Webinars play a pivotal role in education. They provide educators with a powerful way to connect with students and build relationships that can foster engagement and learning
However, not all webinar platforms are created equal. Some are better equipped to handle the demands of educational content than others. And, while there are many great webinar platforms available, only a handful truly stand out as being the best of the best.
In this article, we'll introduce you to 10 of the best webinar platforms for education. We'll also provide an overview of each platform's key features, pricing, and availability for the education industry.
#1 LiveWebinar
As a leading webinar platform, LiveWebinar is used by some of the biggest names in education.
When it comes to creating engaging lessons that will stay with your students long after they're finished, there's no better tool than LiveWebinar. This powerful platform combines interactive features and real-time feedback to take your online learning to a whole new level.
Whether you need to test your students' progress, facilitate teamwork, or explain even the most complex ideas with ease, LiveWebinar has you covered.
From intuitive collaboration tools that help you engage with your class as you go, to detailed analytics that give you valuable insight into every aspect of their learning experience, LiveWebinar lets you truly connect with your students on an individual level. So why wait? Sign up for a free trial today and experience the power of interactive learning for yourself! If you need more convincing, read about the features below.
Key features
#1 Huge storage space
In need of a little extra storage? With LiveWebinar, you'll never have to worry about running out of space. All the paid plans come with impressive storage, which is enough to store even hundreds of hours of high-definition video lessons.
#2 Full customization
Want to customize the look and feel of your classroom? This couldn't be easier with LiveWebinar. You can brand your classroom with your school colors, logo, and even add a custom URL. With more than 1500 customizable elements to choose from, your options are practically limitless!
#3 Seamless integration
LiveWebinar integrates with all the leading LMSs, so you can easily keep track of your students' progress and performance. Plus, our team is always working on developing new integrations to make your life even easier.
#4 Breakout rooms
Ideal for workshops, team projects, and small-group discussions, breakout rooms let you create separate virtual classrooms. This way, everyone can work together on their own terms without getting lost in the shuffle.
#5 Whiteboard
Feeling stuck on how to explain a certain concept? LiveWebinar's whiteboard feature is here to help! Draw, write, and annotate directly on your screen to help your students understand complex ideas.
#6 Interactive tools
It's all about interactivity in education! LiveWebinar offers a wide range of interactive features to help make your lessons come alive. With everything from screen sharing and video conferencing to polling and Q&A, you'll be able to engage with your students like never before. Thanks to tests and surveys modules, you can also easily assess your students' progress and understanding.
#7 Evergreen webinars
Record your lessons, classes, or workshops once and utilize them on repeat with LiveWebinar's evergreen webinars feature. This is perfect for those times when you can't be available live or for those students who want to review the material at their own pace.
#8 Paid webinars
Running some paid courses? LiveWebinar has you covered with our paid webinars feature. You can easily set up a payment gateway and start charging for your courses in just a few clicks. All you need is a LiveWebinar account and you're ready to go!
#9 Website presenter
With this feature, you can share your screen and present like a pro, even if you're not a tech expert. Just enter your website URL into the LiveWebinar room interface and start presenting! It's that simple.
#10 Presence manager
Want to see how engaged your students are in your classes, or whether they even attend? With the Presence manager feature, it’s easier than ever before.
Cons
There is no free trial available, BUT each user can access a totally free version to check the capabilities of LiveWebinar.
Awards
Over the years, LiveWebinar has earned a reputation for excellence in the world of video conferencing. With its advanced platform, intuitive interface, and unbeatable reliability, LiveWebinar is one of the most popular solutions on the market today. A testament to its success is the many awards that it has received from leading industry organizations, including Capterra, G2, GetApp, SourceForge, and TrustRadius. With so many glowing reviews from users and experts alike, it's clear that LiveWebinar is a proven leader in the field of video conferencing technology. Whether you're a small business looking to improve internal communication or a major corporation seeking to simplify global collaboration efforts, LiveWebinar is sure to exceed your expectations.
Integrations
At LiveWebinar, we believe that effective webinars require a diverse array of tools and resources. Without the right support, your educational webinars can flounder, resulting in increased costs and poor engagement with your students. That's why we have worked hard to integrate our platform with some of the most popular marketing tools on the market.
By connecting to marketing automation platforms, you can automate your webinar broadcasts based on key behaviors like website activity or form submissions. This enables you to ensure that your most engaged students get access to your top-quality content first, making it easier for you to build meaningful relationships with them. Additionally, our email marketing integrations make it easy to promote your webinar broadcasts and grow your list of attendees through automated sends based on specific triggers or timing. And lastly, our integration with Zapier can be used to connect LiveWebinar with over 1,500 apps, helping you automate even more tasks related to webinars. With all these powerful tools at your disposal, there is no limit to what you can achieve when it comes to hosting successful classes using LiveWebinar!
Our review of LiveWebinar
LiveWebinar is the ultimate all-in-one platform for modern education needs. LiveWebinar is a fantastic tool for bringing education to life. Not only does it allow teachers and students to interact in real time, but it also enables educators to put the information they are sharing into an engaging, multimedia format. Whether you're using live video streaming to teach a history lesson or you're introducing your students to new concepts through interactive whiteboarding tools, LiveWebinar opens up an exciting world of possibilities for teaching and learning.
What's more, LiveWebinar keeps your teaching materials completely organized so that everyone can easily access them when needed. With a robust search function that makes it simple to find exactly what you're looking for, as well as comprehensive training and support from expert educators, this web-based platform sets a high bar for education technology. So if you're looking to take your teaching skills to the next level, look no further than LiveWebinar! With this powerful tool at your fingertips, there's no limit to what you can achieve in the classroom.
Pricing
5 pricing plans are available. A free version with limited features, 3 paid versions with different degrees of functionality (Basic, Plus, Premium) and Enterprise, a custom version for those who need even more than what the other plans offer.
#2 Zoom
Zoom is a cloud-based software that enables teachers to run a virtual classroom. It is quite a popular platform, but does popularity goes in pair with efficiency? Let’s see.
Pros and key features
- add-ons (but quite pricy)
- a 30-day free trial
- screen sharing
- whiteboards
- raise hand feature
- participant muting
Cons
Interface
The Zoom interface could be more modern and user-friendly than other teaching platforms. A lot of users complain that it’s not intuitive.
You can’t have a one-hour meeting
In the lowest plan, you can only teach a 40-minute class at maximum. After this time, the meeting ends immediately. So if you need an extra minute to repeat or summarize the most important information discussed in class, you might not have enough time.
Pricing
Many subscription plans are available, and navigating the pricing section is quite confusing. Dedicated plans for educational institutions start from $1,800/account. It includes hosting up to 300 participants.
Our review of Zoom
Zoom is widely used, but there are better options for e-learning. Besides, it is an expensive tool - so you should look for other alternatives.
#3 Zoho Meeting
If you’re looking for a video-based teaching platform, Zoho Meeting is one of the choices.
Pros and key features
- live polls
- integrations (for example, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office)
- raise hand feature
- allow speaking feature
Cons
No chat for students
Many users complain there’s no way to chat with students during classes. However, this option is convenient, especially if students or teachers have problems with the microphone, and it’s the only way they can communicate.
You can record the meeting, but only audio
In the case of teaching, all the gestures and mimics are important. And Zoho Meeting does not support video recordings for teachers. Absent students can access only audio.
Pricing
- Free at $0 for up to 100 participants
- Standard at $1/host/month for 10 participants
- Professional at $3/hosts/month for 10 participants
The prices vary depending on the number of participants.
#4 GoTo Meeting
GoTo Meeting is a virtual meeting platform, so it might be one of the choices for educational purposes.
Pros and key features
- breakout rooms
- hand raising feature
- screen sharing
- integrations (Google Calendar, Office 365)
- class recording
Cons
It lacks a free plan
Free plans are useful for those who only need the tool's basics. You can check how the tool works in practice and whether you need all the features of the more extensive packages.
To see how the software works, you need to contact sales specialists
To see the GoTo Meeting demo, you need to leave many contact details such as email, phone number, company name, your company’s size, and more.
Enterprise plan does not pay off for teachers
The Enterprise plan does not differ much from the Business plan. The significant difference is a few features, such as customer success maganer or volume discounts which are not particularly beneficial for teaching.
Expensive if there are more teachers
GoTo Meeting might be a pricy option if there is a need to engage several teachers. Take a moment to consider all the pros and cons of this app.
Pricing
- Professional at $14/host/month
- Business at $19 host/month
- Enterprise - you need to contact sales to get the price
Our review of GoTo Meeting
GoTo Meeting is a proper tool for business, but not for teaching. Although the software has some useful features, not being able to upgrade properly might be discouraging. It could be a backup option, but not the primary one.
#5 ON24
ON24 is one of the platforms for running virtual meetings and can be used for education and certification.
Pros and key features
- breakout rooms
- translation feature
- students engagement insights
- customizable branding
Cons
Pricing is not transparent
To know the price, you need to contact sales, leaving many contact details. The only way to see how the platform works, is to watch a demo. First, however, you need to register to access it.
There are very few features available
Compared to ON24 competitors, the platform only provides a limited number of features that streamline online teaching.
Users complain about high prices
Some users report that the pricing is too high.
Pricing
The price is not given. You need to contact sales to obtain the pricing details. Additioanlly, there’s no free trial or plan.
Our review of ON24
In terms of educational purposes, ON24 may not be the best choice. It lacks many features that might be useful while teaching (for example, a whiteboard). Also, the lack of pricing and a free trial is off-putting.
#6 BigMarker
For those looking for a teaching platform, BigMarker offers software for that. But not only. It also works for webinars and virtual and hybrid events.
Pros and key features
- the automated pairing of students with common interests
- breakout rooms
- free trial
- chat
- polls and Q&A sessions
- class recording
- the Basic plan with 1,000 participants capacity
Cons
The price is not available for everyone
You can’t estimate the price due to not transparent pricing details. Some might find it demotivating.
The enterprise plan offers only six hosts licenses
If you work with more than six teachers, it would be impossible to use one account when subscribing to the Enterprise plan.
Users report poor customer support
Customer support is essential, especially at the beginning when you don’t know the tool well enough. Unfortunately, some of the BigMarket users complain about not getting proper assistance.
Pricing
Obtaining pricing information requires filling out a form. You need to give details like your company, work email, and phone number.
Our review of BigMarker
Features like polls, Q&A sessions, or breakout rooms are excellent when you’re a teacher. However, these are pretty basic features, and most competitors already deliver such solutions (and superior customer service). Keep an eye out for more innovative tools.
#7 Adobe Connect
Adobe Connect is also an option for teachers searching for online classroom tools. It offers a wide range of virtual meeting features.
Pros and key features
- a free 30-day trial
- breakout rooms
- LMS integrations (Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas)
- chat
- raising hand feature
- polls and quizzes
- whiteboard
Cons
Quite expensive
The more hosts and attendees you have, the more you need to pay.
Confusing to navigate for students and teachers
A good teaching platform should be easy for students and teachers. Sadly, not tech-savvy students may find Adobe Connect confusing.
Outdated UI
Another thing that users report is an out-of-date interface. And compared to other alternatives, it could be slightly better.
Pricing
- Adobe Connect Meetings at $50/month
- Adobe Connect Webinars at $130/month
- Adobe Connect Learning at $370/month
Our review of Adobe Connect
It is a robust tool with a lot of features, but for many, it costs too much, and it’s too complicated to use. The good news is that some alternatives to Adobe Connect have almost the same capabilities and a much less confusing UI.
#8 EasyWebinar
With EasyWebinar, you can host webinars, conferences, or summits, but it can be also used for online teaching.
Pros and key features
- 14-day free trial
- chat
- intuitive interface
- screen sharing
Cons
Poor customer service
Some users report problems with getting technical support from an IT department.
Not so many teaching-oriented features
If you are looking for a tool packed with features typically used by teachers, there are not many options out there.
There’s no free account
Unfortunately, EasyWebinar does not offer a free account. You can only check the software’s functionality only by signing up for a free trial.
Pricing
- Standard at $78
- Pro at $129
- Enterprise $499
Our review of EasyWebinar
EasyWebinar doesn’t provide many teaching-related features like whiteboards. It could be a second choice or a backup option, but there are better alternatives on the market.
#9 WebinarJam
In addition to hosting virtual meetings, WebinarJam can be a learning platform. You can host up to 5,000 students and have up to 6 teachers.
Pros and key features
- chat
- class recording
- screen sharing
- free trial
- user-friendly interface
Cons
There’s no free plan
WebinarJam's free trial is the only way to try it out. Unfortunately, there’s no free package for users who need only elementary functions.
Some report a poor customer service
Users reviewed customer service as poor. And having responsive and helpful IT support is crucial, especially when you are new to the tool.
No breakout rooms
Whenever you want your students to work in pairs or groups, it is necessary to have the breakout rooms feature. Sadly, WebinarJam does not deliver such an option.
Pricing
- Starter at $39
- Basic at $79
- Professional at $229
- Enterprise $379
Our review of WebinarJam
This platform might work for webinars, but as an education platform - it lacks core functionality. So take a second look before selecting your teaching software.
#10 Cisco – Webex
Webex is one of Cisco's products that enables users to hold virtual meetings such as classes, conferences, courses, etc. But is it a suitable tool for teachers?
Pros and key features
- transcriptions and translations
- live poll and Q&A
- whiteboard
- background noise removal
Cons
The interface is not user-friendly and intuitive
Unintuitive UI (user interface) might be a source of frustration. Unluckily, the Cisco interface is a bit outdated and unclear. Try out the tools before you invest your money, and be sure that the software is easy for you and your students.
When a teacher leaves, a student becomes a host
It means that if you leave the meeting or get disconnected, someone from your student group will get all the rights and can moderate the class.
Pricing
- Basic at $0
- Meet at $14.50
- Enterprise - you need to contact sales to get the price
Our review of Cisco
Cisco Webex is a standard tool and does not provide as advanced features and functionality as other pieces of software (for example, LiveWebinar). Look elsewhere if you need more capable platforms.
To sum up
As we stated earlier, LiveWebinar is a powerful webinar platform that can be used for educational purposes. It has many features that make it ideal for educators, including the ability to schedule and launch live webinars, record and archive webinars, broadcast webinars to large student groups and engage audiences with interactive classes. So don't wait any longer, join LiveWebinar today and start using it for your educational needs!
Webinar Platforms for Education: FAQ
What is a webinar?
A webinar is an online seminar, or presentation, that is usually given by a subject matter expert. Webinars can be used for educational purposes, to share knowledge and expertise on a certain topic.
How do I join a webinar?
Joining a webinar is usually done by registering for the event through a link provided by the host. Once you have registered, you will be sent a confirmation email with instructions on how to join the webinar.
What are the benefits of using a webinar platform for education?
If you are a teacher or educator, using a webinar platform for your classes can offer a number of benefits. With a webinar platform, you can open up your class to learners from all over the world. This is especially beneficial if you are teaching a niche subject that might not have many students in your local area. Additionally, webinars can be recorded and made available for students to watch at their convenience. This can be helpful for students who have busy schedules or who might have missed a class.
Are there any drawbacks to using a webinar platform for education?
With so many benefits, it might be hard to believe that there are any drawbacks to using a webinar platform for education. However, one potential drawback is that not all students might have access to a good internet connection so that has to be ensured beforehand.
Which webinar platform should I use for my education needs?
LiveWebinar should tick all the boxes for your needs in a webinar platform for education. With many features helpful for educators, LiveWebinar is the perfect platform to use for your educational needs.