The right webinar platform depends less on feature lists and more on what kind of sessions you run. A university hosting a 900-person public lecture needs something different from a trainer running a 40-person interactive workshop or a course creator running automated webinars. This guide compares the best webinar platforms for educators and trainers, explains what each does well, and helps you match a platform to your sessions.
Pricing checked October 2026. Webinar pricing changes often and many plans are priced by attendee capacity, so confirm current costs with each vendor. We have no affiliate relationship with any platform on this page.
Quick Comparison
| Platform | Best for | Pricing model | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom Webinars | Familiar, reliable webinars for most audiences | Add-on to a paid Zoom account, priced by attendee capacity | No (Zoom Meetings has a free tier) |
| Microsoft Teams | Organizations already on Microsoft 365 | Included with many Microsoft 365 business plans; larger events need add-ons | Through existing licenses |
| Livestorm | Browser-based webinars with strong engagement tools | Annual attendee credit packs | Free signup to try |
| Demio | Marketing and automated webinars | From about $45/month (annual, 50 attendees) | 14-day trial |
| ClickMeeting | Educators who want certificates and paid events | Plans by attendee count | 14-day trial |
| Riverside | High-quality recordings you can reuse | Webinar plan about $79/month (annual) | Free recording plan |
| StreamYard | Live streaming to YouTube and LinkedIn | From about $36/month (annual) | Free plan |
| Webex Webinars | Large, secure institutional events | Licensed by capacity, often by quote | Varies |
What Educators and Trainers Need From a Webinar Platform
- Interaction. Polls, Q&A, chat, reactions, and ideally breakout rooms or the ability to bring attendees on stage. See these webinar engagement ideas for why this matters.
- Registration and reminders. Branded registration pages, reminder emails, and attendance reports.
- Easy access. Browser-based joining without downloads helps students, community members, and guests from other organizations.
- Recording quality. Clean recordings you can turn into course lessons and clips. See how to repurpose a webinar recording.
- Accessibility. Live captions, transcripts, and keyboard-friendly controls.
- Fit with your institution. Many universities and companies already license Zoom, Teams, or Webex. Check before you buy something new.
Webinar vs. Meeting Mode: Which Do You Need?
Webinar mode puts presenters on stage and keeps attendees as viewers who interact through chat, Q&A, and polls. Meeting mode lets everyone use audio and video. For lectures, panels, and large events, webinar mode is easier to manage. For interactive training with discussion and breakouts, a meeting format is often better, even when you call the session a webinar. Our guide to webinars, webcasts, and virtual events explains the formats.
1. Zoom Webinars
Zoom is the platform most attendees already know, which removes a lot of friction. Zoom Webinars is sold as an add-on to a paid Zoom account and is priced by attendee capacity.
- Strengths: Familiar to attendees, reliable at scale, registration pages, Q&A, polls, practice sessions, and cloud recording. Webinars Plus adds a private backstage and pre-recorded sessions run as live.
- Watch for: Breakout-style interaction is limited in webinar mode. Many trainers run interactive sessions as Zoom Meetings instead.
- Best for: Universities, associations, and trainers who want a dependable, widely recognized platform.
2. Microsoft Teams Webinars and Town Halls
If your organization uses Microsoft 365, Teams may already include what you need. Teams webinars offer registration pages, presenter roles, Q&A, and attendee reports. Town halls are designed for larger broadcast-style events.
- Strengths: No new software for internal audiences, single sign-on, and integration with Outlook and the rest of Microsoft 365.
- Watch for: External attendees can find joining less smooth than Zoom or browser-based tools. Microsoft changed Teams event licensing and capacities in 2026, so check what your license includes.
- Best for: Internal training, staff development, and campus events in Microsoft 365 organizations.
3. Livestorm
Livestorm runs entirely in the browser, so attendees join without downloads. It combines registration, engagement tools, and analytics in a clean interface.
- Strengths: Browser-based access, polls, Q&A, chat, handouts, calls to action, on-demand and automated sessions, and good integrations.
- Watch for: Pricing is based on yearly packs of attendee credits, roughly €2.50 per unique attendee per session on the Pro plan, so costs grow with audience size. Sessions are capped at four hours on Pro.
- Best for: Trainers and organizations running regular webinars for external audiences.
4. Demio
Demio is built for marketing webinars, with strong registration, automated sessions, and engagement analytics.
- Strengths: Browser-based joining, polls, handouts, featured actions, live and event series, and automated or on-demand webinars on Growth and above.
- Watch for: The Starter plan is limited to 50 attendees and three-hour sessions. Automated webinars and custom branding require Growth.
- Pricing: Starter about $45/month billed annually or $63/month billed monthly. Higher plans are priced by host and room size.
- Best for: Course creators and training businesses using webinars to enroll learners.
5. ClickMeeting
ClickMeeting is a long-standing webinar platform with features that suit educators: paid events, certificates of attendance, and automated webinars.
- Strengths: Browser-based access, breakout rooms, polls, whiteboard and presenter tools, paid webinars, certificates on the Automated plan, and social media streaming.
- Watch for: Recording storage and extra presenters are limited by plan, and some features are paid add-ons.
- Pricing: Plans are priced by attendee count, from 50 to 1,000, with a 14-day free trial for up to 25 attendees.
- Best for: Independent educators and training providers who sell webinar seats or issue attendance certificates.
6. Riverside
Riverside started as a podcast and video recording studio, and its Webinar plan adds registration, reminders, Q&A, polls, and analytics. Its strength is recording quality, because each speaker is recorded locally in high resolution.
- Strengths: Studio-quality recordings, built-in editing and short clips, and multistreaming. Excellent when the recording will become course content.
- Watch for: The Webinar plan supports up to 100 registrants. Larger audiences need the custom Business plan.
- Pricing: Webinar plan about $79/month billed annually or $99/month billed monthly. A free plan covers basic recording.
- Best for: Smaller webinars, interviews, and panels where you plan to reuse the recording.
7. StreamYard
StreamYard is a browser-based live streaming studio. It lets you stream to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook with branded layouts and guests, and its Advanced plan adds On-Air webinars.
- Strengths: Very easy to use, professional layouts, multistreaming, and a free plan.
- Watch for: On-Air webinars are limited to 100 viewers on the Advanced plan. It is a broadcast tool more than an interactive training room.
- Pricing: Core about $36/month and Advanced about $69/month billed yearly.
- Best for: Public talks, panels, and series streamed to social media audiences.
8. Webex Webinars
Webex from Cisco is common in universities, government, and large enterprises. It handles large events with strong security and administrative controls.
- Strengths: Scale, security, captions and translation, and integration with institutional Webex accounts.
- Watch for: Pricing for larger capacities is usually by quote and may involve multi-year terms.
- Best for: Institutions that already license Webex.
How to Choose: Recommendations by Situation
| If you are… | Start with |
|---|---|
| At a university or company that already licenses a platform | Use it (Zoom, Teams, or Webex) |
| Running interactive training with discussion and breakouts | Zoom Meetings or ClickMeeting |
| Hosting public webinars for external audiences | Zoom Webinars or Livestorm |
| Using webinars to enroll learners in courses | Demio or Livestorm |
| Recording sessions to reuse as course lessons | Riverside |
| Streaming talks to YouTube or LinkedIn | StreamYard |
| Selling seats or issuing attendance certificates | ClickMeeting |
Questions to Ask Before You Choose
- How many attendees do you expect at your largest session?
- Do attendees need to talk, or mostly watch and ask questions?
- Do you need breakout rooms?
- Will attendees join from organizations that block downloads?
- Do you need captions, transcripts, or attendance certificates?
- Will you reuse the recording, and how good does it need to be?
- Does the platform connect to your email list, course platform, or CRM?
Run a short test session with a colleague as an attendee before committing. Check how joining feels on a phone, a locked-down work laptop, and a slow connection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best webinar platform for teachers and trainers?
For most educators, Zoom is the safest choice because attendees already know it. Trainers who want browser-based joining and stronger engagement tools often prefer Livestorm or ClickMeeting.
Is there a free webinar platform?
Some platforms offer free tiers with limits, such as Zoom Meetings, StreamYard, and Riverside’s recording plan, and many offer free trials. For regular public webinars, most organizations end up on a paid plan.
Can I run a webinar in Zoom Meetings instead of Zoom Webinars?
Yes. Many trainers use Zoom Meetings for interactive sessions under about 100 people because it allows breakout rooms and two-way video. Webinar mode is better for larger audiences and panels.
Which webinar platform has the best recording quality?
Riverside is known for recording quality because it records each speaker locally. That makes it a strong choice when recordings will become course content.
Ready to run your session? See how to host a webinar, how to promote a webinar, and these webinar best practices. Turning sessions into a course? Compare the best online course platforms for educators and trainers.
