ON24 vs Zoom: which webinar software is right for you?

The short answer: ON24 is built to turn webinars into marketing-grade engagement data, while Zoom gives dependable webinar delivery from a meetings foundation.

Core purpose. ON24 is a webinar and demand-generation engine where engagement is the point, connecting each webinar to pipeline rather than just measuring attendance. Zoom approaches webinars from a meetings foundation, offering dependable delivery and a familiar attendee experience.

Engagement and branding. ON24 offers interactive tools, branded event experiences, and content hubs that host on-demand libraries. Zoom Webinars covers registration, polls, Q&A, chat, and reliable broadcast video, and Zoom Events adds registration hubs, ticketing, and multi-session management, but Zoom offers less of the branded content-hub model that ON24 is designed around.

Reporting. ON24 provides deeper engagement analytics that translate attendee behavior into scored engagement data, the main draw for marketing teams. Zoom provides solid standard reports on attendance and interaction, without the deep, marketing-grade engagement scoring ON24 offers.

AI. ON24 uses AI-based analytics, marketed as ON24 Intelligence, to surface engagement signals from attendee behavior. Zoom AI Companion helps with meeting summaries and productivity but is not a webinar marketing-automation layer.

Why it matters: Teams that need attendee-level engagement intelligence will find ON24 more purpose-built.

The short answer: Both connect to common martech and CRM systems, but ON24 is built around marketing operations while Zoom focuses on general connectivity.

Native CRM. ON24 integrates with major CRM systems so engagement data flows into lead scoring. Zoom integrates broadly with CRMs, alongside calendars and collaboration tools.

Marketing automation. ON24 is designed to slot into marketing operations, with marketing-automation integrations that feed engagement data into nurture programs. Zoom's emphasis is general connectivity rather than a marketing-automation pipeline.

Breadth of connectivity. ON24 focuses its integrations on marketing operations. Zoom has a large app marketplace that covers most business software.

Why it matters: If webinar engagement data driving CRM workflows is central to your use case, confirm the specific CRM and marketing-automation connectors ON24 and Zoom support for your stack before you buy.

The short answer: ON24 sells custom annual contracts with no list price, while Zoom publishes attendee-based webinar tiers that sit on top of a Workplace license.

Pricing model. ON24 sells custom annual contracts scoped by event volume, audience size, and feature tier, with no published list prices. Zoom uses attendee-based pricing, sold as an add-on to a paid Zoom Workplace subscription rather than a standalone product.

Entry paid plan. For ON24, third-party aggregators estimate roughly $25,000 to $100,000 or more per year, as of September 2026, figures ON24 does not confirm publicly. Zoom's published Zoom Webinars tiers start around $79 per month for smaller audiences, as of September 2026.

Plans and tiers. ON24 contracts vary by feature tier, with no public tier list. Zoom Webinars tiers scale up with attendee count, and Zoom Events is priced separately for larger, multi-session programs.

What drives cost. For ON24, event volume, audience size, and feature tier set the contract value. For Zoom, cost depends on attendee count plus the base Workplace seat the webinar license sits on, so factor both line items into the total.

Which is cheaper for you: If you already pay for Zoom Workplace and run occasional smaller webinars, Zoom's published tiers are the more predictable cost; ON24 fits teams with an enterprise budget, so treat its estimates as a starting point and confirm with the vendor, including any Zoom per-attendee overage terms.

Pricing changes, so confirm current figures with each vendor.