Table of Contents
Choosing the right webinar software is a crucial decision on your business’ way to its peak potential. There is no one best software for all businesses, that is why I have broken down the top five webinar software I have seen the best results with in my own experience. Here are my top three picks.
- Integrated Analytics
- Integrated CRM
- Social Media Integrations
- Email Marketing Capabilities
- Safety Features
- Easy to Use
- Tracking
- Recording Limits
- Limited Phone Support
- Integrated CRM
- Instant Meetings
- Learning Resources
- Easy to Learn
- Allows Recording
- Third Party Integrations Allowed
- Poor Support
- No External Tracking
- 1000 Max Attendees
- A/B Testing
- Integrated Surveys
- Automanted Notifications
- Easy to Use
- Automatic Recording
- Private and public messaging
- Poor Design Flexibility
- No Free Demo
- Live Video Delays for Atendees
Webinars are getting more and more popular. They’re a fun and creative way to reach more people and promote your products or services.
The webinar market is expected to hit the 800 million mark by 2023, hence it doesn’t come as a surprise that companies look for the best webinar software so they can record and release the best webinar for people to enjoy.
Now without much ado, let’s get started:
What Are The Best Webinar Recording Software Of 2022?
1. GetResponse
Best Overall Webinar Software
Overall Rating:
Summary:
GetResponse is a webinar builder that works entirely online and comes with some brilliant features. It supports up to 20 hours of recordings and allows a total of three presenters. You can host unlimited webinars and even customize your URL to appear more professional. We love how easy this tool is to use. It makes collecting leads a piece of cake and even allows users to choose subscription settings.
Key Features:
- Safety: Despite being an online tool, this webinar recording software is very safe. You will be able to enable registration and even use its built-in marketing tools to promote your event.
- Integrated CRM: It can be a great option for people who wish to form a connection with listeners as the tool allows you to send follow-up emails and run automated campaigns.
- Social Media Integration: You can even live stream on social media including Facebook and YouTube. This integration option will make things easier and allow you to reach more people. Moreover, you will even be able to look at data in the form of charts and graphs.
- Integrated Analytics: The software provides excellent data including average attendance time, locations, and devices used. Plus, you’ll even be able to create surveys.
Pros:
- Free version available
- Competitive pricing and discount plans
- Easy to use
- Landing page creator
- Marketing automation tool
- Allows recording
Cons:
- Facebook pixel installation on the landing pages can cause GDPR complaints.
- Phone support is not available for most plans
- Recording limits
Who is it for?
- Marketers
- Small businesses
- Solopreneurs
- Ecommerce stores
- Bloggers
Number of Attendees:
- Maximum 1,000 (live)
Pricing Plans:
- Free: $0/month
- Email Marketing: starts at $19/month.
- Marketing Automation: starts at $59/month
- Ecommerce Marketing: starts at $119/month
- Refund Policy: 30-days
How to Save:
- You can start with a 30-day free trial
- Choose a free plan (up to 500 contacts),
- Select Email Marketing 24-month plan, which turns out $13.30/month, at 30% off.
2. Livestorm
Best for User Usability
Overall Rating:
Summary:
Livestorm is a video conferencing tool designed for webinars, virtual events, and meetings. It has some unique features including the ability to stream pre-recorded content while offering live Q/A.
Key Features:
Integrated Analytics: The platform offers some great insights and customization. You can even create registration pages for security and promotion. The tool can be set up to send automatic reminders and create recurring sessions.
Multiple Hosts Option: You can add more hosts for a fee and even include CTAs and live debates to make your webinars more interesting.
Third Pary CRM Integration: This webinar software hits the bull’s eye when it comes to integration. It works with a variety of CRMs and even gives users the ability to use its API to build a native integration.
Seamless Learning Experience: All paid plans come with excellent educational resources and premium customer support. Also, there’s no limit on the number of webinars held per month.
Pros:
- No software download is necessary for attendees
- Easy to use
- Third-party integrations such as Google Analytics and Zapier are allowed
- Allows recording
- Advanced capabilities for training courses and more
- Instant meeting
Cons:
- Buggy screen-sharing experience
- Poor customer service experience
- Tracking data does not work for external forms or conversions
Who is it for?
- Startups
- Marketing agencies
- International teams
- Large companies
Number of Attendees:
- Maximum 3,000 (live)
Pricing Plans:
- Free: $0/month.
- Pro: starts at $110/month
- Business: Customized
- Enterprise: Customized
- Refund Policy: No refund available
How to Save:
The best way to save money is to sign up for yearly plans as they can help you save up to 30%.
3. WebinarJam
Best for Social Media Livestreaming
Overall Rating:
Summary:
WebinarJam is a no-download webinar software that allows live streaming on social media platforms.
Key Features:
A/B Testing: It has some excellent features including the ability to choose from readymade templates and customize them according to your needs. You can even try A/B testing to find what works and what doesn’t.
Automated Notifications: We loved how easy WebinarJam is to use. It allows users to schedule reminder notifications (text or email). Plus, you will even be able to send messages post-webinar. Moreover, the tool makes it possible to replay recordings so that you can reach more people. These features can boost your ROI and help you win more listeners.
Integrated Surveys: Some other impressive tools include creating quizzes, offering products, and enjoying a live chat. You will even be able to share and receive feedback in real-time. However, remember that there is a maximum duration limit so make sure to plan accordingly.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Comprehensive training videos to learn the platform
- Automatic recording
- 24/7 customer support
- Private and public messaging when live
- “Panic button” to create a new room in case of any bug or issue
Cons:
- No Demo
- Some users have reported video delays when the video is live
Who is it for?
- Youtubers
- Coaches
- Solopreneurs
- Small businesses
Number of Attendees:
- 5,000 (live)
Pricing Plans:
- Starter: costs $39/month.
- Basic: costs $79/month.
- Professional: costs $229/month.
- Enterprise: costs $379/ month.
- Refund Policy: 30-days.
How to Save:
- Choose a plan according to your expected number of attendees.
4. Demio
Best User Interface for Atendees
Overall Rating:
Summary:
Demio is said to be the best webinar tool for people struggling to convert listeners. It offers a mix of features including some great marketing tools that can help you reach and retain more listeners. The tool comes with some great add-ons. You will not only enjoy HD video but also live and scheduled sessions.
Key Features:
Integrated Analytics: Demio hits the bull’s eye when it comes to analytics. It offers some great numbers including join timestamp, exit timestamp, attendance, and polls. With these analytics, you will be able to know exactly what’s working and what isn’t.
Vast of Third Party Integrations: However, what we liked the most is the integration option. This one works with a large number of options including Mailchimp, Marketo, HubSpot, Drop, and AWeber.
Seamless Learning Experience: It offers excellent customer support and has a detailed FAQ section that answers all questions one may have about the product.
Affordability: It is one of the most affordable webinar software out there and supports up to 5 hosts. You can even get a customized quote for unlimited hosts.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Seamless integration with third-party apps like MailChimp and more
- Great customer service and support
- Allows recording
- Free Demo
Cons:
- Webinar set-up can be time consuming
Who is it for?
- Marketing agencies
- Business owners
- Solopreneurs
- Teams
Number of Attendees:
- 1,000 (live)
Pricing Plans:
- Starter: costs $34/month
- Growth: costs $69/month
- Premium: Customized
- Refund Policy: 30-days
How to Save:
- You can save 30% by signing up for the yearly plans.
5. EasyWebinar
Best for Third-Party Integrations
Overall Rating:
Summary:
Last on the list is EasyWebinar, a professional webinar software with some impressive features.
This one is as easy as the name says. Expect no lagging when you use this high-quality webinar software. The pixels are perfect and the sound quality is also top-notch. You will even be able to record and archive content for future use and stay in touch with your listeners through the live chat feature that even allows links.
Key Features:
Multiple Hosts Option: The program supports up to 4 presenters and even has the option to make any attendee a presenter. This is a unique feature that can be used to improve engagement and add value to your webinars.
TrueVoice technology: reduces noise and keeps clarity even when multiple people are speaking at the same time. It uses TrueVoice technology that reduces noise and keeps clarity even when multiple people are speaking at the same time.
Integrated Analytics: You’ll be able to get your hands on the latest numbers to know exactly how your shows are doing.
Pros:
- Good customer service and support
- Integrates with other CRM’s
- Allows recording
- Free Demo
Cons:
- Reported video delays during live sessions
- Non-intuitive interface for certain users
Who is it for?
- Small businesses
- Developers
- Teams
- Educators
- Coaches
Number of Attendees:
- 2,000 (live)
Pricing Plans:
- Standard: $78/month
- Pro: $129/month
- Enterprise: $499/month
- Refund Policy: 30-days
How to Save:
- Save 25% by selecting yearly billing.
6. eWebinar
Best for Webinar Automation
Overall Rating:
Summary:
eWebinar is one of the very few webinar solutions on the market that is 100% dedicated to webinar automation. With eWebinar, you can turn any video (perhaps one that is recorded from the solutions above) into an interactive, automated webinar that you can set on a recurring schedule or make available on demand. While it does not have live video and audio capabilities like the other solutions on this list, the platform has all the features you need to run your repetitive webinars around the clock without being there, ever, if you don’t want to. Its robust chat system allows you to respond to attendees in real-time, or respond later via email. Meaning you can run as many webinars as you want and never miss a question from prospects and customers.
Key Features:
Asynchronous chat: The only webinar solution that has a true async chat system that works like any support chat system. Hop in to respond in real-time as attendees are watching your webinar, or respond later by email if they attend while you’re sleeping. eWebinar’s chat feature is the reason you can run your webinars 24/7 with peace of mind that all your customer questions get answered, in your own time. Their chat admin is mobile responsive which means you can respond to attendees on the go, from your bed, or from your beach chair. You can even integrate with Slack and respond within a dedicated channel.
Biggest selection of interactions: eWebinar’s attendee experience is engaging and immersive, enhanced by its wide variety of interactions that not only help keep your attendees staying until the end, it allows hosts to collect data from prospects and customers through polls, questions, and quizzes. Other notable interactions include conversion notifications, private messages, contact forms, feedback, link, handout, and collecting tips.
Gorgeous and actionable analytics: Not only does eWebinar offer the most comprehensive analytics of any solution out there, the report was designed by an ex-Apple lead designer. You can even share reports outside of the platform with team members and clients. Not only can you see attendee activity, but you can also see all the answers to their interactions and where they drop off and use this information to better your presentation over time.
Mobile responsive back end – Affordability: eWebinar allows you to have unlimited attendees and team members as their pricing model is only based on the number of webinars you have active. This means that as your audience grows, your pricing stays the same and you don’t have to worry about scaling your attendees up.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Deep integrations with enterprise solutions like Slack, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, Salesforce, Marketo, and more
- 100% dedicated to automation which allows you to run as many as you want without being there
- Robust chat feature with mobile responsive back end
- Professional, beautiful, and brandable attendee experience
Cons:
- Does not offer live webinar capabilities (live video and audio)
Who is it for?
- Sales and marketing teams
- Customer success teams
- SMBs
- Enterprises
Number of Attendees:
- Unlimited
Pricing Plans:
- Level 1: $49/month (0-1 webinar)
- Level 2: $99/month (2-5 webinars)
- Level 3: $199/month (6-15 webinars)
- Enterprise: $250/month + $10/month for every additional webinar (25 webinars)
How to Save:
- There are no promotions or annual plans
Frequently Asked Questions
Whether you’ve started hosting webinars or you’re still planning to start, some questions will cross your mind. Here are answers to common questions about creating webinars and obtaining the best results possible:
What is a webinar?
A webinar is a web seminar that includes online video presentations, slides, images, and other multimedia files. Usually, a webinar provides information about a topic to attendees.
Naturally, a webinar is easier to organize compared to an offline seminar. Even though there’s no physical contact when you organize a webinar, you can have a wider attendance worldwide.
While organizing your webinars, you have so many options to explore. First, you can feature guest speakers during your online event. Your speakers will probably be industry experts who can even attract more attendees to your events.
In addition, you’ll provide more value to people who attend your webinar. To make your work easier during your live presentation, you can add another user who will perform some tasks in the background so that you can concentrate on your presentation. They can reply to comments, create polls, and engage with attendees.
You also have the option to record your webinars and send them to people who couldn’t attend your meeting.
After your events, you’ll have access to analytics such as the number of registered users compared to the number of attendees, the time they left your meeting, poll results, etc.
To exploit these features fully, you need to use robust webinar software.
Why you should consider using a webinar?
Beyond the increasing popularity of videos today, there are more compelling reasons to start hosting webinars. They include:
Educating your audience
Even though you already have blog posts, webinars provide another dimension in terms of engagement. For instance, webinars allow you to bring in topic experts, and attendees can ask questions during the events. This will help you connect better with your audience and build brand awareness.
Lead acquisition
For people to attend your webinars, they need to sign up with their email addresses. Through this, you have an opportunity to contact them in the future for further nurturing. Better still, you can qualify these leads if they attend your webinar and engage with comments or polls. The beauty of this is that you can record a single webinar and continue to use it to acquire leads for months.
Customer acquisition
To attend some events, attendees have to pay. In this case, you’ve acquired customers for your business. From another perspective, you can promote a product if the webinar is providing content to sales-qualified leads at the bottom of your sales funnel.
Customer onboarding
Most new customers will have a learning curve about using your product. You can use a webinar to take them through essential tasks they can perform on your product.
Team meetings
If you run a remote team, there are many reasons to organize meetings. With a webinar tool, it’s easier to organize these meetings.
These are a few important reasons you should consider using webinar software for marketing and other operational needs.
Why is choosing the best webinar software important
There are many things that can go wrong when planning and executing a webinar. Including scheduling issues, the software not being user-friendly, low audio and video quality, and the software might not work with your hardware or existing software on your computer.
Sometimes the right software might be too expensive, or not offer monthly plans that fit your needs. You might also be looking to save on long-term package deals for your business.
That is why it is important to compare the different software options for your webinar needs.
What features make a good webinar software
The three most important factors that contribute to the quality of a webinar are the user interface needs to be easy to use, audio and video quality, and the ability to track users’ information and analytics.
Here are a few things to remember when selecting webinar recording software so you can get the best one:
Sound and Video Quality
Poor sound and video will ruin your webinar no matter how good the topic or speakers are. Make sure to choose a program that’s known for high-quality sound and video without issues such as noise or disconnections. The best way to be sure is to check reviews and run tests before you go live.
Ease and Customer Support
Choose webinar recording software that is easy to use. Some programs have a learning curve that can deter users. It’s important that you select a simple tool. Pay attention to guides and instructions and ensure customer service is easily available so that you can get answers to all your questions.
The software should be easy to use not just for your team but also for your listeners and guests. They should be able to join the conversation without any trouble.
Analytics
You should ideally pick a tool that makes it easy to comprehend data. It should tell you how many visitors you had and how well your webinar is doing so you can plan accordingly.
Your Budget
Some programs offer basic analytics and some might provide great user data including location and device.
This is a very important thing to consider since webinar software can be both free and expensive. Know exactly how much you can afford to spend on webinar software and look for tools that are within your budget. Also, pay attention to the license type.
Some software will only have monthly or yearly licenses and some might come with a lifetime license. Plus, see how many users a license supports so that you don’t have to buy multiple licenses for each team member.
Integration
We suggest that you look for a tool that works well with your existing software. A program that syncs with your existing toolbox will make it easier to manage tasks.
Most webinar tools can be combined with CRMs, marketing automation tools, and messaging platforms such as Slack. Some even come with social media integration to make marketing easier.
Your Requirements
Know what you require and look for webinar software that meets all your requirements. For example, if you use Linux then go for a program that works well on Linux. Also, ensure it has all the required features, i.e.: the ability for guests to join, speak, etc.
Webinar software that offers collaboration features such as polls and chats is in demand as they improve engagement and offer better results than software that doesn’t offer such tools.
Trial Period
It might be a good idea to choose a program that comes with a trial period. With a trial offer, you will get to know exactly how a program works without signing up for a paid program. Trial offers are usually for a limited time and you might often have to enter your credit card details to be able to access a trial version.
Security
Security can be a huge concern when using webinar recording software. Choose a program that allows you to decide who can access your webinar. There should ideally be an invite feature. Plus, the company should go all out to protect your data.
Stay away from tools that expose your data or have been hacked before.
What are the hardware requirements to host a webinar?
The hardware requirements to host a webinar will depend a lot on the webinar software you’re using. Therefore, viewing the hardware requirements page of your preferred webinar software is essential before making your purchase decision.
That said, whatever webinar software you use, you should have hardware with minimum requirements as follows:
- Computer with operating systems of Windows 7 and higher, Mac OS 10.13 and higher, Linux, Chrome OS
- The latest version of Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, or Microsoft Edge
- Computer with a minimum of 2GHz dual-core processor
- Computer with a minimum of 2GB RAM
- Internet connection of 1Mbps or more
- Webcam
- Built-in speakers and microphone, USB plug-in, or professional broadcasting equipment
If you want to host webinars, then you should have the equipment stated above. Very few webinar software packages will require lower than that. Even if they require lower than that, it’s a no-brainer to have the best equipment possible, as this will affect your attendees’ experience.
Ideally, if you own an online business and run many online applications, you probably have a computer that meets this requirement. Otherwise, you can obtain a good computer that will meet these requirements for less than $1,000.
In a nutshell, ensure you browse through a webinar software’s website page for their requirements.
How do I attract people to join my webinar?
Nobody wants to run a webinar with a few attendees. Otherwise, you’ll fail to achieve your goals for the event.
Luckily, there are ways to improve attendance for your webinars. First, you should have a compelling topic for your ideal audience.
In most cases, this is the first information a potential attendee will have. If it’s a topic of little interest, they won’t bother to register.
Beyond that, featuring industry experts in your webinars will attract more users. Naturally, people want to hear what experts have to say due to their experience and results.
Furthermore, these experts will promote your webinar to their large audience. To provide a snippet for attendees, you can add a brief outline of what you’ll discuss in your webinar.
Now, marketing your webinar plays a vital role before and after registration. Before registration, you can promote your webinars on your website, social media accounts, and through emails.
After registration, you can remind registered users using automated email sequences and SMS. Most tools on this list allow you to do that. But if you want to use a dedicated tool, you can check our guide on the best email marketing software.
How do I keep attendees engaged during my webinar?
Since you can’t see your attendees physically, it’s more challenging to engage them. And again, they’re on a computer with many sources of distractions.
Nevertheless, you can keep them interested until the end of your webinar. So here are a few things to do:
Ask questions during your presentation
questions often bring back people to consciousness. You can ask a question relevant to your presentation and tell attendees to answer in the live chat. This requires effort and will improve engagement.
Create polls
Is there a problem that people approach in different ways? You can create a poll during and after your webinars to get the views of your attendees. Apart from the engagement, you’ll also acquire more data.
Take Q & A break
a long stretch of a presentation can get tiring. Scheduling a break to take questions from attendees will help you bond with them and also answer their questions.
Promise an incentive
If you promise attendees a gift such as an ebook, a checklist, or a cheat sheet, this can encourage them to stay till the end of your event.
Beyond these, you should try to mix things up during your webinars. For example, rather than just be in front of your audience or use slides throughout, you should introduce other elements.
Apart from your face, attendees should see slides, statistics, videos, comments from attendees, and more. This will spice up your events.
How do I get webinar attendees to sign up for my services or products?
Ultimately, organizing webinars is a marketing strategy. So, you want to convert webinar attendees to customers down the line.
To promote your products or services on your webinars, they should be at the bottom of your sales funnel. For instance, you shouldn’t be promoting your product with a webinar at the top of your sales funnel.
Therefore, attendees should be people who have interacted with your business in the past. This way, they’ll be more receptive to your sales pitch.
Another way to get attendees interested in your product is to address the pain points they have. Ideally, your product should eliminate these pain points.
During your presentation, you should proffer possible solutions to these pain points. More so, mention your products where necessary to sow seeds of your sales pitch at the end of your webinar.
Once you finish your online event, deliver your sales pitch and let attendees know how they can use your product to solve their problems. Unfortunately, not every attendee will take up your offer.
That’s why you must follow up with them even after the webinar. In this case, you can create an automated email sequence to reach out to them.
Here, you’ll emphasize their pain points and how your products can tackle them. Then, in the last email, you can pitch your product again.
Can you charge for people to attend your webinar?
While most webinars are free, you can charge attendees before they can attend your online event.
However, if you’re charging for your webinar, it has to be because you’re offering high value to people who are willing to pay for it. Usually, paid webinars provide advanced training or a course, and they feature experts.
Sometimes, the course can include a series of webinars. In addition, the information in these webinars shouldn’t be easily found on Google. Likewise, the webinar should be absent on the Google index so that only paying attendees can have access.
Most webinar software tools allow you to integrate payment platforms into your webinars. So, it’s easy to take these payments.
What roles can users play when attending a webinar?
Webinar software will allow you to create roles for all participants. For example, you can have co-hosts or guest speakers who will present during the event.
In the background, you can have a moderator who will moderate comments from attendees. The moderator will also have permission to answer questions and create polls. With this, you’ll have more time to concentrate on your webinar.
That said, what do attendees do apart from watching and listening? Here are two typical roles:
Leaving comments and questions
While your webinar is ongoing, attendees can leave comments about the topic or other points you make. This can also happen if you ask questions during your presentation and tell attendees to answer in the comments. Likewise, during Q & A sessions, attendees can leave their questions in the chat.
Voting in polls
Through polls, you can know what your audience thinks about a topic or concept. Participants can vote in these polls. Consequently, you’ll obtain more data about your audience.
By allowing users to play these roles, you’ll engage them more and increase the chances of keeping them till the end of your webinars.
Final Thoughts
These were some of the best webinar software to try. They all have their pros and cons and it might be a good idea to sign up for a trial so you can compare these paid and free webinar software options. Remember that the best webinar software is the one that offers all that you need and is within your budget.
You can start with a small plan and scale up as the number of attendees and hosts grows.
