11 Best webinar platforms & software: Expert Top Picks for 2025

The right webinar platform makes or breaks your event. Some tools are free and simple. Others offer advanced features for marketing and engagement.

We asked webinar organizers for their top picks for 2025—whether you’re hosting live, pre-recorded, or on-demand sessions. Or whether you want a downloadable app or online webinar software.

Here’s a quick comparison table of the top webinar software we’ve reviewed:

Best webinar platforms and software for different needs

So where should you host your webinars? We asked webinar organizers to share their favorite webinar software—the webinar platforms they trust to host smooth, engaging webinars in 2025.

Ready? Let's jump in.

Best all-in-one webinar platform – Riverside

Pricing: Free, paid plans starting at $15/month

With Riverside, host, record, edit, and repurpose your webinar in one platform. 

Customize your session with live branding, lower thirds, and flexible layouts to match your style. Want to make your webinar more interactive? Use live audience call-ins to let viewers join the conversation in real-time.

Record your webinar in sharp 4K video and 48kHz audio resolution. Thanks to local recording, your quality stays sharp even if your internet drops. No lag, no glitches—just studio-quality content.

Once your webinar wraps, Riverside’s AI-powered tools help you edit, clip, and repurpose your recording in minutes. Create social-ready clips, transcripts, and chaptered show notes—turning every webinar into a content machine. All without leaving Riverside.

Key features:

• High-resolution webinars: Record in up to 4K video and 48kHz audio, with local recording to protect quality even if your internet drops.
• Multistreaming: Stream your webinar directly to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, X, and Twitch.
• Large audience capacity: Host up to 200 live audience members in your studio, or up to 10,000 audience members with a Business plan.
• HubSpot integration: Track attendees and create a custom landing page with HubSpot for seamless follow-up.
• Easy guest access: Invite guests with a shareable link—no downloads required.
• Live call-ins and chat: Invite your guests to call live or use the Omnichat to interact with them in real-time.
• Brand customization: Customize layouts, backgrounds, colors, and lower thirds to match your brand.
• Easy editing: Repurpose your webinars in a chop with AI text-based editing, captions, and speaker layouts.
• Magic Clips: Turn your webinar into short, engaging clips for social media - all in a click.
• AI transcripts and summaries: Get accurate transcripts with time-stamped chapters, show notes, and key takeaways.

Best for beginners familiar with video calls – Zoom Webinars

Pricing: Starting at $79/month with 500 attendees

Zoom is all about familiarity, making Zoom Webinars a solid choice for beginners. It’s easy to use, widely recognized, and works well for simple, no-frills webinars. Plus, attendees are already comfortable with the platform, which reduces tech confusion.

Be warned, though – pricing ramps up fast if you need larger attendee limits. Branding and customization are limited, and video quality isn’t as sharp as platforms designed for content creation.

If you need a familiar, reliable tool for straightforward webinars, Zoom fits the bill. But there are better options for branded, polished webinars with repurposing tools.

Key features:

• Screen sharing: Share and record your screen during your webinar.
• Engagement tools: Use private and public chat, Q&As, polls, and breakout rooms to boost interaction.
• Closed captioning: Enable live captions for better accessibility.
• Flexible scheduling: Schedule in advance or go live instantly.
• Calendar integration: Set up email reminders and keep your audience in the loop.
• Easy recording: Anyone with recording privileges can record the webinar, not just the host.
• Live broadcasting: Stream directly to Facebook and YouTube Live.

Best for large-scale webinars and live events – Webex Webinars

Pricing: From $56.25 per month up to $3,950 per month (paid yearly)

Webex Webinars is a professional software designed by Cisco with corporate events and high-attendance webinars in mind. It features enterprise-level security and is scalable enough to support tens of thousands of participants.

Webex Webinars offers advanced AI features like voice enhancement and real-time translation—but it comes at a price. Unless you need to host large live webinars with thousands of attendees, Webex is probably overkill.

Key features:

• Live audio enhancement: AI improves your audio quality in real-time.
• Live translations: Translate into 100+ languages during broadcasts.
• HD screen sharing: Share high-definition visuals.
• Enterprise security: Built-in encryption and security features.
• Interactive tools: Use Q&A, surveys, polls, reactions, gestures, and breakout rooms.
• Custom layouts: Customize your layout with branding and design options.

Best for simplicity and ease of use – Demio

Pricing: From $45 to $785 per month (paid yearly)

This platform is all about simplicity. Demio features a sleek, user-friendly interface with a slight learning curve. Built for business owners and individuals, the simple UX keeps the focus on the speaker. Its minimal design reduces distractions for attendees.

Demio offers essential tools to track audience engagement, conversions, and event ROI. Its live customer support is a standout, with response times under 5 minutes. Just keep in mind—customization and advanced features are limited.

Key features:

• User-friendly interface: Quick learning curve with seamless navigation.
• Browser-based access: All participants join straight from their browser.
• Custom branding: Create social media templates and registration pages.
• Event analytics: Track performance with attendee reports.
• Automation: Host pre-recorded and on-demand webinars.
• Audience interaction: Engage with live chat, polls, and surveys.

Best for educational webinars – GoTo Webinar

Pricing: From $49 to $399 per month (paid yearly)

This webinar hosting platform is ideal for training events and corporate communications. GoTo Webinar caters to educational webinars with virtual classrooms and on-demand templates. It also integrates with learning management systems for easy training delivery.

GoTo webinar integrates with the Go to the ecosystem with GoTo Resolve, GoTo Training, and GoTo Connect. This makes it easier to manage IT support, training sessions, and team communication all in one place.

As a stand-alone tool, it may feel a bit lackluster.

Key features:

• Engagement tracking: Dashboard and analytics to monitor webinar performance.
• Multi-presenter: Host with up to 6 co-hosts.
• Event planning support: Guidance to maximize your webinar’s success.
• Mobile app: Run webinars from anywhere.
• Training tools: Offer certificates and payment integration for paid sessions.
• Integrations: Connect with CRMs and LMS platforms.

Best for pre-recorded webinars – Livestorm

Pricing: Free, paid plans starting at $79/month (paid yearly)

Livestorm is a webinar platform optimized for product demos, online courses, and employee onboarding. Its biggest strength is its seamless pre-recorded webinars powered by robust automation tools.

As an online platform, it provides a frictionless experience for both the host and the attendees. Livestorm offers a free plan, but it’s extremely limited. Free plan events last no more than 20 minutes with a maximum of 30 attendees. Price ramps up quickly as your attendee count grows. And, together with the lack of extensive customization, it might be a letdown for brands seeking to scale up their operations.‍

Key features:

• Pre-recorded webinars: Automate scheduling and delivery.
• Browser-based: No downloads needed for attendees.
• Custom branding: Create registration pages and email reminders.
• Audience analytics: Track engagement and performance.
• CRM integration: Works with HubSpot, Salesforce, and Marketo.
• Interactive tools: Engage with live chat, polls, and Q&A.

Best for AI-powered marketing automation – ON24

Pricing: On request only

ON24 is a powerful webinar platform for enterprise marketing and demand generation. It offers AI audience analytics and engagement tracking to measure and improve webinars.

Go beyond one-way presentations with engagement tools like real-time polls, Q&As, and quizzes. Automation helps streamline the onboarding and follow-up processes, with functions like automated emails and customizable feedback forms.

Despite its impressive marketing capabilities, ON24’s interface can feel overwhelming. And, you should pay notice to hidden costs. Many advanced features are not in base packages, and many of the add-ons do not come cheap.

Key features:

• Audience engagement: Polls, surveys, and resource sharing.
• Follow-up tools: Multiple post-event options.
• Advanced analytics: AI-powered insights to boost engagement.
• Flexible formats: Host live or on-demand webinars.
• Branding options: Customize and personalize your webinars.

Best for evergreen and live streaming webinars – EasyWebinar

Pricing: Free or starting at $80/month with 100 attendees

EasyWebinar works well with all kinds of webinars - from evergreen to pre-recorded and live. One of its biggest strengths is its high-quality streaming capabilities, ensuring stable video and audio performance. 

As the name implies, EasyWebinar is surprisingly… easy to use. It’s suitable for webinar beginners and those wanting to integrate webinars in their marketing funnel. 

But, the interface feels somewhat outdated, making navigation unnecessarily clunky at times.

Key features:

• Smooth recording and screen sharing: No delays or lag.
• EasyCast simulcasting: Stream to social platforms instantly.
• Simple analytics: Track audience behavior at a glance.
• Built-in sales tools: Show offers live and integrate with Stripe and PayPal.
• Marketing integrations: Connect with Mailchimp, HubSpot, and ConvertKit.

Best for scalability and affordability – ClickMeeting

Pricing: Free or separate plans for Live and Automated events starting at $25 and $40 per month with 25 attendees.

ClickMeeting is the best webinar software for businesses new to webinars who want to scale up. It’s suitable for both small and large events with up to 10,000 attendees. Plus, it comes with separate plans for live and automated webinars.

The platform strikes a balance between affordability and functionality. The overall experience and interface is suitable for beginners. But it still accommodates all its advanced features.

The biggest limit with ClickMeeting is its lack of flexibility. A specialized plan is great if you focus solely on live or automated webinars. But if you want to try out both, well… you’re out of luck.

Key features:

• Interactive tools: Q&A, whiteboarding, polls, surveys, chat, and breakout rooms.
• Custom branding: Personalize waiting rooms, reminders, and your webinar space.
• Live streaming: Stream to up to 8 platforms, including Facebook Live and YouTube.
• Integrations: Connect with CRMs, calendars, and social media.
• Pre-recorded webinars: Supports automated and on-demand sessions.
• Mobile-friendly: Easy access for hosts and participants on any device.

Upcoming webinar platforms to watch in 2025

Let’s have a quick look at the upcoming webinar platforms you might want to watch in 2025.

Butter – best for interactive workshops and engaging webinars

Pricing: Free, paid plans starting at $18/month

The new era is interactivity. Butter is all about participation, giving the term active learning a new meaning. Sessions are highly interactive with tools like whiteboards, breakout rooms, and polls. Plus, everything seamlessy integrates with external platforms like Miro, Google Docs, and YouTube. 

Plan your workshops ahead of time to prepare well in advance.

Butter is certainly not the most advanced webinar platform for marketing and analytics. It’s also less ideal for larger meetings. Still, it’s a breath of fresh air in the rather stale world of webinars. 

Key features:

• Interactive webinars: Breakout rooms and collaborative tools built in.
• Seamless integrations: Works with Miro, Google Docs, and YouTube.
• Engagement-first design: Playful, intuitive interface.
• Automatic recaps: Sessions include automatic notes.
• Audience tools: Polls, reactions, and chat keep attendees involved.
• Mobile-friendly: Smooth experience for both hosts and attendees.

Airmeet – best for networking-driven webinars and virtual events

Pricing: Starting at $167/month.

Another forward-thinking platform around interactivity is Airmeet. 

Airmeet is a webinar and virtual event platform designed for networking-heavy experiences. It’s a great choice for when you want your audience to actually meet each other. 

Think of Airmeet as LinkedIn meets webinar software, with features like virtual tables, speed networking, and interactive lounges. Its purpose is to bring back the “human factor” of conferences and seminars, with all real-life networking moments lost with the shift to virtual events.

The platform also supports sponsorship opportunities, making it ideal for monetized events. The biggest cons of Airmeet? It’s neither cheap nor simple to use -and it’s surprisingly limited when it comes to customization.

Key features:

• Networking features: Virtual tables and social lounges for easy mingling.
• High-quality streaming: Smooth, reliable webinar hosting.
• Audience engagement: Interactive Q&A and polls.
• Monetization: Built-in sponsorship and revenue options.
• CRM integration: Connect with marketing automation tools.
• Event analytics: Track attendee behavior and event performance.

What makes a great webinar platform?: Expert insights on what to consider

Choosing the right webinar tool boils down to your needs and preferences. Ask yourself the following key questions:

What features are must-haves in a platform for you? 

Start by thinking about functionality and interface. Do you need password protection? Are polls and Q&As an integral part of your webinar? Looking for a platform that integrates recording with editing tools? Make a quick list of non-negotiables to thin out the alternatives that don’t meet your needs.

How comfortable are you with tech?

Be honest with yourself here. If you break a cold sweat at the phrase "system configuration," stick to online platforms that work right out of the box. No shame in keeping it simple – tech-heavy doesn’t necessarily mean “superior product.”

Are you planning to repurpose your webinar into other content types?

Like most webinar marketers, will you create clips of your presentation for social media, podcast, or newsletter? Will you share the recording with non-attending registrants? 

If the answer is “yes,” you'll need crystal-clear audio and video recording quality. Local recording software is best for this. Everything records directly to your device instead of relying on your web connection. 

Also, look out for features that automate repurposing for you. For example, AI clip creators or tools that convert video to blogs.

How big is your brand? 

Running solo or with a small team? Skip the enterprise-level platforms with their fancy (but probably unnecessary) features. Choose something that matches your actual needs. 

Should you go free or paid?

Free platforms are great for learning the ropes. They might be best to start out while you find your footing. However, the best features are almost always behind a paywall. Reduced quality, attendee limits, watermarks, and time restrictions can be a chore to deal with. 

Your best bet? Test the waters with a free plan before committing, then choose whether to upgrade to a paid plan.

FAQs on webinar platforms and software

What webinar platforms are best for small businesses?

Small businesses benefit more from affordable, easy-to-use platforms and offer plans that scale well with smaller audiences. Platforms like Riverside, Demio, and ClickMeeting offer essential webinar features without the complexity or high costs of enterprise solutions.

What is the difference between a webinar and a virtual event?

A webinar is a single online session focused on a specific topic. It may include presentations, training, or discussions. A virtual event, instead, is the equivalent of an in-person congress. It may include multiple sessions that could span over the course of several days and usually offers networking opportunities through interactive elements like breakout rooms and virtual booths.

Can you host a webinar for free?

Yes, platforms like Riverside, Livestorm, or EasyWebinar offer free plans with limited attendee capacity and features. However, free plans often come with restrictions like time restrictions, watermarks, or reduced recording/streaming quality so make sure to check them beforehand.

How much should you spend on webinar software?

The cost depends on your needs and reach. If you run a small business and plan to host webinars to smaller audiences, your budget may vary from $15 to $100 per month. A larger organization’s needs can be different, so budgets of hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month may be needed.

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