Over the years, virtual communication platforms have evolved significantly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when webinars became essential for various sectors such as education, corporate announcements, and virtual events. As a result, many video-conferencing providers now offer both meeting and webinar solutions.
Zoom introduced Zoom Webinars to meet the increasing demand for large-scale virtual events. Zoom Webinar is designed for scenarios that require one-way communication from hosts to a large audience, enabling organizations to reach wider audiences without geographical constraints.
When choosing a platform for large-scale virtual events, it's important to consider your specific needs, evaluate different options, and select the one that best aligns with your requirements.
Let’s dive deeper into learning about Zoom Webinar’s features, limitations, pricing, and reviews.
Zoom Webinars
Zoom Webinars, introduced alongside Zoom Meetings in 2013, is meant for broadcasting information to large audiences. Unlike the nature of Zoom Meetings, Webinars are specifically used for one-way communication, allowing a single presenter to address a large online crowd. This format is for company-wide announcements, educational lectures, or large-scale conferences, potentially reaching tens of thousands of attendees.
A webinar provides a more controlled environment. While there is no minimum size for a webinar, the number of attendees can be larger (depending on your license limits). You can assign certain participants as "panelists." Other attendees can take part in activities like live polling and Q&A, but they cannot share video or appear in Gallery view. They are only able to share their audio when un-muted by the host.
Ultimately, whether Zoom Webinars is appropriate depends on your virtual event's specific communication goals and target audience.
Zoom Webinars Features:
- Controlled Environment: Webinars offer a setting for presenting information to large audiences.
- Flexible Audience Size: There is no minimum size, and attendee limits depend on your license and maximum number of participants can go up to 10000+.
- Participant Types Designation: Hosts can assign specific participants roles like host, panelist and audience depending on their role in the webinar and permissions required.
- Interactive Elements: Features like live polling and Q&A allow for audience participation.
- Session Recording: Allows for recording of the sessions for later review or distribution and meetings can be accessed as long as the host remains as paid user.
- Scalability: Can accommodate various audience sizes, from small groups to large-scale events.
- Webinar Branding: Offers options to incorporate company logos, colors, and custom backgrounds to align with brand identity.
- Reporting and Analytics: Reports on attendee engagement, registration, and post-webinar feedback.
- PayPal Integration: Supports paid webinars through PayPal integration.
Zoom Webinars Limitations:
- Limited Interactivity: Unlike Zoom Meetings, Zoom Webinars primarily support one-way communication, which can limit spontaneous interaction and engagement with attendees.
- Higher Cost: Hosting large-scale webinars requires more expensive licenses than regular Zoom Meetings.
- Restrictions for Attendees: By default, general attendees cannot share their video or audio, which may reduce participant engagement.
- Inefficient: The download takes up a lot of space, is very heavy on computer resources, and freezes randomly.
- Complexity: As users have reported, the program is cluttered and messy.
- Customization Constraints: While there are branding options available, some users find the extent of customization limited compared to other webinar platforms.
- Limited Access for Attendees: General attendees do not have the option to share files directly within the webinar interface.
- Host-Controlled Participation Limits: Attendees can only unmute themselves and participate vocally when the host allows, slowing down interactive discussions.
- Technical Glitches: Users have reported that the video quality lags even though it is provided with good internet bandwidth.
- Poor Customer Support: Users reported very good customer support until they signed the contract; after that, the Zoom Webinar team's customer support worsened.
Learn in detail about Zoom features and Zoom limitations.
Zoom Webinars Pricing
Zoom Webinars’ pricing is based on the maximum number of attendees:
- 500 Attendees: $79/month/license
- 1,000 Attendees: $340/month/license
- 3,000 Attendees: $990/month/license
- 5,000 Attendees: $2,490/month/license
- 10,000 Attendees: $6,490/month/license
All plans include the core Webinar features.
Check out more about Zoom pricing.
Features to look for in a Zoom Webinar alternative
When selecting a video conferencing tool, it's crucial to understand its capabilities fully to maximize its potential. To find a suitable alternative to Zoom Webinars, consider the following key features:
- Ease of Use: User-friendly interface for both hosts and attendees.
- Audience Engagement: Tools like polls, Q&A, and live chat to interact with the audience.
- Scalability: Ability to handle a large number of participants without compromising performance.
- Content Sharing: Options to share screens, documents, and multimedia easily.
- Customization Options: Branding capabilities and customizable registration pages.
- Recording Capabilities: High-quality recording options for future use.
- Analytics and Reporting: Detailed insights into attendance and engagement metrics.
- Integration: Compatibility with other tools and platforms, such as CRM or email marketing software.
- Pricing: Cost-effectiveness and flexible pricing plans to suit different needs.
Top 10 Alternatives of Zoom Webinars
These are the top alternatives for Zoom Webinars: Adobe Connect, SpotMe, GoToWebinar, Demio, ON24, Livestorm, Webex Webinars, LiveWebinar, Hopin, BigMarker.
- Adobe Connect
- SpotMe
- GoToWebinar
- Demio
- ON24
- Livestorm
- Webex Webinars
- LiveWebinar
- Hopin
- BigMarker
Let’s explore each alternative one by one.
Adobe Connect
Adobe Connect is a video conferencing platform remote educators use for live lectures and webinars. It includes features like video chat, desktop sharing, and document sharing. Additional functionalities such as Q&A, polling, clapping, and thumbs-up can be accessed through third-party apps on the Adobe Connect Apps page. The platform can accommodate up to 1,000 participants, with rooms that hold up to 100 people and provide needed security.
Adobe Connect's audio connection lacks various call-in options, which causes issues in breakout rooms. Users experienced video lag and freezing, which appeared to be an issue with Adobe Connect. Additional set-up time was required pre-session, often necessitating one-on-one assistance with users.
Adobe Connect offers a free trial with limited functionalities, and a paid plan of $130 per host per month is applicable with other functions.
SpotMe
SpotMe is an enterprise event platform that creates personalized and compliant event experiences to improve customer relationships. SpotMe is an option for enterprise event engagement.
The platform offers features including an activity feed, networking, breakout rooms, Q&A, polling, live applause, and gamification.
The platform is difficult to navigate for viewing metrics and analytics and lacks automation. Additionally, event email buttons don't function properly and must be manually adjusted as hyperlinks.
There is no free trial for SpotMe. The pricing starts at $4800 per year.
GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar is a virtual event option and an alternative to Zoom for webinars. Its features include HD video, file sharing, whiteboard, Q&A, and polling. It also provides a centralized webinar hub for on-demand event content and supports up to 2,000 participants.
GoToWebinar's interface can be overwhelming for first-time users. It has cluttered controls and unclear function labels that require prior experience or reference materials. The lack of tooltips makes understanding each button's purpose difficult during an event. Additionally, chat functionality could be improved with clearer options for specifying message recipients.
GoToWebinar does not provide a free trial. The paid plan starts at $59 per user per month.
Demio
Demio is a webinar platform with features for live streaming or pre-recorded videos suitable for users without prior webinar experience. It can support lead generation through integration with existing marketing tools, with additional costs for more than 50 attendees. Demio offers options and features like polling, launch offers, handouts, Q&A, chat, mentions, and gestures.
Users reported several technical issues that caused audio disruptions during broadcasts. Customer service has been cited as unhelpful, raising concerns about the company's customer relationship practices. Presentations often experience formatting issues after being loaded onto Demio.
Demio does not offer a free trial. The paid plan starts at $2200 per year.
ON24
ON24 is an event platform for sales and marketing, focusing on digital engagement and marketing insights for revenue and growth. It enables the creation of webinars, virtual events, and personalized content experiences and provides analytics on attendee interest and purchase readiness. Features include engagement tools, webinars, analytics, on-demand content, and integrations.
The interface is unintuitive, with complex slide management, video incorporation, and frequent glitches during webinars. Presenters dislike uploading slides in advance and find slide manipulation difficult.
ON24 pricing plans are available upon request to their sales team.
Livestorm
Livestorm is a Zoom competitor that helps manage webinars from start to finish. Its free plan includes features such as chat, polling, and questions. It supports various types of webinars, including live, on-demand, and automated, and offers options for instant browser meetings and scheduled sessions. Observations have been made about occasional display blurriness and limited customization options, such as the inability to personalize email reminders, which might impact branding.
Users have reported significant technical issues, particularly with PowerPoint compatibility, which is crucial for webinars. Customer service has also been reported as inadequate.
Livestorm offers a free trial. The paid plan commences at $495 per month.
Webex Webinars
Webex supports the management of webinars, along with in-person, virtual, or hybrid events. It includes features such as polls, Q&A, and chat during webinars. While it provides E2E encryption for meetings, additional security options can be added for security. Key features include HD video and audio, screen sharing, whiteboarding, recording, transcription, breakout sessions, and integrations.
Users of Webex Webinars have reported limited customization and branding options, high costs for unlimited plans, and poor video and audio quality in browser-based webinars, highlighting areas needing improvement.
Webex Webinars offers a free version, and paid one starts at $56.25 per user per month.
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We even have curated a list of top Cisco Webex alternatives.
LiveWebinar
LiveWebinar is a web conferencing platform for hosting webinars, meetings, and online events. It includes customizable branding, screen sharing, a whiteboard, and session recording. Participants can engage using surveys, polls, chat, and Q&A features. Breakout rooms support smaller group discussions, and analytics track engagement and performance. The platform integrates with CRM systems and email marketing tools.
LiveWebinar's recording feature lags. Users reported issues with the Customer service and demand UI and the improvement of Q&A mode. The sound is mono, with limited language support beyond English. The extra payment required for HD recording is disappointing.
LiveWebinar offers a free version with restricted features. The basic paid plan starts at $32 per month.
Hopin
Hopin is a platform for hosting virtual, hybrid events or webinars designed to replicate in-person experiences online. It offers registration, live streaming, email, and analytics features, potentially reducing the need for additional platforms. Users can keep events simple or enhance experiences with pre-recorded content, live broadcasts, and RTMP streams. The platform includes security features like cloud security, network security, and encryption, though achieving full compliance is challenging. Key features include event customization, networking, expo booths, interactivity, and analytics.
Users have expressed frustration with Hopin's pricing model, which is based on registrants, not attendees. This leads to limited tool use for free events. Complaints also include poor streaming quality compared to YouTube or Facebook and significant issues with mobile optimization for tablets and smartphones.
Hopin does not offer a free trial. Its paid plan commences at $83.25 per month.
BigMarker
BigMarker is a Zoom webinar competitor for virtual webinars and hybrid events for sales and marketing teams. It includes video technology, integrations, APIs, and white-label services for video experiences, with SSL and HTTPS encryption. Key features encompass no-download webinars, high-quality streaming, interactivity, customizable landing pages, and analytics.
The software lacks essential features like custom domains, complicated marketing, and Facebook pixel use. The registration process is cumbersome due to default pages being incompatible and unattractive. Participants often miss the audio start prompt, leading to frustration. There's no built-in security, resulting in spam registrations, and poor analytics without date filters make KPI collection difficult.
BigMarker pricing plans are available on request to their sales team
Zoom Webinars Reviews
Zoom Webinars is primarily designed for meetings, presentations, and conferences, focusing on video communication. Its features, like screen sharing, audio/video conferencing, and breakout rooms, are aimed at interaction rather than immersive event experiences. While it supports large audiences with Q&A, polls, and chat, it lacks advanced engagement tools such as interactive networking spaces, virtual exhibitor booths, or customizable event agendas. As a result, it may not be the best choice for highly interactive events.
Additionally, Zoom Webinars has faced criticism for its security measures. It does not provide real-time chat moderation or inappropriate content filtering, and its end-to-end encryption is not enabled by default, posing potential security risks. The platform has also experienced "Zoombombing," where uninvited guests disrupt meetings with inappropriate content. This lack of advanced chat control can lead to harmful or offensive communication, disrupting webinars and creating an uncomfortable environment for attendees.
You are not alone in facing issues with Zoom, refer to That's what you said, it's a collection of issues, Zoom users had and posted on social platforms like - G2, X (Twitter), Reddit, etc.
Host Better Meetings with Feta
Virtual meetings are part of our daily work schedule, yet they’re also one of the most exhausting activities. Besides the obvious - boring UI/UX, untimely updates, a pain to integrate, and subpar AI-integrations, there’s another major problem - meeting tools work in silos! The entire experience is disconnected from the rest of our “work tools!”
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Migrating from Zoom to Feta
Feta offers an easy transition program for Zoom users. Users can receive Feta service at no cost for a period that matches their remaining Zoom contract. The Feta team provides support throughout the migration process. Interested parties can submit an online form for more details.
A feature comparison between Zoom vs. Feta is available for those seeking additional information and shows how Feta leads.
Feta is currently in its early access phase, onboarding new users daily. This presents an opportunity to experience firsthand the platform's innovative features aimed at enhancing online collaboration.
To express interest in early access, individuals can sign up via the provided form. Feta team will contact potential users in no time.