In today’s post, I am going to talk about some of the best Webinar Software For Nonprofits that includes some of the world’s best known educational platforms. I am going to share a brief description about each of them and a few pros and cons of using them for your future webinars so that you can have a more informed choice before making a decision.
There are too many options out there to choose the best webinar. Usually, people use free webinar software because there is no cost involved, but paid platforms may let your earn money through selling ads. Hosting providers like BlueJeans and GoToWebinar offer hosted webinar services, but you will need to monitor your attendance by yourself. That said, here are the best webinar platforms currently available.
Livestorm.
Best Webinar Software (Free – $99/month).
Livestorm is an excellent webinar tool that’s amazing for product demos and sales. Their software works on any browser without any restrictions on the size of your webinar. It can also be accessed from any device, including PCs, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.
With their tool, you can run live, on-demand, or automated webinars. Webinars are great for live events like product demos, customer training, and other technical sales topics.
Their on-demand and automated webinars work best for online courses, employee onboarding, and video podcast interviews.
An area where it stands out is email logistics where you can send promotional emails, automate those emails, check email status, and add a touch of personalization. This webinar tool also takes your data security very seriously and is 100% GDPR-compliant.
Livestorm is also focused on customer engagement with activities like polling, Q&A sessions, and the use of up-votes.
They also make it really easy for people to join your webinars. They don’t need to register or create a specific account – they can simply join with one click and an internet connection.
Key Features:
- Provides access to highly adaptable webinar themes with an easy set-up process.
- Offers interactive chats with polls, questions, chat, and more for better customer experience.
- Great for product demos and 1:1 meetings to qualify leads and improve your sales process.
- Integrate and analyze webinars and video meetings.
- It provides a high level of automation with webinar sequences.
- Offers comprehensive, multi-language customer support.
- It comes with features like a one-click invitation, screen-sharing, the ability to embed registration forms, and more.
- Livesorm offers a freemium plan with essential features.
- Provides detailed attendance analytics, replay analytics, source tracking, and participation report.
- Unlimited recording storage.
- It allows you to export your data as CSV or XLS.
- It enables you to use Zapier and integrates with more than 1,000 apps.
- Display in-webinar CTAs to influence viewers to act.
Pricing Plans:
Livestorm offers three pricing plans.
Livestorm Starter: The first plan is a freemium plan and comes with essential features like unlimited on-demand webinars, meetings, etc.
Livestorm Premium: The ‘Webinar Premium’ plan costs $99/host per month and has a 4-hour limit per webinar.
Enterprise: There’s also the ‘Enterprise’ plan. It offers features like managing multiple workspaces with unified billing, premium training, and SLA availability. Here, you get a personalized quote based on your requirements.
Overall, they are a high-quality tool and their live features are great for product demos and sales training; they’re number one on my list for a reason.
You can get started with Livestorm for free and upgrade to a premium plan when you’re ready.Try Livestorm
Demio.
Best Webinar Software for Marketing (25% Off).
Demio is my #2 pick and has a great combination of no-download webinars for your audience and marketing tools to generate more leads.
When it comes to visual aesthetics, it delivers real-time, HD streaming video, and a great-looking platform.
Everything is customized to match your brand and they have all the video conferencing features you need: live and automated webinars, replays, registration landing pages, etc.
All pricing plans offer great standard features including advanced webinar setup, 24/7 chat and email support, unlimited webinars, storage for 100 recordings, and robust analytics.
KEY FEATURES:
- Automatic, cloud-based webinar events and recordings.
- Chats, polls, handouts, and a great waiting room experience.
- Offers built-in analytics and insights.
- It can be easily integrated with other marketing tools.
- Email automation and event reminders.
PRICING PACKAGES:
Demio provides a 14-day free trial, which allows you to test out all its features. Here’s a breakdown of their paid plans.
- Starter Plan: $34 per month for a 50-person webinar room
- Growth Plan: $69 for a 150-person room
- Business Plan: $163 per month for a 500-person room.
Overall, if you’re looking to run more effective webinars with built-in marketing tools and no downloads required, give Demio a try.
Use promo code ADAMENFROY25 to receive 25% off your first month on all monthly plans.Try Demio
EverWebinar
The next platform we’ll look at is EverWebinar – this is what we’ve historically used for our webinars at Venture Harbour.
And while their website delivers intense infomercial vibes that make the Brit in me want to curl up in the corner, their platform is annoyingly about as good as they claim it to be.
EverWebinar pioneered the automated “evergreen webinar” years before it became the norm. With EverWebinar, you can schedule and automate your webinars to play at set intervals and the software aims to recreate the live experience for users.
We used EverWebinar to automate webinars for Leadformly (one of our previous ventures) and saw great results. As you can see below, when we started using webinars (using Everwebinar’s sister company WebinarJam) our attendee show up rate was around 39%. Since moving to EverWebinar and testing the scheduling of our webinars it’s increased to 75-80%.
EverWebinar features:
- Automate webinars: Schedule webinar to replay at set times throughout the day – e.g.: every hour.
- Just-In-Time Webinars: Tells users there’s a webinar just about to start, encouraging them to sign up on the spot.
- Block night-time viewing: Stops playing your webinar through the night to keep the illusion of live webinars realistic.
- Block dates: Stop your webinar from playing on any desired date or holiday.
- Time zone auto-detection: Automatically sets your webinar plays to different time zones so you only have to schedule things once.
- Free training: In-depth resources on creating webinars and using EverWebinar.
- Integration: EverWebinar is designed to build email leads and integrates with email ActiveCampaign, GetResponse, MailChimp and other email marketing platforms.
- Analytics: Insights on the performance of your webinar strategy.
Just-In-Time Webinars is a great feature that really gives people the nudge to sign up and attend your next screening.
Who is EverWebinar for?
EverWebinar is the platform for you if you want to automate screenings of your prerecorded webinars and turn them into a highly effective lead generation strategy.
WebinarJam
WebinarJam is developed by the same team as EverWebinar but the focus is on screening live webinars. WebinarJam is more like a traditional webinar platform designed for live events so there’s no automation or scheduling with this tool. However, it syncs perfectly with EverWebinar to provide a platform combination that caters to all of your webinar needs – more capable and cheaper than most of the competition.
WebinarJam features:
- Streaming: Stream to Facebook Live, YouTube Live or WebinarJam’s private JamCast broadcaster.
- Recording: Automatically record every webinar for use with EverWebinar.
- Branded pages: Customise your pages for brand consistency.
- Interaction: Engage viewers with live chat, polls and a virtual whiteboard.
- Presentations: Insert pre-recorded video into your webinars for presentation purposes.
- Security: Webinar rooms protected by password.
- Analytics: Reporting on your live webinar performance.
Aside from the live streaming itself, the auto-record feature is an absolute winner with WebinarJam. This means every webinar you hold provides evergreen material for your webinar strategy that you can replay with EverWebinar.
Who is WebinarJam for?
Marketers who want to stream webinars live and record them for use with EverWebinar.
WebinarNinja
Get all the bells and whistles with WebinarNinja’s all-in-one platform.Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Facebook ad tracking
- Unlimited webinars
Cons
- Credit card required for free trial
- Can’t embed webinar on website
Founded in 2014, WebinarNinja stands out by offering four different webinar types while providing analytics to see who is registered, who attends, who has purchased, and more. The software is intuitive, allowing for setup in less than a minute. With plenty of features, like custom-branded landing pages, this well-rounded service easily wins for the best high-end option.
WebinarNinja is a browser-based program that works on all devices via a web link. With HD streaming and out-of-box signup and thank-you pages, it’s incredibly easy to create and join webinars. Key aspects of WebinarNinja include:
- 100 to 1,000 live attendees
- Unlimited recorded attendees, webinars, and registrations
- From three to 11 presenters depending on the plan you choose
- Session times vary between two and eight hours long depending on the plan
You can integrate WebinarNinja with email programs like HubSpot, InfusionSoft, or Aweber or use Zapier to connect to thousands more. Create live or automated webinars, virtual summits, webinar series, or hybrid webinars, which combine a prerecorded video with live chat.
This feature-rich software provides:
- Custom logo, colors, and social sharing options
- Screen sharing
- Polls, embedded offers, and a Q&A area
- Automatic webinar recording and storage
- Integrates with Stripe for paid webinars
- Offers interactivity for automated webinars
- Automatic email reminders or drip campaigns
- Media library holds all your assets
Pricing plans for WebinarNinja are on a month-by-month or annual basis, and you’ll save 20% by opting for the yearly plan. Month-to-month plans cost:
- Starter: $49 per month for up to 100 live attendees and live and automated webinars
- Pro: $95 per month for up to 300 live attendees, webinar series, and summits
- Plus: $159 per month for up to 500 attendees, live, automated, series, summits, and hybrid webinars
- Power: $249 per month for up to 1,000 live attendees and everything in the Plus plan
You’ll receive live chat and email support seven days a week, along with a robust academy where you can read detailed tutorials or join on-demand webinars.
BEST FOR ENTERPRISE ORGANIZATIONS
BigMarker
Broadcast large-scale training sessions or virtual summits with BigMarker.Pros
- 7-day free trial with no credit card required
- Live stream and engagement features for Facebook and YouTube
- Integrations with major CRM and MAS software
Cons
- 5% transaction fee for selling tickets
- No refund for the annual plan
- Works on all browsers but best experiences on Chrome or Firefox
Founded in 2011 as an advanced video conferencing software, BigMarker delivers top-notch reliability and an easy-to-use, all-in-one platform. This solution is perfect for top-quality HD audio and video conferences or company-wide meetings, making it a clear winner in our best for enterprise organizations category.
BigMarker is cloud-based software, with no download needed. Just click to enter from any device from desktops to mobile phones. The company also offers a mobile app for those wishing to access a webinar from their mobile device. Key elements include:
- Unlimited presenters, webinar recording, and live or on-demand webinars
- Up to nine people sharing microphones or cameras at once
- 100 to 10,000 attendees
- One to three host licenses per plan, with add-on host licenses available
- Hosting 24/7 webinars
A top feature for enterprise users is BigMarker’s vast integrations with customer relationship management (CRM) and measurement analysis software (MAS) solutions. It integrates with Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Zapier, and many others.
You’ll get standout features like:
- Mobile-responsive landing page templates
- Custom logo and colors for branding rooms and landing pages
- Ability to monetize webinars and get paid via PayPal
- HD screen sharing
- Ability to embed on website and social media accounts
- Public and private chat options
- Q&A and upvoting
- Pools, quizzes, and handouts
BigMarker provides three comprehensive plans, or you can opt for a custom enterprise solution as well. Pay on a month-by-month basis or save with an annual plan. For instance, you’ll save $100 a month on the Premier package by paying yearly. Month-to-month plan costs are:
- Starter: $99 for up to 100 attendees and one host license
- Elite: $189 for up to 500 attendees and two host licenses
- Premier: $399 for up to 1,000 attendees and four host licenses
You’ll receive BigMarker’s vast knowledge base and video training tutorials, along with 24/7 email and live chat support.
BEST FOR SMALL GROUPS
MyOwnConference
Use this free software to host meetings or webinar events or upgrade to a paid plan for larger groups.Pros
- Full-feature free plan
- Add 100 seats during a webinar with one click
- No download needed
Cons
- Free plan limits recordings to 20 minutes
- Limited integrations
- Hogs bandwidth if attendees use the same internet connection
MyOwnConference provides excellent video conferencing and webinar software. It’s free for up to 20 attendees, making it the best choice for small groups.
MyOwnConference works well in all browsers and can be used from your mobile device. Critical components are:
- 180 days of recording storage
- 20 to 10,000 attendees
- Three to 10 cameras in the webinar
- Paid plans include unlimited simultaneous webinars and recording
- Up to 10 presenters at once on all plans
You won’t find many integrations with MyOwnConference, although it does connect with your Google Analytics account. All plans come with the same features, including:
- Automated email reminder options
- 16 supported languages
- Polls, calls to action, tests, and surveys
- Whiteboard
- Screen, video, and audio sharing
- Paid webinars
- Branded series creation logo and colors
For paid plans, you can pay by the day, month, or year. If you pay for two months, you get a 5% discount. A three-month payment gives you a 10% discount; six months gets you a 15% discount, while an annual payment is a 20% discount. All packages come with the same features; the difference is with the number of attendees. Plans consist of:
- Up to 20 attendees: Free
- Up to 60 attendees: $12 per day, $36 per month, or $29 per month if paid annually
- Up to 150 attendees: $24 a day, $60 per month, or $48 per month when paid annually
- Up to 300 attendees: $30 per day, $84 per month, or $68 per month when paid annually
Get live support via chat, email, Skype, and phone 24/7/365 along with helpful tutorials, including YouTube how-to videos.
BEST FOR NONPROFITS
GetResponse
GetResponse provides built-in marketing tools and 30% to 50% off pricing plans for nonprofits.Pros
- 30-day free trial, no credit card required
- Huge nonprofit discounts
- All-in-one marketing platform
Cons
- No phone support
- Pricing based on email lists starting with 1,000 subscribers
- The cheapest plan doesn’t include webinars
Built in 1999 as an email marketing platform, GetResponse has evolved to include feature-rich webinar plans. GetResponse makes it easy for nonprofits to apply and receive 30% to 50% discounts off monthly plans, making it a clear winner for our best for nonprofits category.
No installation is required to use the browser-based software, although GetResponse offers a mobile app for Android and iOS devices for easier smartphone access. Key offerings include:
- 1,000 to 100,000 subscribers on email lists
- 100 to 1,000 live webinar attendees
- Unlimited lead funnels and landing pages
- Unlimited webinars on all but the Basic plan
- Store up to 20 hours of recordings
- Three presenters
GetResponse integrates with more than 110 services, including FreshBooks, Salesforce, and Zapier. You’ll get popular features like:
- Live or on-demand webinars
- One-click Facebook pixel integration
- Email invites and reminders
- Interactive whiteboards
- Polls, tests, and call-to-action buttons
- Live stream on Facebook or YouTube
- Screen sharing
This webinar software provider treats its billing a bit differently than other solutions. You’re charged based on which plan you choose, as well as your email list size. Each plan lets you choose 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, or 100,000 subscribers. You can select monthly, yearly, or two-year plans. You’ll save 18% with annual payments or 30% with two-year plans. All plans are based on 1,000 email subscribers with monthly payments before any nonprofit discounts:
- Basic: $15 for a digital marketing platform including e-product sales and Facebook ads
- Plus: $49 for up to 100 attendees, adds webinars, and five webinar funnels
- Professional: $99 for up to 300 attendees, adds on-demand and paid webinars
- Max: Custom solution with a dedicated support channel and a custom quote based on your needs
GetResponse has robust self-service support options, or you can contact live chat support 24/7.
Conclusion
I have been a webinar agent for three years now and have learned a lot about the principles of running a decent online seminar. I have decided to pull together 2 years of webinar knowledge into a post that outlines key tips for creating a great webinar. In this post you will learn about essential tips about how to set up your webinar as well as things you should be aware before you start hosting your first webinar.