Best Webinar Software Platforms: Review and Comparison

What is a webinar?

A webinar is made up of two words: web + seminar. It means a webinar is an online seminar that allows you to connect with your audience and share information online.

Webinars are either live or on-demand seminars. These take place on the internet in the form of a presentation, conference, discussion, or lecture. You can use PowerPoint presentations, sharing of screens, webcams, pre-recorded videos, and accompanying audio.

Webinars can be used for training purposes, corporate communications, product demonstrations, lead generation, and many more. You can reach audiences ranging from one to thousands. You need a registration form through which audiences sign-up up and then attend either a live webinar or pre-recorded one.

 

Why Use webinars?

Webinars are one of the most highly effective tools for any business to promote itself. It helps businesses to establish themselves as a brand, acquire new prospects and customers, and train their employees. They allow attendees to attend a conference or meeting without travel to long distances. Webinars give you chance to show and establish your expertise in your field and to promote products and services in a personalized and dynamic way.

Here, I am sharing the reasons why you should use a webinar and utilize it as a marketing tool:

• People pay more attention to webinars than any other marketing tool.
• Webinars are helpful in acquiring leads.
• The average conversion rate from webinars varies from 10 to 19%. It can generate a lot of revenue for your business depending upon your business.
• It works for every type of business and industry.
• You can showcase new products and services
• Webinars are helpful in the retention of blog audiences.
• You can create training videos and tutorials for employees.
• SaaS products and software can be sold using webinars.
• Using webinars, you can provide value-added services to customers.

 

What is Webinar Software Tool?

You can host live events with your attendees using the best webinar software. And it runs seamlessly without any glitches.

In my opinion, the best webinar software tools are Livestorm, Demio, WebinarJam, EverWebinar, WebinarNinja, ClickMeeting, GetResponse, and a few others; that we’ll discuss here in detail.

I have tested every platform, and so I hope that this list of the Best Webinar Software Tools, along with their pros and cons, and pricing is going to help you figure out which tool is best suited for your business.

While considering these tools, you should look at the following points:

• Do attendees have to download a plugin?
• How many attendees are allowed in the webinar room?
• Can multiple presenters give a presentation?
• Whether the tool can send email reminders to registrants?
• Is the software for live webinars, on-demand webinars, or both?
• Are there any other helpful features like polls, live chat, handouts, or pop-up CTAs?

 

Features Of Webinar Tools

• Technical difficulties with video and audio
• Overcomplicated dashboard
• Confusing extensions and downloads
• Poor customer support

It is not advisable to deal with these issues. You and your audience deserve better.

The best webinar software should have an easy deployment. It should have features that can delight your viewers with a beautiful and on-brand experience.

Table of contents

• What is a Webinar?
• What is Webinar Software?
• Benefits of Webinar Platforms
• Best Webinar Software
• Best Webinar Software Free
• Criteria for Choosing the Best Webinar Software
• Webinar Software FAQ
• Best Pre-recorded Webinar Software
• Recommendation for Best Webinar Software
• Conclusion

 

Benefits of Webinar Platforms

A webinar is used by thousands of businesses all over the world. It is very popular amongst small businesses, e-commerce stores, and content creators. It reaps a variety of benefits such as savings of cost and time to better branding value and an enhanced online presence.

Using webinars can be rewarding for any business, irrespective of its industry. Are you thinking about integrating this modern communication platform into your organization? But have you yet to make up your mind; we are giving the reasons why you should use webinar platforms.

 

Here is a detailed list of the benefits of using a webinar platform.

1. Enrichment of Online Content

The webinar services help to increase the amount of content available to interested parties online. You can address common questions and concerns of the prospect, client, supplier, or employee. This helps in the creation of a rich collection of information that can be utilized for your business growth.

The latest webinar platforms come with a recording feature. Using this feature, hosts of the webinar can record their presentations, including Q&A sessions, for future reference. These recordings can also be used as blog posts or Q&A articles, that help you to grow your organization’s online content. It results in a more vibrant online presence in the long run.

 

2. Authority Establishment

People often flock to organizations or individuals that are authoritative in their field of expertise. One way you can establish your authority in the market is by creating and hosting webinars that are packed with insightful and valuable information for your audience.

Once your audiences attend your webinars and you address their primary concerns and questions and they find them to be informative, they will look at your business as an authority is established in your field. It means that your brand will often come to the mind of your target audiences whenever they are in search of informative content. 

 

3. Wider Reach

You are accessible to a global audience by hosting a webinar. You can extend your reach to anyone across the world conveniently, provided that they have access to internet-enabled devices. With a good webinar platform, businesses are no longer limited to marketing their products and services to clients within their geographical reach but have a global reach all over the world.

There is no doubt that having a 1-on-1, in-person conversation with a prospect would be the most effective way to earn your business a new customer. But, whether it is feasible to travel around the world to do 1-on-1 prospect meetings?

It may be if you are doing a big deal. It is not feasible to go for a 1-on-1 meeting in all the dealings. But a webinar allows you to connect with people from any part of the world, just in a few hours.

 

4. Increased Audience Engagement

Webinars are one of the most engaging digital marketing tools available to businesses today.

One of the main reasons is that webinars are one-time events that happen LIVE. If the audience shows up late, they miss part of it and cannot watch that part. And, this power of scarcity is the foundation of any webinar campaign.

The second reason for increased audience engagement is its conversational nature. With webinars, the audience can chat, give their opinions, asks questions, and many more. So, they are more focused and engaged by default.

 

5. Enhanced Brand Value

It takes considerable time, effort, and money for branding businesses. Some webinar platforms make it possible for users to use their logos, and domain names to customize every aspect of their webinar presentations to match the uniqueness of their own brand.

Attendees are exposed to your brand repeatedly throughout the webinar. In this way, your brand becomes increasingly memorable to your target audience.

 

6. Good Source of High-Quality Sales Leads

All businesses need continuous high-quality sales leads for their business growth. You get gain access to many attendees by hosting online webinars, all at the same time. Since the attendees are ready to spend their time on your presentation, they become qualified leads for you.

Businesses collect important information on attendees, as webinar solutions come with an attendee registration form. Every interested attendee has to fill in their contact information in the registration form before they can attend the webinar. Even the hosts can collect extra information on the attendees by asking them to participate in a Q&A session.

This information is used to build up leads and sales contacts. 

 

7. Better Understanding of Your Audience

Businesses that have a good understanding of their target customer develop better-suited products and services and perform better in the long run. They make necessary changes and adjustments in the products to suit the specific needs of the target market.

Businesses receive valuable information directly from interested participants through polls and Q&A sessions held during the live event. They get the chance to learn more about the prospects, customers, and suppliers are looking for.

 

8. A Chance to Invite Industry Experts

By inviting industry experts to some of the webinars, businesses can leverage the knowledge, expertise, and market reach of the industry experts.

The influencers and industry experts usually promote upcoming webinars they have been invited to speak at to their own audiences. It further enhances the perception of your brand as an authority in your industry.

 

9. Trust Building

Webinars can be used to build brand loyalty by getting existing and potential customers to connect with the brand at a more personal level. This is possible as webinars introduce a human element to brands, and give them a face through the presenters.

You demonstrate your skills, knowledge, and expertise through the insights offered in your webinar presentations. It results in the target audience’s trust in your products, services, and brand as a whole.

 

10. Cost-Efficient Medium

One of the most significant benefits of a webinar is its cost efficiency. For hosting a webinar, you just need an internet connection, computer, webcam, and access to a webinar platform. Cost efficiency plays an important role in driving the profitability of any business or organization.

By utilizing webinar solutions, businesses can reduce the expenses on travel for organizing events, seminars, and one-on-one meetings, but not at a cost of their outreach. They save not only money but also time on travel to meet a small group of existing or potential customers.

 

11. Information Sharing with the Audience

Businesses not only learn more about their target audience during webinars but also offer insightful information in exchange. This helps the audience to gain as per their interests and concerns discussion being carried out in real-time.

Host and attendees get engaged on a personal level, as each attendee is given access to the host via a chat feature. It makes online webinars different from any other platform that businesses use for sharing information with their audience.

Hopefully, this list inspires you to use webinars in your business, whether they are for training, lead generation, sales, or any other reason.

 

Best Webinar Software

1. Demio

Best Overall Webinar Platform (25% Off)

Demio is a perfect combination of no-download webinars and powerful analytics tools for your audience to convert them into your customer. It serves as the most modern, flawless, and pleasurable interface for you and your attendees.

You can add tracking, retargeting, or conversion pixels, in your webinar room, on the registration page, or even on your thank you page. It also gives you all the features that you need for video conferencing such as live and automated webinars, replays, registration landing pages, etc.

With just a click, you and your customers get inside the webinar room. Here you get two different webinar tools namely live webinars and automated on-demand webinars. Its extensive automation tools are great for beginners, professional marketers, and busy corporate users.

Moreover, its pop-up offers and CTA features make your webinar session more interactive and engaging. It provides real-time, HD streaming video, and a great-looking platform.

 

Main Features:

• Demio comes with automatic, cloud-based webinar events and recordings. The webinars are recorded and replayed at any time.
• Chats, polls, handouts, and a great waiting room experience make it better for audience engagements.
• It offers built-in analytics and insights.
• It can be easily incorporated with other marketing tools.
• Here you can create email automation and event reminders.
• The ‘Stay Registered’ feature enables participants to sign-up only once for a series of webinars.
• Private Chat and public messages allow you to send messages to only one individual or to a whole group.
• It also has a screen-sharing feature.
• The addition of videos and slides into your webinar is a very smooth process.
• Participants can join webinars through either mobile or desktop browsers.
• You can invite an attendee to become a presenter during the ongoing webinar session.
• It has analytics to get a deep knowledge of the webinar session.

 

Pricing Plans:

• Demio comes with a 14-day free trial, which allows you to take a look at all its features.
• Starter Plan: It accounts for $34/month where you get a 50-person attendee room.
• Growth Plan: It accounts for $69/month where you get a 150-person attendee room & customized branding.
• Business Plan: It accounts for $163/month where you get a 500-person attendee room & 4 hosts.

Overall, Demio is an effective webinar with built-in marketing tools and no downloads requirement.

 

Pros

• You do not need to download any software and it supports all browsers and devices.
• It provides live as well as automated on-demand webinars.
• It is simple, modern, and pleasurable to use the software.
• Highly customizable features allow you to add a logo that matches your brand.
• Automated emails make sure to remind all the participants to attend the webinar, without failure.
• The webinar sessions are recorded and can be seen at any time, by anyone.

 

Cons

• Pricing sounds a little bitter when you need more than 50 live participants.

Demio is perfect for marketers who want simple, dedicated webinar software with Live Events as well as automated replays.

 

2. WebinarJam

Overall Best Webinar Software (14-Day Trial for $1)

WebinarJam is one of the best webinar software for newcomers, who are with little or no technical knowledge on how to set up a webinar.

It comes with a secure session that is password protected. Using this software, you can directly join your YouTube page.

WebinarJam is ideal for selling products. You can chat with attendees during a webinar. Its popup calls-to-action feature enables your users to purchase your products easily.

With WebinarJam, 6 co-presenters can conduct a single webinar at a time.

It offers excellent two-way communication for 1:1 video communication with the participants.

WebinarJam creates a universal signal with its unique and distinct Broadcast Distribution Technology. It is compatible with most web browsers and devices as it uses all the latest technology, like RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, and Flash.

 

Main Features:

• All its webinars are recorded for future use by the participants.
• It comes with great customer support.
• A built-in autoresponder is another advantage of this software.
• You can easily connect your social media platforms to your webinars.
• It has the ability to handle multiple attendants in an easygoing way.
• It shows a wide range of compatibility with various browsers, operating systems, and devices.
• You can incorporate polls and surveys with your webinar.
• It comes with extremely easy-to-use, user-friendly dashboards and interfaces.
• It has a quick setup process which takes just 60 seconds to get ready and running.
• You can invite up to 6 co-presenters from the participants at a time or can go solo.
• WebinarJam Chat enables you to conduct many-to-many conversations, send private to moderator messages, and even to do public announcements.
• At any time during your running session, you can make bring any attendee into the spotlight, and make him the presenter.
• You can conduct either audio or video webinars, depending on your need. This software comes with screen sharing and webcam broadcasting features.
• Another unique feature is its Video Engine which allows you to pre-load multiple videos and broadcast them to attendees during the webinar.
• You can import your presentation file from PDF, Keynote, or PowerPoint and run it in HD with WebinarJam.
• It has an inbuilt virtual whiteboard that lets you highlight important points or write annotations during a webinar session.

 

Pricing Plans:

• Basic Plan: It costs $499/year ($41.58/month). It gives you up to 500 participants per webinar, up to 3 presenters, and 24/7 support.
• Professional Plan: It costs $699/year ($58.25/month). It gives you up to 1,000 participants and up to 4 presenters and excellent customer support.
• Premium Plan: It costs $999/year ($83.25/month). This plan is mainly for businesses that chiefly depend on webinars for their online marketing. It allows up to 6 speakers and a webinar audience of up to 5,000.

Finally speaking, based on its features, ease of use, support and training, and a 30-day money-back guarantee, WebinarJam has become the top pick for many businesses.

 

Pros

• With this platform, your webinar session is ready within just 60 seconds.
• It comes with advanced chat with moderators and private messages.
• You can show up to 6 co-presenters on one screen.
• You can turn your attendee into a presenter in the mid-webinar.
• With the latest web technologies, it works in all browsers, OS, and devices.
• You can very easily switch to your social media pages such as YouTube Live or Facebook Live.
• Its pop-up offers mid-webinar helps your customers to know more about your products and buy them.
• The webinars are automatically recorded and offer a replay to attendees.
• You can create customized branded pages.
• You get better interactions with live polls, chat, surveys, and a virtual whiteboard.
• It enables you to add pre-recorded videos to webinars.
• You enjoy secure and password-protected webinar rooms.
• Its tools perform precise analysis and give a clear-cut report of the live webinar performance.

 

Cons

• It has limited customer service support.
• Lack of automation also cuts its customer.
• It also lags behind other software in the market in terms of its audio and video quality.
• For big businesses, it lacks integration with 3rd party AV tools.

Overall, WebinarJam is the best solution for companies who want to sell a product or service by organizing their webinar sessions.

 

3. Livestorm

Best Software for Product Demos and Live Training (Free – $109/month).

If you have to go with the live session for your product demos, sales features, and training sessions, Livestorm is a great option. It is webinar software designed to fulfill all your presentation needs. You can get sessions up and running with few blinks of your eyes and the in-built tools take care of the rest pieces of the stuff.

Customers can very easily join your webinar session. They don’t have to fill out any registration form before joining the session. They just need an internet connection and a click on your link and they are inside your conference hall, ready to attend your session.

Its tool enables you to run live, on-demand, or automated webinars. Using this software, you can pre-record your session and schedule recurring webinars. Its on-demand and automated webinars are best suited for online courses, employee onboarding, and video podcast interviews.

Livestream is strong webinar software with all the essential features you want which can engage your customers such as polling, the use of up-votes, and Q&A during your presentations.

Livestream is of immense use when you have to invite many people to join you on screen. Data and insights collected from sessions can be easily viewed in Livestorm’s dashboard or in your CMS. This allows you to keep a keen look at visits, registrations, and attendees.

You can personalize your emails and send promotional emails, automate those emails, and also check their status. Data security is guaranteed here and it is 100% GDPR-compliant.

Livestorm is a great choice of webinar software for people who are analytics-oriented.

 

Main Features:

• Its in-built advanced post-webinar analytics tools help in getting detailed information about your attendees.
• You can create registration and sales pages very smoothly with Livestorm. Your visitors can join your webinar easily by building stunning landing pages, registration forms,  emails, and sharing relevant information.
• This software works perfectly on any browser. You can join from PCs, laptops, tablets, or mobile phones.
• Real-time HD live video streaming is also a great feature where you can share your webcam, media, and screen during webinars without leaving the window.
• You can easily interact with your audience during live event streaming using polls, chatbox, Q&As, and many more for a better customer experience.
• It integrates and analyzes the webinars and video meetings, and provides Instant Replays of your video as your session is completed.
• With Livestorm you can easily integrate with CRMs and other marketing tools.
• Here you get highly user-friendly webinar themes with an easy set-up process.
• It comes with comprehensive, multi-language customer support.
• Like other players in this field, Livesorm also offers a freemium plan with essential features.
• It lets you enjoy unlimited recording storage of your data.
• You can export your data as CSV or XLS very effectively and easily with this platform.
• You can use Zapier and integrate with 1,000 plus apps.
• It provides an in-webinar CTAs display which influences your viewers.

 

Pricing Plans:

Livestorm presents four pricing plans, one free and three paid.

• Webinar & Meet Basic Plan: The first plan is a freemium plan and comes with essential features like unlimited on-demand webinars, meetings, etc. You can test the platform with up to ten live attendees. The free version includes unlimited webinars but with a 10 registrants limit and 20 minutes time limit.
• Webinar Premium Plan: The ‘Webinar Premium’ plan costs $109 per host per month and has a 4-hour limit for your webinar.
• Enterprise Level Plan: There is also the ‘Enterprise’ plan. You can manage multiple workspaces with unified billing, premium training, and SLA availability. Here, you enjoy personalized quote based on your needs.

Start with the free plan, get complete satisfaction, and then switch to the paid plan which you need.

 

Pros

• It is best for live training and product demos.
• It automatically completes the registration pages and sends email reminders to people who have registered to attend your webinar.
• With this software, you create presentations that are unique and exclusive to your business.
• Your attendees can join your screen with just a click.
• Videos and messages, once set, which you need during the presentation, appear automatically on your screen with no error.
• Its analytics tools allow you to keep a record of attendance rate, referrer source, registration page visits, and more.
• You can create beautiful landing pages to convert your visitors into your customers.

 

Cons

• Your video and audio can be affected by your host’s internet connection.
• During your session, you can find your display blurry sometimes.
• To get customer support, you might need to wait sometimes.

Livestorm is an ideal webinar software for people who are searching for complete automation. It comes with a box that fulfills all your need for running a webinar successfully.

 

4. LiveWebinar

Cloud-based webinar tool

LiveWebinar is a cloud-based webinar tool that allows you to organize webinars, share screens, stream live videos, record your screen, social media broadcasting, and more. With more than 42 data centers and 99% SLA, you can host over 1000 audiences.

You just need to open your browser, namely Chrome, Opera, Firefox, etc, and directly start your webinar session without installing or downloading any application.

Additionally, you can add webinars to your website so that your site visitors can also watch them and send invitations to the participants via platforms like emails, phone, and text messages about your webinar.

You can stream live your webinar on all social media platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo, etc. It is very friendly with all devices, namely Smart televisions, PCs, and mobile phones.

Recording of the full webinar or partial webinar can be done in HD quality and can be embedded on various platforms and shared with the participants.

Desktop screens can be shared during live streams and webinars in real time, with a single click.

In addition, you get pre-built templates, which are easy to use or you can use your own branding elements.

It is integrated with all the primary marketing automation tools like Campaign Monitor, MailChimp, FreshMail, Slack, etc.

You can conduct polls, surveys, chat, and CTAs during ongoing live sessions. You can make your webinar session more interactive and interesting by using its Whiteboard feature. This feature allows you and your attendees to draw on documents and videos. You can make separate rooms for each participant during the session which makes the session more entertaining for them.

 

Main Features:

• A free plan is for up to 5 attendees.
• Its platform allows you to host up to 1000 attendees.
• The WhiteBoard feature is of great help in converting the leads because it makes the session more appealing.
• This software allows you to add Prezi forms to your webinars.
• You can divide your session into small compartments to engage your participants.
• You can translate your live session into the language you wish.
• A 14-day free trial can be enjoyed with all plans
• You can integrate your YouTube video directly into your webinar rooms.
• To make your webinar session more effective, you can embed Ads-banner.
• While conducting your webinar, tests, surveys, and polls can be easily conducted.

 

Pricing:

LiveWebinar has free as well as paid plans. You can choose one as per your need. In addition to this, you get a free trial period of 14 days.

LiveWebinar comes with the following four pricing plans:

• Free Plan: It costs $0 per month. It is a perfect option if you have small teams that only need up to five attendees.
• Pro Plan: It costs $11.99 per month. It allows you to host up to 100 attendees.
• Business Plan: It costs $95.20 per month. It allows you to host up to 500 attendees.
• Custom Plan: It has custom pricing. It allows you to host over 1000 attendees.

 

Pros

• The Whiteboard feature is one of the advantages you enjoy here.
• You can connect with participants by various means such as email, call, and text messages
• You can connect with participants by various means such as email, call, and text messages
• LiveWebinar allows you to record your sessions in full HD. You can use it afterward as you wish.
• Desktop sharing enables you to easily share content at any moment during your webinar.
• It has Prezi forms integrated into your presentation so as to increase your participants’ attention.
• You can broadcast your webinars to external sources and social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, etc.
• Conduction of polls, surveys, and CTAs is easy with this software.
• You can convert your participant to become a host during your live streaming.
• Customer support is of good quality.

 

Cons

• You need to be familiar with webinar software before using this platform.
• Its UI could be made easier.
• Upgrading services are a bit clumsy.

 

5. EverWebinar

Marvelous Automation Features (14-Day Trial for $1)

EverWebinar is popularly known as the “most powerful automated webinar platform”. It is a daughter company of WebinarJam. EverWebinar is an answer for evergreen and automated webinars.

EverWebinar is for companies who want to rebroadcast on-demand webinars and simultaneously chat with attendees. It also takes care of automated email reminders, pop-up reminders, room count simulations, and live chat simulations.

This software takes your business to a higher level with its excellent automation features. You can host live and on-demand webinar sessions with just a click. You can very easily organize your past and future webinar in a systematic way.

Its configuration comes with emails, landing page templates, signup forms, etc. These features make it the best choice for small and medium businesses that want to generate leads and boost their sales.

It is a fully automated webinar solution, so you can handle the chat easily during your live session. You can also run a pre-recorded webinar and present your products online.

Since it is an automated solution; you need not have to bother with email reminders, real-time chat simulation, and calls-to-action.

It also records the webinars automatically.

 

Main Features:

• You can easily switch between WebinarJam and EverWebinar.
• Eye-catching pre-designed landing pages attract your audiences and push them to register.
• The benefit that you enjoy here is that you can convert your past live events into evergreen events.
• Just-In-Time Webinars inform your audience about a webinar that is about to start after registration. This also enables them to watch the on-demand webinar after registration.
• This platform gives you an advanced scheduling system. You can cross the dates on which you do not want to organize a webinar or it’s a holiday.
• Time-zone auto-detection is in-built, which helps the participants to attend your webinars at a convenient time, globally.
• You enjoy a live chat simulator for your hybrid webinars.
• Analytics and tracking tools help you to get all the information about your ongoing webinars. It enables you to get your participant number. You can track performance stats in real-time.
• You can easily integrate with auto-subscribers like GetResponse, MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, InfusionSoft, and more.
• It gives you unlimited free hosting which is highly reliable and works on cloud-based servers.

 

Pricing:

It offers a 14-day trial for just $1. It has three types of pricing plans.

• Installment Plan: It costs you 3 installments of $199 in a year.
• Annual Plan: It costs $499 per year.
• Biennial plan: You have to pay $799 for 2 years. 

All of the above plans come with automated webinars, advanced simulation tools, pre-made landing pages, and 24/7 support.

 

Pros:

• You can execute three types of webinars using this software namely live, hybrid, and automated.
• You get a very powerful statistics option.
• If you join the paid plan, you get “webinar university,” which guides a tutorial for producing the most effective evergreen webinars.
• Smart analytics and tracking tools are other good features.
• You get the “Ask a question” option which is really useful.
• You get secure webinar rooms that are password protected.

 

Cons

• Sometimes some issues on mobile have been reported.
• It lacks customization.
• EverWebinar offers a few pricing options here.

 

6. BigMarker

Best Interactive Software for Virtual Conferences (Starts from $79/month)

BigMarker is known as one of the best video platforms for webinars, summits, and virtual conferences. It is a great choice due to its interactive video features and seamless performance.

It excels in its live-streaming capabilities. Up to 10,000 people can join at a time and enjoy interactive experiences with features like polls, handouts, and live Q and A.

There is no limit on the number of presenters in the webinar.

It provides you a suite of marketing tools, including registration landing pages, custom email invites, and helpful reminders.

You can integrate BigMarker with your CRM software to qualify prospects and generate, nurture, and convert your leads.

Using BigMarker Webinar software you can increase your sales by creating automated webinars, and capturing your prospects’ data with embedded forms, surveys, and polls.

You can integrate many third-party apps like MailChimp, Calendly, etc. with BigMarker software

It can be integrated with payment providers like Stripe which makes transaction management easy.

You don’t need to download or install any other software to get into a webinar, as BigMarker is a browser-based platform.

White-label offerings are another excellent feature of this platform. You can build custom video experiences and embed them directly on your website without any coding.

 

Main Features:

• BigMarker offers unique live streaming features like one-click meetings, chats, polls, handouts, Q&A sessions, etc.
• It comes up with a 7-day free trial period.
• It has the facility for HD video and screen sharing.
• Multiple camera streams to Facebook & YouTube Live.
• It builds custom live video experiences for online events.
• BigMarker offers white-labeled seminar rooms and landing pages.
• It comes up with over 15 different landing pages.
• It is a secure system and comes up with industry-standard SSL and HTTPS encryption for data protection.

 

Pricing Plans:

BigMarker offers four pricing plans, Starter, Elite, Premier, and White Label.

• Starter Plan: It starts from $79/month for 100 attendees and 1 host license.
• Elite plan: It costs $159/month for 500 attendees and 2 host licenses.
• Premier Plan: You have to pay $299/month for 1000 attendees and 4 host licenses.
• White-label Plan: It can be customized and is suitable for large events with up to 10,000 attendees.

Every plan comes with features like pop-up offers, email templates, embeddable webinars, custom URL in-depth analytical tools, and more.

 

Pros

• No software installation required
• You can host up to 10,000 attendees.
• No limit on the number of presenters
• Using BigMarker, you can create live and automated webinars.
• Broadcast live events to thousands of audiences on your website, Facebook, and Youtube pages.
• You can embed an interactive video player into your presentation

 

Cons

• Set up process is not very easy
• It needs a high-speed internet connection for proper streaming.

 

7. GoToWebinar

Best for Large Organizations ($89/month)

GoToWebinar is the best choice which vanishes all the clutter and confusion that comes with organizing the webinar. You just need to choose the date and focus on reaching more people and growing your business. Rest everything is managed by it.

GoToWebinar has proven itself to work perfectly for a professional and is trusted by large businesses.

Here you get access to multiple free in-built webinar templates, which match your needs and make your event a great success. Adding a survey for the participants, creating custom email invitations, confirmations, and reminders with its predefined templates, and monitoring the webinar stats in real time can be easily conducted.

GoToWebinar comes with handy mobile apps with which you can manage your webinar and attendees can join the webinar on their mobile phones. The webinar room can accommodate 100 to 5,000 participants, but it depends upon the plan you select.

Other important features include automated email reminders, customizable webinar invitations, and a highly converting registration page. Now you can promote your upcoming event and drive huge participants. Apart from these features, it also has in-built polls and surveys, automatic webinar recordings, and many more.

 

Main Features:

• Automatic recording of your webinar is done, which can be then shared online.
• It has seamless integration with tools such as Zapier, Salesforce, Unbounce, etc.
• It has in-built polling and surveys that engage your attendees.
• HD video quality gives a great experience.
• GoToWebinar allows you to record your events.
• It has robust analytics.
• The Source tracking feature enables you to know which channel gave you the maximum webinar signups.
• 24/7 customer support is available.

 

Pricing Plans:

It has both free plans and paid plans. With the free plan, you can go through its features, and then select the paid plan as per your need.

• Free Plan comes with a free 7-day trial with up to 100 people.
• Paid Plans start from $ 89 per month for webinars that can hold up to 100 participants.
• Pro Plan starts at $199 per month for webinars that can hold up to 500 participants.
• Plus Plan starts at $429 per month for webinars that can hold up to 1,000 participants.
• EnterprisePlan comes with up to 5000 participants.

 

Pros:

• It has a great video-sharing feature.
• The quality of the video and audio is outstanding.
• You can divide your webinar into many small rooms to give attention to your audience.
• Using this platform, you can have up to 5000 attendees at a time.

 

Cons:

• It appears to be outdated with boring templates.
• Participants and presenters have to download this software before using it. It’s not so user-friendly.
• The session is recorded and needs to be shared with other attendees manually.
• Customer service is not satisfactory.
• You can have only 100 attendees with its cheapest paid plan.

 

8. WebinarNinja

Best Platform for High-End Coaches ($39/month)

WebinarNinja is a powerful, all-in-one software trusted by major brands like AppSumo, Podia, Printful, Baremetrics, and many more. It has all the tools required to run any type of webinar, and works well with a newcomer as well as a professional. Additionally, it provides interactive thank you and sign-up pages, which allow you to create a webinar within a minute.

It gives a highly interactive attendee experience. It also allows you to record and automate your webinars so that new attendees can view them in the future, as and when they need.

You can create a webinar within 10 seconds using WebinarNinja. It outstands in having built-in marketing tools that attract more attendees. These tools help keep track of conversions and attendance rates, so you can move attendees perfectly through your funnel.

The area where WebinarNinja shows its outstanding performance is the presence of its tool Webinar Finder. This tool will add your webinar to its search engine, so participants can find you simply by searching for your webinar’s category or, via Google search.

Other areas of excellence are email notifications, registration confirmations, and event reminders.

Four Different Types Of Webinars

• Live Webinar – It allows broadcasting with a live host for audience interaction.

• Automated Webinar – It enables you to record webinars that run at certain times or on demand.

• Series Webinar – It is a group of several webinars. If you or your company wants to host a series of webinars, WebinarNinja enables users to produce multi-session courses and participants only need to register once.

• Hybrid Webinar – It is a combination of live and recorded videos. Hybrid webinars enable you to interact with viewers in the chat area so they can have a live experience even while viewing a recorded webinar session.

 

Main Features:

• WebinarNinja provides very fast live chat support.
• Instant screen sharing is another important characteristic.
• You can run multiple polls before, during, and after the webinar.
• It has timed display offers that can appear at any time during your webinar.
• Email automation and drip campaigns are available with this software.
• It comes with high-converting, custom registration landing pages.
• The analytics dashboard has the ability to export data.
• It has integrations with 1,000+ apps with Zapier.
• The ‘Starting Soon’ feature lets you capture last-minute participants to join your webinar.
• You can upload PowerPoint Slides and docs directly into your webinar.
• You can run a Live Webinar, a Series and Summit Webinar, Automated Webinars, and Hybrid Webinars.
• With this software, your webinar session gets recorded automatically. It can be used in the future.
• It has the latest WebRTC broadcast technology for HD video and audio streaming features.
• Built-in Registration and Thank You Pages are very engaging and interactive.
• It has integrations and Built-in marketing tools.
• You can invite a co-presenter to join the webinar with their own mic and camera.

 

Pricing Plans:

• WebinarNinja comes with a 14-day free trial period where you can test out its features. It also provides four paid plans:
• Starter Plan: Its Starter Plan costs $39/month and works well for users that only require 100 webinar participants.
• Pro Plan: Its Pro Plan costs $79/month and allows 300 attendees to join your webinar. This plan has the ability to create a webinar series. But you cannot create a hybrid webinar.
• Plus Plan: Its Plus Plan costs $129/month and allows 500 live webinar attendees. Here you can create hybrid webinars.
• Power Plan: Its Power Plan costs $199/month with more advanced features. It allows 1000 live webinar attendees. This plan also allows you to create hybrid webinars.

You can send recorded webinars to unlimited attendees in each plan you opt for.

Overall, WebinarNinja is the best available tool for those who are searching for both advanced features and the ability to create webinars quickly.

 

Pros:

• You can create various webinars namely, live, automated, hybrid, series, and summits.
• WebinarNinja is cloud-based software, so participants can join in on any web browser without having to download any software.
• Creation of very attractive webinar decks with professional templates and page designs are available.
• This platform comes with a set of marketing tools. You can further engage with your audience via a search engine and social media platforms.

 

Cons:

• You can feel its back end is a little difficult to navigate.
• Sometimes glitches have been reported with its audio feature.
• It may take a longer time when you have to upload longer presentations.

 

9. GetResponse

Suitable for Easy Email Marketing Integrations ($34.15/month)

GetResponse is primarily an email marketing platform.  But, it also offers many marketing solutions including a complete webinar solution.  You can set up your webinar within three minutes.

It also offers marketing tools such as autoresponders, automated email marketing, custom emails, list segmentation, etc. Using GetResponse, you have the email database and webinar tool under the same roof. It allows you to schedule webinar campaigns for the subscribers, send reminders to them, and share the event on social media. Also, you can follow-up messages right away after the webinar.

It is widely used by entrepreneurs, and small, medium, and large businesses.

 

Main Features:

• You can customize your webinar URL.
• It offers webinar reminder templates with pre-filled webinar details.
• The webinar recording can be done with just one click.
• You can share your webinar with a click.
• Using GetResponse, you can set up autoresponders.
• Text chat feature to drive engagement.
• It has a tracking analytics feature including detailed audience statistics.

 

Pricing Plans:

GetResponse offers a 30-day free trial. It offers 4 types of plans.

• Basic Plan: It does not include a webinar feature. It offers landing pages and 1 sales funnel.
• Plus Plan: It is the first plan that provides webinar solutions and costs $34.15 per month for up to 100 attendees. Here, you can get 5 sales funnels.
• Professional Plan: It starts from $69 per month for up to 300 attendees. It offers an unlimited sales funnel.
• Max Plan: It is a custom pricing plan for up to 500 attendees. You can integrate Stripe, PayPal, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 in this plan.

 

Pros:

• Desktop sharing
• Easy YouTube integration
• It has an integrated whiteboard for notes and drawings
• You can conduct polls and surveys for instant feedback
• Detailed analytics and in-depth reporting
• It has a CRM feature for managing customers.

 

Cons:

• Free trial offered for only up to 1000 contacts
• Its pricing depends on email list size.
• The pricing is complicated; it increases exponentially with the list size.
• Phone support is not available

 

10. ClickMeeting

Best Tool for Education ($30/month)

ClickMeeting is one of the most widely used webinar software platforms in the education sector, with an impressive and user-friendly interface.

Web entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses, or in-company national, as well as international meetings, find this software best when compared to other players in this field.

A step-by-step guide helps you immensely in setting up your first webinar smoothly. The software is based on the browser. All the webinars that you have conducted or scheduled appear on your dashboard.

When you conduct your second and consequent webinars from this platform, you only need to use duplicate features. It assures you do not get bothered about any technical matter.

You can analyze your past webinars and see the number of users you have for your upcoming webinar session.

“Waiting room with an agenda” helps you engage the participants who have arrived earlier than the scheduled time. Here you can share info about the webinar topic, presenters, important files to download, etc.

This platform comes with many interactive features that help you engage your attendees and make your session interesting. These features include running the presentation, preloaded video or audio, using whiteboarding, etc. at any time during your session.

ClickMeeting works well for customer training, product sales, and marketing. It is a perfect platform that provides options for automated webinars.

 

Main Features:

• The creation of multi-user accounts helps to save money on multiple accounts.
• The ‘Waiting Room with Agenda’ feature makes this platform an outstanding one.
• It allows you to conduct polls and surveys to collect feedback from the participants.
• Here you get a “Webinar Address Book” that helps you manage and organize the contact list of all participants.
• You get chat options and enjoy conducting interactive sessions.
• You get quick Google Translation of all chat conversations.
• Facebook and YouTube videos can be added to boost the engagement of audiences.
• Entire live sessions can be recorded, which are then stored in clouds, from where they can be downloaded.
• Multiple presenters can present together in the same session with HD video.
• You can share the screen both with audio or video webinars.
• You can create multiple sub-accounts for trainers, external consultants, and colleagues and control their roles from your main account as an admin.
• Whiteboard helps to make the session interactive as it has drawing tools, boxes, shapes, and texts.
• It comes with different audio modes to have better conversations with the participants.
• Paid Webinars come with PayPal integration.

 

Pricing:

ClickMeeting has a free trial plan as well as paid plans.

• Free Plan: It has a free 30-day trial where you can test out all its features.
• MyWebinar Plan: It costs $25 per month, and is for 25 attendees.
• Pro Plan: It costs $35 per month, and is for 50 attendees.
• Custom Pricing: Custom Pricing is also available for large enterprises that want to organize massive webinars.

 

Pros:

• The step-by-step setting guide is really helpful.
• It can be used from any browser.
• The event duplicating option is another important feature.
• You can execute on-demand and automated webinars.
• It comes with improved screen sharing and enhances audio-video features.
• It has special features for the waiting room, webinar room, email notifications, etc.
• The ‘Waiting Room with Agenda’ feature is of great help in increasing the engagement of the participants.
• Your chat messages are instantly translated using the Google translation option.

 

Cons:

• Recurring meetings cannot be scheduled.
• Recorded webinars can also be not scheduled.
• It has no break-out sessions.

 

11. My Own Conference

Great for Scheduling Multiple-Webinars to Small Groups (Free – $30/month and up)

My Own Conference is a webinar software with which you can join your attendees before, during, and after the webinar session.

Its “always-on” and outstanding schedule view allows you to witness multiple webinars in one place.

This software is perfect for those who are looking for cheap software and want to schedule multiple webinars for a small number of audiences.

It is a cloud-based solution for webinars, video conferencing, and live meetings. Small businesses enjoy all the essential features which they need to run a successful webinar, and that too at an affordable price.

Participants do not need to download any special software to join the webinar. They can use any internet browser and join from any platform namely desktop or mobile. Sharing your screen is very easy. You can easily broadcast your videos from social media platforms such as YouTube to have a multi-media webinar experience.

People from any corner of the world can smoothly join your webinar. MyOwnWebinar’s webinar room interface can translate your session into 16 different languages, which is again a great advantage.

A unique feature that you get with this software is that you can warn or blacklist rowdy participants so that you can keep your presentation without any issues. This enables you to focus on delivering valuable information to your audience without any disturbance.

 

Main Features:

• Participants only need to go to the browser and join the session without having to download anything.
• You can record your webinar sessions in full HD and send them to participants so that they can replay it.
• Video conferencing and screen-sharing features serve as a boon.
• During your live session, you can share videos from social media platforms such as YouTube.
• Online quizzes engage your audience and also test their knowledge
• Instant messaging allows you to make your session more agile.
• You also get white-label solutions.
• This platform provides support in 16 different languages.

 

Pricing:

MyOwnConference offers free as well as paid plans.

• Free Plan: The free plan is for up to 20 participants and 3 broadcasters. You can record sessions for up to 20 minutes.
• Paid Plan: Costs of paid plans are based on the number of participants and give more storage. For 60 attendees you have to pay $30 per month, for 150 attendees you need to pay $51 per month, and so on.

 

Pros:

• Automated email invitations and reminders increase the participation of your audience without failure.
• Participants can directly join the session from the browser without downloading any software.
• You can enjoy a live webinar with one or many presenters at a time.
• You can emerge slides, documents, and all the stuff you need in your ongoing webinar.
• Sending instant private and public messages to attendees, and the ability to pin important messages and links to the top of the chat makes your webinar more effective.
• Personalized branding and custom backgrounds can be done by using the white-labeling feature of MyOwnConference.
• You can add tests and surveys to your webinar presentation to get more information about your audiences.
• Recording of webinars can be done in SD, HD, or full HD format.
• Globally people can join without thinking about the language hindrance as this software supports 16 languages.

 

Cons:

• UI could be made more user friendly
• The live room layout is not very interesting and attractive.

 

12. Livestream

Livestream is an excellent webinar tool but primarily caters to big businesses, corporates, and educational institutes. It is primarily suited for those who have already built a relationship with their audience.

There is no cap on the number of participants; an unlimited number of participants can join the webinar.

It offers unlimited storage and automatically records and stores all your webinar sessions in the cloud.

Streaming analytics, broadcast streaming to Facebook Live or YouTube, audience chat, live Q&A and polls, and lead generation tools, are other prominent features that Livestream offers.

Livestream event camera MEVO is an excellent camera that can be used to record live events, hands-free. You can record your event from different angles.

It offers dedicated phone support for your webinar sessions. Using Livestream, you can even privatize your session’s access.

 

Main Features:

• No cap on the number of participants
• It offers unlimited storage
• You can privatize your sessions and share links privately.
• It offers extensive in-built analytics
• Using this software, you can embed the webinar into a website and stream it to Facebook Live or YouTube.
• Excellent customer support

 

Pricing Plans:

Livestream offers three types of pricing plans.

• Livestream Premium Plan starts from $75 per month if billed annually.
• It also offers an on-quote Enterprise Plan that offers additional features such as a dedicated account manager, virtual training, Q&A moderation, unlimited storage, auto-archiving, and many more.
• Livestream also provides on-quote OTT Plan. Here, you get features like a free web App, free migration, dedicated support for the presenter and the customer, and many more.

 

Pros:

• Unlimited attendees
• Unlimited storage
• Broadcast to Facebook Live or YouTube
• Events can be monetized using the pay-per-view feature
• Direct embedding into website feature

 

CONS:

• Free trial not available
• In some instances, there are connectivity lags.

 

13. Zoom

Zoom is one of the best webinar software available today. It is entirely cloud-based with a user-friendly interface that makes things simpler for its users.

Zoom offers basic webinar features for free. If your meetings are shorter than 40 minutes and the number of attendees is not more than 100, then there is no need to pay.

More than anything else, it is a web conferencing tool. You get many excellent video conferencing features such as screen sharing, private and group chats, MP4 recordings, and many more. Also, you can create recurring meetings with the same link, so it is convenient for the participants. However, y, you should not use Zoom to sell a product, it is mainly used for training purposes.

It offers HD video, screen sharing, desktop, and app sharing options. In addition, it allows you to host scheduled and unscheduled meetings. It is easily integrated with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook that allows you to schedule meetings and send emails, seamlessly. Zoom keeps a backup of every session for ready and instant access at a later time. It allows the users to chat privately or publicly without interrupting the speaker while he is giving his presentation.

Main Features:

• Provides free access to up to 100 attendees for meetings shorter than 40 minutes
• HD video along with screens sharing facility
• It takes backup of every meeting on the cloud
• Private and public chats during the event without any interruption
• Host controls facility
• It comes with virtual whiteboards for writing notes and drawings
• User-friendly dashboard

 

Pricing Plans:

Zoom provides a freemium package.

• Free Plan:  You can host a webinar for up to 40 minutes that allows up to 100 attendees.
• Basic plan: It costs $14.99 per month. It comes with a cloud recording feature of up to 1 GB.
• Business Plan: You have to pay $19.99 per month for this plan. This plan is best suited for small and medium-sized businesses. This plan offers company branding

 

Pros:

• Free for up to 40 minutes event and 100 participants
• Free desktop and application sharing
• It works on every platform and device
• You can record the complete session, including the questions asked by attendees via chat and the videos

 

Cons:

• Sometimes, its poor audio quality
• Interface navigation is a little bit confusing

 

Tabular Comparison of Webinar Platforms

S. No.	Webinar Platforms	Email/SMS Reminders	Branding	Broadcast to YouTube Live	Pricing plan (Starts From)
1.	Demio	Yes	Yes	No	$ 34/month
2.	WebinarJam	Yes	No	Yes	$ 499/year
3.	Livestorm	Yes	Yes	Yes	$ 109/month
4.	LiveWebinar	Yes	Yes	Yes	$ 11.99/month
5.	EverWebinar	Yes	Yes	Yes	$ 499/year
6.	BigMarker	Yes	Yes	Yes	$ 79/month
7.	GoToWebinar	Yes	No	No	$ 89/month
8.	WebinarNinja	Yes	No	No	$ 79/month
9.	GetResponse	Yes	No	Yes	$ 34.15/month
10.	ClickMeeting	No	Yes	Yes	$ 30/month
11.	MyOwnConference	Yes	Yes	Yes	$ 30/month
12.	Livestream	No	No	Yes	$ 75/month
13.	Zoom	Yes	Yes	Yes	$ 0

 

Best Free Webinar Software

There are some free webinar software platforms that you can use for your upcoming webinar. Not all free webinar software has the same features. You can opt for these free webinar software, whether you are doing a live webinar or building an evergreen funnel.

A few of them are free with a trial period. But, you get advanced features if you buy their paid service. It means a lot of the offerings are limited to these free webinar software. However, you can test the service that they offer before you open your wallet and spend money on a webinar service.

I recommend the following free webinar software:

• Zoom
• Google Hangouts
• GoToMeeting

 

Best Pre-recorded Webinar Software

In a pre-recorded webinar, the content is pre-recorded. It allows you to connect and promote without going live – 24/7 – 365 days a year.

 

Who can use pre-recorded webinars?

Any business that uses live webinars to explain a feature/offering, nurture customers, or sell a product can use pre-recorded webinars.

Pre-recorded webinars help us to:

• Engage with hundreds of customers as per their schedule. In this case, we don’t have to show up, be on time, or repeat the information again and again.
• Build our brand 24/7/365. Because these webinars are pre-recorded, you can edit as much as you like to make a live-streaming, perfect webinar.

Look For These While Choosing a Pre-recorded Webinar

• Different bandwidth for multiple presenters and at least 100 participants
• It should have sales and marketing tools, to convert viewers into buyers
• Pricing in your budget

 

Best Pre-recorded Webinar Software

 

1. Demio

Demio is my first recommendation for pre-recorded webinar software.

It has an on-demand option where participants can instantly view the webinar at any time.

The biggest advantage of Demio is that it offers both live webinars and pre-recorded on-demand webinars. You need not have to use two different tools for your live webinar and the automated one.

You can set it up and use it easily. It is browser-based, so you need not have to download any additional software. Using its automation feature you can schedule pre-recorded webinars for specific dates and times. It supports all devices and browsers.

 

Other important features:

• You can customize and add your logo.
• It gives your attendees a clean, crisp, and reliable experience.
• You can send automated emails to remind audiences to attend the event.
• You can send webinar recordings to all registrants after the event.
• It has three different pricing plans – ranging from $34 to $163 per month

 

2. EasyWebinar

EasyWebinar is my second recommendation in the pre-recorded webinar software category. It comes up with many of the standard features such as screen sharing, multiple presenters, live chat, Q&A, mobile compatibility, logo integrations, etc.

EasyWebinar has good analytic tools. These analytics are focused on metrics like no-show registrants, the number of clicks on offers, and time spent in a webinar. It is designed in such a manner that combines webinar technology with marketing strategies.

 

Other important features:

• Any attendee can be made a presenter by the host.
• You can show your webinar through EasyWebinar, Facebook, and YouTube.
• You can customize the audience registration form and get more information about them.
• Its pricing ranges from $59 to $349 per month if billed annually.

 

3. EverWebinar

EverWebinar is another recommendation in this category. Makers of WebinarJam have designed EverWebinar specifically for pre-recorded webinars. So, if you are looking for a pre-recorded webinar, then it should be your best bet.

You can simulate the live webinar with automated live chat, pre-scheduled questions, and answers. If any participant puts a question in the chatbox, you get an email and can respond. But, for this, you have entered the chat in real-time and interact directly with attendees.

You can customize the scheduling of a webinar, opt for how many times, and how often to show a webinar, or even set up a pre-recorded video for the waiting room.

 

Other important features:

• It provides secure webinar rooms with password protection.
• It comes with excellent analytics and tracking report.
• EverWebinar is priced at $499 per year (approximately $41 per month). We negotiated a $1 14-day trial if you use this link.
• The annual plan costs $499 per year.

 

Criteria for Choosing the Best Webinar Software

Choosing your best webinar software can be very overwhelming. The wrong selection can make you look like a fool – and, can drive away precious sales and customers.

But let me be clear that you are not alone in searching for the best webinar software. Thousands of businesses are trying to tap into the power of webinars and are looking around for new software to avoid a potential webinar disaster.

On the basis of my research, I am sharing the following criteria for choosing the best webinar software.

 

1. Webinar Goal

What is your goal for organizing the webinar?

For example, if the goal of your webinar is to build a community to learn together, meet, grow and connect, then your webinar platform should support not only broadcasting your session but also enabling networking.

Similarly, if you are going to host sessions with a panel of speakers, then the webinar platform should enable multi-speaker sessions with live webcam feed and screen-sharing available for all speakers.

So, first of all, you should list your webinar goal and match it against the available feature.

 

2. Budget

Before moving ahead, compare your budget against the webinar pricing. It is even more important to know the webinar’s expected ROI. There are many webinar platforms in a variety of price ranges, based on the features offered. You should narrow down your search based on the budget, but should not compromise on features.

To maximize the ROI, select an option that is available at a lower cost.

 

3. Webinar Quality

You should keep in mind the webinar quality before selecting the webinar software. If the video quality offered by the webinar platform is lower, it can rupture the viewing experience for the attendees and stain your image as a host.

The users can also experience a significant lag between the real-time event and the live streaming. Hence, you should look for a webinar platform that offers HD-quality video. The webinar platform should stream video without any lag and support all modern browsers or devices.

 

4. Free Trial

Free trials are a great opportunity to try out any webinar software. You can test the available features of the software for the host. In addition to this, we recommend you test the platforms from a user point of view.

Whether the software gives you the option of a free trial or a demo so that you can get your hands on it?

 

5. Usability

Every one of us prefers ease of operations, like easy set-up, scheduling, sharing, recording, and many more convenient features. Before opting for any webinar software, you make sure your attendees have easy access to information, and they enjoy watching and listening to your webinar.

They should not get frustrated with any difficulty in accessing or sharing information. The smooth functioning of the platform plays an important role in the success of the webinar.

 

6. Security

If you want to build your authority, then you should host webinars very professionally. You should have to take care of user data security, meeting security, and privacy of data.

For this, you need a highly secure platform that offers end-to-end encryption, GDPR compliance for data security, chat moderation to avoid offensive posts and other such features.

 

7. User Engagement

User engagement is one of the key parameters that make your webinar memorable.

Webinar software should have features that enable attendees to ask questions, chat with the host and other attendees, and come up on the live stage. Many platforms such as Demio and WebinarJam support immersive and interactive sessions via features like Chat Box, Emojis, Q&A, etc.

 

8. Scalability

Check the prospective number of attendees that you would require to address. Get ready with a futuristic view of the company’s growth if you aim to develop your webinars and your audience. You should opt for a webinar platform that enables you to scale up with ease. Select a plan that covers the maximum number of attendees in your budget.

 

9. Analytics Tracking

Analytics related to webinar presentation, audience retention, and audience satisfaction to measure the success of the webinar and improve future presentations. You can get participants’ information through the registration process, attendee behavior, and going beyond demographics.

To understand your audience better, you should note the timestamp and content where the engagement level is the most during your webinar. You can conduct polls to get honest feedback from your audience during the webinar. Consider this point while opting for a webinar platform.

 

10. Recording of Webinar Session

You can increase the reach of your webinar by recording your sessions. Share these recorded sessions on your social media platforms to reach those people who might have missed your live webinar. You can also share snippets of the recordings as a teaser before the next webinar.

Hence, you should choose a webinar platform that allows you to record your live presentation for later sharing and viewing by creating an easy-to-access content library. In this way, you can create a virtual repository of all the webinars hosted. If any webinar software allows you to edit or update your pre-recorded webinars, opt for that software.

 

Webinar Software FAQ

 

Are Webinars always Live?

Generally, webinars are live presentations that give attendees the chance to ask questions and participate in the presentation. However, many companies also offer pre-recorded webinar software. These pre-recorded webinars are useful for training purposes that can be repackaged and used as incentives for new customers to sign up.

 

Are Webinars always free to attend?

Hosts can charge for webinars, depending on the topic and the interest of the attendees in it. Potential attendees will be ready to pay if they know they will receive value from the webinars.

However, many companies whose goal is to build an email marketing list offer free webinars, in exchange for the customers’ e-mail addresses. If the goal of the presentation is to sell a product or service or to simply interact with existing customers in an educational or informational capacity, offering value and brand building, the presenter offers free webinars.

 

Is Webinar an Expensive Tool?

Webinars are not an expensive tool. You just need a good internet connection, a device, and a webinar platform, either free or paid with a nominal monthly payment. The cost of hosting a webinar is much lower than the cost incurred at a physical conference or meeting. And, you can reach a global audience by organizing a webinar, which is priceless.

 

Will I have access to the materials and recording, once the Webinar is over?

Some webinar platforms offer attendees the opportunity to watch recordings via the on-demand platform. Attendees can watch and interact with these recordings at a time that is most convenient for them. Slides may be available depending on the presentation.

 

Should I opt for the Live Webinar or the On-demand Webinar?

You can opt for the live webinar or the on-demand webinar as per your need and convenience.

The live webinar has the following advantages:

• Complete interactive experience
• Q and A session with the presenter
• Dialogue with other attendees
• Live screenshots, chat, links, and transcripts feature
• Slide annotation and markup feature
• The best thing to stand-up instruction

Advantages Of On-demand Webinar

• You can schedule the webinar at your convenience
• Availability of a great review tool
• These are economical in nature
• Webinar materials remain available for future reference in PowerPoint and audio form

 

Are webinars effective?

Measuring the ROI of webinars is difficult at times. However, webinars lead to an increase in audience engagement, boost lead generation, and create brand experiences for the attendees. You are building trust with the participants and creating value for lead prospects.

So, webinars are effective as they help to generate sales for businesses by generating high-quality leads. Utilizing these leads, you can generate sales in the future.

 

How a webinar is different from a webcast?

Webinars and webcasts are online events and they help presenters connect with audiences but in different ways.

A webinar is a web-based seminar that is in the form of a presentation and uses PowerPoint slides, screen-sharing, webcam, video, and audio. Webinars are two-way communication and allow for audience contribution via polls, Q&A, and more. Interactivity and audience engagement are the defining features of webinars.

On the other hand, a webcast is a live video stream of an event or conference. Its main feature is its reach to large audiences. Webcasts are live video streams that provide a one-way flow of information.

 

 How to Host a Webinar?

When it comes to hosting a webinar, you can create a webinar in the following 9 easy steps:

1. First of all, choose your organizer, presenter, and moderator
2. Select the format of your webinar i.e. presentation, Q&A, discussion, etc.
3. Design your videos and assets for your webinar
4. Choose a webinar topic and create engaging content to captivate your audience
5. Select your webinar platform such as Likestorm, Demio, etc.
6. Set up webinar presentation with suitable equipment
7. Promote your webinar using email marketing, landing pages and website banners, and on various social media platforms
8. Choose the best day and time to do a webinar for getting maximum attendance
9. Follow up with your audience post-webinar and send them a follow-up email with a link to the recorded webinar

 

What questions should be asked on my webinar poll?

Polls allow you to gain further insight into your audience, receive feedback on your webinars, and get ideas for future webinars, so these are an effective way to interact with webinar attendees.

However, the success of the webinar poll depends on the right questions asked.

So we are providing a list of relevant webinar polling questions that you can use during your event:

• How do you hear about us?
• How often are you conducting webinars?
• What are your expectations from this webinar?
• Is this webinar useful for you?
• What would you like to see in our next webinar?

You can ask effective questions for webinars that best suit the audience’s experience. Keeping this in mind, you can create your webinar poll questions.

 

How do I promote my webinar?

You have to spend as much time promoting your webinar, as you have spent on creating it.

There are many resources to promote a webinar. But, the best way to promote a webinar is to launch a mini-campaign with a multi-channel approach. If you want to gain maximum from your webinar and generate as many leads as possible, then you should promote your webinars in the ways discussed below:

• You should create an optimized landing page promoting your webinar, with a registration form
• Write a blog post about a similar topic and promote the webinar on that post.
• Share the registration page on various social media platforms
• Create an email workflow to get maximum attendees and engagement
• Pop the link to the webinar registration page in your email signature, creating awareness among the recipients about the upcoming webinar

 

Which is the best webinar software for training?

Webinar software for training should have some specific features; for proper interaction between the presenter and attendees. The following software comes up with the required features.

• One of the best webinar software for training and demo is Livestorm. Here, everything works inside a browser, and in real time. It provides features such as chat, screen sharing, Q&A, whiteboard, keynote sharing, etc.
• The second webinar software, you can use for training is MyOwnConference. It provides an excellent set of features needed for web conferences and webinars such as chat, screen sharing, Q&A, poll and survey, whiteboard, keynote sharing, and many others.

 

Which is the best webinar software for teaching?

The COVID pandemic has forced schools and in-person teaching in the classroom to shut down for an undisclosed time. So, many schools and academic institutions shifted to virtual classrooms. Hence, the demand for web-based video conferencing and webinar software has been having increased.

It should enable students to access live lectures and interact with the educator in real time. It also enables teachers to create lessons, share presentations, conduct tests, and assign tasks to eventually assess a student’s performance.

Some Best Webinar Software

• Adobe Connect
• Blackboard
• ClickMeeting
• Google Classrooms.

 

Which is the best webinar software for education?

You can introduce yourself to the world of the online audience using the webinar software. With its cloud-based solutions and user-friendly interface, it is an efficient solution that can meet the unique requirements of educational organizations. Webinar software is designed to facilitate hosts to organize webinars that engage a large number of attendees through HD video calling, live sessions, etc. Chatbox with live polling and email integration features allows seamless presenter-host communications that are essential for effective online education. The screen-sharing feature helps the presenter to demonstrate what he is actually saying. You can also record, edit, and post live sessions online.

The best webinar software under this category are:

• Zoom
• LiveWebinar
• Airmeet

 

Which is the best webinar software for small businesses?

Overall, webinar software is similar in many regards. However, small business features, setup, installation, and pricing differ from business to business.  That is why we need the right webinar software for small businesses.

In this category, the best webinar software is:

• GoToWebinar
• BigMarker
• ZohoMeeting
• AdobeConnect

 

Which is the best webinar software for startups?

Webinars are used in many circumstances for the future growth of startups.

If you are a new startup, organizing a webinar is a perfect option to present your product to end-users and develop it accordingly. You can Q&As to get valuable feedback from attendees. If you run a startup for some time and already have an audience, you can focus on the expansion of your network and find new investors using webinars.

A webinar software platform can provide the medium and features you will need to improve your startup.

In this category, the best webinar software is:

• Webex
• GoToWebinar
• ClickMeeting

 

Which is the best webinar software for corporate?

Webinar software is useful for training and teaching, small businesses, corporate, or educational institutes. But, their needs are different. Corporates is a large entity, so they need automation in their work. They also have to organize and train their employees at various locations. They need customized software with branding that shows their presence during the webinar. Keeping these features in mind, the best software for corporate is:

• Livestorm
• Demio
• Everwebinar

Recommendation for Best Webinar Software

• I recommend WebinarJam, if you are a newcomer, as you can set up webinars easily even if you do not have technical knowledge.
• If you are looking for Demio, EverWebinar and Easywebinar are good choices if you are looking for an automated webinar.
• GetResponse is my recommendation if you want to increase the reach of your webinar as it is integrated with email marketing tools.
• I recommend Zoom and GoToMeeting in the free webinar software category.
• Livestorm and Demio are my recommendations for your overall webinar needs.

 

Conclusion

Webinars are used for training purposes, teaching, and conducting meetings. But its uses do not end here. It is one of the best marketing tools in today’s business world as it has the highest ROI. The conversion rate of webinar software varies from 10% to 19%. You choose the webinar software as per your need.

We recommend going with a webinar service that comes with marketing tools as it is not just enough to conduct webinars. You need audiences who attend your webinar. Only then, is your goal of organizing a webinar is fulfilled.

Now I am sure that you have learned how to choose the best webinar software and services that help you in achieving your goal.