The fastest way to invite people to Zoom
The simplest way to invite someone to a Zoom meeting is to send them the meeting link directly — either before the meeting starts or while it's happening. Zoom generates a unique link for every meeting you create, and anyone who clicks that link can join without needing a Zoom account. You can copy the link from your meeting invitation, your calendar event, or directly from the Zoom app, then paste it into an email, text message, or chat.
If you're inviting multiple people at once, Zoom's built-in invitation tool saves you from copying and pasting. You can send invitations through email right from the Zoom app, and Zoom will format the message with the meeting details automatically. For recurring meetings or people you invite regularly, you can also share a standing link that stays the same every time you meet.
Key Takeaways
- The meeting link is the fastest way to invite people — copy it from your Zoom app or calendar and send it however you normally communicate with that person.
- Zoom's built-in email invitation tool lets you invite multiple people at once and automatically includes the meeting time, date, and link in the message.
- Anyone who receives the link can join without a Zoom account, but you can require a password for extra security if you want.
- For meetings you hold regularly with the same group, you can use a recurring meeting link that stays the same each time.
- You can invite people after a meeting has started by sharing the link in the meeting chat or sending it through another app.
Copy and send the meeting link yourself
Open the Zoom app on your computer or phone and go to your calendar or upcoming meetings. Find the meeting you want to invite people to and look for a button or option that says "Copy Invitation" or "Copy Link" — the exact wording depends on whether you're using the desktop app, the web, or the mobile app. Click that button and the link will copy to your clipboard.
Paste the link into an email, text message, Slack, Teams, or any other way you normally send messages to the person. The link looks something like https://us06web.zoom.us/j/1234567890 followed by a password if you set one. When they click it, they'll be taken to a page that asks for their name and then joins them to the meeting — no account needed.
This method works best when you're inviting one or two people, or when you're sending the invitation through a channel where you already communicate with that person. If you're inviting a large group or want Zoom to handle the formatting, use the built-in invitation tool instead.
Use Zoom's email invitation tool for groups
If you want to invite multiple people at once, open the Zoom app and find the meeting in your calendar. Look for an "Invite" button or option — on the desktop app, this is usually near the top of the meeting details. Click it and select "Email" from the options that appear.
A window will open with a pre-written email that includes your meeting topic, date, time, the meeting link, and dial-in numbers if you want people to join by phone. You'll see a field where you can type or paste email addresses. Add each person's email separated by a comma or semicolon, then click "Send" or "Invite." Zoom will send the email from your email account using your email provider, so the message will come from you, not from Zoom.
The email invitation includes everything the person needs to join, formatted professionally. If you want to add a personal message or change the wording, most email clients let you edit the message before it sends. Some people prefer this method because it creates a record in their email that they can search for later if they lose the link.
Add a password to your meeting for security
By default, Zoom meetings don't require a password, which makes them easy to join but also means anyone with the link can enter. If you want to add a layer of security — especially for sensitive meetings — you can set a password when you create the meeting or edit an existing one.
In the Zoom app, go to your meeting settings and look for "Security" or "Password." Toggle the password option on, and Zoom will generate a random password automatically. You can use that password or create your own. When you send the invitation, the password will be included in the message, so your guests will see it. If someone tries to join without entering the password, Zoom will ask them for it before they can enter the meeting.
The password appears in the invitation email and in the meeting link itself, so you don't have to tell people separately. If you want to change the password after you've sent invitations, you can do that in the meeting settings, but anyone who already has the old password will still be able to join until the meeting ends.
Invite people after the meeting has started
If you forgot to invite someone before the meeting began, or if someone wants to join late, you can send them the link while the meeting is happening. Open the Zoom app and look for a "Participants" button or panel on the right side of the screen. At the bottom of the participants list, you'll see an "Invite" button — click it and follow the same steps as before to send an email or copy the link.
You can also share the link directly in the meeting chat. Click the "Chat" button during the meeting, and the meeting link will usually appear at the top of the chat window. You can copy it from there and send it to someone outside the meeting through email or text. Anyone who joins after the meeting has started will see the meeting in progress but won't be able to see messages or recordings from before they arrived.
Use a recurring meeting link for regular groups
If you hold the same meeting with the same group of people on a regular schedule — a weekly team standup, a monthly book club, a daily class — you can create a recurring meeting with a link that never changes. Every time you meet, the link stays the same, so you only have to send the invitation once.
When you create a meeting in Zoom, look for an option that says "Recurring" or "Repeat." Turn that on and choose how often the meeting repeats — daily, weekly, monthly, or on a custom schedule. Zoom will generate a single link for all instances of that meeting. You can send that link to your group once, and they can use it for every meeting going forward. If you need to cancel a specific instance of the meeting, you can do that without affecting the link or future meetings.
Recurring links are especially useful for classes, regular team meetings, or any group that meets on a predictable schedule. It removes the friction of sending a new invitation each time and gives people a bookmark they can save and reuse.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do people need a Zoom account to join my meeting?
No. Anyone with the meeting link can join by clicking it, entering their name, and optionally entering a password if you set one. They don't need to create an account or download anything beyond what their browser already has. If they want to host their own meetings later, they'll need an account, but joining yours requires nothing.
What if someone loses the meeting link?
You can send it again through email, text, or any other method. The link doesn't expire unless you delete the meeting from your calendar, so you can resend it anytime. If you created a recurring meeting, the link stays active for all future instances, so people can ask you for it at any time.
Can I see who I've invited to a meeting?
If you used Zoom's email invitation tool, you'll have a record of the email addresses you sent to. Once the meeting starts, you can see who has joined by clicking the "Participants" button. However, Zoom doesn't keep a permanent list of everyone you've ever invited to a particular meeting — only who actually showed up.
What happens if I change the meeting time after I've sent invitations?
The link itself doesn't change, but the time in the invitation becomes outdated. If you used Zoom's email tool, you'll need to send a new invitation with the updated time. If you sent the link manually, send a follow-up message with the new time. For recurring meetings, changing the time affects all future instances automatically.
Can I invite someone by phone number instead of email?
Zoom doesn't have a built-in way to send invitations by phone number, but you can include dial-in numbers in your invitation for people who want to join by phone instead of video. The invitation email includes these numbers automatically. You can also text or call someone directly and give them the meeting link and dial-in number verbally.