As virtual meetings have become the norm, innovative software developers are pushing the technology forward in some amazing ways. Online gatherings are no longer limited to team meetings and webinars using same old video calling tools.
All types of events, including trade shows and industry conferences, can now be produced and attended remotely. New platforms are being developed, and new features added to existing platforms, to more closely replicate the live experience.
Image credit: Teooh
The ability to present slides, stream video, collaborate on a whiteboard, and chat with the group or individual members are now just table stakes. Today’s virtual event platforms are adding features like virtual expo halls and exhibitor booths, 3D environments and avatars, social media integration, gamification, one-to-one video networking, content libraries, and detailed attendee activity analytics.
As noted previously in this list of top webinar tools, what separates compelling must-attend events from ho-hum gatherings is the quality of the content, promotion, presenters, and—increasingly—the underlying technology platform. That’s especially true in the realm of virtual events that go beyond traditional webinars and webcasts.
If you are involved in planning and producing online events—and you’re ready to venture beyond standard tools like WebEx, Zoom, and Google Meet—here are 22 alternatives that can help take your event to a whole new level.
A quick note on the ranking methodology: These 22 tools were searched across five sites: Capterra, G2Crowd, TrustRadius, SoftwareAdvice, and GetApp. They were ranked on both the number of total reviews (popularity) and average ratings (quality). Those scores were then combined to produce an overall rank; though, as explained below, most of these tools didn’t have enough ratings to produce a valid combined score.
Leading Edge Virtual Event Platforms
Leading edges platforms generally have significant installed customer bases and market presence as indicated by at least 25 user reviews across one or more software rating sites.
1. vFairs
Total reviews: 339
Average user rating: 9.53 (out of 10)
Host virtual conferences, trade shows, job fairs, and more. Set up virtual booths with interactive features including images, brochures, data sheets and videos. Give visitors a virtual briefcase that lets them download anything they see. Enable booth representatives to engage with visitors via text/audio/video chat in real time. The platform is mobile-friendly, enables you to produce webinars, and provides detailed attendee analytics.
Pricing: contact vendor
2. Boomset
Total reviews: 156
Average user rating: 9.35
A tool to manage and produce conferences, workshops, and other virtual events. Features include breakout sessions, virtual exhibitor booths, lead capture, streaming video, and capability to interact with speakers, sponsors, and other event attendees. Ideal for midsize organizations, Boomset manages event registration and hosting of virtual events with a few or a few thousand attendees, who can can exchange ideas and join the conversation from anywhere — there’s no limit on the number of attendees.
Pricing: contact vendor
3. GoBrunch
Total reviews: 26
Average user rating: 9.39
An easy-to-use, highly rated platform for online meetings, webinars, and virtual events for up to 500 attendees that goes way beyond video sharing. GoBrunch features include breakout sessions with virtual room layout options, virtual networking and private meetings, event promotion and registration pages, ability for attendees to download presentations and documents, and a community feature to keep attendees posted about upcoming events.
Pricing: free (!)
4. SpotMe
Total reviews: 100
Average user rating: 9.20
A brandable virtual event platform for hosting client forums, team meetings, town halls, conferences, webinars, symposia, and online training. Among the tool’s capabilities are event agendas and schedules, chat, interactive Q&A and polling, a document library, native iOS and Android apps, breakout rooms, parallel sessions, applause, emails and alerts, social media integration, and performance analytics.
Pricing: $4,800/$16,000/$26,700 per event; enterprise pricing by quote
5. Inxpo
Total reviews: 28
Average user rating: 8.67
A video streaming platform for marketing webcasts, internal communications, training, and other virtual events. Functionality includes attendee registration pages and management, email reminders and follow up, sponsor spaces, trivia and puzzle games, social media integration, presentation tracks, surveys, branding, real-time analytics, and integration with Eloqua, Marketo, Salesforce, Pardot, and HubSpot.
Pricing: starts at $25,000
Cutting Edge Virtual Event Platforms
Cutting edge tools are often newer and though they have an established market presence, they have fewer than 25 total user reviews across the rating sites, and so can’t be scored validly.
6. Hopin
Hopin is a virtual venue with multiple interactive areas. Attendees can move in and out of rooms just like an in-person event. Events can be free or you can sell tickets. There’s a main stage for keynote-style presentations, expo booths where attendees can interact with vendors, breakout session areas, and one-to-one video networking. The platform also offers group or private chat, plus attendee analytics.
Pricing: contact vendor
7. Shindig
A video streaming platform that supports up to 1,000 attendees and integrates with Facebook and YouTube Live. Features include attendee video chat (with presenter or each other), private text chat, question management / prioritization, customizable background and widgets, branding, email reminders, social media integration, ticketing, and recording, with no software to download.
Pricing: contact vendor
8. 6Connex
6Connex is a virtual event platform for producing trade shows, summits, online conferences, sales meetings, training programs, town halls, and job fairs. It provides for registration, gamification, virtual breakout sessions, social networking, live chats and polls, detailed metrics and reporting, and post-event communications. It’s developed with HTML5 for a seamless mobile experience, and offers enterprise-grade security.
Pricing: contact vendor
9. G2Planet
Best known as the premier provider of enterprise-class live event production and management platforms, G2Planet also provides a virtual event platform designed for larger organizations with sophisticated needs. Functionality includes content / speaker / sponsor management, registration, an agenda builder, chat, interactive Q&A and polling, discussion groups, attendee networking, a virtual expo hall, a resource library where attendees can download content, and journey maps and reporting.
Pricing: contact vendor
10. Remo
Tools for hosting virtual summits, online meetings, workshops, and webinars. Features include HD audio and video, the ability to sell sponsorships, free or paid events, speed networking, interactive polls and Q&A, and group screen sharing, all with no software to download. Virtual business cards let hosts and attendees view LinkedIn profiles and book meetings during conversations.
Pricing: $100/$360/$680 per month
11. HeySummit
HeySummit simplifies the process of producing an online summit, making it easy for your attendees to register and discover your content. The platform allows you to activate a community, offer viral referrals, promote giveaways, manage and onboard speakers, build landing pages for attendee registration, and report on results. It integrates with YouTube, Vimeo, and popular videoconferencing applications.
Pricing: $29/$99/$249 per month
12. Engagez
A flexible platform for hosting all types of digital events: live, simulive, on-demand, individual presentations, multi-day conferences, expositions, job fairs, and online classrooms. The tool encourages attendee engagement through video calls, chats, polls, notifications, surveys, Q&A, and games. It offers breakout rooms, a resource center, registration with email notifications and reminders, customizable layout, analytics, and integrations with several popular CRM and other apps.
Pricing: free; $3949 per month; enterprise pricing by quote
13. Meetyoo
An online conferencing solution for conferences, trade shows, job fairs, team meetings, and training. Features include online venues with exhibit booths, a main stage, and lounge; engagement through private or group text and video chat, polls, and interactive Q&A; and comprehensive reporting. As avatars, attendees can move around the virtual exhibition grounds, visit individual exhibition stands, conference rooms, or the virtual auditorium.
Pricing: contact vendor
14. All In The Loop
A virtual and hybrid event engagement platform for conferences, trade shows, and corporate meetings, with a focus on networking. All In The Loop provides mobile access to all event activity and content, live Q&A and polling, networking and matchmaking, sponsor and agenda recommendations based on interests, custom home screen design, speaker and exhibitor directories, branded registration page, multiple ticket types, and analytics.
Pricing: contact vendor
Bleeding Edge Virtual Event Platforms
You can’t stand out by doing the same thing everyone else is doing. These tools have less market presence but offer something unique, off the beaten path. Ready to take a chance? Lick the salt, slam the tequila, bite the lime, and check out these apps.
15. Social27
Like many other tools here, Social27 provides an expo hall, interactive sessions, a video networking lounge, roundtable meetings, and engagement metrics. What sets it apart are features like gamification, a no-code automation studio (develop, visualize and continuously improve the repetitive customer journeys), and an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to help reduce sales friction. It also integrates with Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Marketo, HubSpot, and other platforms.
Pricing: contact vendor
16. Communique
Communique offers solutions for audio conferencing, web video conferencing, webcasting, webinars, and virtual events. It’s virtual event platform offers streaming video for up to 30,000 attendees; exhibit halls, booths, keynote presentations and networking in an online 3D virtual environment; ability for attendees to view demos, pick up literature and chat live with sales reps; registration; and activity reporting.
Pricing: contact vendor
17. Teooh
Teooh allows you to create and attend virtual gatherings as a personalized virtual reality (VR) avatar, to interact with and grow your community. It enables you to create a rich visual environment for virtual business events (host fireside chats, sell tickets, and interact personally with your audience); personal gatherings (compete with your friends in a pub quiz, or gather together with a Facebook community); and remote team meetings in a virtual conference room.
Pricing: “A pay-as-you-go model…a $1.99 charge per attendee plus 20% of the ticket sales (with) no upfront costs.” (per InvestorPlace)
18. Virtway Events
An online platform for 3D virtual events. Host virtual conferences, trade shows, corporate meetings, training sessions, and other gatherings with interaction that mimics real-life experiences. Participants can engage in natural conversations via VoIP and 3D audio across the entire platform. It includes gamification, metrics, and a content space where you can share materials such as photos, videos, presentations, or web links.
Pricing: contact vendor
19. iVent
iVent offers a virtual event platform that can be used to host online conferences, trade shows, university and college tours, product launches, job fairs, and online training courses. The environment is fully customizable, integrates with social media, and can be used for free and fee-based events. It delivers relevant and actionable event metrics for hosts, sponsors, and event clients.
Pricing: contact vendor
20. Digitell
Founded in 1985 as a conference recording company, Digitell now offers virtual event and live streaming platforms along with web / graphic design, event marketing, and audio/video technician services. The platform requires no download for attendees, and like most tools here, offers interactive Q&A and polling, a resource download area, features for sponsors, and reporting. Note though their website says they are “sold out for 2020” and now talking to prospects about 2021 events.
Pricing: contact vendor
21. Hexafair
Virtual event software for trade shows / expos, conferences, summits, job fairs, training, and corporate events. Includes a 3D environment for exhibitor booths, social networking, registration pages, marketing email with automatic reminders, virtual business cards, document downloading, integration with popular apps, ability for attendees to rate and review exhibitors, dashboards and reports, even ecommerce integration so attendees can directly purchase products.
Pricing: contact vendor
22. vConferenceOnline
A comprehensive online event platform for conferences, job fairs, trade shows, and training. Features include support for free or paid events, an event registration microsite, confirmation and reminder emails, customizable exhibitor booths, quizzes and polls, downloadable materials, virtual conference rooms, simultaneous tracks, gamification, and reporting. Project managers assist with setup and best practices.
Pricing: contact vendor
Whew! That’s a lot of options for virtual event platforms for meeting planners to research, try, and evaluate. And a lot of innovative technology to help transform online events from “same old” to something special.
This was the third in a series of four posts focused on remote work technologies. The first two covered online meeting / video conference tools and webinar / webcasting software. The final installment will look at team collaboration apps.
The post The 22 Best Virtual Event Platforms appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog | Webbiquity.