Goldcast vs. On24 vs. Zoom: A Comprehensive Comparison

Webinars became more than a buzzword amid the lockdown restrictions in the COVID pandemic. And rightly so, webinars delivered tangible business results. Nearly 53% of the marketers claimed webinars generated the most high-quality leads.

However, the webinar market also faced a problem of plenty. Zoom became a household name and later claimed the ‘unicorn’ status within a few months of the pandemic. While Zoom was good and cost-effective, it suffered from the one-size-does’t-fit-all problem. And it isn’t a ‘webinar’ platform in the first place. This made way for specialized webinar platforms like Goldcast, On24, and Kaltura, among others.

If you’re faced with the this-or-that webinar solution problem or would like to get a better understanding of what each offers, this comparison guide will assist you. Here, we will compare the three webinar platforms; Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom.

What is Goldcast?

Goldcast is an online event platform for B2B marketers looking to drive leads and engagement. The SaaS platform allows anyone to organize, host, and measure interactive online events.

As an organizer, you can customize the platform to suit your brand image and enable participants to engage in events. Also, you can embed call-to-action (CTA) buttons on the screen. Goldcast differs from other webinar platforms because it is more of an event platform suited for broadcasting virtual events. It is suitable for hosting virtual tradeshows, summits, roadshows, product demos, launches, and conferences.

What is On24?

On24 is a digital engagement platform that allows users to connect with their audience digitally at scale. Companies of various sizes use it to run webinars, livestream virtual events, organize group discussions, run virtual conferences, and create landing pages.

You may not have heard of On24 regarding webinars before the pandemic. But it’s a veteran player in the virtual event software space, having launched in 1998. On24’s primary customer base includes companies whose audiences are located globally, and they need a place to connect with their audience.

What is Zoom?

Zoom is a video conferencing software that allows anyone with an internet connection and a laptop or mobile to join a virtual meeting. Such virtual meetings became the norm during the pandemic, propelling Zoom to a billion-dollar company. Because Zoom was popular for online meetings, they also started offering webinar capabilities.

Zoom offers various features, including high-definition video and audio, screen sharing, chat functionality, and virtual backgrounds, enhancing the overall meeting experience. Participants can join meetings from different devices, such as computers, smartphones, and tablets.

Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom: main features comparison

Now, let’s have a look at the main features of each of the webinar platforms, Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom:

Goldcast

Goldcast is divided into three products: webinar, virtual, and hybrid. For this comparison guide, we will focus on its webinar features. Some of the highlighted features of the Goldcast webinar are:

• • • Captioning and subtitles

You can enable participants to follow through the webinar with captions and subtitles. This is made possible with its in-built speech-to-text software that converts speech to text. This is available in 14+ languages, and the software can translate one language to another with a click.

• • • Video Q&A

In addition to the text-based Q&A, Goldcast supports video Q&As. Users can submit their questions through videos, and organizers can play them on screen.

• • • Badging

Think of Goldcast as a white-labeling webinar platform when you enable its badging feature. You can include your company’s branding and customize the interface to suit your brand image.

• • • Video production tools

Goldcast’s webinar platform has an in-built video editing tool to help you refine live videos to make them more engaging. You can apply overlays, special effects, and virtual backgrounds to live videos at the click of a button.

• • • On-demand access

You can make the webinar available to your users within 24 hours of hosting it without having to purchase another recording tool. The on-demand access allows you to reach a wider audience.

• • • Third-party integration

Goldcast can be integrated with third-party tools like Salesforce, Slack, and Hubspot. It also lets you measure the effectiveness of the webinar campaign.

• • • Email builder and analytics

With emails, you can remind participants of your webinar. This can increase the participation rate. With the email builder and analytics tool, you can send emails and measure the show-up rate.

• • • CTA button

Goldcast supports CTA buttons that you can display anytime during the webinar to generate leads.

On24

On24 is more or less a similar webinar platform as Goldcast. Hence, many of the features you find in Goldcast are found in On24, too. The webinar platform of On24 is known as Webcast Elite. Some of the primary features of On24 are:

• • • Captioning and subtitles

On24 has speech-to-text software to convert speech to text on the screen. And it can detect up to 50 languages and translate on demand.

• • • Custom branding

You can brand the On24 platform as your own by uploading your logo and customizing the interface.

• • • Generative AI

You can create AI-generated content to be used during webinars. The built-in generative AI feature helps paraphrase content, suggests unique content, turns the webinar into an e-book, and much more.

• • • Automated email reminders

You can send automated emails to participants with an automated email reminder feature.

• • • Live Q&A notification

The tool allows you to enhance the webinar experience with Q&A, polls, surveys, and much more. You can then publish the results on the screen.

• • • Recurring simulive

Do you want to reach more people located in different time zones? Use the recurring simulive feature and deliver a pre-recorded webinar at preferred time zones.

• • • CTA button

You can integrate the CTA button directly into the webinar screen to encourage participants to take action.

• • • Analytics and reporting

The tool provides a report on how the webinar campaign performed with in-built analytics. You can get a bird’s eye view of all the metrics like show-up rate, completion rate, etc.

• • • Third-party integration

You can use On24 with dozens of apps, including HubSpot, Outreach, Salesforce, Veeva, Eloqua, etc.

• • • Video builder

The tool lets you create and edit videos on the go with an in-built video editor in minutes.

Zoom

Some of the noted features of Zoom Webinar are:

• • • Captioning and subtitles

Similar to other tools on this list, Zoom implements the same speech-to-text feature to create captions during the webinar. It also allows the integration of third-party captioning services for better accuracy.

• • • Customizing webinar registration

You can control how users sign up for the webinar by customizing the registration process.

• • • Session branding

You can make the webinar brand-focused with session branding. Change the background or tag participants by role to make it look more professional.

• • • On-demand recording access

The tool lets you record the webinar and make it accessible to your audience anytime, anywhere.

• • • Backstage

The backstage area is where participants can discuss before or after the webinar ends. This allows you to follow up with each participant and provide more information they need.

• • • Reports and analytics

Zoom has a basic analytics tool to measure the effectiveness of the webinar campaign.

Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom: main differences

When talking about Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom, the main difference between the tools lies in their product categorization. None of them have webinars as their primary category. Rather, it’s an extension. As already mentioned, Goldcast is an online event platform, while On24 is an online engagement platform. They focus more on enriching hosted events at a physical location to a live audience. Likewise, Zoom is a teleconference platform. Webinar is an offshoot. That’s the main difference between the three platforms when it comes to webinars.

Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom: pricing plans

• Goldcast pricing: Goldcast has a flat fee option that goes up to enable more features. It categorizes such features as add-ons. While it doesn’t mention pricing on its website, users have reported paying around $15,000 per year to host branded webinars.
• On24 pricing: Like Goldcast, On24 doesn’t mention pricing on its website and prefers to provide a customized quote. Hence, you’d have to get in touch to check the cost of hosting a webinar.
• Zoom pricing: Zoom Webinar starts at $690 per year per license when paid annually. Monthly, it costs $79 per month. The price goes up as you add more attendees.

Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom: typical customer of each platform

Goldcast primarily caters to B2B salespeople who engage in high-ticket sales.

On24 focuses more on event organizers who want to enrich the experience for online and in-house audiences.

Zoom is designed for small and medium businesses to get started with webinars without the fuss. But, Zoom also has Zoom Events designed for virtual and hybrid event hosts.

Goldcast vs On24 vs Zoom: which tool suits your business more?

Goldcast is a decent option for B2B salespeople who want to control theirr brand image when delivering online webinars, and have a high budget.

On24 suits B2B salespeople who focus on virtual events.

Zoom has customers from all walks of life and is used by everyone from solo entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies.

But there’s an alternative to Goldcast vs. On24 vs. Zoom that beats all three out of the water…

Kaltura as a better alternative

As you consider the right platform for your needs, carefully evaluate your specific requirements, budget, and branding goals to make an informed choice. It is important to remember that the best platform for you will depend on what aligns best with your business’s goals as well as your audience engagement needs. Making a well-informed decision is crucial for the success of your webinars and their lasting influence on your audience.

In our exploration, we’ve delved into the comparison of Goldcast, On24, and Zoom for hosting webinars, it’s evident that each platform serves specific needs and audiences. Goldcast, tailored for B2B sales professionals, offers customization and a focus on branding. On24, with its extensive experience in the virtual event space, is well-suited for event organizers seeking to enrich online and in-person experiences. Zoom, a household name, provides a user-friendly entry point for a wide range of businesses.

But do you know that there’s a platform that makes hosting webinars a piece of cake? Yes, that’s Kaltura. Kaltura is a pioneer in delivering seamless video experiences. Kaltura Webinars equips you with a beautiful engaging and brandable webinar room. Here you can showcase the webinar topic, blurb, date, and speakers, thus delivering a top-notch webinar experience that will generate tons of brand awareness, leads, and customer satisfaction.

Additionally, Kaltura Webinars also offers an array of other exciting features including group chat and 1:1 monitoring, session moderation, marketing automation integration with other tools, shared video playback, and more.

The cherry on top of Kaltura’s webinar pie is of course the brand-new AI assistant, an absolute game-changer that helps you whip up session descriptions, and agendas, and even repurpose content fast. It also keeps an eye on attendee participation and suggests ways to boost engagement in real-time.

So, are you ready to create memorable webinars? Then start your free trial of Kaltura Webinars today!