Virtual conferences are a powerful and cost-effective way for event creators to attract a global audience and maximize your event reach.
They’re also unbelievably popular. Last year, 40% of marketing events were held online!
But while you might have eliminated the need for a physical venue by bringing your conference online, you’ll need a reliable virtual conference platform.
There’s no shortage of platforms available, so finding the right one can become yet another dragging to-do list item.
We’re going to help you check that task off your list.
In this article, we’ll share our expertise in organizing events and review the top 10 virtual conference platforms. Let us guide you through the selection process, so you can easily find the perfect tool for your upcoming online conference.
The 10 best virtual conference platforms
Virtual conference platform buyer’s guide
Before we dive into the 10 best virtual conference platforms, it’s a good idea to become familiar with the important features offered by such tools so you canchoose the best one for your needs.
We put together a quick buyer’s guide to help you out.
Top features to look for when choosing a virtual conference platform
Keep your eye out for the following helpful software features:
Ticket management
If your virtual conference is a ticketed event, then you’re going to need a way to manage the purchase and distribution of tickets. Ideally, this will be built into your conference platform.
By having your ticketing system in the same tool as your virtual conference, you improve data visibility and maximize your ability to report accurately on event ROI.
Networking functionality
Your goal when running a virtual conference is to make the experience feel as much like an in-person event as possible.
Of course, one of the most important reasons to attend a conference is for networking opportunities, so you want a virtual conference platform that replicates this experience.
A platform that includes networking features such as live chat rooms or smart matchmaking to help break the ice, or the ability to jump on a 1:1 video call or schedule a meeting for later can be very helpful.
Promotion features
The best virtual conference platform is one which helps you reach as large an audience as possible. That means you’ll want to look out for a tool with a wide range of event promotion features.
You’ll want to look for features like automated email workflows, social media sharing capabilities, and smart audience creation to enthuse with your upcoming event.
Breakout rooms
Breakout rooms are a fantastic way to create an immersive and interactive experience during your online event.
Digital breakout rooms replicate the in-person experience, where attendees break off into smaller groups in separate rooms from the main conference to discuss a particular conversation topic, network, or attend a role-specific workshop.
Event analytics
A powerful analytics suite is crucial in helping you measure, understand, and report on the success of your virtual conference
Make sure you choose a tool that allows you to dive into the numbers to see data points like:
- How many and which kinds of tickets have been sold
- Which cities are selling the best
- How many attendees canceled vs. how many who came
Live tech support
Even the most advanced tools are burdened with technical issues from time to time.
Sometimes it’s a platform problem; other times, it’s a user issue. In any case, when things go wrong in the heat of an event, you want to know that your virtual conference platform provider has your back.
So, when choosing your own virtual event platform, prioritize one with a dedicated tech support team who you know will be on call when you’re running the show.
How much should a virtual conference platform cost?
Pricing for virtual event software can vary significantly. Simple webinar tools like Zoom can be used for small events for free, whereas the full-fledged version of Demio can cost as much as $88,000 a year.
So, there is really no right answer when determining how much a virtual meeting platform should cost. It all comes down to your needs, audience size, event goals, and budget.
How to choose the right virtual conference platform for you
As you’ll see shortly, there are a number of virtual conference platforms available that suit different needs. Some are better for large-scale conferences, others offer only the essential features for small-scale live events, like webinars.
To determine which virtual event platform is right for your needs, here are a few important questions to consider:
- How many participants will be at the conference? Not all platforms support large audiences. Estimate how many attendees you expect to have, then choose a platform that can easily host more than that number.
- What level of reporting and analytics will you require? Consider what your event goals are, what metrics you’ve set to measure success, and how you plan on reporting your results. Then, pick a virtual conference tool with relevant reporting capabilities.
- What degree of support do you need? For example, will you need some tech support when setting up the platform, or require assistance onboarding your team? What about during the event? If you plan on livestreaming during the conference, do you want a tech support person on standby? If so, you’ll need to choose a platform that offers that service.
- Are engagement features important to you? Consider whether you want users to be able to ask and answer questions during the event, or whether you want extra features like breakout rooms.
- Are event marketing features important to you? Some virtual conference platforms offer specific event marketing functionality, like social media advertising. Consider how important features such as these will be to your specific event.
- What is your budget for this platform? While your goal should be to choose the best option for your needs, some platforms may simply not be within your budget. Consider what monetary boundaries you may have before picking a virtual events tool.
Lastly, before you commit to any virtual conference platform, schedule a demo with a sales rep to find out how easy — or not — it is to use the tool.
A user-friendly platform (ideally with a mobile app) will help you garner buy-in from your team and from clients, maximizing engagement and increasing the likelihood that your stakeholders will adopt the platform you’ve chosen.
10 best virtual conference platforms
Now that you’ve got a good idea of how to choose the best tool for your needs, let’s turn our attention to our top 10 virtual conference platform recommendations.
1. Eventbrite
If you’re after the most comprehensive and feature-rich virtual events platform available, look no further than Eventbrite.
Eventbrite is your holistic, all-in-one events platform, covering everything from virtual conference marketing to ticket sales to advanced audience reports and insights.
But don’t just take our word for it. Let’s dive into Eventbrite’s expansive features, and you’ll see exactly what makes our platform the best choice for virtual events.
Customizable online event pages
With Eventbrite, you can create the perfect page for your upcoming virtual event.
Rather than having to shoehorn important information into a pre-existing page format, our online event page builder is customizable so you can present information in a way that suits your audience and aligns with your brand guidelines.
If your online event is ticketed, our custom page builder helps you create a seamless checkout experience that allows your attendees to register for your conference in just a couple of clicks.
Audience discovery features
If you ran an online conference but nobody came, did it really happen? Well, it did — you’ve got all your hard work to show for it — but something was missing in your preparations: reaching out to the right audience.
Eventbrite’s virtual conference platform includes several helpful features for increasing your audience reach, like integrated ticketing on Facebook and LinkedIn and the ability to easily share upcoming events on your social pages. We also make ticketing easy by offering our check-in app, where people can seamlessly search for and purchase tickets, and check in on the day.
Inside info: Did you know that event-goers searching for unique experiences account for one out of four tickets sold on Eventbrite? Our virtual conference tool helps you scale your audience with personalized recommendations in our consumer app and newsletters.
Eventbrite’s Marketing Tools
Really want to max out attendance?
Eventbrite’s all-in-one marketing platform for virtual events allows you to reach all the corners of the Earth. Launch ads on social media platforms, crush email marketing with up to 10,000 daily sends, and target the right people with a smart audience based on Eventbrite’s exclusive data.
Plus, with a deep reporting and analytics suite, you’ll discover exactly who and where ticket sales are coming from and gain actionable insights to help you continuously optimize your event services.
Dive deeper into Eventbrite
The most powerful platform for virtual conferences.
Automated event notifications
Getting your audience to hit “attend” is only half the battle; what really matters is whether or not they show up!
With Eventbrite, you can create custom automated notifications to keep your event top-of-mind for your attendees.
For example, if someone hits “Follow” or “Like” on an event page, you can schedule an automated notification to go out a week later, reminding them exactly what they’ll get out of your upcoming conference and why they should attend.
Later, you can check your event analytics to see how many cancellations you had and what the actual turnout was.
Virtual event integrations
Working across multiple platforms? No problem!
Eventbrite integrates with the tools you’re already using, including Zoom, Vimeo, Facebook Live, YouTube, and Twitch, to help you design a seamless and interactive experience for your virtual event attendees.
This means you can add all the features these market-leading platforms have to offer — live chat rooms, breakout sessions, 1:1 video calls and meeting scheduling on the go — you name it!
Live Tech Support
Eventbrite offers 24/7 live support for paid event organizers so we’re there for you if you need us before, during or after the event.
Pricing for Eventbrite
Pricing for Eventbrite is clear and simple, with super low fees for your event attendees.
There are no fees for free events and the service and payment fees are paid by ticket buyers — unless you choose to cover them.
Now let’s talk about some alternative virtual conference platforms, each with their own special features.
2. vFairs
vFairs is an all-in-one platform for managing in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. It offers a number of powerful features for specific kinds of virtual events.
Most impressive is their virtual environment, which lets you create a digital version of a physical event you’re already running or have run previously. This makes for a super immersive event experience.
These are vFairs key features:
- Event ticketing and registration
- Attendee networking functionality
- Customizable event page builder
- Event marketing suite with AI-powered assistance
- Virtual sponsorship features
- Reporting and analytics suite
- Event gamification
Pricing for vFairs is customized based on your needs.
3. WebinarJam
WebinarJam is a webinar software tool that’s a solid option for those who wish to run a speaker-heavy virtual conference.
WebinarJam has a huge audience cap for virtual events, allowing you to host up to 5,000 attendees without technical issues.
These are Webinar Jam’s key features:
- Up to six presenters at a time
- High definition, 30 FPS video
- Live chat, private chat, and Q&A functionality
- Automated webinar recordings
- Flexible conference scheduling
WebinarJam starts at $39 a month with a cap of 100 attendees. Plans increase in price and attendance limits from there.
4. Demio
Demio is a no-download webinar platform that allows your audience to attend your virtual conference without having to battle with clunky installations.
Demio’s strongest point is its deep reporting and analytics tool, which focuses on helping event organizers demonstrate their return on investment and identify opportunities to maximize audience engagement.
Demio’s key features are:
- Attendee engagement monitoring functionality
- Intent tracking
- ROI measurement
- Integrates with popular marketing software tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot
- Unlimited attendee registrations
- Virtual backgrounds
Demio has four different pricing plans:
- Starter — $499 a year
- Growth — from $899 a year (depending on max room size)
- Premium — from $2,200 a year (depending on max room size)
- Unlimited — from $22k a year (depending on max room size)
5. Accelevents
Accelevents is an enterprise-grade event management platform with strong customization features.
Accelevents is a flexible platform. Though it offers end-to-end event management features, it also makes it easy to integrate the tools you’re already using for various aspects of the event planning and management process.
These are Accelevent’s key features:
- Post-event email marketing features
- Breakout rooms and workshop session capabilities
- Branded event website page builder
- Ticketing functionality
- Custom registration forms with conditional logic
- Live polls
Pricing for Accelevents is designed on a per-customer basis.
6. BigMarker
BigMarker is an online event platform with features for both webinars and hybrid events.
BigMarker has a number of powerful features that help event organizers create hybrid events, where a physical, in-person event is also broadcast digitally.
These are Big Maker’s main features:
- Interactive Q&A sessions
- AI-powered speed networking
- Customizable event landing pages
- Support for sponsorship such as ads and branded banners
- Integrations with tools like Salesforce and Marketo
- Customizable 2D or 3D Lobby
- Event gamification
BigMarker’s platform is highly-customizable, meaning prospective customers can pick and choose which features they need. As such, pricing for their virtual conference platform is customized.
7. Hopin
Hopin is a suite of tools designed to help with audience engagement. One of these tools is their online events platform, Hopin Events
Hopin Events allows organizers to create a virtual event with interactive programming and networking features that mimic the experience of a full-fledged live conference.
Here are Hopin Events’ key features:
- Virtual expo booths
- Well-designed event registration suite
- Event data analytics
- Up to 100,000 viewers
- Breakout sessions
- Interactive polls, quizzes, and Q&As
- Event marketing and promotion suite
Hopin Events has three pricing tiers:
- Free (for events of up to two hours with a maximum of 100 attendees)
- Starter — $99 a month (for events of up to three days with a maximum of 100 attendees)
- Business — plans start at $6,000 with no limitation on event length or maximum number of attendees
8. Zoom
As one of the world’s most widely-used webinar platforms, Zoom hardly needs an introduction.
Zoom is a familiar tool which promises a seamless and hassle-free experience for event attendees and is already widely used in business contexts.
Zoom’s key features are:
- Advanced event analytics
- Virtual event lobby where attendees can scroll through multiple sessions and pick the most relevant
- Networking features such as breakout rooms
- Ability to highlight event sponsors with branding, logos, and special tickets
- Polling, quizzes, chats, and Q&As
Zoom offers a free plan, but this comes with restrictions such as a maximum meeting time of 40 minutes for no more than two people.
Paid plans start at $149.90 a year, and scale up from there depending on the features you require, how many attendees you’ll be hosting, and the size of your organization.
9. Livestorm
Livestorm is an online meeting and webinar platform with several features that support virtual events.
Livestorm can support more than 3000 participants in a single event, which makes it a great choice for virtual conferences with many live attendees.
These are Livestorm’s key features:
- Customizable registration pages
- Automated email cadences
- Interactive functionality like breakout rooms
- Live chat and Q&A features
- Integrations with popular CRM and marketing platforms
- Event analytics suite
Monthly pricing for Livestorm starts at $79 a month, with limits on the number of contacts, event attendees, and event durations.
10. Airmeet
Airmeet is a virtual events platform with features to support webinars, conferences, and hybrid events.
Airmeet’s platform goes deep on branding opportunities. This allows you to maximize brand recall, just like on a live conference.
These are Airmeet’s main features:
- Customer intent data and analytics
- 24/7 support
- Engagement and networking functionality
- Native mobile apps
- Registration and ticketing features
- Interactive features like polls, Q&As, and chat
Airmeet offers a free plan for smaller events, with pricing for more advanced plans starting at $500 a month.
Ready to choose your virtual conference platform?
In this guide, we’ve explored 10 powerful options for running your upcoming virtual conference. Each platform offers different features, price points, and levels of support.
For a truly engaging and memorable experience, look for a platform with seamless ticket management, helpful networking functionality, powerful event analytics, and a strong event promotion suite.
Eventbrite ticks those boxes and more!
With an all-encompassing event promotion platform, Eventbrite creators can reach new audiences that maximize conference engagement and return on investment. Plus, our built-in ticketing management system allows users to click through from social media ads straight to purchasing tickets.
So, skip the hemming and hawing and dive right into hosting virtual events with the most powerful online platform for your virtual conference events.
