If you want to host live webinars, a virtual event, or an online meeting, there are many webinar platforms that have everything you need for a seamless experience. The only challenge for new or small businesses is that most webinar software is costly. Free webinar tools are hard to find, especially with the popularity of other free video conferencing tools. Many web conferencing tools that were once free to use have now become paid-only plans. If you happen to come across a webinar platform that claims to be free, it usually comes with many restrictions and limitations on its key features. For example, most free webinar tools limit the number of attendees that can join a given session. The great news is that there are a few webinar software solutions that make it possible to experiment with your needs without having to lock into expensive plans or contracts that are hard to break.
Free Best Webinar Software
While there are a few free video conferencing tools that you can use to communicate internally without hampering your budget, like Google Hangouts, most free versions of such platforms don’t provide you with a webinar solution. Collaboration tools are useful for small online meetings or managing project schedules but do not support large-scale webinars. When you use a webinar platform, you’ll be able to access features that allow you to share your screen, engage your audience, and reach high numbers of attendees at once. However, the best webinar software can be very expensive, and cost you thousands.
How Can I Use the Best Webinar Software for Free?
As of the time of this writing, there are three ways that you can host webinars for free. Your first option is to choose a webinar software that includes a free trial and determine whether its key features are worth upgrading to a paid version. Your second option is to host free webinars by using free video conferencing tools, which may impose limitations on the number of attendees or VoIP dial-in access. Your third option is to use free or open-source webinar software that you can customize to your needs. Below are a few free webinar platforms that include tools that allow you to utilize each of these options.
Which Solutions Offer a Free Trial?
The majority of webinar platforms only offer a short free trial period, but there are some solutions with longer trials, which are among the top paid webinar software. If you want to test drive webinars before locking into a paid plan, you can try as many free trials as you want before making your final decision. Taking advantage of such offers can not only save your business money, but it also helps you come to the right decision.
BLUEJEANS EVENTS
BlueJeans is one of the best web conferencing software that also features BlueJeans Events, a live webinar platform that can accommodate up to 50,000 attendees. This platform is best for businesses that are looking to host large-scale company-wide events or implement webinar marketing. Those who are new to webinar hosting can also take advantage of the virtual practice rooms, which allow you to practice a few times before going live.
Key Webinar Features:
- Webinar recording
- Mobile and browser-based access (no downloads required)
- Toll-free dialing for up to 500 guests
- Facebook Live integration
- Live screen sharing
- File sharing
- Live Chat messenger tools
- Live polls and surveys
- Q&A tools
- Post-webinar analytics
- Cloud-based webinar recording
Live streaming screens also make it possible to engage your audience, as attendees will only be able to hear and see hosts, limiting communication to the chatbox. BlueJeans Events also integrates with applications such as Marketo, Skype, GSuite, Outlook, Salesforce, and more.
How Much Does This Webinar Software Cost Per Month?
BlueJeans features a 30-day free trial for new users. Afterward, you can choose from plans starting at $83/month (billed annually at $996 per year) for 100 attendees, with the option to upgrade to 200 or 500 guests. For large-scale events, you can contact their sales department to discuss pricing plans that allow you to reach wider audiences.
GOTOWEBINAR
GoToWebinar is a webinar platform designed to host up to 3,000 attendees while assisting hosts with every aspect of the webinar, from planning to guest follow-up. Hosts can choose from on-demand webinars, pre-recorded events, automated recurring webinars, or a single live webinar. You can design a series of online events or make training webinars easier to manage across new employees or remote teams. With GoToWebinar, the challenges of scheduling and promotion are taken care of for you.
Marketing Tools
You can take advantage of branded templates, custom registration forms, and automatic email reminders for registered attendees to ensure a full house. You can also design the registration pages to ask your guests specific questions ahead of time, so you can ensure that the content you provide matches their interests. You can also record live video streaming to reuse your webinars for future replays or promotions and easily share the recording with attendees who may have missed it.
Key Webinar Features:
- Live chat polls
- Virtual hand raising
- Surveys
- Q&A chat tools
- Drawing board
- Live handouts
- Facebook Live and YouTube Live integration
- Filesharing
- Multiple presenters
- Add/remove participants
- Mute/unmute guests
- Audience spotlight feature to highlight guest questions
Additional GoToWebinar features include integration with key software such as Leadpages, Marketo, Zapier, and Salesforce. Plus, there is a smartphone app that enables guests to tune in from anywhere. Minutes after your webinar ends, you will have attendee engagement reports and analytics at your fingertips, offering valuable insights to improve your next event.
How Much Does This Webinar Software Cost Per Month?
The free trial is available for a seven day period. Afterward, you can choose from four different plans, beginning with a $89 per month starter plan, and go as high as $429 for the best set of features.
EASYWEBINAR
With EasyWebinar, another one of the best webinar platforms, you can host live events and pre-recorded automated webinars that can hold up to 2,000 guests. Its multiple presenter feature allows four hosts to live stream and screen share at once. This platform is best known for its HD video screaming qualities, file and screen sharing abilities, no-delay streaming function, and TrueVoice noise-reduction technology. Easy one-click registration forms are embeddable on your website and social media accounts, making it easy to promote your webinar to as many guests as you can. Plus, you don’t have to put any effort into the follow-up process – the program sends out automated reminders to ensure that your guests won’t forget to join.
Key Webinar Features:
- Live chat messenger tool
- Drag and drop file sharing
- Recording capabilities
- Q&A sessions
- Live chat polls
You can also integrate EasyWebinar into popular marketing tools such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, YouTubeLive, WordPress, Google Analytics, and more. After each webinar, your guests can instantly rewatch it and fill out valuable follow-up surveys. As opposed to companies that use webinar software to host company-wide events or online training, EasyWebinar works best for businesses that use webinars to make sales. This platform features real-time push notifications that you can send out to guests while the webinar takes place, leading attendees back to your sales landing pages. It also comes with built-in countdown clocks that display the number of offers still available, which is perfect for generating a sense of urgency within your audience.
How Much Does This Webinar Software Cost Per Month?
The trial period for this platform lasts for fourteen days, after which you can choose from three plans ranging from $78 to $499 per month.
DOES GOOGLE HAVE WEBINAR PLATFORMS?
Google offers Business Hangouts, a webinar platform that serves as an all-in-one, easy to use application for business and corporate webinars, online meetings, web conferences, video conferences, and virtual events. This platform is ideal for educational institutions, small and large businesses, and marketing purposes.
Key Webinar Features:
- Integration with GSuite applications (Sheets, Docs, Slides), G-Drive, CRM software, and email platforms
- Content sharing capabilities for PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, Word Docs, and Excel sheets
- Mobile Responsive Platform
- Brandable landing page(s) and email marketing integration
- Screen sharing capabilities
- File sharing including videos, charts, drawings, and diagrams
- Video chat functions on mobile and desktop
- Browser-based (no need to download)
- Registration via LinkedIn, Facebook, or Gmail
- Ability to host private or public events
- HD video streaming
- Moderated chat messenger
- Fixed URLs for permanent meeting rooms
- Cloud-based SaS tools for organizations of any size
- Complimentary training and support
- Full event analytics
- Live survey and form sharing
With so many great features, many find Business Hangouts to be the best webinar platform on the market. Business Hangouts also features available event management services if you want someone else to take over the entire set up for you from start to finish. There is even the option to order custom content, so you don’t have to spend time creating it yourself.
How Much Does this Webinar Software Cost Per Month?
You can try Business Hangouts with a money-back guaranteed 14-day trial. Afterward, you can choose from plans starting from $8 per month per host, ranging up to $63 per month per host. If you need to accommodate over 200 attendees (and anywhere up to one million), you can contact the company to discuss custom pricing options.
What Are the Top Free Video Conferencing Tools?
In addition to exclusive webinar software, you might be able to get away with using non-paid video conferencing software. Typically, a standard web conferencing tool can accommodate up to 100 guests. If you have a small business or small teams, video conferencing may be an ideal alternative to webinar software. You can also try video conferencing if you’re not sure whether you should add on webinar software.
Which Software Is Best for Video Conferencing?
MICROSOFT TEAMS
Microsoft Teams is a video conferencing tool that you can also use to host unpaid webinars with up to 300 attendees. This tool is perfect if you need to host a large live conference or event.
Key Features:
- 10 GB of storage space
- Unlimited searchable chat messaging
- Screen sharing
- Background blurring
- Real-time guest file sharing and annotation
- One-click link joining
Microsoft Teams can integrate with over 250 online communication and collaboration tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Mailchimp, Trello, GitHub, and more. The only drawback to the free version of this tool is that there are no recording abilities.
How Much Does this Software Cost Per Month?
The basic unpaid version of Microsoft Teams does not require any commitment. Paid pricing begins at five dollars per month per user and can go as high as $20 per month per user. The lowest-paid plan supports a 24-hour meeting time limit, while the most expensive plan includes up to 10,000 participants, and features like security and administrative support. All plans require an annual commitment.
CISCO WEBEX
Cisco WebEx is a video conferencing software with a free plan that makes it easy to host small webinars. Using the non-paid version, you can host up to 100 attendees with no time limit. Guests can view the mobile or desktop screens of up to 25 multiple presenters. The only drawback is that complimentary plans do not include recording capabilities, so this webinar software is better for one-time events.
Key Features:
- HD video
- Activate speaker view
- In-app file sharing and editing
- In-app annotations
- Virtual hand raising
- Live polling
- Real-time whiteboarding
- Waiting room
- Mute/unmute guests
- Add/remove guests
- Unlimited chat messaging
- Searchable chat history
How Much Does this Software Cost Per Month?
The paid version of this tool allows for multiple hosts to invite up to 100,000 guests at once. The starter pack begins at $13.50 per month per most and can hold up to 150 guests. The business pack starts at $26.95 per month per host and can accommodate up to 200 guests. If you need a webinar tool that can accommodate unlimited hosts and up to 100,000 attendees, you can contact the company directly to discuss pricing for the enterprise pack.
IS ZOOM GOOD FOR WEBINARS?
On the topic of web conferencing, you may be wondering if you can use Zoom to host webinars. While you can use Zoom for webinars, keep in mind that it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles as the platforms discussed above and costs $40/month to accommodate up to 100 guests, on top of regular monthly pricing. On the flipside, Its local recording features mean that you can enjoy high-quality video and non-compressed audio, which can help save you on internet bandwidth. Also, Zoom does not provide analytics, making it impossible to measure important data like engagement and attendance.
Key Features:
- One-click scheduling using a single form
- Straightforward registration
- Great audio and video quality
- Local recording
- Multiple integrations
While Zoom is traditionally designed for meetings, you can use it to host webinars, but if your webinar is for marketing purposes, you are likely better off choosing a different webinar platform.
What Is the Best Webinar Software That Is Completely Free?
If you are seeking a webinar platform that doesn’t cost any money at all, there are some easy to use options. However, your options are pretty restrictive when it comes to non-paid tools. Small or new businesses in particular will find these webinar platforms useful if they are just getting started.
RIOT
Riot is a complimentary, browser-based open source webinar software that works well on mobile devices. If you have strict compliance requirements or concerns about data or user privacy, Riot provides end-to-end encryption as well as the option to choose your server. If you are concerned about the recent increase of “Zoombombing” or other security concerns, the webinar software Riot may be an ideal solution.
Key Features
- HD audio and video
- File sharing, receiving, and annotating
- Chat messenger tool
- Fully customized open-source software
- Endless integrations
FREECONFERENCECALL.COM
Another webinar platform that is completely free is FreeConferenceCall.com. This platform lets you broadcast content to up to 1,000 attendees and is another browser-based tool. It’s also compatible with smartphone devices, making it the perfect option for communicating with those who don’t use the same webinar software as your business.
Key Features:
- 1GB of storage space
- HD video and audio streaming
- Unlimited webinar hosting
- Active speaker view
- Live chat messenger tool
- One-click screen recording
- File and screen sharing
- Remote desktop control
Although you do not have to pay to use this webinar tool, it also extends you the option of making a paid donation if you are happy with its services. This webinar software is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
Choosing the Best Webinar Software
Before hosting any webinar, it is essential to spend some time on the pre-planning stage. The first thing you should do before even thinking about which webinar software to use is to determine who your target audience for the webinar will be. It doesn’t matter if you have the best content – if you’re not speaking to the right people, your time and money will go wasted. Once you have figured this out, you can then decide what you will be speaking about so you can keep your audience engaged throughout the entire duration. Once you have these two factors laid out, you will know the exact features you will need in a webinar platform!
Are You Ready to Choose Your Webinar Software?
If you need webinar software that features live recordings, chat messenger tools, screen sharing capabilities, and easy to use to integrations with opens to pay per month or per year, look no further than the webinar software listed in this post, which can help you get started. Alternativity, you could choose to explore even other webinar platforms like Zoho Meeting Keep up with VOIP Virtual to learn more about how you can seamlessly host webinars that fits your budget and needs, or for user-friendly webinar marketing solutions.
