8 Best Virtual Event Platforms for 2023 (+ Detailed Reviews)

Hosting a virtual event on a large or small scale can be daunting. You have to worry about the tech, the budget, and most importantly — the attendees. Keeping your attendees interested, comfortable, and engaged is essential to success.

The best virtual event platforms will offer features like breakout rooms, polling and Q&A, social media integration, and even interactive features to keep your attendees engaged. Whether you're hosting a networking event, customer or employee training, or even a virtual trade show, virtual event platforms make it easy to engage your audience no matter where they are.

That's why we've put together this list of the best virtual event platforms, based on features, pricing, and their best use cases

What are the different kinds of virtual events?

Events like webinars, training sessions, and online courses come in all shapes and sizes — and so do the platforms that support them. Here are some of the most popular types of virtual event platforms:

Industry conferences and presentations

Presentations from keynote speakers, experts, and analysts are a mainstay of many virtual conferences. These are large-scale events that take place over several days and attract hundreds or even thousands of attendees.

Webinars

Webinars are typically one-to-many presentations that last for an hour or less. They’re a great way for businesses, educators, exhibitors, and other experts to share information and generate leads.

Professional onboarding and training

New employees need to be trained on company processes, products, and culture. The same goes for ongoing professional development for existing employees. These sessions are often led by in-house subject matter experts and are a best practice for virtual conferences. They can involve breakout groups for hands-on learning.

Customer training

Your product or support team will usually host these events to help customers get the most out of their purchases. They might include product demonstrations, how-to guides, and customer success stories. These sessions are often interactive, with plenty of time for questions and answers.

Recruitment fairs

Recruitment fairs bring together job seekers and employers for a day (or more) of networking, interviewing, and information sharing. These virtual recruiting events are usually hosted by colleges, universities, and professional organizations.

Product demos

Businesses launching a new product or service will often hold a virtual event to generate buzz and interest. These events might include a keynote presentation, panel discussion, and Q&A with the product team.

Workshops

Virtual workshops provide an intimate, hands-on learning experience that’s led by an expert instructor. Hackathons, coding boot camps, and cooking classes are all examples of workshops. These are ideal for business professionals, students, hobbyists, and DIYers who want to learn new skills.

Online courses

Remote and distance learning is a great way for businesses and educators to share knowledge with a global audience. There are many online learning websites, like FutureLearn, that offer courses on everything from marketing to programming.

Online courses can be self-paced, focusing on reading materials, interactive modules, and quizzes, but the best ones will include virtual events like pre-recorded lectures, and live Q&A sessions or panel discussions.

Hybrid learning

Hybrid events combine the best of both worlds—the convenience of online learning like pre-recorded lectures, or online courses with the touch of in-person teaching like lectures, or seminars.

Q&As

Q&A sessions help engage with an audience and get feedback on your products, services, or ideas. They can be live or recorded and moderated by an expert panel or a single host.

Team meetings

Staying connected with colleagues, clients, and partners is essential for any business. Virtual events like team meetings, brainstorms, and all-hands calls help keep everyone on the same page.

8 Best virtual event tools to host any online event

Whether you’re planning a small webinar or a large conference, there’s an online platform that’s best for you. Here are some of the best virtual event platforms to consider for your next event.

1. Livestorm — Best all-in-one virtual event tool

Livestorm is a browser-based virtual engagement platform with a strong set of engagement features designed to boost engagement and interaction among participants. Businesses can easily connect with customers, employees, and partners using Livestorm’s intuitive interface.

Key features

• Customizable registration pages help boost your branding and user experience.
• Analytics dashboards collect success metrics for your virtual event, like the number of event attendees, sessions, replay views, traffic data, and technical information like the browser or any other custom field that you added to the registration form.
• CRM integrations with tools like Salesforce and Zapier sync participant contact information and help you follow up after your event.
• Live engagement features like chat, polls, and Q&A make your virtual events interactive and help audiences connect.
• Handouts plugin enables you to share downloadable PDFs, and other resources live, so your attendees don’t miss anything important.
• Automatic recordings help create on-demand webinars and repurpose recordings.
• Easy room access as attendees don't need to download the software onto their devices.

Best use cases

Livestorm is ideal for businesses that need to host live streaming events where participant engagement is key - like webinars, online courses, product demos, customer training, and podcast interviews.

Pricing

If you want to test the platform before making a purchase, you can opt for a free plan with a limitation of 20 minutes duration per event and 10 registrants per event. Livestorm also offers Pro, Business, or Enterprise plans based on your business needs, the number of expected participants, and your budget.

2. Zoom — Best collaboration software

Like Livestorm, Zoom makes creating a virtual event simple, with customization options, data analytics, and event landing pages. It offers a stable platform with engagement features for free, paid, live, and on-demand events. Zoom also offers one-click meeting accessibility for participants.

Key features

• Screen sharing lets you collaborate with colleagues, clients, and partners.
• Integrates with a wide range of business tools like Slack, Google Calendar, Shopify, and Salesforce.
• Recorded meetings can be shared with those who couldn’t register or as training resources within teams.
• Mobile app lets users connect from anywhere.

Best use cases

Zoom is best suited for small businesses and teams that want to connect for internal meetings and team brainstorms.

Pricing

Zoom's free plan includes all the basic features you would need to host virtual events. The Pro and Business plans let you host a wider audience along with increased cloud storage to save your recordings at $149 per year per user and $199 per year per user respectively. You can connect with their sales team to learn more about their Enterprise plan.

3. Inverse — Best 3D virtual event platforms

Inverse, formerly known as Gamerjibe, is a virtual event platform that specializes in conferences and networking events within a 3D virtual space for hosts and guests. When you join an event, you can meet other attendees in the virtual world, catch a presentation in a virtual theater, or chat around a virtual campfire.

Key features

• Customizable avatars and virtual destinations give a personal touch to your branded assets like logos, graphics, and 3D models.
• Integrates NFTs into your metaverse and showcases your brand in a unique way.
• Social activities and environments like fishing, theater, or exhibitions enable networking and icebreaker activities.
• Connect with other attendees on social media with one click on their profiles.
• Analytics track the time spent in exhibits and booths and monitor attendee voice/video usage to construct in-world leaderboards.

Best use cases

Inverse is best suited for large-scale events like product showcasing, award ceremonies, conferences, and trade shows in the metaverse.

Pricing

Inverse offers two pricing modules — for individuals and for brands and communities. The pricing for these plans are not listed on the website but you can fill out the forms to get a quote in your inbox from their team.

4. Hubilo — Best virtual trade show software

Hubilo is designed for hybrid events. It supports audience engagement and networking with features like break-out rooms and lounges. The mobile app replicates the desktop experience making it a get-go hybrid option.

Key features

• Interactive features like live chat, Q&A, and polls enable engaging virtual events.
• Public API lets you connect Hubilo to custom applications.
• Integrates with popular CRM and marketing automation tools including HubSpot, MailChimp, Salesforce, and Typeform.
• Custom branding features let you showcase your brand along with those of your sponsors and event partners.

Best use cases

Hubilo is best for event planners looking for a flexible solution that will enable them to support both in-person and virtual attendees with the same platform.

Pricing

Hubilo offers three pricing plans — Advanced, Pro, and Enterprise — based on the features and customization you require. However, you’ll need to contact their sales team for a quote, since there are no prices on the website.

5. Hoppier — Best platforms for a virtual party

Hoppier gives hosts the chance to create Hoppier virtual cards attendees can use to get delivered to their door meals, drinks, and gifts. It's a fun way to host remote Friday lunches with your team and work celebrations, corporate gifting, and guest catering.

Key features

• Virtual cards let you customize who receives it, how much, and for what.
• Partners with vendors across 60+ countries so you can ship anywhere.
• Refunds are made for unspent money automatically.

Best use cases

Hoppier is suited for almost any type of virtual event with lunch and gifts for all your attendees.

Pricing

Hoppier has not listed its pricing on the website but based on user reviews, the platform charges $5 per person per month. You can connect with their team or the chatbot on their website to get a quote.

6. Hopin — Best virtual platforms for conferences

Like Livestorm, Hopin is a browser-based platform. So attendees can register through their Hopin account or as a guest without having to download any software. The platform has acquired StreamYard and Streamable which enhance the immersive video and event experience offered by Hopin.

Key features

• Customizable virtual venues and stages allow you to replicate your branding and sponsor-branded feeds.
• Engagement tools like chat and polls help keep the audience engaged.
• Integrated live video platforms StreamYard and Streamable for a better live experience.
• Hosts up to a maximum of 100,000 attendees per stage.

Best use cases

Hopin is best suited for large-scale virtual events, like international conferences, leadership summits, expos, and fairs.

Pricing

Hopin offers a free plan, a starter plan priced at $99 per month and a Growth plan at $799 per month based on the features you require. If you need more than the Growth plan offers, you can get in touch with their team for the Advanced plan.

7. vFairs — Best virtual platforms for networking

vFairs lays emphasis on the virtual environment rather than the virtual event itself. It comes with a 3D lobby that directs attendees to different areas of your event. Participants can explore virtual venues like they would in the real world. vFair makes it easier for attendees to find and connect with the right people.

Key features

• 3D lobby area with a directory that lets attendees navigate to virtual venues like exhibit halls, auditoriums, and networking rooms.
• Leaderboards engage attendees to participate in activities and earn rewards.
• Customizable registration forms and booth templates let you add any data-input field you need.
• Analytics dashboard collects metrics like event registrations and turnout.

Best use cases

vFairs is best suited for events like virtual job fairs, trade exhibits, seminars, and conferences.

Pricing

vFairs does not list its pricing on its website. But you can connect with their team for a quote tailored to your needs.

What to look for in a virtual event platform

1. User-friendly interface for easy navigation

Your attendees should be able to easily find their way around the registration process, explore the event, and connect with other attendees and hosts. Your hosts should be able to easily set up their virtual booths, customize them to match their branding, and connect with attendees. The platform should also make it easy for you to track registrations and engagement metrics.

2. Engagement features for easy interaction

The virtual event platform should offer features that help attendees network and engage with each other. These could include features like chat, video conferencing, and Q&A sessions. Livestorm is built to engage and has in-room engagement features which keep audiences entertained.

3. Analytics and reporting

An analytics dashboard that lets you track registrations, attendees, and engagement metrics is a valuable feature in a virtual event platform. This data can help you understand what works and what doesn't so that you can make necessary changes for your future events.

4. Customization options and sponsor engagement

Amplifying your branding, messaging, and communicating that accurately with your audience is key to any event's success. The platform you choose should offer you enough customization options to help you match your branding across all aspects of the event like registration pages, and virtual booths. It should also offer features like sponsor-branded feeds, dedicated sponsor pages, and chat rooms so attendees can connect with the right people.

5. Integration with other tools

Your virtual event platform should easily integrate with the tools you're already using, like your CRM, email marketing platforms, and payment processors. This will help make the event management process smoother.

Choose the right virtual event platform for your next event

With the best virtual event platforms, you can create whatever kind of event you need or wish for. Whether it’s an all-hands team meeting, a virtual hiring event, a webinar with business partners, or an industry conference with guest speakers, you’ll be able to deliver an impactful, engaging experience that drives business results.

But if you're looking for a tool that can do it all, Livestorm is the best video conference software. Livestorm is packed with features designed to make your events more engaging and leverages analytics so you can optimize your events for future success.

Frequently asked questions about virtual event platforms

What is a virtual event platform?

A virtual event platform is a software tool that helps you host and manage online events. These platforms provide everything you need to create an engaging virtual experience for your attendees, including registration forms, chat features, video conferencing, and branding options.

What are the best free virtual event platforms?

The best free virtual event platforms are Livestorm, Zoom, and Hopin. Zoom is free for events with up to only 100 participants and 40 minutes per meeting. Livestorm also has a great free tier which includes unlimited team members along with 30 live attendees outside of your team.

What is a virtual networking platform?

A virtual networking platform helps attendees connect with each other online. These platforms usually include features like chat, and Q&A sessions.

Are virtual event platforms good for conferences?

Virtual event platforms are a great option for conferences because they offer a way to connect with a larger audience without the need for physical space. With the right platform, you can create an engaging experience like keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities.

What’s the best virtual event platform for engagement?

The best virtual event platform for engagement is Livestorm. Engagement features like live polls, chats, and Q&A make it easy for attendees to interact with each other and the speakers.