Webinars have revolutionized lead generation, marketing, sales, and education by providing invaluable virtual face time with broad audiences. The global webinar software market surpassed $5 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at an astounding 30% CAGR through 2028 (Verified Market Research).
But with a sea of providers promising the bells and whistles to host five-star online events, identifying the right platform tailored to your specific use case can feel overwhelming.
This definitive guide will simplify your software selection process by comparing the 8 leading webinar solutions across essential capabilities, use cases, strengths and limitations. You’ll also get an insider’s perspective on crafting compelling webinars that captivate audiences.
Let’s examine the critical components that set apart premium services to determine the best investment for your business and unlock webinar success.
What is Webinar Software and How Does It Benefit Businesses?
Webinar software provides the technology infrastructure to conduct seminars, workshops, lectures, demos and other interactive presentations over the internet instead of requiring in-person attendance.
Key features offered by providers include:
- Video conferencing – Real-time camera streaming between hosts and participants
- Screen sharing – Broadcast slides, documents, media and more from the host’s device
- Collaboration tools – Interactive polls, surveys, Q&As, chats and other engagement functionality
- Registration and payment collection – Create signup pages, issue reminders and accept payments
- Analytics – Track registration, attendance, engagement metrics and ROI
For organizations, webinars unlock immense value, including:
Wider reach – Host events for hundreds to thousands without geography limitations
Deeper engagement – Interactive elements drive 6X more participation compared to in-person sessions
Lead generation machine – 64% of B2B companies say webinars are the best channel
Higher conversion rates – Viewers are 3X more likely to purchase your offering after a webinar
Cost efficient – Eliminate expenses like venue rentals and catering with virtual delivery
Webinar software enables businesses to reap these benefits through purpose-built tools tailored for impactful presentations, trainings and marketing events.
Types of Webinars
Platforms today facilitate several webinar formats:
Live Webinars
The classic format with presentations delivered in real-time by hosts with fluid audience interaction throughout.
Automated Webinars
Pre-recorded broadcasts scheduled and streamed automatically without requiring hosts to be live.
On Demand Webinars
Previously recorded sessions uploaded to a platform’s portal for viewers to access asynchronously whenever convenient.
Hybrid Webinars
Combines pre-recorded components like introductions with sections for live presenting and attendee engagement.
Solutions are extremely adaptable to craft the ideal session styles for your content, industry and audiences.
Comparison of the Top 8 Webinar Software Platforms
With those basics covered, let’s examine eight leading options side-by-side.
We’ll overview what sets each provider apart along with key strengths and weaknesses at-a-glance followed by an in-depth head-to-head comparison across 11 essential evaluation areas.
Quick Comparison Table
| Demio | Livestorm | EasyWebinar | WebinarJam | WebinarNinja | ClickMeeting | GoToWebinar | BigMarker | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $34/month | $0/month | $25/month | $479/year | $77/month | $25/month | $89/month | Custom pricing |
| Primary Strengths | Ease of use Intuitive interface | Free plan Unlimited hours | Marketing focused Built-in email | 5K attendees Surveys | Automated evergreen CRM integrations | Audio conferencing Real-time transcription | Recurring/series Enterprise scalability | 500K attendees Hybrid events Sponsor capabilities |
| Main Weaknesses | Limited custom branding Few advanced features | Limited storage Paywall for features | Only 4 presenters No custom branding | Only 6 presenters No automated | 1K attendee cap Limited custom pages | Light in features Few integrations | Vanilla presentation options Steep learning curve | Quotes only for pricing 100 recording storage |
| Best For | Small businesses Solopreneurs | Agencies Startups Budget conscious | Product launches Lead gen Marketers | Large marketing events Enterprises | Online course creators Content marketers | Professional training | Enterprise sales Client presos | Enterprise marketing Events & conferences |
In-Depth Platform Profiles
Now let’s examine the nitty gritty around capabilities, integrations, and use cases to guide your purchasing decision.
Demio
Pricing: $34+ per month
The darling for small businesses packs an intuitive interface, solid feature set and reasonable pricing into a simplified webinar solution.
Key Features
Unlimited webinars
Up to 1,000 live attendees
Evergreen automated events
Robust analytics
Custom branding
70+ app integrations including email and payment processing
PROS: Extremely easy to use. Very affordable entry-level pricing with generous discounts.
CONS: Light on advanced features. Can get costly for large events.
BEST FOR: Solopreneurs, startups, and small teams needing an intuitive option to create captivating webinars on a modest budget all-in-one platform.
Livestorm
Pricing: Freemium model up to $250 per month
Packed with capabilities to support mid-market needs, Livestorm wins praise for its free forever tier and modern interface.
Key Features
Unlimited webinars
1,000 live attendees
12 hour sessions
Robust analytics
80+ integrations w/ Zapier
Interactive multi-presenter functionality
PROS: Full-featured yet easy to navigate. Extremely integratable with other apps via Zapier. Unlimited webinar hours per session.
CONS: Free tier is quite limited. Can get costly for larger events.
BEST FOR: Startups, agencies, and mid-size event needs eager to get started for free while maintaining flexibility to scale up.
EasyWebinar
Pricing: Starts at $25 per month
A top-rated application purpose-built with the marketer’s needs in mind – landing pages, email, and sales integrations galore.
Key Features
Evergreen pre-recorded events
Robust built-in email
100+ app integrations
Hubspot, Drip and AWeber native
Proven high-converting templates
PROS: Easy yet powerful options for marketers. Terrific value/functionality balance.
CONS: Maximum 4 presenters per webinar. Limited custom branding capabilities.
BEST FOR: B2B & B2C organizations focused on lead gen webinars and product launches.
WebinarJam
Pricing: $479 per year
The gold standard for massive good ole fashioned marketing extravaganzas with email baked-in.
Key Features
Support for 5,000 live attendees
Built-in email and page building
YouTube streaming
Surveys and Polls
EverWebinar Automation Integration
PROS: Host truly grand-scale events with little effort. Nice library of templates.
CONS: Fairly limited overall functionality outside core live webinar hosting at this price point.
BEST FOR: Midmarket and enterprise companies focused primarily on high volume lead gen.
WebinarNinja
Pricing: $77+ per month
Sleek evergreen webinars supplement robust built-in email and numerous 3rd party app integrations, catapulting it to fame with online course creators.
Key Features
Unlimited automated webinars
1,000 live attendees supported
Evergreen delivery 24/7/365
Built-in email and landing pages
70+ integrations including Zapier
PROS: Terrific evergreen and email marketing capabilities. Easy interface and onboarding.
CONS: Maximum 1000 live attendees may necessitate upgrading tiers for larger events.
BEST FOR: Online course creators, content marketers, and customer training programs.
ClickMeeting
Pricing: Starts at $25 per month
Long renowned in the corporate training realm for polished video delivery and global accessibility.
Key Features
HD video
Real-time transcription to 80+ languages
Surveys, certificates and eSignature
VoIP audio conferencing
Robust security
PROS: Enterprise-grade compliant video platform perfect for global teams. Accessibility focused.
CONS: Overall functionality is still fairly light outside of robust video delivery.
BEST FOR: Multinational organizations focused on internal and external training webinars.
GoToWebinar
Pricing: Starts at $89 per month
A legacy favorite for sales teams thanks to Outlook calendar integration, recurring series capabilities and robust enterprise security.
Key Features
Support 1,000 live attendees
Recurring/series webinars
Outlook calendar integration
Toll-free dial-in numbers
Salesforce native integration
Robust security and encryption
PROS: Flexible delivery options. Trusted name. Strong Salesforce ecosystem ties.
CONS: Clunky legacy interface. Steep learning curve for advanced operations.
BEST FOR: Heavily regulated enterprises focused on client presentations and sales prospecting.
BigMarker
Pricing: Quotes only
BigMarker brings big dreams for monumental sponsor-backed marketing extravaganzas with compartmentalized access tiers and whopping capacity.
Key Features
Support over 500,000 attendees
Compartmentalized access tiers
Robust sponsor capabilities
Hybrid event support
Meeting rooms and virtual venues
PROS: Custom branded events at spectacular scale. Granular access tiers by attendee type.
CONS: All pricing opaque. Storage capped at just 100 recordings.
BEST FOR: Enterprise marketing conferences, summits, and product launches.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Now let’s scrutinize the top contenders across 11 essential evaluation criteria to surface the best platforms for common business use cases.
| Platform | Livestorm | Demio | EasyWebinar | WebinarJam | ClickMeeting |
|-|-|-|-|-|
| Base Pricing | $0/month | $34/month | $25/month |$479/year | $25/month
| Max Video Attendees | 1,000 | 1,000 | 500 | 5,000 | 200
| Evergreen Automation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅
| Built-In Email/Pages | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌
| Lead Scoring/CRM Integrations | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌
| Custom Branding | ✅ | Limited | ❌ | ✅ | ❌
| Mobile App | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅
| Video Conferencing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅
| Presenter Modes | Multi-cam | Single cam | Single cam | Multi-cam | Multi-cam
| Transcription | Add-on | Add-on | Add-on | ❌ | ✅
| Support Levels | Standard Enterprise White Glove | Standard Plus Premium | Standard | Standard | Basic Pro Enterprise
Quick Takeaways By Common Use Case
Lead generation webinars: Demio, EasyWebinar
Internal sales prospecting: GoToWebinar
Client presentation– GoToWebinar, Livestorm
Large marketing events > 1,000: WebinarJam, BigMarker
External training: ClickMeeting
Online courses: WebinarNinja
Enterprise internal: Webex, Teams, Adobe
Key Evaluation Criteria – What To Look For
Beyond surface capabilities, several foundational elements dictate solutions best equipped for long term success:
Attendee Capacity
Ensure attendee support for both current and future webinar audience size projections. Changing tiers can prove disruptive.
Integration Breadth
Webinars shouldn’t exist in isolation. Robust email, landing page, CRM and sales software extend impact before/after events.
Evergreen & Automation
Pre-recorded on demand libraries allow interested attendees to self-educate on their own time while automation minimizes repetitive tasks.
Customization Range
Tailoring webinar pages, emails and branding to your styles, messaging and personas makes experiences more compelling and recognizable.
Presenter Tools
From multi-host support to interactive whiteboards, elements that enrich presenting separate adequate from exceptional platforms.
Compliance & Security
As needs grow more complex, HIPPA, SOC2, GDPR and CCPA compliance plus encryption safeguard sensitive content.
Best Practices – How To Host 5-Star Webinars
Even armed with stellar software, success ultimately hinges on crafting compelling content and experiences. Here are 10 tips to amplify engagement:
1. Identify non-overlapping event times – Review competitive offerings to minimize overlap.
2. Promote across multiple channels – Email, social media, remarketing ads – cover all bases to drive registrations.
3. Involve multiple presenters – Different faces and personalities sustaining energy across longer sessions.
4. Start strong – Opening moments set the tone – wow early with compelling facts or demonstrations.
5. Sprinkle in interactivity – Well placed polls, Q&As and chats promote lively participation.
6. Limit to 45-60 minutes – Attentions drift after an hour – be concise.
7. Offer resources – Free tools allow attendees to continue engaging with your brand post event.
8. Follow up promptly post event – Quickly share recordings and supplemental materials while interest remains high.
9. Promote the next event – Once one concludes, notify attendees of future events they can participate in.
10. Analyze and optimize – Review analytics to improve future webinar performance.
Armed with captivating techniques, pregnant pauses and spot-on software, your webinars are sure to inspire and convert.
The Future – What‘s Next For Webinars?
While pandemic necessity thrust webinars into the spotlight, the flexibility and reach unlocked ensure they will only continue skyrocketing in popularity across all industries.
Expect immersive presentations leveraging augmented reality that allow attendees to interact with products and environments as if live to become the norm thanks to AR overlays and green screen capabilities.
Integrated virtual reality elements will also envelop viewers in lifelike simulated training scenarios well beyond stagnant slides.
And while live video faces time zone access barriers, the addition of multi-lingual automated transcription and translation features continues opening webinars to global audiences.
The bottom line? We’ve still only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg around innovation yet to come.
Choose Your Ideal Webinar Software Partner
Hopefully this guide served its purpose in simplifying a dizzying vendor landscape to pinpoint solutions purpose-built for your goals, audiences and budget.
Just remember, even the most dazzling software can never compensate for uninspired presentations so sweat crafting compelling narratives and interactive moments that inspire.
Here’s to unlocking the immense marketing, sales and education power accessible through modern webinar solutions! Your online events are sure to drive tremendous business value.
Have questions about identifying the right platform for your needs? The software selection process? Optimizing webinar content? Share them below!
