It’s been a long pandemic and it still continues to exist.
Amid this pandemic, we have figured out a lot of solutions to our problems, a lot of ways to manage everything around us.
We have changed some old methods and have transformed them into something that suits current situation and adjustments.
One such thing is the use of Webinar Software. Webinar Software platforms have been a boon to those who were departed by the distance in this lockdown.
This gave rise to a lot of webinar platforms in the past year.
Almost all companies and industries shifted to this efficient mode of communication to connect with their employees and keep the workflow intact and undisturbed.
If you have been living under a rock and don’t know what a webinar platform is or wonder what they are for, no need to worry. We have got it all covered here only for you.
Almost every business – small or large has used webinars to promote their product or services during the pandemic. With so many good webinar platforms out there, it’s a bit difficult to choose the right one.
In this post, I’ve reviewed the best webinar platforms available today. I’ve compared the features, pricing and benefits.
Check it out.
What is a webinar software?
A webinar is a form of web conferencing system that is basically a combination of the words web and seminar. They are like video seminars that are held online.
A webinar is used in many forms. For example, it can be used as a lecture, a live presentation, a meeting, or an event. These events are conducted entirely online and can be attended by a huge and an exclusive audience.
The software that is used to conduct and run these kinds of virtual events is called a webinar software.
A Webinar software’s primary function is to run this online video conference meeting.
We will be talking about top webinar tools that make these platforms more interactive, engaging, and flexible.
Do you need a webinar software platform?
Amid this pandemic, the importance of webinar software platforms has been drastically increased. As they help to get your work done remotely, webinar software platforms have turned out to be a miracle.
Let’s discuss some of the prime reasons why you should be interested in webinar platforms.
Businesses and individual influencers are using the webinars to demonstrate their skills, products or services. You can address a large group of people – sometimes upto 1000s and promote your business.
According to a conducted survey, attendees generally don’t tend to drop off during longer webinars. Attendees will stay in the seminar for around 70% of the duration that lasts up to 90 minutes.
Webinars also help to convert a huge amount of audience into your customers. Depending on what your product is, a webinar could be a lot of revenue for your business.
The most important thing to remember is that webinars work in nearly every industry. So if you still aren’t using any webinar software platform for your business or any other work, what’s stopping you?
What are the main features of in a best webinar software?
Now that you know that why you need a webinar software, you must also know the important features that you should look for finding the best webinar software for you. Following are some of the features of a webinar software.
- Real-time streaming, Audio-Video presentations
- Mobile Friendliness
- Easy to Use
- Sharing and Recording screens
- Managing participants and chats
- Email reminders
- Webinar replays
Live webinar Vs Evergreen webinar
Live webinars are nothing different than what they sound like. They are live online conferences or presentations and are conducted and delivered in real time.
But Evergreen Webinars are pre-recorded webinars that are prepared in advance and can be delivered time and time, all over again.
Live webinars are held only once. Thus, they are temporary, whereas evergreen webinars are automated and can be shown countless times. Therefore, evergreen webinars can unlock a lot of marketing potential.
How much a webinar software normally costs?
Generally, a lot of webinar software platforms offer both, a free as well as a paid plan. These plans are differentiated according to the features available.
The pricing can range from as cheap as $25/month to $200 a month.
12 Best Webinar Platforms that are trending in 2021
Let’s first try to know some of the platforms that are relevant and are being heavily used even today in the market and let us understand what they have to offer.
1) Demio
Demio has got a great combination of no-download webinars for your audience. Moreover, it has marketing tools to generate more leads.
What’s catchy about Demio is its visual aesthetics. The platform is not only user-friendly but a treat to your eyes as it delivers real-time, HD streaming video.
Pros:
- Live and automated webinars, replays, registration landing pages, etc.
- Features like advanced webinar setup, 24/7 chat and email support.
- Unlimited webinars, storage for 100 recordings.
Cons
- Lack of customization
- Issues with recording at times
Pricing:
Demio comes with a free trial of 14 days. It has got a starter plan which comes at $34 a month, offering a 50-person attendee room. You’ll need to upgrade from the Starter Plan if you need more than 50 live-attendance.
2) WebinarJam
Webinar Jam is one of the best webinar software currently available. It is so easy-to-use that you will be able to work with it effortlessly even if you have little to no technical knowledge regarding how to set up a webinar.
Pros
- Lots of available options
- Holds a large number of attendees
- Simple and Fast to setup and run
Cons
- Occasional Lag and Delay
- Flaws with the UX
- Weak support
Price
WebinarJam don’t offer a free plan but they do offer a free trial. Their priced plan costs $499/year.
3) WebinarNinja
WebinarNinja is one of the easiest tools to use. It is powerful and is an all-in-one solution that lets you create a webinar in a minute without any hassle. It trusted by major brands like AppSumo, Podia, Printful.
Pros
- With WebinarNinja you can create any type of webinar you need. Be it live, automated, hybrid, series, etc.
- WebinarNinja is a cloud-based platform which lets attendees join in on any web browser without having to download any software.
Cons
- The back-end, sometimes, can be difficult to navigate.
- Occasional glitches are experienced.
- Often takes longer time to upload longer presentations.
- Customer service team works slow.
Pricing
The Pro plan charges $79/month, which allows for 300 live webinar attendees but does not include hybrid webinars. The Plus plan costs $129/mo for 500 live webinar attendees and the Power Plan charges $199 for 1000 live webinar attendees.
4) GoToWebinar
With GoToWebinar, there is hardly any hassle that comes with organizing your webinar. It lets you focus on reaching more people and growing your business.
It offers a variety of features to improve your webinar experience. It provides access to several in-built webinar templates that provide the ultimate business environment.
Pros
- Plenty of organizers and panelists can join
- Ease of registration
- Works across platforms and browsers
Cons
- Interface sometimes gets clunky
- No digital backgrounds
- Audio and Video transmission gets glitch at times
Pricing
GoToWebinar Pro comes at a cost of $199 per month, which allows around 500 participants.
5) Easy Webinar
EasyWebinar has successfully and seamlessly managed to integrate webinar technology with marketing strategy. The platform provides all-in-one solution for live and automated webinars as well.
Pros
- Allows up to 100 attendees for the basic plan
- Multiple presenters, screen-sharing, live chat, Q&A
Cons
- More expensive than some other options
Pricing
EasyWebinar Pricing Plans start from $59 per month allowing up to 100 participants.
6) Click Meeting
ClickMeeting has an impressive and user-friendly interface and is one of the popular webinar software. The platform is considered as best suited for small and medium types of businesses. It’s a well-integrated, intuitive, and user-friendly platform.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Easier to navigate
- Flexible packages
Cons
- Often glitchy
- Lack of customer services
Pricing
ClickMeeting offers a free trial of 30 days. The Live Plan is of $25/mo and the Automated Plan is of $40/mo.
7) BigMarker
BigMarker is another amazing video platform for webinars, summits, and virtual conferences. I really like the user interface of this webinar platform – it’s sleek and intuitive.
They excel greatly at live streaming capabilities. With BigMarker, you can engage with up to 10,000 people at once. It lets you create an interactive experience with features like polls, handouts, and live Q and As.
Pros
- No requirement of software installation
- Best for summits and virtual conferences in addition to webinars
- Hosts up to 10,000 people
- Create live, automated and evergreen webinars
Cons
- Needs high-speed connection to avoid poor connection
- Can be difficult to set up the type of webinar you need
Pricing
BigMarker offers no free plan. The least expensive Starter option starts at $79/mo which allows 100 attendees and 1 host license. The Elite plan charges $159/mo with 500 attendees and 2 host licenses. The Premier plan costs $299/mo for 1000 attendees and 4 host licenses.
8) Zoom Webinars
It won’t be wrong to say that Zoom, among all the webinar software platforms, is the most popular webinar software in the market today.
It’s great for starters as it takes least amount of time to set it up.
Zoom has a user-friendly interface that makes things way too easy for its users. It performs a lot of activities that makes it the best webinar option to any company.
I found it to be little frustrating as it doesn’t give you attendee report. So, if you need to email those who signed-up but didn’t attend, you just can’t do that (at least not at the time of writing this article).
Pros
- Simultaneous Screen Share
- Free desktop and application sharing
- Runs all platforms and devices
- Backup of every session in the cloud
Cons
- Interface navigation is often confusing
- It lacks some advance features like attendee analytics
- It doesn’t send email reminders
Pricing
Zoom offers a couple of pricing plans for different services such as Zoom Meetings, Zoom Room, Zoom Webinar, Zoom Phone, etc.
Here we list a couple of pricing plans that Zoom Webinar platform has to offer:
A pricing plan with a limit of 100 attendees was charged at Rs.35,300/year. Another plan charging Rs.123,700/year allowed 500 attendees. These plans come up to a limit of 10,000 attendees with different prices. Special feature of all these paid plans is that there isn’t any time limit per session.
9) Livestorm
Livestorm is great option as a webinar software for the times when you have multiple people collaborating on a presentation. It allows you to easily invite any of your peers to join you on screen.
Pros
- Great option for live training and product demos
- Collaborate with teammates on building presentations
Cons
- Video and audio can be affected by the host’s internet connection
Pricing
Livestorm offers Webinar Basic which lets you test the platform with up to ten live attendees for free. The Webinar Premium plan costs $99/mo and allows you to host 100 live attendees.
10) GetResponse
GetResponse is basically an email marketing platform that offers a wide range of marketing solutions. This includes a complete webinar marketing solution as well.
It allows you to easily set up your webinar within a couple of minutes. Its marketing tools include auto responders, automated email marketing, Landing pages, list segmentation, and many more.
So, if you are looking for an all-in-one solution, this is the best option.
Pros
- Easy-to-use
- Forms and landing pages
- Detailed and accurate statistic systems
- Email marketing system
Cons
- API is less robust
- Sometimes interface works slow
- Considerably high prices
Pricing
Get Response Webinar Platform allows three types of pricing plans. The Basic Plan comes at a price of $15/month, The Plus plan, which is the popular plan, costs $49/month, and the Professional plan costs $99/month.
All these plans allow a maximum limit of 1000 attendees.
11) Webex
Webex is a product of acclaimed parent company, Cisco, that lives up to the customer’s expectations.
It offers impressive features along with HD video and audio services. These services can be accessed on multiple devices.
Pros:
- Holds up to 40,000 attendees
- Screen-sharing, live chat, Q&A, etc.
- Best for collaborating as a team
Cons:
- Not suitable for consumer webinars
- It needs a download
Pricing:
Plans of Webex start from $13.50 per month, for up to 50 participants. Price quickly climbs as you opt for more number of participants.
12) BlueJeans
BlueJeans is another video conferencing tool. Its virtual event tool helps to host events for large global audiences. For example, it helps you conduct live streams, interactive events, and town halls.
The platform can host up to around 50,000 attendees and also provides unique content experiences like polls, QnAs, immersive video, etc. It provides an interactive open forum to exchange ideas and information.
Pros:
- Zero downloads
- Backstage ‘green room’ for presenters
- Moderator dashboard is one of the best
- Customers can host for audience up to 50,000
Cons:
- Price is quite high for the available built-in features
Pricing:
BlueJeans comes with a 14-day free trial. Its unlimited webinar plans available online start from $99/month with a limit for 100, 200, and 500 participants.
Free Webinar platforms
Who doesn’t want free stuff? If you are just getting started and want to get the taste of webinars, it’s better to start with free webinar tools first.
Here is a quick round of free webinar software that you can use without spending a penny.
Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts is one of the popular names in the field of webinar platforms. It is a completely free solution that integrates with the Chrome Browser and Gmail.
With Google Hangouts, you can host a webinar for up to 100 attendees.
What makes it one of the best free software choices is its ability to cater to every business size.
It allows people to speak and share their screen during the webinar, and also record the meetings (In paid plans).
As Google hangouts doesn’t require any downloads, its the quickest way to get started.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is another engaging chat-based collaboration platform that allows features like document sharing, online meetings, and many such features that assist business communications.
The platform is pretty efficient in its performance as the workspace software is very flawless, full-fledged and user-friendly.
Facebook Live
Facebook Live allows you to host and join live-stream events, performances and gatherings on Facebook platform. It is so convenient that viewers can watch from their own phones, computers or other devices.
One can also engage with the audience with the help of reactions, shares, comments and other interactive features.
Airmeet
Airmeet is an online platform to conduct your events and seminars. It is designed to deliver real time engagement and to have best-in-class interactions.
Airmeet offers its participants a virtual venue that allows them to navigate freely across multiple sessions and have impactful conversations. The platform helps communities to build inclusive and genuine interactions.
Bonus: Free accounting software
ProfitBooks
If you are someone who can manage running webinars for your firm but would really use some good help in managing finance surrounding it such as managing expenses, payrolls, day-to-day transactions, tracking income, etc. then Profitbooks is the friend you need.
ProfitBooks is an easy-to-use, online accounting software for small businesses to manage their finances and stay on top of their cash flow. It is your one-stop solution for all of your accounting software needs. It has got it all; from strong accounting features to inventory management.
If you are running webinars and collecting payments, ProfitBooks can help you record and manage different transactions and automating invoices. You can connect a payment gateway and start collecting payments.
All this for FREE!
Isn’t it just amazing how it makes your work way lot easier without costing a penny. You can’t believe it right?
Sign up with Profitbooks and experience the ease in accounting and managing finance like never before.
Also Read:
Top Free CRM software for your business
Top Free Helpdesk systems
Top Free Invoicing software
Top 12 FREE Software For Small Businesses
