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Top virtual events platforms: A review and comparison of the best applications

Mar 9, 2023

You've brainstormed some stellar ideas for your virtual conference -- even contacted potential guests to speak at your conference. They're showing an curiosity, so do your stakeholders!

What do you think do you think of the virtual platforms you'd choose to use to host your online gathering?

It's a tough decision? In reality, despite the variety out there, it can be challenging to determine if a software is capable of satisfying all of your needs and delivering a memorable (and non-error-prone) event experience.

However, there are tools with friendly customer support teams that can help you create your perfect virtual event -- be it a multi-day conference as well as a live-streamed training session or webinar. You only need to find that treasure.

This guide will assist you in doing just that while I go through the six best platforms for virtual events. They are all are based on a small sample of these software and sifting through a myriad of reviews from third parties of these platforms.

Now, let's dig into:

In this article

What should you look for in a virtual conference platform

Before we dive into the top platforms for virtual events, let's first define what constitutes a great platform for online events by examining the most important capabilities.

Bookmark this article so that you are able to reference this checklist of options when selecting your ideal virtual event platform:

 Plenty of useful and easy integrations

Integrations with CRMs and email software, for example, can be crucial in sending out customized invitations for events and turning participants to loyal customers.

 The Intuitive User

An intuitive interface makes it simple for you to navigate through the software, explore its features, and drive the most benefits out of it. This also means that you are able to start the software operating on your own- no outside help needed.

 Stream quality

Your event's audio or video quality will directly affect attendees' experience, encouraging them to stay till the conclusion. You must ensure that the application that you pick offers HD quality streaming, comes with no complaints about performance and allows you to download your content at a high quality.

 Robust analytics

 Dynamic audience engagement tools

Hosting polls, quizzes, and questions are essential instruments for engaging your visitors and to improve their experience. Your platform must provide these functions in conjunction with the ability to create break-out rooms to encourage attendee-to attendee networking.

 Proactive customer service

Also, be sure the program's support team is quick and responsive to any your questions. A good way to determine the quality of support offered by the team is to question them regarding the software prior to purchase and also during the free trial. The way their answer your queries will speak volumes regarding the manner in which they interact with their customers and prospects.

Six of the best online event platforms (based on extensive review and testimonials from users)

For a full listing of the best online conference platforms:

For each tool, I've shared its core functionality as well as who the tool is best for as well as the areas where the tool is successful, and its cons in relation to what customers have to say on sites such as G2 and Gartner.

Let's go.

1. Events

 Events is a simple-to-use, browser-based virtual event platform ideal for event planners with some level of experience managing digital events.

The speakers you invite to speak at your event, as well as guests as well as your guests don't need to download any additional software to setup or create an event with .

Pros

  • Events can assist you in your event creation and promotion workflow. The platform can be connected to your CRM and email marketing software to design branded registration forms, create automated invitations to events as well as event confirmations and reminder emails, as well as keep attendees engaged after the event.
  • Provides sophisticated analytics that can help you improve your event marketing plan. When the event has concluded, gives you detailed analysis of the event and its viewers that tell you who attended, how much they watched and engaged throughout the event.
  • Helps you create a branded user experience. Drag-and-drop the interface to add full-screen graphics, lower thirds for the speakers in the intro, and custom branding.
  • The tools for editing videos and hosting to reuse event-related material. Utilize it to edit, trim chapters, edit, or enhance your video recording and share to different channels for marketing.

 Cons

  • The software isn't designed specifically for meetings in internal settings in the same way that Zoom and other meeting software are. Events is better for webinars, virtual venues, town halls, and more.
  • Events is a relatively new virtual event platform therefore it isn't able to boast the same recognition and brand name as the established players in the space.

2. Zoom

Most well-known for its one-on-one meetings, Zoom lets you host digital events as well. It's perfect for those who create and entrepreneurs in small businesses who wish to earn money through online events.

 Pros

  • Gives you plenty of tools to get attendees engaged and let them interact with each other and with your sponsors.
  • The process of setting up and creating the webinar on Zoom is simple and is especially so for users who are already comfortable with the software.

 Cons

  • Average video quality. In the case where HD video clarity (1080p) is the norm, Zoom offers 720p for the presence of two or more people at an event. There is a cost to host events online in HD video.
  • Participating in a virtual meeting hosted with Zoom doesn't come as a seamless experience. It's best for new users/attendees to come in 5 minutes early to install and download the application. This for event planners results in poor attendance.
  • Zoom can be expensive for hosting conferences with a large audience, rendering it unsuitable for scalability of events on the platform.
  • Lack of control options for hosts. Zoom offers no way for hosts to control chat chats at will which is something you have to keep in mind for public events.

 Pricing

Zoom's pricing depends on the number of attendees attending the event. For a rough estimate, the cost for 100 people events is $990 annually.

 Read more about Zoom

3. Hopin

Hopin lets event marketers throughout the globe accommodate as many guests as they'd like. Like Zoom, its pricing depends on the number of participants, which can make it expensive to expand on this platform. But where it wins over Zoom is that it offers features for moderators of comments.

 Pros

  • Hopin has an event branding studio where you can customize your website for registration and even a virtual event venue.
  • Moderation features and allows many speakers to be joined.
  • Comes with a mobile app to allow guests speakers and participants can join and engage on their mobiles.

 Cons

  • The event analytics don't go into depth.
  • There aren't any tools available for repurposing and reusing material from virtual event.
  • There are a few users who complain about video and audio performance issues in events hosted by Hopin. One of them mentions, "I don't like the performance issues that arise with audio or video. Users who do not have the best internet connections encounter lag issues. It's not the case with different solutions."

 Pricing

The free plan is offered that allows an administrator to host 2-hour long events for up to 100 attendees. To learn more about pricing, plans are gated.

4. GoTo Webinar

GoTo Webinar best for creators and small companies that are hosting events of a smaller size that can accommodate that can accommodate up to 3,000 participants that is lower than the offerings that Hopin, and Zoom offer.

It's also a good choice for solo business owners or creators conducting paid training workshops because GoTo Webinar directly connects with Stripe which allows for payments.

Pros

  • GoTo Webinar offers audience engagement instruments, such as polls and questions. Hosts can also draw on the display.
  • Multi-presenter mode in webinars allows up to six organizers the possibility of presenting.

Cons

  • The interface for users is old so some users report it can take some time to master GoToWebinar.
  • Users complain of performance issues as the number of attendees rises over 1,000 attendees. Some reviews complain of audio quality issues as well.
  • Certain functions, like the file sharing feature are slower. And some features are hard to find or confusing to utilize.

 Pricing

There's a 7-day free trial for 7 days. The remainder of the trial is paid with pricing starting at $49 per organizer per month (for hosting 250 participants).

5. Cvent

Cvent can be ideal for business marketing companies that host in-person events, such as trade shows due to their check-in facility.

Contrary to other platforms for online conferences It's not a popular choice among users for hosting virtual meetings.

 Pros

  • Cvent has onsite check-in facilities and badging software that prints attendees' photos on arrival. Some users logged complaints through third-party review websites about that the software was printing incorrect pictures.
  • It lets you integrate multiple systems to integrate your tech stacks and improve your workflow.
  • Comes with the standard tools for engagement with the audience as well as offers AI-powered networking recommendations, and gaming.

 Cons

  • The user interface is outdated.
  • Poor customer support and limited training resources/documentation, which aggravates the steep learning curve, making it challenging to start and get the most value from the platform
  • There are a few ways to personalize branding, access analytics, and get live chat

 Pricing

Prices are based on your needs, so you need to get an estimate of what Cvent cost.

6. On24

On24 is a virtual event platform great for marketers seeking to host webinars as well as multi-session events.

 Pros

  • Proactive customer support team.
  • The tool helps in automatizing a variety of tasks. Plus, offers integrations to ensure that your marketing and sales teams.

 Cons

  • A few layouts for content are available, which limit your choices in customizing your online event the registration and login pages.
  • Poor user interface with editors that function as code editor, adding to the steep learning curve.
  • No option to pre-create the online event. That means that you'll need to trade off audience engagement for the sake of ensuring that your show is smooth as you conduct the event at the speed of light. The reviewer says, "I would love to have the ability to create a storyboard for my webinar , and be able to control the screen's content, where their face appears on the tile of media, perform lower thirds of the video, insert individuals in the live stream before removing them and so on."   3 is the 3 format.

 Pricing

On24's website does not provide pricing. Anyone interested in a quote should obtain a quotation.

FAQs

When answering FAQs, don't respond to the question immediately; instead, include a link to a relevant article from your internal website (as applicable) to encourage click-through.

How do I choose a virtual event platform?

Analyze your company's needs, like your budget, the size of an event you want to hold, as well as how many virtual events you want to organize. Select a virtual events platform that does not just fit your budget, but also user-friendly, has in-depth analytics, audience engagement tools, high-quality streaming as well as a variety of connectivity options.

How can I make my virtual event more engaging?

What are the most talked about virtual event platforms out there currently?

Event, Hopin, Zoom, and GoToWebinar are some of the most popular platforms for events you can explore. Each has positives and negatives. Pick based on your budget and the specific requirements of your event.

Which virtual event platform will work best for you?

The most effective virtual event platform for you will be one that is able to meet the needs of your company in the best way. This includes:

  • The size of your attendee
  • Utilize cases (how how much you intend to leverage virtual events for your marketing and sales, and whether you offer paid workshops)
  • How much time you've to learn to use the latest tool
  • How much you plan to scale (you aren't looking for the platform to slip out of your budget while you expand)

There are a few software options that provide poor quality streaming using outdated UX. Other software have a long learning curve, and their costs can get expensive for hosting large audiences.

Luckily, this is an area in which Events really shines. It offers a ton of options for customization, streaming that is high-quality as well as a user-friendly interface. Additionally, it plays an important function in the reuse of footage from your events it hosts, helping you get the best return on your investment.