Best Virtual Conference Platforms For Businesses & Events

Best Virtual Conference Platforms

Whether hosting a training seminar, a virtual trade show, or a paid webinar, the virtual conference platform you choose makes a big difference. With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to know which virtual conferencing platforms are the best.

We’ve put together this guide, highlighting our top picks for virtual conference platforms. Read on to learn about pricing, essential features, and what each platform can offer you.

Virtual Conference Platforms

Virtual conferences are more popular than ever these days, allowing you to reach more people in cities across the country without anyone leaving their office. Choosing the right virtual conferencing platform for your needs can make all the difference. Whether you’re hosting a conference or recruiting fair, you want your attendees to do more than just watch the presentation. The best virtual conferencing platforms allow your attendees to engage with the speaker and with other attendees to get the most out of your virtual event.

Essential Features

Hosting a virtual conference takes more work than just lining up speakers. To make your virtual conference a success, you need to promote your webinar, handle registration and reminders, provide an easy way for attendees to access and engage with speakers, as well as access insights after the webinar is over. Although different platforms offer different benefits, the best virtual conferencing platforms will have these essential features:

Live and pre-recorded streaming
Android and iOS accessibility
Instant messaging and chat features
File sharing
Screen sharing
Virtual whiteboards
Breakout rooms
Registration tools, such as landing pages and payment management
Engagement tools, such as polling, virtual hand-raising, etc.
Third-party app integration, for communication, social media, CRM, and more
Audio and video recording
Event reminders and personalized invites
Reporting and analysis
Sponsor spotlights
Active speaker view
Gamification features
Virtual backgrounds
Security and reliability

Our Top Picks for Virtual Conference Platforms

There are a lot of virtual conference platforms to choose from. To ensure the best outcome for your webinars, trainings, and sales pitches, you need the best platforms. Here are our tops picks for virtual conferencing platforms:

Nextiva

Our number one pick is Nextiva, which offers a powerfully simple way to host webinars. Create your event, send invitations, share new ideas, and more, with one click, all in one place. And with Nextiva’s detailed analytic tools, you’ll be empowered to create webinars that actually engage your audience. Plus, affordable pricing makes Nextiva a great choice even for smaller times. Pricing for Nextiva’s Professional package starts at $30.95/month/user. This includes unlimited video conferencing with up to 250 participants with screen sharing, desktop and mobile SMS/MMS, and more. If you’re looking for more features, Nextiva’s Enterprise package is their most popular. At $40.95/month/user, you can have unlimited participants in your video conferences as well as unlimited webinar recording. And with 24/7 network monitoring as well as 99.999% guaranteed uptime, you get the security and reliability you need from your virtual conference platform.

WebinarJam

This feature-rich platform allows you to broadcast your webinar to up to 5000 people. With an easy-to-use user interface, planning and creating both live and prerecorded webinars is simple. And if you do need help, WebinarJam offers step-by-step webinar creation walkthroughs. WebinarJam’s pricing plans start at $39 a month for 1 user and 100 attendees and go up to $379 a month for 6 users and 5000 attendees. If you need virtual conferencing software to create evergreen webinars, WebinarJam’s EverWebinar plan costs $41.50 a month for 6 users and unlimited asynchronous viewing.

vFairs

If you’re looking to host a hybrid event or replicate an in-person conference virtually, vFairs might be exactly what you’re looking for. vFairs offers a virtual auditorium, exhibit hall, networking lounge, and info desk, all easily accessible from the landing page. Plus, with features like leaderboards, quizzes, and prizes awarded by moderators, your attendees will be engaged in a memorable conference. vFairs pricing is based on the length of the event, number of attendees, and number of hosts. Companies can reach out to vFairs for a price quote.

BigMarker

With a high degree of customization to brand your webinars, BigMarker is a great choice for marketing events. From simulive webinars to live streams and 24/7 webinar rooms, you can create the perfect virtual conference to meet your needs. Plus, BigMarker is incredibly scalable, with the ability to host up to 50,000 attendees. Prices start at $99 a month for 1 user and 100 attendees and go up to $499 a month for 3 users and up to 1000 attendees. For more than 1000 attendees, BigMarker offers custom pricing based on your specific needs.

Demio

For small to medium-sized virtual conferences, Demio is an excellent choice. Demio allows up to 1000 attendees to live streams as well as prerecorded events. Their customization tools allow for branding across all pages of the webinar for effective marketing. With detailed analytics on every customer click through the webinar, you can monitor the entire customer journey. Pricing starts at $34 per month for 1 user and up to 50 attendees per event. Pricing on their premium plan, which allows for up to 1000 attendees, is custom, so you’ll need to contact Demio for a price quote.

Livestorm

One of the major benefits of Livestorm is the ability to host meetings internally in addition to external conferences. Livestorm lets you set meeting reminders for employees as well as create easy registration pages for your webinars. Livestorm’s pricing plans begin with a free option that allows you up to 10 attendees. For pricing on their Enterprise plan, which allows up to 3000 attendees and a 4-hour limit, contact Livestorm for a quote.

Hopin

Hopin is one of the most versatile virtual conference platforms on this list. Host any kind of virtual event you can imagine, including webinars, conferences, summits, internal meetings and events, expos, trade shows, courses, workshops, meetups, and job fairs. With a guided process, creating virtual conferences with Hopin is easy to do in a matter of minutes. Pricing for Hopin begins with a free plan that allows up to 100 attendees and a 2-hour limit. Their Starter and Growth plans cost $99 a month for up to 100 attendees, with an extra cost per additional attendee. For custom numbers of users and attendees, contact Hopin for a price quote.

The Bottom Line on Virtual Conference Platforms

The best virtual conferencing platforms allow you to reach your audience with ease. From easy promotion via automated emails and landing pages, to in-webinar engagement, you need a platform that meets all your needs in one place. Essential features like easy promotion and registration, automated reminders, screen sharing, and analytics give you powerful tools from start to finish. Virtual conference platforms like Nextiva allow you to host trade shows, job fairs, virtual conferences, employee trainings, and more with ease.

If you need help finding the right virtual conference platform for your company, give OneStop Communications a call today. We work with the best providers, including Nextiva, Vonage, ATT, Verizon, and more, and can help you meet all of your business telecom needs. We work with businesses across the Southeast, including Atlanta, Miami, Birmingham, and more. Contact OneStop Communications today for a free quote on virtual conference platforms. We also offer these services through Zoom and MS Teams.