Some of us are unfamiliar with word webinar, so webinar is nothing but the seminar conducted over the internet. A webinar is also known as “web conferencing” and “web seminars”. Webinars are possible due to the latest technology and with the high-speed internet connection. Some popular software provides point to point real-time services and multipoint services as well, with the help of text messages, voice and video chat that share simultaneously with all the users at the same time. Due to webinar software, meeting, presentations, lectures, tutorials and much more can be done with ease with the help of internet-connected devices and you can access anytime anywhere. It enables people to live streaming videos, web tours, recordings, text chat, and application sharing and much more.
Here are our picks of the top 8 best webinar software in 2018, we have covered both free and paid options in our list.
1. Adobe Connect
Adobe Connect is the webinar software that enables you to connect to the digital world with ease. This webinar software enables you to create webinar, training sessions, collaboration experiences and much more. With the help of Adobe connect; people can also create virtual rooms which can be customized with your layout and contents. And its price range varies from $50 to $370 per months; the variation of its monthly cost depends on the specific users.
Features:
- Custom Experience: Adobe Connect provides complete control over control rooms, that people can customize their room according to their perspectives.
- Layouts: here customer can also customize the layout according to their host and or according to required conditions of the webinar.
- Power Features: This feature is one of the best features of Adobe Connect have, it enables a customer to go backstage and edit connect without affecting live sessions.
- Content Persistence: this makes the customers to reuse the contents like videos, audios, and presentations etc in multiple sessions with ease. This also enables you to setup your virtual room’s layout before the actual session.
- Room Template: Template makes it easy fast and secure to set up rooms. Room layout can easily be reset according to the conditions and also make it reuse your room again and again.
2. Facebook Live
Facebook is one most popular social networking site, which has users from all over the world. Facebook has a feature called “Facebook Live” which enable the users to stream live videos to any number of viewers of any length so that you can better connect with the audience. Facebook live enables you the benefit of real-time engagement. It doesn’t matter who you are, this webinar software is free for all its users. Facebook Live is freely available for its users; you just have to open an account on Facebook to use Facebook Live.
Features:
- Massive audience: a massive number of audience is available here because almost everyone is familiar with Facebook and has an account on it. This platform is already set up for every interaction between host and audience.
- Privacy: This is for the security of the host and audience too, so that their content would not get out. A host can select their registrant audience only which make interaction save and secure.
- Massive support: massive support of the audience because Facebook is available for Android, iOS, windows phone, and windows. Which increases its users, this webinar software is available in all countries for free.
- Portability: this webinar software make you enable to stream from the mobile devices and this has no viewer’s limit, so that host needs to worry about the numbers of viewers.
- Third party apps: this lets you stream from the same platform itself or by the third party apps such as OBS or Wirecast.
3. MyOwnConference
This webinar software enables you to create webinars, online business meetings, training sessions, team collaboration and other online events. It provides a comprehensive and useful webinar toolkit that can help you engage your audience, educate attendees and build your brand. It allows you to customize the webinar room, add your logo, banners and CTA.
Its price depends on the number of attendees.All features are included in any plans despite their cost. The basic plan starts from $36 per month for 60 attendees. There is also a free account for 20 attendees for lifelong use.
Features:
- Invitations: host or moderator can send invitations, reminders and follow-up emails to the audience.
- Recording: it lets you record your webinar session in HD and Full HD format and send the recording to the attendees via email or social media.
- Security: all video streams are totally secure and protected by the AES-128 algorithm, so only invited users can enter the webinar room.
- Public and private chats: attendees can send public messages to the chat or communicate directly with the host or moderator of the webinar via private messages.
- Presentations: you can share presentations, pdf files, graphics and infographics and other materials with your audience.
- Third-party apps: it allows you to hold webinars using broadcasting from OBS Studio and other apps for streaming.
- Analytics: you can deeply analyze your webinar performance. It offers built-in statistics and reports and also integration with Google Analytics.
4. EverWebinar
EverWebinar is powerful webinar software, which helps you out to build email marketing list with purpose. EverWebinar let you to schedule your webinar and also let you to automate your webinar footage to play at a certain time which creates the live experience for the audience. You can replay it any number of times per day. This webinar software let you interact with the audience at ease. This webinar software is truly unique. This EverWebinar is available on the internet at the cost price of $597 for all its customers.
Features:
- Automate Webinars: this webinar software let you schedule your webinar at a comfortable time and schedule your webinar to reply at the required time and you can reply to your webinar any number of time per day.
- Time zone auto-detection: this feature let you schedule your webinar with ease because it auto-detect the time of different time zones so that you have to schedule at once your webinar for all time zones.
- Just-In-Time Webinar: this feature informs the audience before the start of the webinar, which encourages them to attend the full webinar.
- Analytics: this feature will provide the insight into the performance of the webinar strategy.
5. WebinarJam
WebinarJAm and EverWebinar both are developed by the same team of developers. This webinar software is basically design for the live streaming, so here users could not able to schedule their webinars before their actual time. It properly syncs with the EverWebinar, which can directly help for you and for your audience form EverWebinar. This webinar software is available at cheaper rates than the other software. This webinarJAm is available for the monthly cost of $39.99.
Features:
- Steaming: it let you also stream your live session to Facebook live and Youtube Live.
- Interaction: this feature let you to easily interact with the audience with the help of live chats, pools and with virtual whiteboards.
- Recording: it will automatically record all your webinars so that you can use them on any other platform.
- Security: this webinar is totally secure, every webinar room is protected by the passwords.
- Presentations: people can insert their pre-recorded videos or presentations in the live webinar to make it more interesting for the audience.
6. Cisco WebEx
WebEx is another software on the list of webinar software. WebEx is not just webinar software; it is much more than that. WebEx let you do training sessions, online meetings, interactive presentations and much more. This webinar software has much more unique features. This webinar software is available for the same price as other software. This webinar software let you interact with the audience more frequently and easily. It provides powerful video communication system. WebEx price has been dropped from $89 per user to $29 per user per month.
Features:
- Chats: here you can do live chat and virtual whiteboards for interaction.
- File Sharing: the host and the audience can send and receive the files for better interaction.
- Call back: the host can schedule the automated call as an invitation to attend the webinar.
- Security: it provides safe and secure transmission of your files through the host to their audience.
7. Demio
Demio is the last webinar software on the list. Here you can automate you webinar replays. It provides a good way to interact with the audience. It has some features that you won’t find in any other webinar software. It will let you customize your virtual rooms and registration page. And also has an option to send the thank you message to your customers.
Features:
- Private Chats: users can directly interact with the host or coordinator via private messages or public messages.
- Replays: you can automate your replays of the webinars at the required time.
- Greetings: host or coordinator can send the thank you message to the audience, whom they want to.
- Analytics: you could have insights of your webinar performance.
8. YouTube Live
YouTube is a free webinar service available for its entire user. YouTube live is not only used for videos but can also be used to host webinars. Here you can integrate your Google Hangout with YouTube to increase audience by streaming it through YouTube. Youtube offers the number of ways for its users to reach bread swath of viewers, and Youtube also having built-in ability to directly interact with your audience in a live stream. Youtube has no audience limits, so there is no need to worry about the number of audiences. Youtube is freely available all over the world, so you can host or attend the webinar from anywhere in the world.
Features:
- A lot of audiences because of its popularity, almost everyone uses the Youtube.
- You can schedule your live streams according to you and your audience.
- You can also limit your privacy for your live streams by posting to groups of your registered members.
- No viewers limit on this platform, so you can host a live stream for any number of audience.
- It has the ability to stream from laptops and mobiles devices as well.
- It has offered security option; Youtube has a stable URL from every live stream where the only dedicated audience can easily find your live streams.
- Youtube enables you to interact with your audience in live streams as well.
9. Livestream
Livestream is basically designed to create studio-like live streaming not only the webinar platform. Livestream is designed like this is because, here users can multiple cameras, lighting for high-end productions, and professional audio equipments. Livestream do not come with the features like webinar software, this is included in the list due to its live stream feature. This webinar software is designed by focusing more in its live stream feature, and live stream feature is surely different and better from all webinar software currently available on the internet till now. This webinar software is also good for its user who produces professional video content for stream across online platforms. Its monthly price varies from user to user, its monthly price starts from $19 to $289 per user.
Features:
- Editing: It offers advanced editing to its users including graphics overlays, auto fades, and green screens.
- Social Media Integration: you may have your audience from Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.
- Engage Audiences: you can have interaction with your audience by moderate chatting.
- Analytics: you can have insight into viewers and into other elements also.
How to choose the right Webinar tool: There are so many tools described above. But your right webinar tool depends on your specific needs. Every user has different specific needs for their work, promoters require different features, video conferencing requires different features, and live streaming requires different features. So it’s only the users itself, who can decide the best webinar tool for themselves. Or you can select your best webinar tool by using their trial version, which let you know their all the features of every webinar tool. So you can choose your best webinar tool easily.
Conclusion:
Webinar software is the online way to interact with your customers or the group, a webinar is also a great way to generate interest in your service. Webinar software allows the people to engage with the specific group of people without wasting of so much time and money, due to this you can use for lots of purposes viz. training, meetings, product launches, seminars, important announcements and much more. This increases the reach and impact of your message or goals because; there is no limit of the audience as of traditional auditoriums, with the help of this webinar software, you will get to know the audience unlike during physicals meeting at auditoriums. It also reduces the travel time; so you will able to spend little bit more time on your practice session and on the live session you have attend to or host to. You can attend or host webinar anywhere and anytime, which will save your effort, and so much of your precious time and money.
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Talha Ali is your tech generalist, covering a wide spectrum of topics within the ever-evolving world of technology. With a curiosity for the latest innovations, industry trends, and breakthroughs. Whether it’s hardware, software, emerging technologies, or the intersection of tech with daily life, Talha’s articles provide readers with a well-rounded perspective on the dynamic landscape of the tech industry.