45 Webinar software options: The tools you need to execute webinars and drive leads

The technology behind your event can make or break it. No one wants to stick around for a webinar with poor sound quality or a blank screen. That’s why the webinar software you choose has to align with your overall webinar strategy and goals.

Webinar software requirements

Webinar hosting software is the backbone of your webinar. When researching software, the main features to look for are:

• Registration — What is the maximum number of live attendees per webinar?
• Ease of use for attendees — Can people join from their desktop computers and phones? Do they need to download software?
• Ease of use for speakers — How easy is it for guest speakers to join? Can everyone control their own slides?
• Webinar room features — Can you turn on/off Q&A, chat, surveys, and polls? Can you set Q&A to private?
• Broadcasting features — Is there built-in live streaming? Can you share a video or recording for part or all of the webinar?
• Content sharing — Can you upload slides, videos, and share screens? Can attendees download slides?
• Post-webinar — Will there be a recording you can download? Will the recording be emailed to registrants? Can you download your registrant list?

Here’s the exact list of criteria I looked at when researching each tool. It can serve as a key to the features lists I’ve compiled with each tool below.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Can attendees and speakers get into the webinar room without having to download and install additional software?
• Slide upload – Can presenters and moderators upload slides to present during the event?
• Video upload – Can hosts upload and play videos for attendees during the event?
• Share screen – Can presenters, moderators, and hosts share their screens?
• Speaker control of presentation – Can speakers control the presentation, like moving their own slides forward and playing videos, or does the moderator have to control slides? The latter results in an awkward “next slide please” after every slide.
• Automated recording – Does the webinar software have an option to record every event?
• Automated email share of recording – Is the software able to automatically email recordings to every registrant?
• Ability to hide chat – Can moderators turn off the chat function?
• Link blocking in chat – Can the hosts opt to block all links in chat, to cut down on spam?

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – How many live attendees can the platform support?
• Pre-recorded events – Are we able to upload a pre-recorded webinar to play during the event?
• On-demand events – Can we switch our live webinars over to on-demand events?
• Multi-session with single registration – Can we file multiple sessions under a single login, such as in a conference?
• Multi-track events –  Can we group sessions by theme and set up different tracks for attendees?
• Q&A – Is there a live Q&A feature?
• Poll – Can we send out polls during the event?
• Direct/private chat – Is there an option to set chats to private or direct to speakers?
• Breakout rooms – Are there breakout rooms attendees can hop into to speak with our internal team?
• External link pop-ups in session – Can we show clickable links on screen during the event?

Branding

• Branded landing page – Can we adjust the landing page to reflect our logo, brand colors, and the layout we want?
• Registration form embed option – Can we embed the registration form on our own website?
• Customized email notifications – Can we adjust the automated email notification copy and graphics?
• Post-registration redirect – After someone registers, can we redirect them automatically to a thank you page on our own website?

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Can we see a breakdown of who registered, attended, asked a question, and other metrics?
• Registrant export – Can we export all registrant info?
• Attendee export – Can we export attendee info based on session?
• Q&A export – Can we export the questions attendees asked?
• Poll answer export – Can we export answers to the polls we asked?

45 Webinar software options

This is an evolving list of virtual event software, conference software, and webinar software that I’ve collected during my search for the perfect tool. I will eventually add descriptions and reviews to all of them, but I decided to publish fast and fix it later in case anyone needs this list.

Airmeet

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes, if they share their screen
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No, find it within your event dashboard
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but can block attendees
• Day-of support – Yes

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 100,000 priced by registrants
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Via integrations
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – No, but can be found in analytics report after the event
• Q&A export – No, but can be found in analytics report after the event
• Poll answer export – No, but can be found in analytics report after the event

All In The Loop

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – They will provide the replay link, but you’ll need to create the email with third-party email marketing software
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – Yes

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – Unlimited
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Polls – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – No
• Registration form embed option – No
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – No
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports (attendance rate, engagement rate) – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Aventri

Aventri comes with 24/7 live support and a robust training portal.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 25,000 attendees for presentations, 250 attendees for breakout rooms
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Banzai

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – Yes

Event logistics

• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes, by pasting the URL into a new event
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – No
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No, but here’s a workaround
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Bevy

Bevy is powerful for powering multi-day virtual summits with different tracks. Attendees can join whichever sessions they’re most interested in, connect with other attendees, view an overall agenda, organize events by different stages (tracks), and meet with various brands in virtual “booths.”

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes, when sharing their screen
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes, but you would have to add the link
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – No stated limitations (at least 45,000 according to customer support)
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes, you can upload your recording to a video hosting site and embed it to a Bevy booth
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – No
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Links can be added to the chat and pinned

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes

Internal and partner use

*Cannot manually add attendees

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – No

BigMarker

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 10,000
• Pre-recorded events – No, but you can pre-upload a video
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Bizzabo

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – Largest event had more than 1 million live attendees
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Brandlive

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – Yes

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 25,000 registrants, priced by registration. Max up to 2 million registrations
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes, for small plan and above
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Brella

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes, you can embed slides in the chat
• Video upload – No, you can’t pre-upload videos to a presentation; you’d have to share screen, But you can embed a video in the chat panel as a separate tab
• Share screen – Yes, during one on one meetings and round table sessions
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No, Brella doesn’t offer automated emails
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but you can delete messages

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 75,000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes, the streams are embedded through a YouTube or Vimeo link
• On-demand events – Yes, breakout room sessions can be turned into on-demand events
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes, through round tables—but registration is through Eventbrite or a different registration software
• Multi-track events –  Yes, through round tables
• Q&A – Yes, through Slido or another third party provider
• Poll – Yes, through Slido or another third party provider
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – No, Brella doesn’t offer registration forms or landing pages, you’d have to use your own ticketing or registration software
• Registration form embed option – No
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – No, Brella doesn’t offer registration services
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – No, you’d have to access analytics from your third-party provider
• Poll answer export – No, you’d have to access analytics from your third-party provider

ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is an easy-to-use webinar platform that comes with tools for organizing, running, and analyzing events. Its three plans are customizable to different needs. However, it lacks phone support and allows only a limited number of presenters.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but you can moderate chat and only display approved messages

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 10,000 people
• Pre-recorded events – No
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes, through permanent rooms
• Multi-track events – No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

ConnectPlexus

Cvent

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but you can delete messages

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 500
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes, through exhibitor booths

Branding

• Branded landing page – No
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Demio

Demio is a hassle-free webinar tool that allows you to host multi-session events, on-demand webinars, customize email notifications, brand your registration pages, and more. It comes with easy onboarding and features built on the foresight of their marketing-focused founders.

I’ve used Demio and Livestorm previously and found them easy to use. Both are browser-based with robust features, so I recommend either of them if you’re looking to incorporate webinars into your overall growth strategy and make it easy for registrants to attend. Note: Demio is a client of mine.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – No, but can set to private
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 1000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes, can repurpose the recordings
• Multi-session with single registration – Through event series
• Multi-track events – Only through event series
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

EventBuilder

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes, but they recommend sharing screen instead
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 2,500
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

eWebinar

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide / video upload – The webinars are pre-recorded, so you won’t need to upload anything
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes—but there are no live speakers.
• Automated recording – All events are pre-recorded
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – No
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – Unlimited (all sessions are pre-recorded)
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – No
• Multi-track events – No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – No, but you can install widgets
• Customized email notifications – Copy and logo only
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Goldcast

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide / video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – Unlimited
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Through their HubSpot integration
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

GoToWebinar

GoToWebinar is an all-in-one webinar tool with features like invitations, videos, polls, sharing, data, and automatic invites and follow-up emails. Note that GoToWebinar is not as customizable as other platforms, which may make it unsuitable for larger brands. Tip: If you track your leads and deal stages in HubSpot, GoToWebinar has an excellent HubSpot integration.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 1000 participants
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes, if you integrate with Leadpages
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – No

Hopin

Note: Registrants need to create their own Hopin accounts in addition to signing up for your event. This adds extra steps to your registration and means they need to sign into their Hopin accounts to attend live.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – Yes, via link
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes, but you have to set up the email
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 3000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – They have a feature called Sessions that is similar
• External link pop-ups in session – You can add a call to action to your video with StreamYard or pin your offer to the chat

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

InEvent

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes (networking)
• External link pop-ups in session – Can we show clickable links on screen during the event?

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Livestorm

Livestorm is a browser-based webinar tool with a great UI and easy registration page setup. This is the software I chose for Discoverr 2020, as it allowed for a thousand live attendees with unlimited registrants. I’ve used them for hundreds of eCommerce webinars thanks to how easy it is for speakers and attendees to join.

Note: The only time I’ve ever had an issue was when we first started using it and a webinar room became so full it kicked out one of the speakers.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes, as PDFs
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 1,000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – No
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes, but not layout
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes, but no graphics
• Post-registration redirect – Yes with custom code

<script>
livestorm.on(‘registration-success’, function () {
window.location = ‘URL‘
})
</script>

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – No

LiveWebinar

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 1000 attendees
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – No
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – No
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Maestro

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – No
• Speaker control of presentation – No
• Automated recording – Yes, only for use within Maestro and not when using third party video player
• Automated email share of recording – No
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – Yes

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – No published maximum, 8 hour time limit on livestreams
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes, as replays
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – No
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – No
• Poll answer export – No

MyOwnConference

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – Yes, through pre-moderation mode

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 10,000 attendees
• Pre-recorded events – Yes, through YouTube Links, Vimeo, or mp4 files
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – No
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – No

On24

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 2500 as a base, can accommodate more on request
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes, via engagement hub
• Multi-track events –  Yes, via engagement hub
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes on screen or via resources tool

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Run The World

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – No
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 500, priced by registrant
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – No
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – They have Round Table and Cocktail Party
• External link pop-ups in session – Can share a link CTA in chat

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes, but you’d have to create your own event page
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Set emails cannot be edited, but you can add new ones
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – No
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – No
• Poll answer export – No

Social hour

Socio

*Note: Socio was recently acquired and is now part of Webex by Cisco.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes, if you integrate Slido
• Video upload – Yes, with Socio Streaming (an add-on feature)
• Share screen – Yes, but on with Socio Streaming (an add-on feature)
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes, as long as they’re sharing their screen
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No, you would have to do this through your CRM
• Ability to hide chat Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 50,000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – No
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes, via video rooms
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Splash

SpotMe

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes, through a Chrome extension
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – No
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 10,000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes, through OBS
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – No
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

streamGo

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 5000+
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – Yes, attendees can choose which sessions they want to go to and add it to their agenda tab
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No, but they have banners within the virtual event environment and add links to the chat

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

TwentyThree

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but links are not clickable in chat

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 3000 on the highest plan, “Unlimited” mentioned on their pricing page
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – No (on roadmap)
• Multi-track events – No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – No
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

vFairs

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – No
• Share screen – Yes, through Zoom
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes, per booth
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – No published limit
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes, when integrated with Zoom
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – You can see them but it’s unclear if you can download them
• Poll answer export – You can see them but it’s unclear if you can download them

Vimeo

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – No
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes, but only through Google Chrome
• Speaker control of presentation – Team admins can control streams
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes, with a Chrome extension
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – Premium users can have unlimited viewers
• Pre-recorded events – No
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Vimeo Premium and Enterprise allow up to three concurrent events
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes, but only for Vimeo Enterprise accounts
• Registration form embed option – Yes, but only for Vimeo Enterprise accounts
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – Yes, but only for Vimeo Enterprise accounts

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – No

Webex by Cisco

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – No
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – No
• Multi-session with single registration – No
• Multi-track events – No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes for Webex Events (Classic) and Webex Events (New) Webcast Mode, No for Webex Events (New) Webinar Mode
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes for Webex Events (New) Webinar Mode, No for Webex Events (Classic) and Webex Events (New) Webcast Mode
• Registration form embed option – Yes but you need to have some coding knowledge
• Customized email notifications – Yes for Webex Events (Classic), No for Webex Events (New) Webinar Mode and Webcast Mode
• Post-registration redirect – No, you would have to configure this on your own

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

WebinarGeek

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but you can disable chat or block specific people

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 4000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes, through video injection
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – No
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes, through the call to action feature

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – No
• Poll answer export – Yes

WebinarNinja

WebinarNinja is useful because you can hold multi-session webinars. They’re an excellent option if you’d like to put on a series of webinars with different speakers, but only require one registration from attendees. They’ll send out a welcome email with unique links to each webinar in that series upon registration, which attendees can click on to access each session.

They also have excellent customer support, so you don’t have to worry about their team going dark if something goes wrong during your event.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 1000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No (but you can customize the thank you page)

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

WebinarJam

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 5000 attendees
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – No
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – No
• Poll answer export – No

WorkCast

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes, but with a plugin
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – They are blocked by default, as per the support team

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 5,000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes, using data usher
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Zoom

This webinar tool has become a household name over the past few months, but its capabilities extend beyond the virtual family quiz night. Zoom Video Webinar provides HD webinars with on-demand viewing, analytics, host controls, interactivity features, and event assistance. However, be aware that it requires a strong bandwidth to perform adequately.

If you’re just starting out, Zoom has a fairly generous free plan that includes up to 100 participants and a 40-minute limit (as of this writing).

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – No
• Slide upload – No, but you can set a presentation as your virtual background. Alternatively, you can also screen share the window that contains your presentation.
• Video upload – Yes
• Share screen – Yes (only hosts, co-hosts, and panelists)
• Speaker control of presentation – As long as the host provides panelist access, yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 10,000+
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – No
• Multi-track events –  No
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Community and experience management tools

If you want to take your webinars and virtual events even further, incorporate them into an overall community-building strategy. This is a great way to repurpose your content in a way that continues to generate value and leads for your company. Plenty of tools out there are designed around the event community, and the online brand-building experience of conferences and summits, rather than the actual webinar hosting. Here are a few of those options that stand out.

HeySummit

I’m a big fan of the registration flows you can build on HeySummit. I collected some in my landing page lookbook.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Since HeySummit isn’t a webinar app, this depends on the webinar app your choose (e.g. Zoom, Teams, etc)
• Video upload – No, but you can screen share depending on the webinar app you choose
• Share screen – Again, this will depend on your webinar app—but generally, yes
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – This will depend on your webinar app
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No, but you can remove messages and ban users

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 5000 registrations
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes, but only if your webinar app allows it
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes, but only for Business Plan
• Customized email notifications – No, but here’s a workaround
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – This will depend on your webinar tool
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – No

Hubilo

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes
• Video upload – Can hosts upload and play videos for attendees during the event?
• Share screen – Since Hubilo is a hub, this will depend on your webinar app integration
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – Yes

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 1000 registrants
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes through Virtual Booths. You can also pin links to the chat panel so that your offer stays on top

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Customized email notifications – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes

LoudSwarm

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide / video upload / screenshare / speaker controls – This will depend on your integration because LoudSwarm hosts streams from other webinar apps
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – No, LoudSwarm doesn’t have a chat feature
• Link blocking in chat – No, LoudSwarm doesn’t have a chat feature

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 100,000
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events – Yes
• Q&A – Yes, through Slido
• Poll – Yes, through Slido
• Direct/private chat – No, but you can integrate Slack or Discord with LoudSwarm
• Breakout rooms – No, but you can integrate meeting tools to allow your audience to chat with speakers face-to-face after their session
• External link pop-ups in session – No

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Through Slido
• Poll answer export – Through Slido

Luma

Luma is a community-building platform that integrates with Zoom. This is useful if you want to use webinars to supplement an overarching community strategy. They support email newsletters, ticket sales, discount codes, and allow members to connect with each other.

Slido

Slido is not a conferencing tool—it’s an add-on to your existing conferencing tool for more features.

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Yes, if you integrate Slido with Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint (Slido allows you to add polls, quizzes, and Q&A to both apps) or with Slido Switcher
• Video upload – No
• Share screen – Yes, depending on your webinar hosting application
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – This depends on your webinar app
• Ability to hide chat – No
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 5000
• Pre-recorded events – Slido isn’t a webinar application, so this will depend on your CRM
• On-demand events – Slido isn’t a webinar application, so this will depend on your CRM
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – Yes
• External link pop-ups in session – Yes

Branding

• Branded landing page – No
• Registration form embed option – No
• Customized email notifications – No
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – No
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – Yes
• Poll answer export – Yes

Swoogo

Note you’ll need to use Swoogo in conjunction with a streaming service like Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Vimeo.

*More information on this solution coming soon.

Virtual Summits Software

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – Virtual Summits Software doesn’t have native livestream software, so this will depend on your webinar app
• Video upload – Yes, through a YouTube, Vimeo, or Dailymotion URL or an embed code
• Share screen – Virtual Summits Software doesn’t have native livestream software, so this will depend on your webinar app
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – This will depend on the webinar app you choose
• Automated email share of recording – No
• Ability to hide chat – No
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – This will depend on your webinar software
• Pre-recorded events – Yes, through a YouTube, Vimeo, or Dailymotion URL or an embed code
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – No
• Poll – No
• Direct/private chat – No
• Breakout rooms – This will depend on your webinar software
• External link pop-ups in session – You can add presentation lead magnets that will appear below your presentation

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – No

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – No
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes
• Q&A export – No
• Poll answer export – No

Whova

Ease of use

• Browser-based access – Yes
• Slide upload – This depends on your livestream service
• Video upload – This depends on your livestream service
• Share screen – This depends on your livestream service
• Speaker control of presentation – Yes
• Automated recording – Yes
• Automated email share of recording – Yes
• Ability to hide chat – Yes
• Link blocking in chat – No

Event logistics

• Max live attendees – 20,000+
• Pre-recorded events – Yes
• On-demand events – Yes
• Multi-session with single registration – Yes
• Multi-track events –  Yes
• Q&A – Yes
• Poll – Yes
• Direct/private chat – Yes
• Breakout rooms – Yes, and they also have a Speed Networking feature that works in a similar way
• External link pop-ups in session – No, but you can place sponsor ad banners in the virtual event space, add sponsor links to particular sessions, and sponsors can add links and videos to their virtual booths and digital exhibit halls

Branding

• Branded landing page – Yes
• Registration form embed option – Yes
• Customized email notifications – Yes
• Post-registration redirect – Yes

Internal and partner use

• Audience reports – Yes
• Registrant export – Yes
• Attendee export – Yes

Wrapping up – Top webinar software solutions

Your webinar software is the enabler of your events. Getting the right technology in place and selecting the best fit for your goals is key to putting on a successful event. Choose wisely, and don’t be afraid to test out different options.