If you are working out how to choose webinar software, you will soon be staring at feature lists that all look the same. A better approach is to compare tools against criteria that match how you will actually use them. The twelve below cover what matters in practice, and at the end you will find a scoring table and a short test plan for putting two or three candidates through their paces.
Start with what you need it for
Before you look at a single vendor, write down answers to three questions. They decide how much weight each criterion gets later.
- Which format are you planning? Real live webinars with you on camera, automated webinars that run at set times, or recordings people watch on demand. The article on live versus automated webinars explains the difference.
- What is the goal? Selling, training, onboarding customers or briefing your own team. A sales webinar needs different tools from a staff training session.
- How many people do you expect? Per session and per month. Prices and limits depend on these numbers.
Keep the answers on one page. When a flashy feature catches your eye halfway through, that page will bring you back to earth.
Formats and the attendee experience
1. Supported formats
Check that the tool handles exactly the formats you plan to run. Some platforms are built for live meetings and only manage scheduled automated sessions through workarounds. Others specialise in automated broadcasts and are less suited to spontaneous conversations on camera. Understanding what an automated webinar is makes this the easiest criterion to judge.
2. Access for attendees
Every extra step loses you people. Look at whether attendees can join straight from the browser without installing anything, and whether it works as well on a phone as on a laptop. Also try arriving early. A waiting room with a countdown feels far better than a blank page.
3. Interaction during the session
What can your attendees do to take part? Typical options are chat, questions for the presenter, polls and, for sales webinars, a button that leads to the offer. Ask yourself who will look after the chat. With automated formats that is a real question, because someone or something has to reply.
Before and after the session
4. Registration pages
Can you design the registration page yourself, with your own copy, image and brand colour? How many fields are mandatory? Can you switch on double opt-in, where people confirm their email address with a click? And can you link your legal notice and privacy policy properly? A registration page you cannot change soon becomes a bottleneck.
5. Emails and reminders
Reminders play a big part in how many registrants actually turn up. Check which messages the tool sends: confirmation, access link, reminders before the session and a follow-up for people who missed it. You also want editable copy, an unsubscribe link in every message and a way to send marketing emails only to people who have explicitly agreed to receive them.
6. Schedules and time zones
For recurring sessions you need fixed weekdays and times or a regular interval. Once attendees join from other countries, they should see the start time in their own time zone. A downloadable calendar entry and the option to rebook a session themselves help fewer people miss their slot.
Content and reporting
7. Creating and editing content
How does your content get into the tool? Some platforms expect a finished video, others work with slides and audio, and some help you build the content. Try a small edit: how long does it take to fix a typo on slide 23? If the answer involves re-exporting and re-uploading a whole video, that cost will come back every time. For the slides themselves, the guide to webinar slide design for phones has practical rules.
8. Reporting
Numbers are only useful if you know how they are counted. Check which figures the tool shows, such as page views, registrations, attendance, watch time and clicks on the offer. Ask whether an attendee is anyone who drops in for a second or someone who stays for a minimum time. Reports per session and an export option make it far easier to compare months.
Data protection, cost and operations
9. Data protection and hosting location
A webinar collects names, email addresses and usage data. So it matters where that data is processed, whether the vendor offers a data processing agreement and whether there is a list of the sub-processors it relies on. If your audience is in the EU, the GDPR applies. Also check whether you can find an individual attendee on request, give them a copy of their data and delete it. These are not formalities. As the organiser, those duties sit with you.
10. Honest defaults
Some tools offer features that simulate viewer numbers, purchases or chat messages. It may look tempting, but it can mislead attendees and fall foul of consumer protection and advertising rules. Make sure such switches are off by default, and ask whether you need them at all. The same goes for calling a recording “live”. Presenting a recorded session as live is a quick way to lose trust and invite complaints.
11. Pricing model and limits
Webinar software is billed in very different ways: per host, by number of attendees, per webinar or through credits. Run the numbers with your own figures from the first section. Then read the limits. How many people fit into one session? What happens if you go over? How long is the contract and how do you cancel? Do the listed prices include VAT?
12. Support and operations
Finally, the questions you only think of when something goes wrong. Is help available in your language, and how quickly do you get an answer? Is there a status page that reports outages openly? Can you export your data and content if you want to switch later? And how accessible is the attendee room, for example with keyboard navigation and sufficient contrast?
Scoring and testing
A scoring table you can reuse
Weight each criterion from 1 (minor) to 3 (essential) and score each candidate from 0 (missing) to 3 (excellent). Weight times score gives the points. The weights below are an example for someone planning automated sales webinars.
| Criterion | Weight (example) | Tool A | Tool B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Formats | 3 | ||
| 2. Access for attendees | 3 | ||
| 3. Interaction | 2 | ||
| 4. Registration pages | 3 | ||
| 5. Emails and reminders | 3 | ||
| 6. Schedules and time zones | 2 | ||
| 7. Creating and editing content | 2 | ||
| 8. Reporting | 2 | ||
| 9. Data protection | 3 | ||
| 10. Honest defaults | 2 | ||
| 11. Pricing and limits | 2 | ||
| 12. Support and operations | 1 |
The table does not make the decision for you, it makes the decision traceable. If a candidate scores 0 on a criterion weighted 3, it is out, however many points it collects elsewhere.
Testing in a few days
Feature lists all read alike. You only see the difference when you build a real, small webinar. Here is how:
- Build the same mini webinar in every trial, with five slides and a registration page.
- Register yourself twice, once on a laptop and once on a phone, using two different email addresses.
- Note which emails arrive, when, and whether any land in spam.
- Attend the session, post a question in the chat and press every button.
- Change one slide afterwards and time how long it takes.
- Open the report. Can you find yourself in it?
- Ask for your test data to be deleted and note how easy that was.
If you want a refresher on the basics, start with what a webinar is.
Frequently asked questions
Which criterion matters most?
It depends on your goal. For sales webinars, registration, reminders and easy access usually decide the outcome, because that is where most prospects drop away. For internal training, interaction and recording tend to matter more.
Is a free trial enough to compare tools?
Usually, if you use it with a plan. Decide in advance what you want to test, and build a real mini webinar rather than clicking through menus. Write your impressions straight into the scoring table while you test.
Does webinar software have to host data in the EU?
Not as a strict rule. The GDPR allows processing inside the EU and, under certain conditions, outside it. Hosting in the EU does make many things simpler, though, and some customers look for it specifically.
How many vendors should I compare?
Two or three serious candidates are enough. Use your answers from the first section to rule out anything that does not support your format. More candidates make the comparison longer, not better.
Final thought
The best webinar software is the one that fits your format, your audience and your working week. With twelve clear criteria, honest weighting and a real test, you make that choice deliberately instead of letting the longest feature list decide for you.
