There are TONS of great workouts on Zwift:

https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/

I'm just coming back off an extended layoff due to injury, so I started off doing the 'Beginner 6 week FTP Builder'. That one was not terribly challenging, but got me back into riding regularly. I'm not most of the way through the '4 week FTP Booster', and that one is far more challenging. These are all great ways to get a very time-efficient workout in. I still ride outdoors at least once per week, but most of my weekday rides are on the trainer for time reasons. I also sometimes 'just ride' some of the larger loops in Zwift when I'm not in the mood to be a slave to Erg mode.

I’ve done both workouts and group rides/races.

They’re good fun and certainly worth doing both I’d suggest. I don’t take too much noticenof my position in races as for me the power output in Zwift seems so much harder than on the road for the same watts. Still, I do enjoy it, just have to build up to doing more than an hour/90 mins.

I typically create my own workouts and ride them instead of just riding with a pack or simply the course without any specific intention. I would probably find similar workouts to my own once in the workout library. It definitively helps me to sit on the trainier for an hour or so in cold/rainy days (I prefer riding outside) and it certainly helps to build my bike power/strengths/endurance...

Just riding around can be fine for some light Z2 workout, and yes you can incorporate some higher intensity on the mountains, the problem is it can be hard going hard on the flats/downhill. It's also nice as you can fully take in the gamification and work on some achivements.

I have done a few races now, for me they mostly work by jumping into a big group and ride with them, if you fall 5 meters behind you have a good little 500+ watt effort to reach them (really seems like the boost of drafting is a bit too big).

I like the workouts though, they keep you honest and it is an efficient way to train. I used trainerroad all of last year, and have not signed up for TR yet but will soon. I must say while i like the Zwift workouts, they just seem incredible subpar to the TR ones. I can't put a finger on it, but it feels like much more thought has been put into the TR ones (i normally run zwift and TR together). Maybe im being a bit too harsh, i don't know, but they are not as structered as TR's.

Yeah. I like TrainerRoad and am playing around with Zwift to see if it’s something I’d prefer. I’ll keep both for a few months to see

For me it depends on my goals for the workout. Sometimes I'll just ride a course and try to go for some spring and KOMs but if I have a bigger goal for that workout I'll create my own, that my coach prescribes, and do that.

The races are fun but super hard. Nothing like pushing close to 400 watts for 5 minutes to start a B race.

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Depends what you mean by "getting the most out of Zwift".
If you are trying to improve your speed, the usual approach for non-pro triathletes is to focus on FTP increases.
The main benefit of Zwift for me is that it easily facilitates variety and motivation in my training. Building your FTP effectively requires that you spend quite a lot of time pedalling somewhere near threshold power. Lets say in the range 80-110% FTP. That's pretty hard work. I do some pre-programmed workouts and I mix them with unstructured stuff like doing PB attempts up the Epic climb in Watopia and group rides or races that put me in the sweetspot or above for up to an hour. Ocassionally I'll do an easier ride with a few sprints thrown.
An easy half hour sometimes works well to warm up for a run or to keep the legs loose after a tough run.

I don't use many of Zwifts provided workouts. I have a few of my own, or tweaked versions of theirs, that I normally use.
These are my typical workouts:

• 2x20min@93%FTP on 4-6mins recovery
• 3x15min Over/Under on 5min recovery (Over/Under is alternating 1min@110%FTP and 1:30min@90%FTP. Six reps gives 15mins)
• 5x5min@110%FTP on 4min recovery - I only do this occasionally

I totally agree with you. I've used TR for 2 years-seems cleaner, gets the job done. Just put your head down and watch that little green(hopefully) line. I'm experimenting with Zwift but so far not so exciting. Thanks for posting all those workouts above-will give some a try.

Yeah. Part of me is just figuring out what I want to do in the offseason and figuring out my goals for next year. I had a long racing season this year so next year will be scaled back a little and include more fun races. Of course, I don't want to lose too much on my FTP, but have to sort out am I going to jump into a focused plan or just ride for fun or somewhere in between. I haven't done many of the 2X20min but know they're supposed to be good. I guess I'll have to see if I do workout mode in Zwift and still am riding on the courses if that keeps me entertained enough.

If that's a concern, make sure to keep some variety in the plan

I think you're asking two questions: what is the best way to improve your fitness, and what is the best way to use Zwift.

As others have said, if your primary goal is to improve FTP, structured workouts are essential and the stimulus that helps your body adapt. Zwift is actually slightly deficient in this respect for me. For short/sharp intervals (1'-5'), the multi-second lag on Zwift can cause a mismatch between the desired interval length and what you actually end up doing. It can also be flawed for longer intervals (especially in the 20'+ range), as the lack of on-screen AP/NP makes using a head unit necessary. Thinking about picking up a subscription to Trainerroad.

None of that is to say I don't enjoy Zwift or will continue subscribing; my biggest problem has been putting in Z2 time, as I don't have time for outdoor riding during the week, can't anybody who wants to "putter" on the weekend, and get bored after 5 minutes of doing EZ indoor training. Zwift is great for this, as it provides a stimulus that is directly related to the workout while keeping me interested and provides a check if go too far above the target Z2 power. I am now both more excited to do Z2 work and less likely to add intensity to keep things "interesting", and this has helped me a ton.