10 Best Pre-Recorded Webinar Platforms To Help You Scale

Let's say you've just hosted a successful live webinar that generated a ton of interest and engagement. But only 50 out of 100 potential attendees could make it due to time differences or conflicting schedules. What if you could offer those who missed out on the same valuable content through a pre-recorded webinar, accessible at their convenience?

With pre-recorded webinars, you can tap into a global audience, overcome time zone barriers, and ensure that your valuable insights reach more people. Plus, the ability to edit and perfect your presentation means you can deliver a polished and consistent message every time, enhancing your brand's credibility.

In this article, we'll explore the top 10 pre-recorded webinar platforms and compare their features and pricing to help you pick the best platform for your needs and budget.

5 Quick terms to help you choose the best software for pre-recorded webinars

Here are some key terms to help you evaluate different pre-recorded webinar platforms based on their features, capabilities, and benefits.

• Automated webinar: A pre-recorded webinar that can be set to play without manual intervention. It saves you time and resources so you can focus on other tasks while the webinar continues to engage and educate your attendees. Platforms like Livestorm, EasyWebinar, and Demio support automated webinars.
• Scheduled or recurring webinar: You can set pre-recorded sessions to play at specific dates and times. This way, you can strategically cater to different time zones and engage more attendees. Platforms like Livestorm and EasyWebinar also automatically detect your attendee's location and display the event in your attendee's local time zone.
• Simulated live experience: These are pre-recorded webinars that mimic the look and feel of a live event, with features like live chat, polls, and Q&A sessions. Platforms like Zoom and GoTo Webinars offer simulated webinars. While a host can join the webinar, you can also assign a moderator to answer attendees' questions during the webinar.
• Video hosting: You'd want a platform that stores your pre-recorded webinar so you don't have to worry about running out of storage space or paying additional fees for extra storage. Livestorm, WebinarNinja, and Zoom offer cloud storage and host your recorded videos for you.
• Analytics and reporting: Platforms with analytics and reporting features offer insights into attendee behavior, engagement, and demographics during your pre-recorded webinars, so you can refine your content and target your audience more effectively.

10 Best webinar software platforms for pre-recorded webinars

Here are our 10 recommendations to help you choose webinar software. You'll find an overview of each with key features and pricing.

1. Livestorm: Best all-in-one webinar and video engagement platform
2. Demio: Best for only desktop-supported webinars
3. EasyWebinar: Best if you don’t need to edit webinars
4. Zoom: Best if you’re an enterprise
5. GoTo Webinar: Best for scheduling recorded events
6. Webex: Best if you don’t need a separate stage to host webinars
7. ClickMeeting: Best for monetizing on-demand webinars
8. BigMarker: Best for embedding videos to your website
9. WebinarNinja: Best platform for storage and video hosting
10. Zoho: Best if you need the complete Zoho ecosystem

1. Livestorm: Best all-in-one webinar and video engagement platform

Livestorm is an all-in-one video engagement platform for hosting any kind of event - including webinars, customer training, online courses, and product demos. You can set Livestorm to automatically record your live events and turn them into on-demand content for attendees who couldn’t make it or wish to revisit the material. Plus, you can send automated email reminders and follow-ups to nurture leads while you focus on other things.

With Livestorm, you can customize your webinar’s registration pages to capture lead data, interact with your attendees through chat and Q&A sessions, and review analytics after the event to help drive prospects through the sales funnel. It also integrates with 1000+ apps like MailChimp, HubSpot, and Salesforce, so it fits seamlessly into your existing workflow.

Livestorm’s key features

• Recurring automated webinars: Make it a one-time or recurring event by specifying the frequency (daily, weekly, or monthly) and the specific days and times the event should be available.
• Time zones: Livestorm automatically handles time zones, ensuring that your pre-recorded webinar schedule is displayed correctly for attendees, regardless of their location.
• Customizable registration pages: You can create customizable registration forms and landing pages to capture lead data like email addresses and contact information.
• Automated email scheduling: With Livestorm, you can set up webinar email sequences from our templates and personalize them based on triggers like registration, email reminder before the on-demand webinar, and follow-up to nurture your leads.
• Interactive features: Even your pre-recorded webinar attendees can enjoy interactive elements like the chat and Q&A tabs. Just remember to assign a moderator to handle questions.
• Clickable call-to-action (CTA) buttons: You can strategically place pop-up CTA buttons within your pre-recorded webinar to drive conversion rates by encouraging attendees to sign up for your newsletter or make a purchase.
• Analytics and reporting features: Access event data like contact records, participation information, messages/questions/polls history, and technical data like browser version and operating system.
• Downloadable resources: Give your attendees important downloadable materials with Livestorm’s handouts plugin.

Livestorm’s drawbacks

Pre-recorded webinars may lack the spontaneity and real-time interaction of a live event. So, when you pre-record material for your webinars, we recommend scheduling them to play at a specific time (like a live event) and assigning a moderator to make sure attendees make the most of the engagement features available.

Livestorm’s pricing

If you’re just getting started, Livestorm’s free webinar software can host up to 30 attendees. And once you’re ready to commit, you can upgrade for up to 500 attendees at $88 or request a custom quote to host up to 3,000 attendees, VIP customer support, and a dedicated CSM.

2. Demio: Best for only desktop-supported webinars

Like Livestorm, Demio is a browser-based webinar platform that lets you host online meetings with similar engagement features, including emoji reactions, chats, breakout rooms, and polls.

Demio’s key features

• Automated events: You can easily schedule your pre-recorded content to be run as a one-time event or recurring event.
• Custom registration fields: Like Livestorm, Demio lets you add custom webinar registration fields to capture lead generation data.
• Engagement features: Engage your audience with polls and handouts.
• Analytics: You can track event data like attendance summary and your audience’s focus levels.

Demio’s drawbacks

• Limited analytics and reporting: You can’t track in-depth analytics like the number of replay viewers, number of sessions, number of messages/questions/polls, and average duration.
• Enterprise-focused: Demio’s pricing is on the higher end and starts at $49, which isn’t ideal for startups and small businesses.
• Not compatible with mobile devices: Since Demio’s pre-recorded webinars aren’t mobile responsive, you can lose out on potential webinar attendees who primarily rely on their mobile devices for accessing video content.

Demio’s pricing

Demio’s pricing starts at $49 per host per month and holds up to 50 attendees for a live event. And for up to 3000 attendees, the premium plan starts at $250 per host per month. Plus, if you need integrations like HubSpot or Salesforce, you’ll have to pay extra.

3. EasyWebinar: Best if you don’t need to edit webinars

EasyWebinar supports both live and pre-recorded (automated) webinars. So you can convert live events into an automated webinar series and schedule them for a set time.

EasyWebinar’s key features

• Set recurring events: You can set up automated webinars to run on a specific schedule or be made available on-demand.
• Customize event time to local time zones: EasyWebinar automatically detects and displays the event time in your attendee's local time zone.
• Analytics and reporting: You can track the number of registrants, no-shows, and the time they watched your pre-recorded webinar.
• Integrations: EasyWebinar integrates with 20+ tools like HubSpot, MailChimp, and ActiveCampaign.

EasyWebinar’s drawbacks

• No video editing option: You can't edit your webinar hosted within EasyWebinar, so any awkward pauses, mistakes, or other issues in your pre-recorded video will remain uncorrected once uploaded to the platform. This limitation may impact the overall quality of your webinar.
• No engagement features: During pre-recorded webinars, attendees can't interact with each other or use engagement features like the chat or Q&A, so they could easily lose interest.

EasyWebinar’s pricing

EasyWebinar’s basic plan starts at $99 per month and supports up to 100 attendees for a live event. But if you want additional features like custom registration pages, you can opt for the Pro plan at $199 per month or the Enterprise at $499, which supports up to 2000 live attendees.

4. Zoom: Best if you’re an enterprise

Zoom is a popular video conferencing solution used by corporate organizations. Like Livestorm, Zoom integrates with 1000+ apps to capture lead data and run analytics. It also offers ‘simulive webinars’, which involve sharing a pre-recorded video file within an otherwise seemingly live webinar. With simulive, the host can join the event and interact with the audience through live chat and Q&A.

Zoom’s key features

• Supports multiple time zones: Zoom automatically detects and lists the event time in the attendee's local time zone when registering for the webinar.
• Engagement features: A host or moderator can join and interact with attendees through live chat and Q&A sessions.
• Reporting and analytics: You can track data like registration and ticketing,

Zoom’s drawbacks

• Can be run only on the Zoom Events plan: Simulive webinars are available only in the Zoom Event plan, which starts at $1490 per year per license for 100 attendees.
• No event scheduling: If you want to host an event that starts automatically at a scheduled time, you need to have a Zoom Sessions license which starts at $990 per year per license for 100 attendees.
• Not mobile responsive: Attendees are required to join from a desktop or laptop to view and access simulative webinars.

Zoom’s pricing

If you want to host pre-recorded webinars on Zoom, you need the Zoom Sessions and Zoom Events plan, which ranges between $990 to $1490 for 100 attendees. So if you need to host around 3000 attendees, you’ll have to pay around $19,000 to $26,490 per license per year, respectively.

5. GoTo Webinar: Best for scheduling recorded events

GoTo Webinar is a product from the GoTo group. This platform also offers ‘recorded events’, as GoTo calls it, formerly known as ‘simulated live webinars’. Unlike Zoom, you can schedule a time for your simulated live event, or leave it open so attendees can register and watch on-demand.

GoTo Webinar’s key features

• Publish pre-recorded webinars on GoTo Stage: GoTo Stage is the video platform that lets you create Channel Pages where you can publish webinar recordings to audiences
• Certifications: You can create and customize certificates, adding more credibility to your content and enhancing the overall value of your webinars.
• Interactive features: Your attendees can submit questions, participate in polls, and surveys, and download resources shared during the webinar.
• Integrations: GoTo Webinar integrates with tools like Slack, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Teams.

GoTo Webinar’s drawbacks

• Certifications available with paid plans: While you can give certificates to attendees for completing webinars or courses, this feature is only available with the Pro and Enterprise plans.
• No live Q&A: While attendees can submit questions, moderators or hosts have the option to follow up via email after the webinar.

GoTo Webinar’s pricing

If you want additional features like GoTo Stage, Channel Pages, and certifications, you can opt for the Pro and Enterprise plans range between $199 to $399 and support up to 1000 to 3000 participants, respectively.

6. Webex: Best if you don’t need a separate stage to host webinars

Webex (by Cisco) is known for its scalability as it’s compatible with all Cisco products.

Webex’s key features

• Recording events: You can record your live webinar sessions, which can then be converted into pre-recorded webinars.
• Sharing recordings: You can distribute the recording URL or file to your attendees via email.
• Listen to the speaker of your choice: While watching a webinar playback, you can opt to only listen to the speakers you want with the ‘Follow Speaker’ option.

Webex’s drawbacks

• Accessible via URL only: Every time your attendees want to watch a pre-recorded webinar, they would need to either access the recording URL shared by the host via email or download the recording file provided by the host.
• No video editing options: You need to edit your recorded Webex webinars using external video editing tools before sharing them with your audience.
• No instant replay: Webex can take up to 24 hours to make the recording accessible for download.

Webex’s pricing

Webex’s free plan lets you host up to 100 attendees for 40 minutes. But if you want to host up to 200 attendees, you can opt for the Meet plan at $14.50 per license per month or request a custom quote for up to 1000 attendees.

7. ClickMeeting: Best for monetizing on-demand webinars

Like Livestorm, ClickMeeting is a user-friendly, intuitive platform with features like file sharing, polls, and private chat. While it’s mostly ideal for a large number of attendees, the functionality of the features comes at a higher cost.

ClickMeeting’s key features

• Pre-recorded webinars: Directly upload your pre-recorded video content and schedule on-demand webinars for your audience.
• Access type: You can decide whether attendees can access the pre-recorded webinar for free or if you want to charge them a fee and generate revenue in return.
• CRM integration: ClickMeeting integrates with CRM tools like Zapier and HubSpot so you can capture and export a registrant’s contact data into your CRM.

ClickMeeting’s drawbacks

• Expensive: ClickMeeting's pricing structure is based on the number of attendees you anticipate for your webinars, which makes it ideal only for enterprises that have a huge budget.
• Limited video editing capabilities: ClickMeeting doesn't have any built-in video editing tools, so you'll need to rely on external video editing software to refine your pre-recorded webinar before uploading it to the platform.
• No built-in payment processing: While you can offer paid access to your on-demand webinars, ClickMeeting doesn't provide built-in payment processing. You'll need to integrate a third-party payment processor like PayPal, which may require additional fees.

ClickMeeting’s pricing

You can opt for ClickMeeting’s 30-day free trial for up to 25 attendees. Or you can upgrade to $25-40 per user per month based on the number of attendees (from 25 to 1,000). You can also request a custom quote to host up to 10,000 people.

8. BigMarker: Best for embedding videos to your website

BigMarker is a browser-based platform, so like Livestorm, your attendees don’t need to download any apps. The platform also allows you to embed pre-recorded videos into your website, making it easy for visitors to access and view the content without leaving your site.

BigMarker’s key features

• Engagement features: You can run polls, Q&A sessions, and live chat, just like a live webinar.
• Downloadable files: You can provide downloadable files like presentation slides or e-books alongside your pre-recorded webinars.
• Automated workflows: Like Livestorm, BigMarker lets you create automated workflows by scheduling your webinars as one-time or recurring events.

BigMarker’s drawbacks

• Enterprise-focused: If you want to host on-demand webinars with the features listed above, you must be on the Media Hubs plan. The cost for this plan isn’t listed publicly on the website.
• Lags in video sharing: Some users complain that BigMarker’s event replays can take a long time to be generated and shared.

BigMarker’s pricing

BigMarker doesn’t publicly list pricing on its website.

9. WebinarNinja: Best platform for storage and video hosting

WebinarNinja is a browser-based platform that hosts all your recorded webinar content. What makes this platform different is that you can even upload videos from YouTube.

WebinarNinja’s key features

• Easy scheduling: Since WebinarNinja integrates with Google Calendar, events are automatically saved to attendees' calendars.
• Page redirect: You can customize which website or URL to redirect attendees to immediately after registering for your webinar.
• Engagement tools: Like Livestorm, WebinarNinja lets you make pre-recorded webinars interactive with live chat, Q&A sessions, polls, and handouts.

WebinarNinja’s drawbacks

• Limited customization: Since your webinars are hosted on WebinarNinja’s interface, you can’t create a fully branded webinar experience for your audience.
• No built-in video editing: Like many other platforms, WebinarNinja doesn’t offer built-in video editing tools, so you'll need to rely on external video editing software to refine your pre-recorded webinar content before uploading it to the platform.
• Pricing: WebinarNinja's pricing structure is based on the number of attendees and the features available in each plan, making it more expensive for users with a limited budget or smaller audience sizes.

WebinarNinja’s pricing

While WebinarNinja offers a 14-day free trial, the pricing plans are based on the number of attendees you’d want. For example, if you want to host up to 500 attendees, the Pro and Business plan range between $249 to $349 per month.

10. Zoho: Best if you need the complete Zoho ecosystem

Zoho Meetings is a product of Zoho’s workplace tools and integrates with the entire Zoho ecosystem — Zoho Commerce, Marketing, CRM, Finance, and HR.

Zoho’s key features

• Custom branding: You can customize the look and feel of your webinar room and registration pages to reflect your brand.
• Integrations: Zoho Meetings integrates seamlessly with other Zoho applications and offers integration with popular CRM and marketing automation tools.
• Mobile compatibility: Zoho Meetings is designed to be compatible with iOS and Android mobile devices.

Zoho’s drawbacks

• No automated webinars: You can’t run webinars automatically at certain set dates or times.

Zoho’s pricing

Zoho’s Webinar plan ranges between $16 to $19 per organizer per month for up to 25 attendees.

So, which is the best webinar software for you?

The best webinar software depends on your specific needs, preferences, and budget. If you’re looking for a platform that lets you do everything without investing in third-party apps, you can’t go wrong with Livestorm.

With Livestorm, you can host live events and pre-recorded webinars (automated or on-demand), customize registration pages, and connect your attendees with interactive features — all free. And, when you’re ready for our paid plan, you’ll have even more features to play with and full support from a customer service team.

Frequently asked questions about pre-recorded webinar platforms?

How do you create a pre-recorded webinar?

You can create a pre-recorded webinar by following these steps:

1. Choosing a webinar platform that supports both live and pre-recorded webinars like Livestorm, Demio, EasyWebinar, or Zoom
2. Editing and uploading your pre-recorded video content to the chosen platform
3. Creating a customized and informative registration page for your pre-recorded webinar
4. Scheduling one-time events, recurring events, or evergreen webinars based on your content strategy and target audience
5. Assigning a moderator to engage with attendees during the event through live chat or Q&A sessions
6. Analyzing the performance of your pre-recorded webinar using analytics and reporting tools provided by the webinar platform

Can a webinar be pre-recorded?

Yes, a webinar can be pre-recorded, depending on the platform you choose. Pre-recorded webinars can be played back for attendees at scheduled times (imitating the live experience) or on demand. Many webinar platforms, like Livestorm, Demio, and EasyWebinar, support pre-recorded webinars, allowing you to easily host and manage your content with minimal intervention from your team.

Does Zoom allow pre-recorded webinars?

Yes, Zoom allows pre-recorded webinars, also known as simulative webinars, but you need to be on the Zoom Sessions license, or Zoom Events plan to access this feature which ranges between $990 to $1490 for 100 attendees. If you want a more budget-friendly platform for pre-recorded webinars, consider Livestorm. With Livestorm, you can easily host up to 500 attendees at $88 per month or even try Livestorm for free.