It’s no secret that we are living in an unprecedented time, and the impact has been felt in one way or another across industries. As we adapt, we find ourselves looking for a way to maintain a sense of normalcy. Since the spring season is a prime time to host an event, one way we’ve been able to establish a new normal is bringing events to life—with a virtual twist.
Today’s event software is more advanced than ever, offering several ways to make your event valuable for speakers and attendees alike, but selecting the virtual software that’s right for your event can be an overwhelming task.
So, we here at cred have put together a breakdown of some of the most popular virtual software for your virtual event
ON24
With a few decades of experience under their belt, ON24 is one of the largest players in the virtual event game. ON24 has one of the most holistic products on the market offering capabilities that add value for event organizers, speakers, and sponsors.
Attendee Capacity: up to 2,500
Networking: Through ON24 Virtual Environments, attendees can interact in networking lounges.
Price: Pricing is variant depending on which ON24 platform works best for your event and how many add-ons you need but most can expect to pay between $10,000 and $25,000 for the platform.
Speaker Management: ON24 can facilitate panel discussions while allowing speakers and moderators to communicate directly with each other, and easily accommodates agendas with multiple tracks. Additionally, speakers will be able to see who is attending their session and address Q&A through the integrated chat.
Key Takeaway: ON24 is very adaptable given there are multiple platforms you can choose from. One of the best elements of this platform is the ability to export attendee data and metrics, such as demographic and engagement insights. Bonus: this information is easily integrated into Marketo.
Airmeet
Airmeet launched just last year and is still in beta, however, we can already anticipate it becoming a huge player in the industry. Airmeet is an all-in-one software where you can publish your event details online, manage registrations and go live from a single interface.
Attendee Capacity: up to 1 million
Networking: Grab a seat in the Airmeet social lounge! Attendees can interact at virtual tables of up to four, with the ability to switch tables seamlessly.
Price: Currently Free (Pricing structure will be launched in the coming months. Sign up for a demo session to get access to create your next virtual event.)
Speaker Management: Using a unique URL, up to 16 speakers can meet “Backstage” to interact and prepare with other speakers before going live.
Key Takeaway: Airmeet is one of the newer virtual event software out there. Their capabilities match their competitors with plans to improve the software even further. In the next month or so, look out for new and enhanced features related to attendee payment collection, more advanced attendee interaction, and sponsorship management.
Zoom Webinar
If you’ve participated in webinars or video meetings, chances are you have used Zoom. Probably the most familiar name amongst virtual software, Zoom is known for its consistency and wide range of capabilities that pair well with several event styles. It is also widely used by several event software companies as their go-to integration for webinars.
Attendee Capacity: up to 10,000
Networking: Got something to say? Zoom allows you to set private and group chat settings for attendees and speakers.
Price: Important to note that Zoom offers monthly or annual payment plans. Pricing varies depending on the number of required hosts and attendee size:
Number of hosts: Pro (1-9 hosts), Business (10-20 hosts), or Education (20+ hosts). You will need one host for each webinar you run at the same time.
Pro: ranges from $14.99/month - $134.91/month
Business: ranges from $199.90/month - $379.81/month
Education: $1,800+ per year* (note: there is no monthly payment plan advertised for Education plans)
Number of expected participants: begins at $40/month for 100 participants and climbs to $6,490/ month for 10,000 attendees.
Speaker Management: Speakers are invited into a separate holding room before the session goes live. Zoom is able to support panels of up to 100 speakers.
Key Takeaway: As veterans in the space, Zoom is here to help make virtual event dreams come true offering several capabilities including polling, audience Q & A, branded backgrounds, recording and session transcripts, reporting & analytics, and more! On top of this, Zoom customer service is reliable and quick to provide solutions to meet your needs. Bonus: to monetize your event, Zoom integrates well with PayPal via Zapier.
We know Zoom Meetings has made recent headlines given issues around privacy, but the company has already taken precautions and made alterations to their system to improve users’ experience. They offer several tutorials and customer service access to ensure your event experience is protected.
Intermedia’s AnyMeeting Webinar
While many event platforms offer one-month or one-week free trials, there are not many options that are free throughout your membership. However, one platform we have been testing here at cred is Intermedia’s AnyMeeting, which has generously upgraded all new customers to free Pro Plans until 2021. There are three levels of plans offered; Webinar Lite, Webinar Pro, and Webinar Enterprise, but for this analysis, we’ll use the free Pro Plan as an example.
Attendee Capacity: up to 200
Networking: A live attendee chat allows your audience to discuss and connect with each other and speakers.
Price: Free (Pro Plan until 2021)
Speaker Management: AnyMeeting allows up to 12 presenters at a time as well as a presenter green room where speakers can collaborate and connect within up to an hour before going live.
Key Takeaway: If you are looking for a free option to host your 2020 events virtually and have an audience size fewer than 200, Anymeeting is a great option to consider. While the attendee capacity is limited compared to other software, the features offered are otherwise vast, considering the price tag. There are also opportunities for branding, including custom registration pages. For those wanting to keep costs low, we highly recommend checking this out!
Virtual events have always held the benefits of convenience and expanded reach. And while we look forward to returning to live, in-person events, this unique time has allowed us to experience the power and opportunities within the virtual events landscape.
We are grateful for the capabilities technology has to offer for thought-leadership and connection, and expect virtual events to continue to hold a strong presence in our industry even when live events return. We hope this list will assist in narrowing your search and please reach out to cred if you need guidance in managing the transition to hosting a flawless virtual event!
Interested in hosting your own virtual or in-person event?
This post was written by members of cred’s event management team—Rene Camacho, Charlotte Heckard, Lauren Ronse, and Erin Shields.
*All prices current as of April 2020*