The Thousand Solutions Blog

Best virtual event platforms: Comparison and review of the best software

Mar 9, 2023

Have you come up with some great ideas for your virtual conference -- even contacted possible guests to be a part of your conference. The guests are showing interest, as are your participants!

However, let's think is the best thing about the online event platform you'd utilize to host your virtual gathering?

A difficult decision? The truth is that despite the variety out there and the many options available, it's not easy to choose a system that is meeting all your requirements and delivering a memorable (and non-error-prone) event experience.

There are, however, platforms with helpful support staff who will help you host your dream virtual gathering, be it a multi-day conference, a live training workshop or even a webinar. All you need is to locate this treasure.

In this article, we'll guide you through the process as I dive into the six best platforms for virtual occasions. The pros and cons aren't as common based on testing a handful of these applications and looking through tons of third-party reviews on these systems.

Now, let's dig into:

In this article

What should you look for in the virtual conference platform

Before we dive into the most effective platforms to host virtual events, we'll first define what constitutes a great tool for hosting online events by examining the most important features.

Be sure to bookmark this article so that you are able to reference this list of functions to select your ideal virtual event platform.

 Many useful and straightforward integrations

Integrations with CRMs as well as email programs, for example, can be crucial in sending out invitations to events that are personalized and turning attendees to loyal customers.

 The Intuitive User

An intuitive interface allows you to navigate the software, explore its features, and gain the greatest benefit from it. This also means that you are able to start the software functioning on your own -without any assistance from outside.

 Stream quality

Your event's audio and video quality can directly affect the your guests' experience and encourage people to remain until the end. You must ensure that the application that you pick has HD high-quality streaming and has no issues with performance, as well as allows you to download the content in high-quality.

 A robust analytics system

 Dynamic audience engagement tools

The ability to host polls, games, and questions are essential methods of engaging with your visitors and to improve the experience of your visitors. The platform you select will need to provide these features in addition to letting you create break-out rooms to encourage attendee-to attendee networking.

 Proactive customer service

Finally, make sure that the software's service team is prompt and attentive to the your questions. One method to assess the software team's helpfulness is to inquire about the tool pre-purchase and during the free trial. The way their answer your queries will speak volumes about how they deal with the customers and their potential customers.

The top 6 virtual event platforms (based on detailed reviews and user testimonials)

Here is a complete listing of the best conferences on the internet:

Each tool I've shared its core functionality, who it's best for, where the tool wins as well as its disadvantages in relation to what users share on third-party sites like G2 as well as Gartner.

Let's go.

1. Events

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

You, your guest speakers as well as your guests don't require any other software to setup the event, or even create the event .

Pros

  • Events helps throughout your event creation and promotion workflow. Integrate the platform with your CRM and marketing email software, to build customized registration forms, and send automated event invites as well as event confirmations as well as reminder emails. It also helps keep attendees engaged after the event.
  • Advanced analytics can assist to improve your event's marketing strategy. Once the event wraps, gives you detailed analysis of the event and its viewers that tell you who attended the event, what they watched, and how they engaged throughout the event.
  • Creates a brand-named visual experience. Drag-and-drop the interface to include full-screen images, lower thirds to intro speakers as well as custom branding.
  • Gives you the video editing and hosting tools to repurpose event content. Use to trim, edit chapters, create chapters and polish your virtual event recording and distribute it to various advertising channels.

 Cons

  • It is not designed to be used for internal meetings the way Zoom or other software for meeting are. Events is more suitable for virtual meetings, webinars, town halls, and more.
  • Events is a relatively new virtual event platform therefore it isn't able to boast the same name recognition as the established players in this space.

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 business marketers who want to earn money through virtual events.

 Pros

  • Gives you plenty of tools to get attendees engaged and let participants interact and your sponsors.
  • The process of setting up and creating an online webinar using Zoom is easy and is especially so for users who have experience with the tool.

 Cons

  • Average video quality. Where HD video resolution (1080p) is standard, Zoom offers 720p for two or more attendees at a conference. There is a cost to host virtual events using HD video.
  • Participating in a virtual meeting held with Zoom isn't always easy. The best option for those who are new to the app is to come in 5 minutes early to download and install the app. Event organizers will find this translates to poor attendee experience.
  • Zoom can be expensive for hosting events with large audiences making it ineffective for scalability of events on this platform.
  • There are no control options available to hosts. Zoom does not allow hosts to control chat chats at will -- something you need be aware of for public events.

 Pricing

Zoom's pricing depends on the amount of guests attending the event. To give you an estimation, prices for an event with 100 attendees starts at $990 per year.

 Read more details about Zoom

3. Hopin

Hopin lets event marketers across the board organize as many attendees as they want. Similar to Zoom it's pricing is contingent on the number of participants and can result in it being expensive to expand with this platform. But where it wins over Zoom is that it offers features for moderators of comments.

 Pros

  • Hopin has a branding studio so you can customize your event registration page and virtual event venue.
  • Moderates the sound and allows many speakers to be joined.
  • Includes a mobile-friendly app to allow guests speakers and participants can interact with and connect from their mobile devices.

 Cons

  • Events analytics aren't as thorough.
  • There are no tools that allow you to reuse and recycle the content of your virtual event.
  • There are a few users who complain about audio and video performance problems at events held by Hopin. One person writes, "I don't like the performance issues that arise with audio or video. If you don't have the best internet connections have issues with lag. It's not the case with alternatives to the solution."

 Pricing

A free option is available that lets one admin organize events lasting 2 hours for up to 100 attendees. Pricing plans are locked.

4. GoTo Webinar

GoTo Webinar is ideal for creatives as well as smaller businesses that host small-scale events -- as high as 3,000 people this is less than the offerings that Hopin, and Zoom provide.

This is also a great option to solo-business owners and creators conducting paid training workshops as 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 in webinars allows at least six presenters the possibility of presenting.

Cons

  • The interface for users is old as some users complain that it can take some time to learn how to use GoToWebinar.
  • Some users complain of issues with performance in the event that attendance goes over 1,000 attendees. Some reviews complain of audio quality issues too.
  • Certain functions, like file sharing are slower. Certain features are difficult to find or are confusing to utilize.

 Pricing

The trial period is 7 days and free for 7 days. The remainder of the trial is paid with pricing starting at $49 per organizer per month (for hosting 250 people).

5. Cvent

Cvent can be ideal for business organizers who host events in person, like trade shows because of the check-in function.

In contrast with other conference websites It's not a popular choice in the eyes of users hosting virtual conferences.

 Pros

  • Cvent has onsite check-in facilities and the software for badging that prints participants' photos on the day of arrival. There are complaints from users on third-party review sites saying that the software was printing incorrect photos.
  • Gives you multiple integrations to join your technology stack to streamline the process.
  • Comes with the standard audience engagement tools along with AI-powered network recommendations and gaming.

 Cons

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

 Pricing

Pricing is customized according to your requirements, which is why it is important to request an estimate of what Cvent cost.

6. On24

On24 is a virtual-event platform great for marketers looking to host webinars and multi-session events.

 Pros

  • Support for customers is proactive.
  • This tool can automate a lot of things. Plus, offers integrations to ensure that your marketing and sales teams.

 Cons

  • A few layouts for content are available, which limit your choices in customizing your online event Registration and login pages.
  • The interface for users is not user-friendly, and the editor functioning as a editor for code, which adds the process of learning.
  • No option to pre-create your online event. This means you'll have make a choice between audience participation and to make sure the show's running smoothly as you host in the moment. A reviewer even notes, "I would love to be able to storyboard my webinar and control who is on screen, where their face appears on the tile of media, perform lower thirds of their videos, add participants in the event and take them off-screen, etc."   ________________

 Pricing

The website of On24 doesn't provide any price. Anyone interested in a quote should obtain a quotation.

FAQs

Within the FAQs, don't respond to the question immediately; instead, include the link to an appropriate piece of internal content (as relevant) to encourage click-through.

How do I choose a virtual event platform?

Analyze your company's needs, including your budget, how large the event you'd like to hold, as well as how many virtual events you'd like to host. Then choose a virtual event platform that not only fits your budget but is user-friendly, has deep analytics, audience participation tools, top-quality streaming, and lots of integrations.

What can I do to make my virtual event more interactive?

What are the most talked about online event sites available in the present?

The Events platform, Hopin, Zoom, and GoToWebinar are among the most popular event platforms you can try. Each comes with its positives and negatives. Pick based on your budget as well as your specific needs for the event.

So which virtual event platform is best for you?

The most effective virtual event platform is one that meets the needs of your company in the best way. This includes:

  • Size of the attendee
  • Use cases (how how much you intend to leverage virtual events for your sales and marketing and whether you will offer workshops for sale)
  • How much time you've to learn to use an entirely new device
  • What amount do you intend to expand (you aren't looking for the platform to slip out of your budget as you expand)

There are a few software options that provide poor quality streaming using outdated UX. Others have a steep learning curve, and their prices can be expensive when hosting large audiences.

It's a good thing that this is the area an area in which Events really shines. Events offers lots of customization, high-quality streaming, and an intuitive user interface. It can also play a crucial part in recycling content from the events you host -- helping you get the best profit from your work.