Things To Consider When Choosing Webinar Platforms
You should consider four things when choosing a webinar platform: price, attendance limits, engagement features, and ability to record your webinars.
Here is some more detailed information about the four main things you should consider when choosing a webinar platform as a digital marketer.
PriceConsider your budget, and do not spend more than you can afford on a webinar platform. You do not want to spend more than is in your budget for a webinar platform, but you should also consider if a platform with more features will increase your revenue, even if it costs a little more. You can always upgrade your plan later if you want more features or have more money later to spend on your platform. | AttendanceHow many people will be attending your webinars? You do not want to lock out participants from the webinar because of participation limits. You also need to consider how many people will attend your webinars since many platforms charge by the number of participants. You do not want people to get locked out of your webinar if you do not have a big enough plan which could cause you to lose some of your audience and subsequent revenue. |
EngagementDo you want your audience to be able to chat with each other or ask questions during the webinar? Depending on the type of webinars you are streaming, you should consider whether or not you need to engage your audience through polls and Q&As. And sometimes, you may want to chat with your audience or have them chat with each other during the webinar. | Record Your WebinarDo you want recordings of your webinar to rewatch later or post on social media? Recording your webinar is important if you want people to be able to view it afterward. Sometimes your audience cannot make the live streams, but you still want them to benefit from them. You can build your reach if you can record and share your webinar with your audience after the live stream. And you have the opportunity to edit your webinar after the live show to make it better for your audience who is watching it later. |
Best Free Webinar Platforms
Let’s take a look at the best free webinar platforms since they’re the ones most likely to catch your attention. After all, free is best!
Youtube
Youtube is the best free option because you can have unlimited viewers with your free account. You just need to enable live streaming in your account to get started.
Price:
Free!
Livestorm
Livestorm has a great free option that allows up to 10 people to attend your webinar for up to 20 minutes per session.
Price:
- Free: 10 live participants
- Pro: $80/month for 100-500 participants in 4-hour webinars
- Business and Enterprise: Quoted per customer for up to 3,000 participants
LiveWebinar
LiveWebinar is an online browser webinar that allows you to customize your features and experience. They have a free plan for up to five people.
Price:
- Free: $0 for five people in 45-minute sessions
- Pro: $17.99/month for 100 people in 6-hour sessions
- Business: $143/month for 500 people in 8-hour sessions
- Enterprise: Quote for large webinar needs
Webex
Webex is a great platform to use anywhere in the world, and there is a chat feature if you want participants to be able to communicate with each other. The free version is one of the largest, with 100 people allowed.
Price:
- Basic: $0/month for 100 users in 50-minute calls
- Business: $25/month for 200 users in 24-hour long calls
- Enterprise: Quoted for up to 1000 users in 24-hour-long calls
Google Meet
Google Meet allows up to 100 users to join a webinar that any Google user can create in a free account. These free meetings can last up to 60 minutes, or you can pay for one of the plans to get 24-hour meetings.
Price:
- Business Starter: $6/month for 100 users
- Business Standard: $12 for 150 users
- Business Plus: $18 for 500 users
- Enterprise: Quoted for 500 users and unlimited cloud storage
MyOwnConference
MyOwnConference offers many features, even on its free plan, which can accommodate 20 users.
You can pay by the day, month, or annually for a paid plan, with savings for the longer plans.
Price: (Monthly)
- $36 for 60 participants
- $60 for 150 participants
- $84 for 300 participants
- $120 – $3,000 for 500-10,000 participants
Best for Large Webinars
You will have special requirements for your participants when organizing large webinars. Let’s take a look at the best options for you.
BlueJeans
BlueJeans can stream to 150,000 viewers at once with its highest plan, so this is the best option if you are hosting large webinars. You can get custom pricing for webinars that stream to 501 to 150,000 viewers.
Price:
- $50/month for up to 100 attendees
- $60/month for up to 200 attendees
- $69/month for up to 500 attendees
WebinarGeek
WebinarGeek allows up to 4,000 participants on their highest tier plan, and you can stream to them for up to 12 hours.
Price: (Billed annually)
- Starter: $19/month for 25 viewers and up to 4-hour streams
- Premium: $49-200/month for 100-2,000 viewers and up to 8-hour streams
- Advanced: Price quoted for 500 to 4,000 viewers and up to 12-hour streams
Adobe Connect Webinars
Adobe Connect can stream webinars to up to 1,000 people with its largest plan.
Price:
- $130/month for 100 participants
- $470/month for 500 participants
- $580/month for 1,000 participants
Dacast
Dacast helps you host and monetize webinars with unlimited viewers, so you can maximize your revenue.
Price:
$39-$188/month, depending on how much storage and streaming capacity you need. The pricier plans have more features, too, like analytics and enhanced paywalls.
WebinarJam
WebinarJam allows six presenters in each webinar to stream to up to 5,000 people. Your presenters can do a roundtable, share PowerPoints, or do a tutorial. Participants can also watch on any device.
Price: (Billed annually)
- Starter: $39/month for 100 attendees in 1-hour webinars
- Basic: $79/month for 500 attendees in 2-hour webinars
- Professional: $229/month for 2,000 attendees in 3-hour webinars
- Enterprise: $379/month for 5,000 attendees in 14-hour webinars
BigMarker
BigMarker allows you to record your webinars, host interactive webinars, or host hybrid events where some people attend in person and others stream virtually for up to 100,000 viewers.
Price: (Billed annually)
- Starter: $99/month for 100 attendees and one host
- Elite: $199/month for 500 attendees and two hosts
- Premier: $499/month for 1,000 attendees and three hosts
- White Label: Quoted for up to 100,000 attendees
Best for Live Chat and Engagement Features
The previous options were ideal for people who didn’t need to engage in person with participants. If you need to include live chat and other engagement features, below are the best options for you.
Demio
Demio allows you to engage with webinar attendees through polls, software integrations, links to click, and CTAs.
Price: (Billed annually)
- Starter: $34/month for 50 attendees
- Growth: $69-257/month for 150 to 1,000 attendees
- Premium: Quoted starting at $250/month for 500 or 1,000 attendees
WebinarNinja
WebinarNinja allows you to bring attendees into the conversation, chat privately or with the group, and use handouts to supplement the webinar.
Price:
- Basic: $29/month for 50 attendees
- Pro: $99-200 /month for 50 to 1000 attendees
GetResponse
GetResponse allows you to send your participants to web pages, make special offers, use polls during webinars, and promote products.
Price:
Custom pricing for plans that include webinars.
Intermedia AnyMeeting
Intermedia AnyMeeting allows you to reach more of your audience by streaming to desktops and mobile devices. The audience can annotate the screen for more engagement.
Price:
- Starter: $0
- Lite: $7.99 to $9.99 per user per month
- Pro: $9.99 to $12.99 per user per month
- Enterprise: $14.99 to $17.99 per user per month
Crowdcast
Crowdcast helps you engage your audience with polls, live chats, and Q&As. You can also host free or paid events for different audiences.
Price: (Annual)
- Lite: $34/month for 100+ attendees and 10 hours of streaming per month
- Professional: $62/month for 250+ attendees and 20 hours of streaming per month
- Business: $136/month for 1,000+ attendees and 40 hours of streaming per month
eWebinar
eWebinar is another option where you can chat with your audience and help keep your attendees engaged for maximum results.
Price:
- Level 1: $49/month for up to 1 published webinar
- Level 2: $99/month for 2-5 published webinars
- Level 3: $199/month for 6-15 published webinars
- Enterprise $250+/month for 25 published webinars and $10/month for additional webinars
On24
On24 helps you personalize your content to keep your audience engaged and turn your webinars into a profit.
Price:
Quoted based on your needs.
GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar allows you to accept payments during your webinar, create a registration form, and give quizzes to your attendees to get information and keep them engaged.
Price: (Annual)
- Lite: $49/month for 250 participants
- Standard: $99/month for 500 participants
- Pro: $199/month for 1,000 participants
- Enterprise: $399/month for 3,000 participants
Kumospace
Just as GoToWebinar empowers digital marketers with its suite of features, Kumospace offers a unique approach to webinars that enhances engagement and interaction among attendees.
Price: (Annual)
- Free: $0/month per user
- Professional: $8/month per user
- Business: $16/month per user
- Enterprise: Price varies/month per user
EasyWebinar
EasyWebinar helps you sell your products during your event, whether physical or digital, and keeps your audience engaged.
Price: (Annual)
- Standard: $59/month for 100 live attendees
- Pro: $90/month for 500 live attendees
- Enterprise: $349/month for 2,000 live attendees
Zoho Meeting
Zoho Meeting has many engagement features like polls, Q&As, and options to let your audience speak and present their own ideas.
Price: (Annual)
- Free for 100 participants
- Meeting: $3-15/host/month for 10-250 participants
- Webinar: $16-300/host/month for 25-3,000 participants
Livestream
Livestream is a great live webinar option as you can stream worldwide and engage with your audience through a chat, polls, and a Q&A.
Price:
Quoted for your needs with a demo to start.
Best for Recording Webinars
If you’re looking to train your attendees, you may want to be able to record the webinars for those who cannot participate at the last minute because of various emergencies. Below are the best tools for recording webinars.
EverWebinar
EverWebinar allows you to start replays immediately, so guests can join the webinar late without missing anything.
Price:
- Annual: $499
- Biannual: $874
ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting is a great option for monetizing your webinars, both during your webinars and after the recordings.
Price: (Annual)
- Free trial: Up to 30 days free for 25 participants
- Live: $25-239 for 10 to 1000 participants
- Automated: $40-279 for 10 to 1000 participants
- Enterprise: Custom quote
Riverside
Riverside is great for post-webinar recording as you can edit your video and audio files after the session. Additionally, you get separate audio and video files.
Price: (Billed annually)
- Free: Unlimited recording and editing, two hours of tracks
- Standard: $15/month Unlimited recording and editing, five hours of tracks
- Pro: $24/month Unlimited recording and editing, fifteen hours of tracks
Zoom Meeting vs. Webinar
Zoom Webinars allow you to stream as many webinars as you want for up to 30 hours each. Sessions are easy to record and replay or send to participants afterward.
Price:
- $690/year for 500 attendees
- $3,400/year for 1,000 attendees
- $9,900/year for 3,000 attendees
- $24,900/year for 5,000 attendees
- $64,900/year for 10,000 attendees
- Quoted for 10,000+ attendees