23 Best Virtual Conference Platforms For Online Events (2023)

Make no mistakes about it — webinars and virtual events are here to stay.

You can use a virtual conference platform to create brand awareness, generate sales, and network with professionals in your industry.

Without the perfect virtual conferencing technology, you may give excuses why you shouldn’t host an event.

That’s why 32% of businesses don’t run virtual events. According to the WildApricot Survey Report, they said that they don’t have the technological infrastructure to run them properly.”

This is a comprehensive guide to the best virtual conference platforms that are easy to set up and use, integrate with 100s of third-party platforms & apps, and customizable options.

The majority of these virtual conference tools come with free plans and affordable plans. Livestorm, Airmeet, GoToWebinar, ClickMeeting, and Zoom are great examples.

In this guide, you’ll discover:

• What the best virtual conference platforms are
• What to consider when choosing a virtual conference platform
• How to avoid losing ‘money’ on virtual conference platforms that are dated & hard to use
• The benefits of using virtual conference websites to host online meetings and webinars to grow your audience and sales.

If you’re ready, let’s dive right in.

What Are The Best Virtual Conference Platforms?

Here are my picks for the best virtual conference platforms for 2023. Then, you’ll find an in-depth review of each virtual conference tool.

Alright, let’s dive right in. Here’s a breakdown of the 23 best virtual conference platforms of 2023:

1. Livestorm

Best for virtual event analytics

Livestorm is a cloud-based, end-to-end virtual event platform that helps teams craft engaging events that will generate leads, build authority, and captivate viewers.

The platform allows users to host events, create custom slides, and send recordings.

Using Livestorm is easy and affordable, and it offers a free plan with reasonable features.

When hosting a webinar, you can even integrate the service with your existing business applications.

Key Features

• Provides on-demand, live, and pre-recorded virtual events
• Enables end-to-end engagement
• Powerful integration with apps such as Slack and Zapier
• Detailed and clean dashboard analytics
• Schedule on-demand and automated webinars
• Evaluate meeting report with details about participants, attendance, and deadlines

Pros

• It’s intuitive and easy to create landing pages
• Send promotional emails and reminders with ease
• It’s easy to integrate chat, polls, and Q&As to make your online event interactive
• Adding more sessions to a pre-existing webinar is super easy
• Easy to customize and use

Cons

• There’s a limit to the number of live attendees in an event (2 – 3,000 only)
• It doesn’t offer pricing per event (only monthly or annually)

Pricing

Livestorm offers 3 plans with flexible pricing:

• Free ($0/month): Unlimited events, unlimited moderators, 20 minutes per event, etc.
• Premium ($109/month): All features in free, plus 4 hours per event, unlimited event registrant, and more.
• Enterprise: Get all the features in Premium, plus more than 3,000 live attendees, and more. Contact the sales team for a custom quote.

Note: Switch to annual payment schedule and save 30% of the total cost.

2. WebinarJam

Popular virtual conference platform

WebinarJam is a popular online platform that lets you create powerful sales webinars quickly.

Its built-in live chat feature enables you to highlight audience comments and presenter responses.

In addition, you can customize your registration page so it looks just how you want it to. This feature also allows you to manage multiple time zones.

For example, if someone did not attend the webinar, but left early, you can send them a different kind of message.

You can also ban trolls from participating in the webinar.

Key Features

• View your sales pipeline in real-time
• A clean, visual dashboard
• Manage unlimited users, up to 1,000,000 contacts
• Integrate with 1,000+ apps
• Multi-touch revenue attribution

Pros

• It’s easy to integrate with third-party platforms
• Easily duplicate successful webinars to get new registrants
• Customizable and professional webinar templates
• You can post offers directly inside the webinar to make sales
• The panic button is super helpful
• Getting started in fun, no need to download or install any software

Cons

• Templates are often too “basic” and simple (except you build your own)
• Sometimes, there’s lag/delay between real-time and what the attendees were seeing or hearing
• The dashboard seems dated. It could use some redesign or improvement

Pricing

Here are the 4 different plans and pricing from WebinarJam:

• Starter ($39/month billed annually): 100 attendees, unlimited webinars, 1 host, 1 hour max duration, live chat, and more.
• Basic ($79/month billed annually): 500 attendees, 2 hours max duration, replica replays, and everything in Starter.
• Professional ($229/month billed annually): Everything in Basic, plus 2,000 attendees, 4 hosts, 3 hours max duration, flexible scheduling, and more.
• Enterprise ($379/month billed annually): Everything in Professional, plus 5,000 attendees, 6 hosts, 4 hours max duration, fully-customizable pages, and more.

3. HeySummit

Best virtual conference platform for branding

HeySummit is an all-in-one virtual conference platform that makes it easy to create and run online events.

The platform offers a variety of features that make organizing and facilitating a conference a breeze, including the ability to integrate with other tools such as Zoom and Hopin.

It also makes it easy for speakers to share their content and interact with attendees.

Regardless of the size of your event, you can easily manage all of the details with HeySummit’s simple dashboard.

Key Features

• Create unlimited online events
• Easy integrations with popular webinar and video platforms
• Generate dynamic landing and registration pages to capture attendees information
• Send customizable emails
• Run giveaways and competitions
• Live and pre-recorded events

Pros

• Excellent and responsive support
• Super easy to and quick solution for virtual events
• It’s easy to showcase speakers, schedule, and sell tickets
• Seamless integration with Zoom to enjoy more functionalities
• It’s plug & play, really easy to learn

Cons

• It’s not as intuitive to personalize as Livestorm
• Some of the email templates have inactive elements that don’t work
• You might struggle to send custom emails (there seems to be an issue)

Pricing

HeySummit offers 3 straightforward plans:

• Starter ($33/month or $300/year): Unlimited active events, 250 registrants, landing pages, etc.
• Growth ($99/month or $900/year): Everything in Starter, plus 1,250 registrants, unlimited team members, and more.
• Success ($299/month or $2,340/year): Everything in Growth, plus 5,000 registrants, unlimited team members, and more.

4. Riverside

Best virtual conference platform for podcasters

Riverside is the all-inclusive audio and video recording platform.

This innovative virtual conference platform enables users to record virtual conferences, including keynote speakers, roundtable discussions, and live Q&As.

This feature allows participants to view and listen to recorded sessions. In addition, the user can receive individual audio/video tracks.

The recording can be played back at a later date and has studio-quality audio and video.

With a range of customizable plans, Riverside is perfect for entrepreneurs, indie creators, budding podcasters, and enterprises.

Key Features

• Schedule and invite people to your event
• Local recordings up to 4k video resolution
• Uncompressed crystal clear audio
• Separate audio & video tracks
• Edit your virtual event with the Magic Editor
• Screen share recording
• Convert your podcasts and videos into texts in seconds

Pros

• You can easily separate audio & video tracks
• Screen share recording is easy
• You can expect studio-quality audio, all from the browser
• It’s easy to record podcasts with guests at any time via the iOS app
• The team is always releasing new updates and features

Cons

• It can only be used on Google Chrome (no other browser is supported)
• Sometimes, there may be delays during session recording

Pricing

Riverside comes with 4 pricing plans to help you pick what’s right for you:

• Basic ($9/month): 2 hours per month of video and audio recording, and more.
• Standard ($19/month): 5 hours per month, live stream to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
• Pro ($29/month): 15 hours per month, separate video & audio tracks, and more.
• Enterprise: Get in touch with the support team for a custom quote.

Note: Save 21% of the total cost when you switch to a yearly plan.

5. Weve

Best virtual conference platform for teams

Weve is an online platform that hosts online experiences and virtual events. If you’re looking to run a virtual meeting, Weve can make the experience enjoyable.

With customizable training modules, Weve helps you conduct interactive meetings and engage your employees.

Not only does Weve support online meetings, but it also gives you the option of live streaming events to keep your team connected even if everyone is scattered around the world.

Weve also offers professional emcees and hosts to help you make your event a success.

Key Features

• Event Manager Dashboard to track every activity
• Drive interaction with gamification tools (such as quizzes)
• Collaborate with your team at a deeper level
• Easily switch between work and play mode
• Hosted and self-hosted online events
• Professional templates for registration pages

Pros

• The video calling feature is intuitive to use
• The customer support is reliable. They’ll get back to you on time.
• It’s user-friendly and fun to use (especially for beginners)
• Lots of customization features that puts you in control of the event

Cons

• The theme could improve overall (to be more appealing)
• You may experience laggy or delayed audio (I’m sure they’re working on improving it)

Pricing

The plans and pricing structure that Weve offers is rather complicated. It’s based on number of participants and rooms.

• STANDARD ($299 per room): Up to 10,000 participants, all game types, and more.
• PRO ($799 per room): Everything in STANDARD, plus spectate and play mode, planning call, pre-assigned teams, etc.
• PREMIUM ($1,299 per room): Everything in PRO, plus live stream & webcast, event support team, and more.

6. GoToWebinar

Best for ease of use

GoToWebinar is a service that allows you to hold a live web conference without using a traditional conference room.

This tool simplifies every aspect of webinar creation and management.

From planning to promotion to engagement to conversion, and analysis, everything is streamlined.

This tool also allows you to share your screen with other participants, which can be useful if you’re trying to convince potential customers to purchase a product or service.

Key Features

• Create and host live and pre-recorded events
• Accept online payments through Stripe
• Iron-clad security and privacy to keep you safe
• Track engagement and webinar performance
• Automated communication for invites with reminders and follow-ups

Pros

• A great alternative to Zoom
• Easy to use and learn (especially for beginners)
• New features and learning resources constantly added
• Reports are quite detailed for attendee tracking, Q&A submissions
• Responsive design on multiple devices

Cons

• You can’t run customized reports
• Hand raising feels a bit hokey (Zoom offers multiple options for this)
• Lack of professional background templates to use

Pricing

GoToWebinar has 4 plans:

• Lite ($49/organizer/month billed annually): 250 participants
• Standard ($99/organizer/month billed annually): 500 participants
• Pro ($199/organizer/month billed annually): 1,000 participants
• Enterprise ($399/organizer/month billed annually): 3,000 participants

Note: All plans include unlimited cloud storage, polls, handouts, and Q&As, Reporting & Analytics, automated emails, and more.

7. ClickMeeting

Best for large events

ClickMeeting is a web-based meeting software. The user interface is simple, and the program comes with a number of useful features, such as an option to rate your meeting.

The feedback is very useful in refining your webinar strategy. The app also helps you create online meetings, which you can join using your dashboard.

Another key feature of ClickMeeting is its ability to split a meeting into different rooms for different topics.

This feature is helpful for remote conferences, and for projects that require collaboration from different teams.

Key Features

• Online business meetings & collaboration
• Scale up your webinars and reach thousands with handy tools
• Product demos & marketing
• Record live or scheduled pre-recorded events
• Screen sharing with team members and participants
• Paid webinars

Pros

• Easy and simple user interface
• You can prepare the meeting in advance and save the settings
• Helpful automation tools (like automatic registration)
• You can do live streaming to YouTube and Facebook
• Interactive features such as screen sharing, Q&A mode, and polls

Cons

• Meeting through the mobile app is a bit glitchy compared to the browser.
• Presentations uploaded to the ClickMeeting server’s memory sometimes lose their quality.
• It’s daunting for new users to adjust audio and webcam features.

Pricing

ClickMeeting has plans and pricing that are based on the number of attendees. This pricing is based on 50 participants:

• Live ($45/month): Suitable for getting started. unlimited webinars and meetings, and more.
• Automated ($55/month): All the features and integrations from Live plan, driven by automation Webinar cycle.
• Enterprise: Get custom quotes from the sales team.

Note: Save up to 20% when you pay annually.

8. BigMarker

Best for hybrid events

BigMarker is an innovative platform for hosting webinars and virtual & hybrid events.

This platform is designed to be flexible and easy to use.

It offers a wide range of features and can be customized to meet your goals and audience.

It’s particularly suitable for high-volume events with a high degree of attendee interaction.

Among its many features, it supports a variety of events, including virtual trade shows, thought leadership events, and customer summits.  

Key Features

• Host interactive webinars on-demand (browser-based)
• Host customizable virtual events with ticketing built-in
• Product broad-cast quality video content
• Integrate with your CRM, email marketing, and landing page platforms
• Powerful tools to host hybrid events (i.e., in-person and virtual attendees)
• Chat, Polls, Q&A, and Handouts
• Robust Analytics and Screen sharing

Pros

• Easily host webinar-style training on-demand
• Ticketing for digital events & training is quite easy
• Clean and intuitive user interface (easy to navigate)
• User-friendly prompts that remind you to start recording your webinar, or do something else
• They’re always adding new features and tutorial videos to help users

Cons

• It lacks white label offering (such as the ability to embed events into your website)
• You can’t stream webinars natively to Facebook with this platform (except you integrate a third-party app)

Pricing

Here are the 4 different pricing options:

• Starter ($129/month or $99/month billed annually): Get started with your live events and webinars.
• Elite ($249/month or $199/month billed annually): Live webinars, on-demand webinars, email templates, 500 attendees, 2 host licenses, etc.
• Premier ($599/month or 499/month billed annually): Everything in Elite, and more.
• White Label: Contact support for a custom quote.

9. vFairs

Best for In-Person and Virtual events

vFairs is a powerful platform to host engaging Hybrid, In-Person, & Virtual events with ease.

vFairs is an excellent virtual conference platform. If you’re hosting a conference for hundreds of people, a large number of people won’t be enough to fill the entire room.

Make sure that you have enough space for all attendees.

Once the meeting begins, you can create a follow-up page that will help them contact the presenters and speakers.

Key Features

• Immersive and lifelike virtual venues
• Webinars, matchmaking, and chat tools
• Powerful mobile event app
• Event gamification to engage the audience
• Event Builder with full customization options
• Live and on-demand webinars
• Extensive analytics and reports

Pros

• The exhibitor booth setup is easy for clients to navigate
• Easy collaboration tools to engage team members
• You can adapt and personalize your avatar
• Quick to set up, and easy to navigate
• Kind and polite support team that loves to listen and help
• The ‘virtual world’ design is amazing. Less pages of texts, more visually appealing conference world

Cons

• Reporting could be improved especially related to surveys
• The chat room could be more intuitive to use

Pricing

To get custom quotes based on your needs, reach out to the support team by filling out the form.

10. EasyWebinar

Best platform when you want to sell products/service to participants

EasyWebinar transforms online meetings into high-quality, interactive events. Its no-delay streaming ensures that high-quality videos are delivered on time.

You can also make any attendee a co-presenter in your webinar by letting them use a camera and microphone or share their screen.

EasyWebinar supports up to four main presenters and allows audience members to be present during the webinar.

If you’re wondering if EasyWebinar is right for you, try its free trial.

You can get a free 14-day trial. The software has extensive features and is user-friendly.

Key Features

• Host Live & Automated webinars
• Plug & Play page builder
• Powerful integrations with your favorite apps
• Stream your broadcast on Facebook & YouTube live with EasyCast
• Webinar Foundation Course to help you learn the ropes
• Unlimited live attendance using YouTube Live Integration

Pros

• Amazing customer service support that are eager to answer your questions
• An intuitive and user-friendly interface
• Webinar delivery is simple (nothing confusing)
• The templates are easily customizable
• It integrates with ConvertKit to track and tag subscribers (get to know how far they have watched the webinar)

Cons

• Only a handful templates (more professional templates would be great)
• It’s a bit pricey for 100 live attendees compared to GoToWebinar

Pricing

EasyWebinar offers 3 easy-to-choose plans and pricing:

• Standard ($78/month): 100 live attendees, YouTube Live integration, and more.
• Pro ($129/month): 500 attendees, webinar foundation course, and more.
• Enterprise ($499/month): Everything in Pro, plus 2,000 live attendee, HubSpot and Pardot integration, and more.

Note: You get 3 months free with annual billing.

11. Demio

Best for hosting and promoting webinars

Demio offers versatile virtual conference capabilities for businesses.

Its customizable event page can be customized with your logo and primary brand color, and you can add supplementary materials, including handouts.

The platform is also mobile-friendly and can be used on both iOS and Android devices.

It can handle up to 250 attendees, which is about average for a virtual conference.

Although it does not come with its own marketing automation tools, you can integrate it with other marketing automation tools.

Key Features

• Track all your email messages, opens, clicks, and downloads
• Integrate with QuickBooks, email providers, sales software, etc.
• Create custom fields that will appear on every deal page
• Sales forecasting to help you maximize your efforts
• Automate sales commissions to reduce cost

Pros

• It’s easy to track the performance of sent emails
• Easily track registration sources
• Create custom room and brand your emails
• Premium integrations with third-party apps
• GEtting started is easy, no software download is required

Cons

• It requires a high learning curve
• There’s no built-in tool to stream to YouTube, except via Zapier integration

Pricing

• Starter: ($49/month): 50-attendance room, suitable for small businesses & solo entrepreneurs.
• Growth ($99/month): 150-attendance room, suitable for growing companies
• Premium: 500 or 1,000 attendance room, get custom quotes from the support team.

Note: Save 30% when you pay annually, and there’s a 14-day free trial with all the plans so that you can test the video conference software before you upgrade.

12. Airmeet

Best for sponsorships

Airmeet is a web-based solution that supports online events, webinars, and social media interactions.

The features of this virtual conference platform include audio calling, discussion threads, screen sharing, recording, analytics, and reporting.

It also includes an easy-to-use interface. Unlike many other solutions, it can scale to over 100,000 participants.

Users can invite speakers from across the globe and create customized branding.

Key Features

• User-friendly and intuitive platform
• Robust real-time analytics and record sessions
• Process payments for event tickets via Stripe
• Private virtual backstage
• interactive emojis – ‘raise hand’ button to ask questions
• Quick and reliable one-to-one networking

Pros

• Simple set up and ease of use
• Easily deliver interactive experiences via polls, surveys, comments, and Q&As
• A rich and in-depth event analytics
• Host community meetups from anywhere you are
• Integrate with your favroite apps and workflows in one place
• Trusted customer support via chatbot, email, live video chats, etc.

Cons

• Free version is only limited to 10 attendees
• You can’t intuitively customize the reminders that are being sent to attendees prior to the events

Pricing

Airmeet has different pricing for Social Webinar, Conference, and Fairs & Trade Shows. For this breakdown, let’s consider the pricing for social webinars:

• Free ($0/month): Engaging webinars for 100 registrants
• Basic ($99/month): Live and on-demand webinars that are customizable.
• Pro: Get in touch with the support team for a custom quote. Get personalized URL, live translations, and more.

Note: Choose annual pricing and save 10% of the total monthly cost.

13. Communique Conferencing

Best platform for webcasting

Communique Conferencing is a global leader in virtual events and conferences.

Their software and services can help companies host events around the world.

They provide reliable security and engaging content for virtual conference attendees.

With this platform, you can host your own virtual conferences. This solution has many advantages.

It’s designed to work with businesses of all sizes and budgets.

Key Features

• Live or pre-recorded webinars with gamification (polls, surveys, Q&A)
• Attendee Matchmaking
• Registration and ticketing tools
• Networking and breakout rooms
• 1:1 and small group video chat
• Live day broadcast messages

Pros

• Experienced and responsive project management team
• Create surveys and polls is quick
• The mobile app is lightweight and fast
• Registration is quick and user-friendly
• Stream your event in multiple languages

Cons

• The pricing structure isn’t clear enough
• It requires a bit of a learning curve (limited learning resources)

Pricing

Communique offers both pay-per-event and unlimited yearly license plans. Reach out to the support team for a demo or custom quote.

14. Eventzilla

Best for marketing and promotion of your virtual events

Eventzilla is a powerful and easy-to-use virtual conference platform.

The platform allows you to create online conferences, host webinars and live streams, and register attendees.

This platform is fully customizable and provides a drag-and-drop builder. In addition, the platform optimizes event pages for mobile devices.

Many of its features are integrated with Google Analytics and other business tools.

The system also offers a mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

Key Features

• Customizable virtual event hub
• Email invitations per event
• Session attendance & resource management
• Advanced session analytics & insights
• Queue management for high volume events
• Sell on your website and process payments

Pros

• The drag-and-drop builder is easy to use
• Easily optimize event pages for mobile devices
• Host virtual events on the go (via the iOS or Android apps)
• Quickly send email invitations to notify attendees
• It’s easy to accept donations and raise funds with the platform

Cons

• Pointing domain to the Eventzilla landing page is a bit difficult
• The customer support can be improved (you have to wait hours to get feedback)

Pricing

Eventzilla offers 3 payment plans, such as:

• Basic: $1.50 per registration, 1 user, unlimited events, 100 email invitations
• Pro: 1.9% + $1.50 per registration, everything in Basic, plus unlimited paid ticket, and more.
• Plus: 2.9% + $1.50 per registration, everything in Pro, plus unlimited account users, and more.

15. Hopin

Best virtual conference platform for networking

Hopin is a powerful virtual conferencing platform. It allows you to host live, web-based events that connect you with your audience.

With its powerful tools, you can connect with other conference attendees instantly.

The Hopin app makes it easy to share and download presentations. You can even share links, photos, and other files with your audience.

The best part is that you can schedule events to run after business hours to avoid disrupting people.

Key Features

• Use multiple breakout sessions
• Create converting landing pages
• Powerful data encryption standards
• Virtual stage and backstage or pre-event preparation
• Host hybrid events to nurture company culture

Pros

• Create stunning landing pages for your event
• It’s easy to use branding elements in your virtual rooms
• User friendly navigation UI for attendees
• It’s highly customizable
• Easy to set up for internal team
• You can host hybrid events to engage your team members
• Use multiple interactive breakout sessions to engage users even further

Cons

• Reporting and Analytics could be improved ‘visually.’
• Registration and ticketing for events could be simplified for beginners

Pricing

Hopin offers 5 pricing plans, including:

• Free ($0/month): Get started with 100 registrants at no cost.
• Starter ($99/month): Get all the core features, plus 72 hours of event length, and more.
• Growth ($799/month): Enhance your brand and maximize your event experience. Get 5 seats, up to 72 hours of event length, and more.
• Business: Contact support for a custom quote
• Enterprise: Get all the advanced features, reach out to the support team for quotes.

Note: Switch to annual payment schedule and save 15%.

16. Cisco Webex Events

Best for scalability

Cisco Webex Events offers unmatched capabilities for hosting online conferences. It’s easy to use and allows you to record your meetings.  

The platform is designed to streamline the management of face-to-face meetings and reduce travel expenses.

You can easily schedule, send reminders, and even incorporate screen-sharing and online polls.

And if you’re hosting an event for multiple participants, the tool supports up to 3,000 participants in one session.

Key Features

• Smooth broadcasting and screen sharing
• Webex Cloud Calling
• Gain access to live and pre-recorded session
• Post-event survey through Q&A, polls and forms
• Visual enhancement tools such as white digital boards
• Crisp, uninterrupted audio system

Pros

• The audio system is clear and high-quality
• Get the best audio and video quality in areas with weak signals
• Easy to set up (and get started)
• Seamless support for Android and iOS devices
• It’s easy and fun to use the cloud calling tool
• The visual enhancement tools make every event interactive

Cons

• It’s not as intuitive to use as Zoom and GoToWebinar
• It doesn’t provide a more direct view of upcoming meetings (this can be improved)

Pricing

To get pricing details or custom quotes, submit the form and you’ll get a response from a sales representative.

17. Zoom Video Webinars

Best all-purpose virtual conference software

Zoom Video Webinars is an online webinar platform that lets you broadcast to 50,000 or more participants with view-only access.

You can start with a 500-participant license and scale up to 50,000 participants.

With Zoom, you can share your screen and audio, and your attendees can interact with you via the chat feature.

In addition to audio, video, and webcams, you can also record your webinar and share it with others.

Key Features

• Ability to record sessions and conduct polls
• Powerful integrations with Pardot, Kultura, Salesforce, etc.
• Multi-desktop, wireless sharing
• Detailed reports and insights on participants’ entering and leaving time
• Multiple breakout rooms for your online events
• Mute/unmute participants to keep virtual events organized.

Pros

• Easy to use screen sharing features
• Seamless integration with social media platforms
• You can stream multiple webcams at once
• Add interactivity to webinars via live chat, audience polling, and Q&A
• It’s affordable compared to some webinar and virtual event platforms

Cons

• Dial in is not always reliable and consistent
• Green screen for background fails to work sometimes
• Video quality can be improved

Pricing

Zoom offers 4 plans:

• Free ($0/month): This plan is for starters. It’s ideal for personal meetings, up to 100 participants, private & group chat, and more.
• PRO ($14.99/month): All the features of Free, plus host 1,000 participants with large meetings add-on, social media streaming, and more.
• BUSINESS ($19.99/month): Everything in PRO, plus Single Sign-On, managed domains, custom branding, and so on.
• Enterprise ($19.99/month): Get everything in BUSINESS, plus 500 participants, unlimited cloud storage, recording transcripts, and more.

Note: Save up to 17% when you switch to the annual plan.

18. Whova

Best overall all-in-one virtual event platform

Whova is an all-in-one event management software for In-Person, Hybrid, and Virtual Events.

Event organizers often need to manage a large number of attendees and speakers in an efficient manner.

The Whova app enables them to easily update event information, provide a better networking experience, and reduce printing costs.

They also need a solution that will help them reach a wide audience of potential attendees.  

Key Features

• Showcase leaderboards and offer prizes to encourage survey and poll responses
• Send reminder emails, in-app messages, and notifications to get registrants ready
• Ask engaging and fun questions within the session
• Built-in chat features to initiate conversions during the conference
• Share links, photos, and tips during the online event

Pros

• It’s easy to share photos with attendees
• Easily communicate with team members in an open discussion
• Visualize how the event is progressing with ease
• Stream different workshops at the same time (with no conflicts)
• Meeting page layout is clear and intuitive

Cons

• No option to download the list of attendees
• Limited guidance in the use of the mobile app

Pricing

Whova can help you drive attendee engagement and participation with in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Pricing is based on your specific needs, so get in touch with the sales team for a custom quote.

19. InEvent

Best for professional virtual events

InEvent is a cloud-based platform for managing event planning, hosting, and analytics.

Designed for events, it offers a unified event management solution that integrates with leading companies.

The InEvent platform allows you to automatically register your attendees using Eventbrite and manage their ticket information and participation data with its smart lists.

It also supports video conferencing, webinars, and more. With InEvent, you can track and manage attendees from anywhere.

Key Features

• Host webinars at scale
• Convert more leads and close deals
• Host video meetings and virtual training sessions
• Get high-resolution video quality
• Deliver TV-like experiences to your audience with Live Studio
• Hybrid event hosting tools

Pros

• The team is always available and super helpful
• User-friendly admin interface with easy-to-find features
• Easily set up marketing campaigns for upcoming events
• Smooth integration with multiple platforms
• Reliable customer service and rich knowledgebase

Cons

• The sponsor functionality could be improved (and more simplified)
• No option to change the virtual lobby layout (yet)

Pricing

Choose a plan out of these 3 different plans from InEvent:

• V&H Advanced ($9,990/year): Get custom branding, chat, polling, reports, live studio, RTMP streaming, simulated live streaming, and more.
• V&H Full: Host hybrid events + a dedicated project management team. Get in touch with the company for a quote.
• V&H EventHub: Contact the sales team for a custom quote. This plan is suitable for large global enterprise with compliance.

20. WorkCast

Best virtual conference platform for large businesses

WorkCast is an easy-to-use online platform that allows you to host live webinars, on-demand webinars, virtual events, and polls.

Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to create events and stream recorded and live video content.

The platform’s team of experts can also answer questions and assist with any technical issues.

Its managed event service covers everything but the content. It makes hosting webinars, virtual events and polls a breeze.

Key Features

• Comprehensive digital event management tools
• Powerful data & analytics
• Host all types of event types (webinars, webcasts, virtual events)
• Powerful integrations with Salesforce, HubSpot, and more platforms.
• Templated event layouts to create a brand experience
• Broadcast to any device using cloud-based technology

Pros

• A collection of professional email templates to help promote your webinar
• Seamless integration with HubSpot to capture your attendees’ details and follow up
• Easy to get started on all devices. No download is required.
• Embed your webinars directly into your landing pages
• It’s well supported – there’s a professional team you can reach via phone with your questions.

Cons

• The questions/polls could use some improvement
• It’s very expensive (starting at £1,995/year for 500 attendees)

Pricing

WorkCast offers 3 premium plans for established businesses:

• Present+ (£1,995/year): Up to 500 attendees, unlimited presenters, 1 host, email & live chat support, and more.
• Producer+ (£4,740/year): Multi-session online events, up to 5,000 attendees, unlimited contributors, and more.
• Enterprise: Talk to the sales team for a custom quote. It allows up to 10,000+ attendees, add-on virtual & hybrid events, full technical support, and more.

Note: If you’re concerned about the upfront cost, you can request a free demo of Workcast or start with a 14-day free trial to experiment with all the features before taking the leap.

21. Dreamcast

Best for customized virtual events

Dreamcast offers immersive tools for transforming virtual experiences, host engaging and customized virtual events to stay relevant.

This platform is an excellent choice for companies looking for a unique way to reach their target audiences.

The Dreamcast virtual conference platform offers an AI Matchmaking tool that matches attendees with similar interests, networking tables, and more.

You can hold one-on-one meetings or group chats, and integrate audio and video into your meetings.

Key Features

• Host interactive virtual events with gamification
• Build connections with seamless networking opportunities
• DIY Booth Builder for your hybrid events
• Useful & detailed analytics to track attendee participation
• A wide range of Live streaming features with end-to-end support

Pros

• It’s great for collaborating with team members
• The AI Matchmaking tool is quite easy to use
• The demo is rich and easy to follow
• Live polls, quizzes, and spin the wheel options add some interactivity to events
• Get detailed tracking and analytics of the entire event

Cons

• It’s not as intuitive as Airmeet and GoToMeeting platforms
• Design options for the dashboard are limited

Pricing

Get custom pricing and quotes from the sales team based on your specific needs and number of participants you’re expecting at your virtual event.

22. SpotMe

Best B2B event marketing platform

SpotMe is a virtual and hybrid events app that works. It offers a number of features to enhance the overall experience of your event.

These include engagement tools that help you engage your audience during the event, including live polling, Q&A, surveys, and word clouds.

It also has built-in RTPMS and lets you publish recorded sessions, limit the number of participants per session, and send personalized push notifications.

It even lets you customize the look of your event registration website and send personalized push notifications.

Key Features

• Build a virtual event or live show and share it on iOS, Android, and web
• Customize and brand your event to fit your identity
• Host interactive webinars with engaging live polling, video breakout rooms, one-on-one meetings, etc.
• Easy networking tools for your community
• Connect with your tech stack (MailChimp, Stripe, Salesforce, and Zapier)

Pros

• Easily host hybrid and virtual events from anywhere
• Create immersive webinar-style events with ease
• Lots of learning resources to master the platform
• The team is always adding new features and updates

Cons

• The pricing structure isn’t clear (except you contact the sales team)
• Backstage customization is complicated (it could be simplified)

Pricing

SpotMe plans and pricing are based your needs. See what features you can expect, then reach out to the team for custom quotes.

• Starter: 2 virtual events, unlimited participants, 80+ engagement features, and more.
• Business: Everything in Starter, plus end-to-end customer engagement and digital experience platform.
• Advanced: All the feature in Business, plus 25 virtual events, unlimited participants and admins, app single sign-on, and more.
• Enterprise: Custom plan, desktop web + iOS/Android app, and all the features you can get from SpotMe.

Note: All these plans are priced based on your specific needs at any given time. So you’re expected to contact sales to get custom quotes.

23. Virtual Summits Software

Best for hosting engaging virtual summits

Virtual Summits Software simplifies the entire process of hosting your own virtual summit.

Keep in mind that a virtual summit can help you grow your email list, connect with influencers, and generate revenue.

If you want to make your online summits more interactive and engaging for your audience, you need to choose the right Virtual Summits Software.

This software is ideal for businesses and entrepreneurs who want to promote their products or services.  

Key Features

• Manage leads, deals, contacts, and companies
• Generate quotes and invoices
• Set up online payments
• Sales automation with templates to choose from
• Improve your marketing with handy tools

Pros

• Anyone can host a profitable summit (no coding skill required)
• Choose from easy to customize Summit themes and templates
• An intuitive and summit page builder
• Utilize your summit as a resource to build an audience
• Easily create highly-relevant offers for your summit

Cons

• The free plan offers limited features (only 1 active summit)
• Plans may be expensive for small businesses hosting their first summit

Pricing

Virtual Summits Software offers 4 plans with flexible pricing options to choose from:

• Basic: Completely free, host 1 active summit, 200 registrants, unlimited collaborators, and more.
• Standard ($97/month or $74/month billed annually): Unlimited active summit, 1,500 registrants, multi-presentations, and more.
• Professional ($197/month or $165/month billed annually): Everything in Standard, plus Speaker management tool, access to live support, 6,000 registrants, and more.
• Business ($297/month or $222/month billed annually): All the features in Professional, plus 10,000 registrants, 0% VSS transaction fee, and more.

What Are Virtual Conference Platforms?

Virtual conference platforms allow marketers, entrepreneurs, and businesses to host smaller or large-scale virtual events online.

Remote work have gained a lot of demand in recent years, and even more since the pandemic.

Ultimately, the goal is to keep team members connected, according to 91% of businesses that run virtual conferences.

With a virtual conference platform, users (i.e., conference attendees) no longer need to travel to a specific location to attend. They can attend from the comfort of their home.

What Are The Different Types of Virtual Events?

There are many different types of virtual conference platforms.

They provide standard features such as screen sharing, polling options, analytics, and private chat. Let’s explore them:

i). Online Training Sessions: This type of virtual events is for educational purposes, such as internal training on company policies or how to use a particular software.

Or external training sessions for clients on how to use your product or service platform.

ii). Online Fairs: This covers Internship fairs, Job fairs, and Volunteer causes.

iii). Webinar as a Product: In this online event, your organization or business will charge entry fees for webinars. You can share educational or industry resources, hosting panels, offering breakout rooms, etc.

iv). Virtual Trade Shows: Primarily, this covers online trade shows and expos with multiple exhibitors and vendors, also involved are virtual booths with interactive elements.

v). Lead Generation and Sales Events: Attendees can participate in the sales webinar for free. However, the goal is to pitch your product or service during or after the event.

vi). Hybrid Events: When you hear of hybrid events, keep in mind that it’s a combo between in-person and virtual events. It can be a company-wide or industry-specific events. This type of events drive networking and breakout sessions.

Essential Virtual Event Platforms Features

Before you choose a virtual conference platform, keep in mind that your specific KPIs and goals may be different from another business.

The virtual conferencing priorities of a small business or solopreneur will definitely differ from the priorities of a large, established company.

Regardless, here are the essential features you’d need in a virtual conference software platform:

1. Breakout Rooms

When using a virtual conference platform, it’s critical to choose one that offers the ability to host breakout rooms.

These smaller rooms allow you to hold dynamic group discussions with multiple speakers and audience members.

Most virtual conference platforms will allow you to randomly assign breakout room locations.

However, if you’d like to set up your own breakout room setup, you’ll need to find a platform that offers technical implementation and moderators.

2. Conference ticketing

Conference ticketing and registration is an integral part of a successful virtual conference.

This tool allows you to make payments, manage attendees, and track attendance.

Livestorm is an ideal choice for large events since it provides comprehensive event registration and management.

3. Reporting and Analytics

Centralized reporting and analytics tools make virtual events easier to manage and optimize.

The data that you collect is invaluable for making data-driven decisions.

With powerful reporting and analytics tools, virtual conference platforms can give event managers a comprehensive view of attendees’ behavior, including the length of time attendees, spend in sessions, poll responses, and message exchanges.

Many virtual conference platforms also allow users to export all data to a spreadsheet and share it with colleagues and sponsors.

4. Polling

A virtual conference platform offering a Polling feature is a must-have for any webinar.

Its user-friendly interface allows you to share slides, handouts, and content with the participants.

Polling features for virtual conferences are not a new concept.

They can help keep attendees engaged, spark conversation, and provide some levity between long sessions.

A detached poll can steal attention from the main event. Therefore, polling is best integrated into the run of the show.

5. Screen sharing

The best virtual conference platforms should also offer screen sharing functionality, which enables attendees to see documents and other content, including presentations and documents.

This is a vital feature of virtual events, as it facilitates remote presentations. So look out for this key feature when choosing a platform.

6. Third-party integrations

One of the most important features of any Virtual conference platform is the ability to integrate third-party integrations with it.

If you’re planning on using the service to hold a webinar or an event, make sure to check out the apps and platforms that are supported.

Hopin offers a ton of integrations with third-party apps.

7. Conference recordings

One of the most important features to look for in a virtual conference platform is the ability to record conference sessions.

Some platforms are so good that they offer conference recording functionality, while others are designed to record every single minute of a meeting.

Regardless of what you need, you’re bound to find a virtual conference platform that has the features and functionality that will benefit your event.

Benefits of Using Virtual Conference Platforms

Here are the 5 benefits of using virtual conference platforms to host your online events and workshops:

1. Host multiple kinds of content

By using a virtual conference platform like Livestorm, Demio, or GoToWebinar, you can host several kinds of content at one time.

Some of these are video, audio, and text, so they are suitable for all types of meetings.

Some platforms let you combine different types of content into one session, making them more flexible and useful.

Whether you’re hosting a technical conference or a general business meeting, there’s a virtual conference platform to suit your needs.

2. Facilitate networking

If you’d like to meet new people in your industry, an online conference organizer can help.

Some virtual conferences include a feature where you can view speaker profiles, including contact information.

Other companies may include links to social platforms in the lobby area. These links can be bookmarked by attendees, which can help extend the reach of sponsors.

Using interactive contests and games is another way to boost social engagement.

3. Engage a lot of people at the same time

A virtual conference platform should have a variety of tools to encourage interaction with all attendees.

For example, you should look for software with tools that allow attendees to take notes, use a whiteboard, or post questions for the speakers.

You should also look for tools that allow you to manage the conference and moderate it.

Most people enjoy participating in virtual conferences because of the relationships they form with the speakers and other participants.

4. Record events to reuse

Another great benefit of recording virtual events is the ability to reuse the content you record.

You can reuse the recordings for webinars, sales pitches, RFPs, customer training, or even internal events.

If you have a lot of recorded content, you can optimize your content to make it more relevant for your audience.

For example, you can use the same recordings for multiple purposes. Having access to all of these resources is crucial to ensuring the success of your virtual event.

5. Customize your event

Virtual conference platforms like HeySummit and WebinarJam allow you to customize your event and add the features that your attendees will most want.

This feature-rich platform enables you to have an unlimited number of speakers and sponsors and create an engaging experience for your attendees.

What’s more, you can easily edit the structure and design of your virtual event with a drag-and-drop system.

How To Use a Virtual Conference Platform

You want to make sure everything is prepped when using a virtual conference platform.

The setup process for each virtual conference platform will differ.

In this example, we’ll look at the step-by-step guide to hosting a webinar event with GoToWebinar:

Step 1: Choose your webinar topic

Choose a topic that will inform and motivate attendees. If the subject matter calls for it, you might invite guest speakers to handle it.

Step 2: Choose a date and time

Certain days and times work better when hosting a webinar or any form of online meeting. Schedule your meeting for the perfect time that suits your attendees in different time zones.

Step 3: Customize your branding

Choose a theme for your webinar, pick an image that will appeal to your audience, add your logo, and choose a template that will reflect your brand.

Step 4: Create a hashtag for your webinar

Promotion is a key component of every successful online meeting. Create a hashtag to begin your promotions on social media.

Step 5: Send out your webinar invitations

It’s time to publicize the event. Send the invite to your followers and email subscribers. You may post about it on your website if you have an audience there.

Use the hashtag on social media. Get creative and you’ll attract the right audience to attend.

Step 6: Build webinar content

Your content is key, so take care of it. Create engaging slides, polls, videos, and handouts that you’ll share during the webinar or event.

Step 7: Do a practice run

Make out time for rehearsals. Your speakers need to be comfortable with the virtual platform so that everything can go smoothly. So a test run is important beforehand.

Step 8: Host your webinar

This is the day when your preparation will be rewarded. Make sure you record your event and share it to YouTube or your website later.

Step 9: Follow up

Right after the webinar or virtual meeting is over, make efforts to check up on your attendees. This should be done preferably within 24 hours. Make room for questions, and be reluctant to help them out.

Step 10: Make your recording available

A recorded event can be reused for further marketing purposes. You can use it to generate leads long after you’ve finished hosting.

You can publish the recordings to YouTube and other platforms to amplify its reach and get more people engaged.

This is an excellent way to create additional awareness for your product, service, or information you offer.

How to Choose the Right Virtual Conference Platform for You

When choosing the right virtual conference platform for your organization, you should consider the functionality of the platform.

For example, the platform should give participants an easy time navigating the system.

Additionally, it should provide you with detailed analytics and records of previous conferences.

It’s also important that the platform is easy to use and offers a great user experience.

The following are some considerations to make when choosing a virtual conference software.

A platform that offers gamification features is the perfect choice for those looking to spice up their virtual conference experience.

Gamification features help you conduct fun quizzes or team contests. Another feature to look for in a virtual conference platform is live technical support.

No one knows the technical capabilities of their attendees so it is crucial to ensure this service is available to all attendees. It can save you a lot of time and money.

FAQs About Virtual Conference Platforms

Here are some frequently asked questions about virtual conference platforms.

Best Virtual Conference Platforms – Summary

Did you enjoy going through this complete guide to the best virtual conference platforms?

If you want to get results with your virtual events and webinars, make sure you choose a virtual conference platform that’s easy to use, allows you to record events, and interact with your attendees.

It’s also important to have access to Breakout Rooms and accept payments if you choose to sell products and services during a virtual event.

Now I’d like to turn it over to you:

Do you have a favorite virtual conference platform or which one would you like to use?

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