the host to make you a co-host.

The host opens the Participants list.
The host clicks More next to your name and chooses Allow Record. (The same menu has Forbid Record to take the permission away again.)
You click Record in the meeting controls. If a menu appears, choose Record on this Computer.
The host can open the Participants list at any time to see who is currently recording.

Zoom also mentions that an alternative host can start a computer recording, and that with automatic cloud recording enabled and "join before host" allowed, a cloud recording starts when the first participant joins, host present or not.

What participants see when Zoom records

Zoom does not record quietly. Three things happen, and on smaller accounts none of them can be switched off.

A recording indicator: Zoom's local recording article says participants see an indicator in the top-left corner while the recording is active.
The recording consent disclaimer: when recording starts, or when someone joins a meeting that is already being recorded, they see a prompt and can click OK to consent or Leave, then Leave Meeting, to opt out. On Basic, Pro, Business and Free Trial accounts with fewer than 100 licences this disclaimer is on by default and, in Zoom's words, "can't be disabled or customized". Enterprise, API, Education and Business accounts with 100 or more licences can customise the text or turn it off for internal participants; it stays on for guests.
A voice prompt for phone dial-in: participants who join by phone always hear a prompt when the meeting is being recorded, either on joining or when recording starts.

After the meeting, the host can pull a report of who consented: the Usage or Active Host report has a Recording Consent column.

Where Zoom recordings are saved on a Mac

Zoom's default local recording folder on a Mac is /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom. To change it, click your profile picture in the Zoom desktop app, open Settings, then Recording, and click Change under Local recording storage. Zoom recommends keeping it on a local drive: a Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive folder, an external disk or network storage can cause saving or conversion problems.

The recording is not ready the moment you stop. When the meeting ends, Zoom converts the raw files, and the folder opens when conversion finishes. Until then the folder contains files such as double_click_to_convert_01.zoom. Zoom warns that restarting, shutting down, letting the disk sleep or closing a laptop during conversion can corrupt the recording. If conversion fails, you can convert manually from the desktop app or by opening the .zoom file.

To find a recording later, click Home then Open recordings in the desktop app, or open the Computer recordings tab under Recordings & Transcripts in the web portal.

What a Zoom cloud recording includes

To start a cloud recording on the desktop app, click More, then Record, then Record to the cloud. The recording captures video, audio and chat text, with the chat saved as a separate file. If Create audio transcript is enabled in your cloud recording settings, Zoom also produces a VTT transcript; see Zoom transcription for how that works and which plans have it.

Processing typically takes about twice the length of the recording and can occasionally take up to 24 hours. You do not have to stay in the meeting while it processes; Zoom emails the host when the recording is ready if that notification is enabled. Recordings started by a co-host appear in the host's recording list, not the co-host's.

Recording a Zoom call on a Mac without host permission

If the host won't grant Allow Record, or you simply want your own copy, you can record the call from your Mac instead of through Zoom. Zoom's recording controls, consent dialog and recording indicator only apply to Zoom's own recording, so nothing on this route is announced by Zoom. That is exactly why you need to tell people yourself: read Is it legal to record a meeting? before you start, and ask for consent where the rules require it.

QuickTime Player or the Screenshot tool: press Shift-Command-5 (or File, New Screen Recording in QuickTime) and record the Zoom window. In Options you can pick a microphone or None. Apple's page describes recording the screen and a microphone; it does not describe capturing the Mac's own audio, so the other side of the call is only picked up through your speakers and microphone unless you add a system-audio tool. You get a video file, not a transcript.
QuietNote: records your microphone and the Mac's own audio (a Core Audio system-audio tap, no screen recording) while Zoom runs as normal. No bot joins the call, nothing appears in the participant list, and Zoom shows no recording indicator because Zoom isn't the one recording. Nothing records until you press Start.
The transcript: QuietNote transcribes on the Mac with a Whisper model that ships with the app, so it works offline. The transcript separates You (microphone) from Others (call audio) with timestamps, and the meeting is saved as a plain Markdown file in a folder you choose. Summaries, decisions and action items are optional, through a local model via Ollama or Claude with your own API key.

QuietNote is for Mac (macOS 14.2 or later), with no account, no server and no analytics in the app. The first signed Mac release isn't out yet; you can leave your email for the first Mac release. If you already have a Zoom recording, QuietNote can also import the video.mp4 or audio.m4a file and transcribe it on your Mac the same way.

Zoom local, Zoom cloud and QuietNote compared

Three ways to record a Zoom meeting
	Zoom local recording	Zoom cloud recording	QuietNote
Who can start it	Host by default; a participant the host has given Allow Record; an alternative host	Host or co-host only	Anyone on the call, from their own Mac
Plan needed	Any Zoom account, including Basic	Pro, Business, Education or Enterprise	No Zoom plan needed
Visible to participants	Recording indicator, consent disclaimer, phone voice prompt	Recording indicator, consent disclaimer, phone voice prompt	Nothing from Zoom; you tell people yourself
Transcript	No (Zoom: not supported for computer recordings)	VTT file when Create audio transcript is on	Yes, on the Mac, You/Others with timestamps, Markdown
Where files live	Documents/Zoom on the recording computer by default	Zoom's cloud (10 GB per licence on Pro and Business)	A folder you choose on your Mac

Questions

Can you record a Zoom meeting without the host knowing?

Not with Zoom's own recording: a computer recording needs the host's Allow Record permission, and only hosts and co-hosts can record to the cloud. Both show a recording indicator and a consent disclaimer. A recorder on your own Mac, such as QuickTime or QuietNote, isn't announced by Zoom at all, which is why you should tell participants and check the rules in our guide on whether it's legal to record a meeting.

Does Zoom notify participants when recording?

Yes. Participants see a recording indicator, and a consent disclaimer appears when recording starts or when they join a meeting already being recorded; they can click OK or leave. Phone dial-in participants hear a voice prompt. On Basic, Pro, Business and Free Trial accounts with fewer than 100 licences the disclaimer can't be disabled or customised.

Can I record a Zoom meeting on the free plan?

Yes, to your computer. Zoom's pricing page lists local recording for the Basic plan and cloud recording only for paid plans (10 GB per licence on Pro and Business). Basic meetings are also limited to 40 minutes. Local recordings don't get Zoom's audio transcript.

Where are Zoom recordings saved on Mac?

By default in /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom, in a folder per meeting with files such as video[number].mp4 and audio[number].m4a. The files appear after Zoom finishes converting the recording when the meeting ends. You can change the folder under Settings, Recording in the desktop app.

Does a Zoom local recording include a transcript?

No. Zoom states that audio transcription isn't supported for computer recordings; the VTT transcript is a cloud recording feature on paid plans. To get a transcript from a local recording, import the MP4 or M4A into a transcription tool. QuietNote does this on your Mac and writes a Markdown note.

Sources

Checked on the “Last updated” date above. Vendors change their settings and prices often; follow the links for the current version.