Creative tips and tricks

Best virtual event platforms: Comparison and review of top-rated software

Mar 9, 2023

Have you come up with some great ideas for your virtual conference -- even reached out to prospective guests who might be interested in speaking at the event. They're showing an enthusiasm, and so are the people who are involved!

However, let's think do you think of the virtual venue you'll choose to use for hosting your online gathering?

Tough call? Truth be told: regardless of the many options available, it can be challenging to choose a system that is satisfying all of your needs while offering attendees a remarkable (and error-free) event experience.

There are, however, solutions with helpful customer service team members who can assist you to host your dream virtual event , whether it a multi-day event, a live training workshop or webinar. It's all you have to do is find the right treasure.

In this article, we'll guide you through the process while I go through the six best platforms for virtual event. They are all from testing just a few of these software and sifting through a myriad of reviews from third parties of these platforms.

Now, let's dig deep:

In this article

What should you look for in the virtual conference platform

Before we dive into the top platforms for online events, let's highlight what makes a good software for hosting events online through a review of the essential attributes.

Make sure you bookmark this article so that you are able to look up this list of functions to select your ideal virtual event software:

 A plethora of helpful and easy integrations

Integrations between your CRM and email software, for example, can be crucial in sending out invitations to events that are personalized and turning attendees into loyal customers.

 Intuitive UX

An intuitive interface makes it simple for users to use the program to explore its capabilities, and get the maximum benefits out of it. Also, it lets you set up the system and get it up and running yourself -with no assistance from an outside source.

 Stream quality

Your event's audio and video quality can directly affect the attendees' experience, encouraging attendees to stick around until the end. Make sure the software you select has HD high-quality streaming and has no issues with performance, as well as allows you to download content with high-quality.

 A robust analytics system

 Dynamic audience engagement tools

Hosting polls, quizzes, and questions are essential methods of engaging with your audience and for improving their experience. The platform you select will need to provide these features in addition to letting you create breakout spaces to promote attendee-to-attendee networking.

 Proactive customer service

Also, be sure the program's customer support is fast and responsive to any queries you may have. One way to gauge the software team's helpfulness is to ask them questions about the program prior to purchasing it and during the free trial. Their response to questions will be a reflection regarding the manner in which they interact with their customers and prospects.

Six of the best online platform for events (based on in-depth reviews and customer testimonials)

Now for a an overview of the most popular conference websites:

With every tool, I've discussed its main features, who it's best for, where the tool wins as well as its disadvantages in relation to what customers have to say on sites such as G2 as well as Gartner.

Let's go.

1. Events

 Events is an easy-to-use online, web-based platform for virtual events ideal for event planners with any level of familiarity with organizing virtual events.

You, your guest speakers and attendees do not have to download additional software to set up, create, and join an event with .

Pros

  • Events helps throughout your event creation and promotion workflow. Connect the platform with your CRM or email marketing software, to build branded registration forms, create automated invitations to events as well as event confirmations as well as reminder emails. It also helps nurture engaged attendees post the event.
  • Advanced analytics can assist you improve your event marketing strategy. Once the event wraps will provide you with specific analysis of the event and its viewers which reveal who was there the event, what they watched, and how they engaged during the event.
  • It helps you design a custom viewing experience. Use the drag-and-drop interface to add full-screen graphics, lower thirds for the speakers in the intro as well as personal branding.
  • Gives you the video editing and hosting toolkit for repurposing event video material. You can trim, edit chapters, create chapters and improve your event video and upload to various channels for marketing.

 Cons

  • The software isn't designed specifically for meetings in internal settings the way Zoom and similar software for meetings are. Events is more suitable for webinars, virtual venues town halls and much more.
  • Events is a brand new and innovative virtual event platform so it doesn't have the same recognition and brand name like the well-established players within the field.

2. Zoom

Best-known for hosting on-one-on meetings, Zoom lets you host online events too. It's perfect for those who create and small-scale business marketers looking to earn money through virtual occasions.

 Pros

  • It gives you a variety of tools for engaging attendees, and letting them interact with each other and your sponsors.
  • The process of setting up and creating a webinar in Zoom is easy particularly for users who have experience with the tool.

 Cons

  • Average video quality. In the case where HD video clarity (1080p) is standard, Zoom offers 720p for the presence of two or more people at the same conference. It is necessary to pay more to host virtual events using HD video.
  • The process of joining a virtual conference 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 app. For event organizers, this can result in a poor experience for attendees.
  • Zoom can be expensive for hosting gatherings with a large number of attendees making it ineffective to scale events using this platform.
  • Insufficient control options for hosts. Zoom provides no means for hosts to moderate chat comments on the fly which is something you have to keep in mind for public events.

 Pricing

Zoom's price is contingent on the amount of guests who attend your event. For a rough estimate, the cost for a 100-people event is $990 annually.

 Read more details about Zoom

3. Hopin

Hopin allows event organizers all over the world accommodate as many guests as they'd like. Like Zoom, its pricing depends on the number of participants and can result in it being costly to scale up using this system. But where it wins over Zoom is in offering comment moderator capabilities.

 Pros

  • Hopin provides the branding studio, so that you can personalize your website for registration and even a virtual event venue.
  • Moderates the sound and makes it easy for many speakers to be joined.
  • Comes with a mobile app which allows guests and speakers can join and engage on their mobiles.

 Cons

  • Event analytics aren't in-depth.
  • There aren't any tools available to repurpose and reuse the content of your online events.
  • There are a few users who complain about video and audio performance issues at events organized by Hopin. One user even writes, "I don't like problems with the audio quality or video. If you don't have an internet connection encounter lag issues. It's not the case with alternatives to the solution."

 Pricing

There's a free plan available that lets one admin organize events lasting 2 hours with up to 100 guests. Pricing plans can be locked.

4. GoTo Webinar

GoTo Webinar ideal for creatives as well as smaller businesses that host small-scale events with up to 3,000 attendees, which is less than what , Hopin and Zoom offer.

It's also a good choice for solo business owners or creators conducting paid training workshops since GoTo Webinar directly connects with Stripe, letting you receive the payment.

Pros

  • GoTo Webinar offers audience engagement tools , including polls and Q&A. Hosts may also draw their own designs on the display.
  • Multi-presenter mode for webinars gives an organizer up to six the possibility of presenting.

Cons

  • The user interface has been dated and some users have reported that it takes some time to learn how to use GoToWebinar.
  • Users complain of performance issues in the event that attendance goes over 1,000 attendees. There are reviews complaining of audio quality issues too.
  • Certain features such as files sharing can be slow. Certain features are difficult to locate or difficult to utilize.

 Pricing

A 7-day trial is available. The remainder of the trial will be paid for with pricing beginning at $49 per organizer per month (for hosting 250 participants).

5. Cvent

Cvent can be most suitable for enterprise marketers hosting in-person events such as exhibitions and trade exhibitions, thanks to their check-in feature.

As opposed to other conference websites however, this platform is not well-liked by users who host virtual meetings.

 Pros

  • Cvent has onsite check-in facilities and badging software that prints attendees photographs upon their the arrival. There are complaints from users through third-party review websites about the tool printing the wrong images.
  • Gives you multiple integrations to connect your tech stack and improve your workflow.
  • Comes with the standard audience engagement tools along with AI-powered network recommendations and the ability to play games.

 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

Pricing is customized according to the needs of your business, therefore it is important to request a quote for an idea of the amount Cvent costs.

6. On24

On24 is a virtual event platform that is ideal for businesses looking to host webinars and multi-session events.

 Pros

  • Proactive customer support team.
  • This tool can simplify a number of processes. Plus, offers integrations to ensure that your marketing and sales teams.

 Cons

  • There are a few content layouts available can be used, which restricts your options for customizing your online events Registration and login pages.
  • The interface for users is not user-friendly, and the editor functioning as a editor for code, which adds the steep learning curve.
  • There's no way to create the online event. This means you'll have make a choice between audience participation and in order to ensure that the event is functioning smoothly while you host in the moment. A reviewer even says, "I would love to have the ability to create a storyboard for my webcast and determine the screen's content as well as where their faces appear in the media tile, do lower thirds over their video, place participants in the event and take them off-screen or off-screen, etc."   ________________

 Pricing

The website of On24 doesn't provide any prices. Anyone interested in a quote should get a quote.

FAQs

Within the FAQs, don't respond to the question in the first place; rather, provide a link to a relevant item of content within the organization (as appropriate) in order to increase click-through.

How do I choose a virtual event platform?

Review your business needs such as your budget, how large an event you want to organize, and the many virtual events you want to hold. Choose a virtual event platform that is not just a good fit for your budget but is easy to use, offers detailed analytics, interaction tools, streaming of high-quality, and lots of connectivity options.

How can I create a virtual experience that is more engaging?

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

The Events platform, Hopin, Zoom, and GoToWebinar are some of the most popular platforms for events you can test. Each one has its pros and cons. Decide based on your budget and specific event requirements.

What virtual event service will work best for you?

The best virtual events platform will be one that is able to meet the requirements of your business the best. This includes:

  • The size of your attendee
  • Utilize case (how how much you intend to utilize virtual events in your sales and marketing and whether you will offer workshops for sale)
  • How much time you've spent learning to utilize a new tool
  • What is the amount you'll need to increase the size of your platform (you aren't looking for the platform to be a part of your budget when you expand)

We've provided a list of software which have poor-quality streaming and a dated UX. Others have a steep learning curve, and their prices can be expensive when hosting large audiences.

Luckily, this is the area where Events excels. It offers a ton of options for customization, streaming that is high-quality and a simple user interface. Additionally, it plays an important function in the reuse of content from the events it hosts, allowing you to get the highest profit from your work.