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Looking to dive right in? My top recommendations for webinar software to suit just about every business need are Demio, Livestorm, or EasyWebinar.
With so many people working from home, it’s become even more apparent as to just how important it is to stay connected with your audience.
When you can’t do this in person, how the heck are you supposed to do it?
By hosting webinars, of course!
Just about every business is hosting webinars these days. It’s a fantastic way to engage with prospects and build a ‘face-to-face’ connection without physical contact.
However, hosting webinars, whether live or recorded, can be a lot of work with a few challenges along the way. That’s why it’s essential for you to have the right webinar software on your side.
I’ve put together a list of the top five webinar software out there, and we’re going to cover the in’s and out’s of how to choose the best webinar software for you!
The Top 5 Options for Webinar Software
- Demio – Best for Live Events
- Livestorm – Best for Ease of Use & Automation
- EasyWebinar – Best for Beginners & Social Media
- WebinarNinja – Best for Training or Coaching
- WebinarJam – Best for Large Businesses
How to Choose the Best Webinar Software For You
Most of the top webinar software will have very similar characteristics. That is, making your webinar easy to record and share, the video and audio are high-quality, and there is a range of interactive features like live chat or built-in polls.
So, with a plethora of webinar software to choose from that all seem to offer the same things, how are you supposed to choose the best one for your needs?
Well, you need to narrow in on three important factors.
Attendee Capacity
The number of participants you can have in your webinar at one time is going to be a vital factor in your decision-making process. Some webinar software is designed for smaller groups, while others have the capacity to host thousands of attendees at one time.
Maybe you’re not sure how big your webinar will be or how quickly it will grow. In that case, you should consider whether your software provider has a plan that allows you to scale your attendee capacity alongside your business growth.
Furthermore, if you can have thousands of participants at one time, how well does the software function? Is there any latency or known technical issues that arise when everyone is logged in?
The great thing here is that most webinar software providers have tiered pricing based on how many participants you’d like to have in each meeting, so if you find one you really love, you’ll likely be able to make it work.
Accessibility
How easy is it for your participants to join the webinar? Do they have to download an extra app or plugin, or can they launch from their preferred web browser and be immediately joined in?
For some users, the stress of requiring an extra app or program to join a webinar is too overwhelming or complicated. So much so that they may choose to ditch their plans to join your webinar altogether.
With this in mind, it’s important to focus on choosing a webinar software that is easily accessible for your participants. Many options simply launch from a web browser, and this way, your participants are unlikely to find a reason to back out of committing.
Customer Support
Imagine if you’ve put in weeks of hard work to pull off an incredible live webinar, and five minutes before you’re set to begin, the software crashes.
Just the thought of this alone has me feeling sick.
If you plan to hold live events often, it’s imperative you use a webinar software provider that offers 24/7 customer support to get you out of these sticky situations.
Furthermore, technology can be challenging and fickle. Having access to a team of professionals who know the software inside and out at your fingertips at any time of day really should be an important factor when considering which tool to use.
The Different Types of Webinar Software
What we are going to focus on here is what the different types of webinars are and whether your preferred software accommodates your ideal webinar. In essence, there are three basic types of webinars.
Most of the top webinar software will have the capacity to offer all of the below, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind when doing your research and making sure it meets your needs.
Live Webinars
Some would say that live webinars are irreplaceable. Certain chemistry can come out of live public speaking that you don’t get with pre-recorded content.
Live webinars can help establish your brand as a ‘real-life’ person and put a face to your name. They’re interactive, personal, and really, they can be seen as significant events.
In a nutshell, live webinars provide you with the opportunity to connect and build a relationship with your audience in real-time.
Recorded Webinars
Recorded or automated webinars are newer to the world of online marketing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are better than live webinars. You can record the content, schedule it to go live, and even set it to expire within a specific timeframe.
Recorded webinars are great for maximizing your reach because they’re accessible for more participants whenever it’s most convenient. No longer do you have to worry about finding a time that works for every single person.
Series Webinar
Essentially, a series webinar can be made up of multiple live and/or automated webinars, which are scheduled over multiple dates and times. The content should involve gradual learning for the participants with an incentive to come back for more.
These types of webinars are great for broader or more complex topics with dense information that is more easily digestible over a series of webinars.
Holding a series will really put you out there as the expert in your field. But, naturally, they take a bit more time and effort than the one-off webinars.
#1 – Demio — The Best For Live Events
Demio is the cream of the crop when it comes to modern, user-friendly webinar software that is bound to help your business grow. It’s suited to almost any size business that wants to hold interactive live events to drive their marketing campaigns.
One of the best bits? There is no download required! Not only will your attendees have access to a beautiful platform that clearly reflects your branding, but they’ll also be able to join from any browser with just one click.
So, what makes them the best for live events? Here are a few of their top features:
- Run interactive polls and get stats in real-time
- Embed launch offers and CTAs designed to convert sales on the spot
- Share handouts for instant download with your attendees
- Give attendees video and microphone permissions as needed
- Public and private chat functions for live Q&A
In a nutshell, Demio is so interactive it’s bound to leave your audience feeling like they truly know you!
Another great thing about Demio is that you can record your webinar and send it to all registered participants so no one misses out if they can’t make it, even if they do miss the chemistry of a live event.
Demio offers three pricing plans:
- Starter: $34/month for up to 50 attendees
- Growth: $69/month for up to 150 attendees
- Business Plan: $163/month for up to 500 attendees
Demio offers a 14-day free trial of their Growth plan, so you can give it a try before you buy.
#2 Livestorm — The Best For Ease of Use & Automation
If you’re looking for webinar software that allows you to run live, on-demand, or automated webinars with just about any goal in mind, Livestorm could be the one for you.
If you want to hold a live event or detailed product demo, you can do that. If you want to build an educational customer training series or an online course, you can do that, too.
Livestorm is a simple yet powerful video communication tool. They really stand out for their ease of use and detailed automation.
You don’t need to be tech-savvy to use this software. You can have a webinar up and running in no time, thanks to automation features like an event registration page, promotional emails, and automatic custom event reminder emails.
Some other great features of Livestorm include:
- Join the webinar in any browser with one click
- Full suite of webinar types such as live, on-demand, and pre-recorded
- Screensharing capabilities
- Interactive live chat, polls, and Q&A within the webinar
- Excellent analytics and reporting capabilities
Another great feature? Livestorm also offers comprehensive customer support in multiple languages.
In addition, they also have a very useful self-service documentation section of their website. I love this offering because they’re incredibly handy when you’re facing a minor set-up issue or pesky technical difficulty that you know you could solve alone without needing to explain yourself at length to tech support.
Livestorm plan options include:
- Basic: Free for up to 10 live attendees
- Premium: $99/month for up to 100 live attendees
- Enterprise: Personalized quote based on your requirements
Get started with Livestorm for free today!
#3 EasyWebinar — The Best For Beginners & Social Media
The EasyWebinar motto is ‘wildly easy to use live and automated webinar platform,’ and by all accounts, they seem to hit the nail on the head. They are also reportedly one of the only webinar platforms that have successfully integrated marketing strategy with webinar technology.
This software is for anyone wanting to launch their first seminar quickly and painlessly with a drag and drop page builder and tons of seamless integrations at your fingertips.
The highlight of this software? EasyWebinar allows hosts to livestream to Facebook and YouTube at the same time.
Why is this so impressive?
Well, it essentially gives you uncapped potential regarding how many people your content can reach at one time. Of course, those viewing through Facebook or YouTube won’t get the platform’s built-in interactive capabilities, but your message could still be reaching thousands more people.
Other notable features of EasyWebinar are:
- Seamless integration with popular platforms such as WordPress and MailChimp
- In-depth engagement tracking tools covering webinar watch time and in-platform clicks
- Browser-based viewing
- Turn live events into evergreen webinar funnels
- Allows four presenters in one room, all with sharing capabilities
Although EasyWebinar is not the cheapest webinar software on the market, this platform certainly packs a punch. There are three pricing plans on offer:
- Standard: $78/month for up to 100 room attendees
- Pro: $129/month for up to 500 room attendees
- Enterprise: $499/month for up to 2000 room attendees
You can try both the Standard and Pro plan for free or schedule a demo of the Enterprise plan.
#4 – WebinarNinja — Best For High-Quality Training or Coaching
WebinarNinja is a close contender of Demio in terms of their modern, beautiful design, and flexible webinar capabilities. They are also slightly more cost-effective for smaller groups than Demio.
WebinarNinja is trusted by well-known B2B brands such as Baremetrics, AppSumo, and Podia, which essentially supports their ranking as the best for high-quality training or coaching purposes.
You can run any type of webinar with WebinarNinja: live, automated, series, or hybrid. The key features that come into play with the coaching or training aspect are uploading PowerPoint presentations, creating Q&A spaces, and easily sharing information.
Some other notable features of WebinarNinja are:
- Tons of integrations with notable systems such as MailChimp, ConvertKit, HubSpot, Squarespace, and ClickFunnels
- Beautiful ready-to-use templates for quick and simple webinar creation
- Save marketing materials within the software for easy access
- Create custom branded registration and thank you pages designed to convert
Furthermore, WebinarNinja reportedly has some of the best customer support out there. This support is extended via live chat, email, and a comprehensive resource library for set-up guidance and minor troubleshooting.
WebinarNinja has four pricing plans available:
- Starter: $39/month for up to 100 attendees
- Pro: $79/month for up to 300 attendees
- Plus: $129/month for up to 500 attendees
- Power: $199/month for up to 1000 attendees
Every membership comes with a 14-day free trial, so you can pay nothing and get started today!
#5 – WebinarJam — Best For Large Businesses
With the ability to host up to 5,000 attendees at one time with little to no delays, WebinarJam is easily one of the best out there for large businesses.
A really great highlight of WebinarJam is that, although it’s designed for huge audiences, you don’t have to skimp out on some of the awesome interactive features that software for smaller groups has on offer.
My favorite interactive feature is the advanced live chat within the webinar that actually pulls the person’s video to the stage, so to speak. You can also include offer pop-ups and countdowns to encourage attendees to take action.
These features are almost more important for a larger business than small ones, to remove that ‘faceless large business’ barrier some may perceive.
Some other features that WebinarJam has to offer includes:
- Top-notch 24/7 customer support
- Email and SMS reminder notifications
- Create paid webinars and accept payment directly through the software
- Stream directly to YouTube for further participant reach
- Compatibility with multiple browsers and systems
The key selling point of WebinarJam? It automatically records your content every single time.
Why is this so nifty? I don’t know about you, but forgetting to hit that pesky record button is a frequent pastime of mine.
There are three pricing plans on offer:
- Basic: $499/year for up to 500 attendees
- Professional: $699/year for up to 2,000 attendees
- Enterprise: $999/year for up to 5,000 attendees
WebinarJam are so confident you’ll love their software that they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so your purchase is risk-free. At the time of writing, they also have a $1 14-day trial for a limited time only.
Summary
My top recommendations for webinar software to suit just about everyone’s needs are Demio, Livestorm, or EasyWebinar.
At the end of the day, the best webinar software for you is potentially going to be different from the best for me. That’s why it’s important to use the methodology discussed here to do your due diligence in choosing the best webinar software for your business needs.
Don’t forget to also take advantage of free trials and money-back guarantees to get a real feel for how your chosen software works before you commit long-term.
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