Find the best webinar platforms to host live and on-demand events. Choose the best paid or free webinar platforms for engagement and business growth.
Hosting webinars is a great way to communicate with large audiences through interactive events and on-demand video content. But with all that competition, you’ve got to make your webinars stand out by choosing the right hosting software.
There are countless webinar platforms out there. How do you know which one is best for you?
If you’re a small business owner looking for an alternative to Zoom, or entirely new to webinars and want to know how they could benefit your business, this guide will take you through the best webinar platforms whether it's free or paid on the market.
Livestorm is a complete webinar platform for hosting marketing webinars, product demos, employee onboarding, and much more. In addition to live webinars and recurring events, Livestorm supports on-demand events and offers unlimited replay storage.
Livestorm works directly from your browser, so you never have to download an app. All paid plans include a robust feature set, including:
Unlike many other webinar platforms, Livestorm plans all include unlimited team members. You can onboard your team for better collaboration and event management—without having to pay for each host.
Livestorm has a free plan that supports up to 30 active contacts. Paid plans that support up to 100 active contacts start at $99 per month.
GoTo Webinar is an all-in-one webinar platform that supports both live webcasts and pre-recorded events. Using GoTo Webinar, organizers can:
While both Livestorm and GoTo Webinar are complete webinar platforms, there's one key difference. GoTo Webinar organizers must download a desktop app to host events rather than using a browser-based app. G2 reviewers report serious issues with the app's functionality and user interface (UI).
GoTo Webinar's paid plan starts at $59 per month for 250 attendees. The enterprise plan starts at $499 per month for 3,000 attendees and up to six organizers.
A popular tool for virtual meetings, Zoom also supports webcasting. With Zoom Webinars, organizers can:
Teams that already use Zoom for virtual meetings may find the platform's webinar tool easy to incorporate into their tech stack. However, relying on Zoom for webinars can get expensive quickly.
In addition to the platform's base price, Zoom charges extra for add-ons like cloud storage, extra hosts, extra co-editors, and event services. Zoom also has a separate product for virtual events.
Zoom Webinars starts at $690 per year for webinars with 500 attendees and 100+ active panelists. To host virtual events with branded promotion and collaboration features, you'll need Zoom Sessions, which starts at $3,490 per year.
ON24 is a platform designed to host webinars and virtual events that generate leads and drive revenue. Along with a complete set of engagement and branding features, the platform has on-demand captioning and live global support—making ON24 a good choice for international events.
While the ON24 platform has a robust set of features, they aren't always available in a single product. In fact, ON24 has several different products for webinars and virtual events.
ON24 Webcast Elite is for webinars with engagement features, while ON24 Go Live is for livestreaming virtual events. ON24 Forums is for roundtables, while ON24 Target is for custom marketing assets. No pricing is publicly available, so you'd need to contact sales for a quote.
Webex Webinars is an enterprise webinar tool for large organizations that regularly host events with 1,000 or more attendees. The platform can easily scale to support 10,000+ attendees per webinar.
The platform supports on-demand streaming and live webinar events as well as simulive options. Hosts can also set up breakout rooms, create branded marketing, and integrate registrations with Salesforce and other major CRM tools.
As part of the Cisco ecosystem, Webex Webinars can be a good choice for enterprise users. However, it's less ideal for small and mid-market businesses.
Webex Webinars plans start at $275 per license per month. Entry-level plans support 1,000 attendees, and pricing increases with capacity limits.
From live webinars to on-demand webinars to recurring webinars, BigMarker is a popular choice for large virtual events. In fact, even the platform's entry-level plan supports 1,000 attendees.
Along with supporting a wide range of webinar types, BigMarker offers landing pages for easy registration, email reminders to improve attendance, and integrations with many major CRMs and marketing tools.
The platform also has engagement features like:
If branding and custom experiences are important to your business, be prepared to expand your budget. Many of BigMarker's custom design and marketing features are only available with the platform's top-tier Enterprise+ plan.
BigMarker doesn't provide standard pricing. Contact sales to request a quote or book a demo.
One of the best webinar software platforms for creators and community builders, Crowdcast can be a good alternative for hosts looking to upgrade from livestreaming on YouTube or Facebook.
With Crowdcast, organizers can:
However, Crowdcast may not be the best option for B2B marketers or hosts that want to generate leads. The platform doesn't have direct integrations with CRM or marketing tools.
Crowdcast doesn't have a free plan, but it does offer two-week free trials. Paid plans start at $49 per month for 100 live attendees, one host, and 10 hours of webinar content.
WebinarJam is a popular choice for webinar organizers that host large audiences. In fact, the platform's enterprise plan allows up to 5,000 attendees and six hosts.
WebinarJam works on desktops, tablets, and smartphones, so attendees can connect from virtually any device. To amplify reach and invite engagement, the platform offers features like:
While WebinarJam is a popular webinar tool and one of the more affordable video conferencing platforms, users report occasional stability issues. To ensure you choose the best webinar software, consider testing WebinarJam for your use case before committing.
WebinarJam has four paid plans, all of which include unlimited webinars. Pricing starts at $49 per month for 100 attendees and one host.
Goldcast is a webinar platform for B2B marketers aiming to generate demand, attract leads, and build pipeline. Along with powerful promotion features and software integrations, Goldcast offers:
Because Goldcast is a complete platform with robust webinar features and tools for both virtual and field events, it's less ideal for organizers that need a simple solution. On G2, reviewers highlight the platform's complexity and steep learning curve.
Goldcast doesn't share pricing details publicly. For custom pricing, contact sales or book a demo.
Designed for revenue teams, Demio is a webinar platform that focuses on delivering return on investment (ROI) and driving conversions. With its engagement and intent features, hosts can:
To assist with lead generation, Demio integrates with popular CRM tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. Since it hosts on-demand content, it also works as an evergreen webinar platform.
However, Demio may not be among the best webinar tools to choose if your presenters lack a strong internet connection. G2 reviewers report that the browser-based tool can have audio and stability issues, which can compromise the success of the event.
Demio has a 14-day free trial. Paid plans start at $59 per month for a single host and 50 attendees. On-demand webinars require the mid-tier plan, which starts at $109 per month.
Airmeet is a popular webinar and virtual events platform for B2B companies. It's designed for marketers and go-to-market teams that want to reach new audiences and generate leads.
The platform's X-ray vision feature provides user data and analyzes attendee intent. Hosts have the option to connect with warm leads before or after events without leaving the platform.
With Airmeet's AutoBrand feature, organizers can apply branding to event rooms and easily create custom registration pages. This software also offers built-in engagement features like:
But for webinars with a large number of speakers, Airmeet may not be the ideal choice. G2 reviewers report capacity issues with the virtual backstage and problems queueing up speakers.
Airmeet has a free plan that supports up to 50 attendees. Paid webinar plans that include one organizer license and allow 100 attendees start at $167 per month.
Adobe Connect is a webinar software platform that allows hosts to reach and engage audiences at scale. It has a robust set of tools to promote and customize virtual events, including:
With Adobe Connect, multiple hosts and presenters can collaborate to deliver a great webinar using features like:
However, Adobe Connect may have a steeper learning curve than other webinar platforms. G2 reviewers report that the interface is challenging, which can compromise viewer experiences.
Adobe Connect's Standard plan is priced at $190 per year per host and includes a room capacity of 100. The platform also offers enterprise plans and upgrades to increase room capacity to 1500.
The free webinar plan on Livestorm includes unlimited free webinars with no trial expiry date. That means that you can keep creating high-quality webinars with powerful engagement tools for as long as you like.
We’re not just interested in helping you create meaningful content. We believe in the power of video engagement, which means establishing collaborative, exciting methods of communication with your audience.
A successful webinar series can boost your brand’s visibility and improve customer conversion and retention. If you’re looking for exceptional real-time communication methods for your business, you’ll want to try Livestorm.
The majority of Livestorm features are available on the free webinar plan, including:
The following restrictions apply on the free webinar plan:
Check out our pricing page to learn more about all the options available to you.
Host powerful webinars for free
Getting started is easy with Livestorm. Create and host free webinars in minutes.
Crowdcast is a traditional live event software that will support free and paid events. There isn’t a completely free plan, however, you might consider the 14-day free trial if you’re looking to test run a few different platforms.
During the free trial, you’ll have access to all features, but live sessions are limited to 30 minutes in length and 10 live attendees.
One of the downsides of Crowdcast is that invitees need to sign up for an account before they can attend the event. The extra step is definitely a pain point for customers who want quick and easy access.
Demio is a webinar tool focused on lead generation and sales engagement. Like Crowdcast, Demio offers a few different plans but no option is completely free. The 14-day free trial includes all the features on their Growth plan, but live sessions are limited to 60 minutes in length and 20 live attendees.
On GetApp, some users have reported frustration with the fact that Demio doesn’t have a separate Q&A tab, making it less user-friendly for hosts and event organizers.
Facebook Live may not have a traditional webinar layout with options like screen-sharing, but it can be used to live stream events for free from your mobile device or browser.
As a broadcasting tool, Facebook Live has proven popular among freelancers and start-ups as an informal way of communicating with a broad audience.
You won’t be able to capture leads (e.g. emails) or invite a speaker on stage (unless you stream from another platform at the same time at risk of causing network lags!). However, you will be able to quickly scale your audience through your Facebook community. Your recording will be automatically posted to your followers, making it easy for your audience to share and respond.
This tool is most suitable for businesses with a strong Facebook following.
Similarly, YouTube isn’t a traditional webinar tool but it does offer live streaming. If you want a more typical webinar layout with screen sharing, you’ll need additional software like Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) on mac to create your own.
YouTube Live Stream is ideal if you already have a YouTube audience.
However, just like Facebook Live, you won’t be able to capture email leads or have multiple hosts or speakers accessing the event remotely.
Zoho Webinar is a traditional webinar service, and it has a free plan option that could work for small events. With the free plan, you can host up to 100 participants and host events up to 60 minutes long.
There are some limitations, however. The free version of Zoho Webinar doesn't include livestreaming, recording, or customized registration assets. Instead, only paid plans offer these features.
“Free webinar software” is one of the most requested Google query in the web-conferencing market.
Sure, everybody wants to host live sessions to engage their audiences, but webinar software is expensive for small businesses. On top of that, there are hundreds of webinar hosting platforms out there, all with different features and limitations.
Webinars are extremely helpful to boost your sales, deliver content, provide training, or increase community engagement. However, most webinar hosts have their own expectations for what free webinar software should include.
If you’re looking for the cheapest webinar platform on the market, you’ll need to make sure you understand what it can achieve. When using free software, there’ll always be a limit to what you can do.
These are the important questions to ask as you get ready to create a webinar:
If you’re planning to host onboarding sessions or deliver training using a webinar tool, you’ll need to be able to share your screen. Taking a moment to screen share with your audience is a great way to make your webinar training more dynamic. You’ll be able to demonstrate a process while responding to audience questions in real-time.
As well as screen-sharing, you should look out for other media options like the ability to present a slide deck, share files, and play video clips during the event. You want software that will support you to create exciting live events - not just your average webinar.
There’s nothing worse than getting ready for an important webinar meeting, only to suffer technical issues. In Livestorm’s 2021 survey, 57% of respondents reported that they fear connection difficulties when hosting video calls or webinars. That’s why a browser-based tool makes the best webinar software.
Without drivers, downloads, or time-consuming installations, your connection can be established with a single click. Not only that, but browser-based software will eliminate the majority of lag and glitches because there’s no need for data to travel through a third-party app. Attendance will also be much higher. When choosing your webinar software, it’s wise to avoid platforms that require multiple-step installations.
One of the most frequently asked questions from webinar registrants is “will a recording be shared after this event?”.
Most of us find it hard to fit a live event into our busy schedules, so make sure you have built-in webinar recording software to share with registrants, and allow you to recycle your event and create on-demand webinars later on.
Don’t get caught out by plans that restrict the number of replays, either. Webinar recordings can be included in your training manuals or onboarding packages, so unlimited replays are a must.
You’ll know what kind of numbers you’re expecting to host, depending on the purposes and intended audience of your webinars. If you’ve never hosted a webinar before, or your business still has a fairly small reach, you may be happy with small audiences. However, you should still be aware that many webinar platforms have capped participant numbers on their free plans.
You can always start with a free plan and increase your numbers as you grow. But if you’re expecting big audiences or rapid growth, you’ll need to make sure that the plan you choose accommodates your needs.
Video communication technology is rapidly evolving as our needs change and remote working becomes increasingly popular. So, to find the best webinar software, you’ll need to look out for a platform that integrates with other apps and tools.
Integrations will ensure that you have the most rounded software that can work seamlessly with your other communication and organizational tools. For example, does your webinar software integrate with your CRM to easily share or update the leads generated by your events?
The best free webinar software will also include plugins and integrations with apps like Miro online whiteboard to help improve audience engagement.
The most important thing to look out for when choosing your free webinar software is whether you’re about to sign up for a truly free service or if you’ll end up paying a premium rate once the trial is over.
Some platforms offer a free plan but automatically place you on a free trial of the premium plan when you sign up. They make claims like ‘no credit card required’ but that doesn’t help when your trial benefits run out part-way through a webinar series.
If you’re a small business owner or freelancer without much cash to spare, make sure you understand what you’re signing up for. You should consider whether the free plan covers all your needs and, if not, whether the more expensive plans are within your budget.
Hosting live events is a tricky beast, and there’s a lot that can go wrong. By now, most of us have experienced the awkwardness of poor webinar set-up, whether it’s because the host doesn’t understand the webinar controls or because of a clunky server that makes it impossible to connect properly.
Equipped with the right tools, you’ll deliver high-quality live events, with automated workflows, expert engagement tools, and comprehensive data analytics for you to keep improving your content and growing your business.
End-to-end video engagement platforms such as Livestorm exist to manage all your workflows and ensure your webinars make a big impact with minimal stress for you. But you won’t necessarily get the full experience for free.
In summary, the best webinar software will require a paid subscription, but you can still try the free options to get a good sense of what features you’re looking for.
Host powerful webinars for free
Getting started is easy with Livestorm. Create and host free webinars in minutes.
The short answer is “it depends”. Every webinar host has different needs and expectations, and only you will know what kind of live events are going to be suitable for you.
Whether or not you should pay for webinar software depends on:
The equation is pretty simple: if you don’t have any budget, but you have time to experiment and the skills to set it up, then testing free webinar software is a good way to find the right fit. However, if you’re short on time and skills, then you may need to consider stretching your budget to include a paid webinar plan.
If you’re looking for the best webinar software without a huge bill, try the Livestorm free webinar plan. We offer one of the only completely free plans, with no expiry date. What’s more, you’ll benefit from a full range of features - from data analytics to integrated engagement tools - designed to help you create impactful webinars.
We may be biased, but we consider Livestorm to be the best webinar solution. Whether you choose the free or paid plan, you can use Livestorm to host browser-based virtual events, promote your event via custom registration pages, engage your audience in real time, and share webinar replays.
Yes, the Livestorm free webinar plan is completely free with no expiry date. Check out our pricing page to learn more about the options available.
Livestorm is among the most secure free webinar platforms. We adhere to all GDPR guidelines to keep customer data safe. And we are in the process of achieving ISO 27001 certification thanks to our outstanding security practices.
The Livestorm free webinar plan includes all the features available to priced plan members, but there are restrictions. Hosts on the free webinar plan are limited to 10 registrants and 10 live attendees per event, and events have a maximum length of 20 minutes. Take a tour of our Features page to learn more about the video engagement features included with Livestorm.
The best day to host a webinar is Wednesday or Thursday. When choosing what time to host a webinar, you should consider the time zones and needs of your audience. It’s best to avoid the lunch hour and traditional commute times. Check out the webinar statistics we’ve gathered through hosting thousands of webinars.
Livestorm offers inbuilt, automatic webinar recording so you don’t have to worry about complicated controls or third-party apps.
If you want to attract an audience, it’s important to promote your webinar. You should invite attendees at the beginning of the week, as invites sent Monday-Wednesday rank higher for pre-registrations. It’s important to understand which communication channels your audience responds to the most and target them where they’re sure to engage. Read our tips for webinar promotion.
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