Top 5 virtual event hosting platforms for your next event

In the last few years, the event world has shifted from in-person events pre-2020 to fully virtual events to a healthy mixture of both, and hybrid today. In-person events have made a big comeback. But thanks to their data collection capacities, their cost-effectiveness, the possibility to repurpose content, as well as their time- and location-independent nature, virtual events, and by extension, virtual event hosting platforms, have taken leaps and bounds ahead. Audiences nowadays demand the option to join virtually. So, whether you choose to host your next event fully virtually or hybrid, you’ll need a dedicated virtual event hosting platform.

 

Continue for some general advice about virtual event hosting, and our picks for the best options on the market!

 

 

What is virtual event hosting?

Virtual event hosting is, technically speaking, the app software and technology infrastructure enabling the delivery of virtual and/or hybrid events. Hosting is frequently packaged as part of a “platform” via cloud computing and billed as “software as a service” (SaaS) or “platform as a service” (PaaS). In other words, it’s the tools your business or organization uses to plan, promote, and put on virtual events. This is also typically referred to as a “hosting platform.”

 

Take note, though, “virtual event hosting” might also be spoken of in the literal sense of “hosting”–not running and maintaining software and content, but being a person or organization responsible for running an event. (For example   For our purposes here, we’ll be focusing primarily on hosting platforms and the relevant technologies that enable events! If you need advice on “how to be a good host,” for now we’ll refer you elsewhere.

 

 

Key features to look for in a virtual event hosting platform

The primary feature of a virtual event hosting platform is providing the “space” where the event happens, and attendees can connect. Great virtual event hosting allows you to recreate the atmosphere of live events and at the same time provide features for increasing audience engagement, collecting and analyzing data, and allowing people to join and participate from anywhere in the world.

 

Common video conferencing and virtual calling tools are often the go-tos for impromptu or casual events. But take note these commercial tools typically don’t have the capacity for creating an immersive, memorable environment or scaling to a large audience. Virtual event hosting platforms, however, should be designed so they have less rigid limitations. Major features hosting platforms should offer to allow you to make the most of virtual events include:

 

• Livestreaming A virtual event hosting platform’s live-streaming service should be designed for high-quality viewing. This is not necessarily limited to a keynote talk or panel discussions in HD, it could include anything up to performances, concerts, or even sports events. Often there is an option to record the stream for on-demand viewing after the event ends.

 

• Engagement Virtual event hosting shines particularly in the areas of engagement and data. Features should include ways to keep your attendees active with gamification, polling, workshops, and more.

 

• Separate spaces With no available breakout spaces, you’re still essentially in a multi-person video call. Quality virtual event hosting can accommodate simultaneous events or workshops, breakout rooms, virtual lounges for networking, and various other ways for attendees to join, connect, and communicate.

 

• Scaling Virtual event hosting platforms should be able to scale. A high-quality product could facilitate small and intimate groups and also have the capacity to scale up for a large audience. The sky’s the limit!

 

• Support Virtual event hosting is only as good as its support services—advanced tech support; admin help such as event planning, registration, and ticketing; creative support; facilitation and moderation of workshops and chats; and other valuable assistance that enables you to focus on your content.

 

 

These features can also be broken down by actual event stage:

 

Key Pre-Event features would include things like a registration system and payment processing, referral tracking, and marketing integration.

 

Features relevant during events would include live streaming and engagement capabilities, as well as additional support such as moderation, technical support, and multi-camera capacity.

 

Key post-event features would include an analytics dashboard and the ability to export data.

 

This list is of course not exhaustive! However, it should function as a guide for determining your needs and expectations.

 

 

Top 5 virtual event hosting platforms and software for 2024

 

●     Kaltura virtual event hosting platform

At Kaltura, our mission is to provide products with best-in-class, full-featured virtual event hosting, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that we recommend Kaltura Virtual Events as the superior option. Our platform is more than equal to the challenges of any type of event you want to create.

 

Kaltura is built with a foundation of high-quality live, real-time, and on-demand video streaming. In addition to our top-tier video platform, we also include engagement opportunities such as chat and networking functionality, audience segmentation, and other interactive features. We’re confident that at scale we’ve got the best all-around solution for virtual event hosting. But don’t just take our word for it, feel free to try a demo and find out for yourself.

 

●     Webex Events

Webex enables users to host and attend a variety of online events. It’s a virtual, online meeting software that can be used over a web browser, mobile app, or even compatible phones and monitors. Webex offers extensive options for planning and hosting virtual events from small to large, and supports multiple use cases.

 

PROS: A long-time player in video conferencing software, now backed by industry leader Cisco. As such it has extensive integration with Cisco, and other, technologies, and provides many ways to connect. Lots of features and robust security!

 

CONS:  Less user-friendly than other options, somewhat limited in personalization, and additionally relatively expensive.

 

●     vFairs

vFairs is billed as a platform for both virtual and hybrid event hosting. As you might guess its specialty is fairs: career and education fairs, trade shows, and the like. Pricing is customized to your event needs (which could be a pro or a con) and can be charged single-event, multi-event, or annual. Within this narrow focus, they’re known for enabling highly interactive, user-friendly, immersive events across a small to large scale.

 

PROS: Virtual venues with a wide variety of attendee-networking features; detailed data reports on your spaces; hybrid and live event support is good for multiple channels

 

CONS:  Can lack customization options; similarly, may not adapt as well to non- “trade show” type events.

 

●     Airmeet

Airmeet is a virtual event hosting platform that bills itself as catering to “virtual exhibitions.” Most of all Airmeet seems to focus on user-friendliness and ease of use and offers a customizable “virtual ballroom” that can be customized in appearance, “seating” arrangements, and size to fit your events. There is a small-scale free tier (50 attendees/1 organizer) but professional grade plans start at $500 per month and climb upward.

 

PROS: User-friendly; download-free software; attention to attendee networking and connection features.

 

CONS: Seems to lack dynamic adaptive streaming; users have also reported some compatibility problems (browsers, integrations) or technical issues with dropped calls.

 

●     Livestorm

This is an event management platform geared strongly toward product and customer relationships—it’s able to run demos, sales calls, and webinars and transfer the information back to Customer Relation Management. It can even automate some events.

 

PROS: Highly customizable. Clean and elegant design and user experience with options for live interactive sessions and engagement.

 

CONS: The capacity for large-scale events, longer duration meetings, and enterprise-level conferencing service requires purchase and/or a subscription plan, which starts around $99/month. There’s also a free tier that could provide small teams an additional option for video calls and demos, but its features are limited.

 

 

What types of virtual events can be hosted?

A high-quality virtual event hosting platform can organize nearly any type of virtual (and even hybrid) event. Some of the most common events you can host on a platform are:

 

Live webcasts: One of the most familiar types of virtual events or broadcasts, this involves streaming a particular location/activity to your audience. Webcasts can range in scope from a single speaker presenting information or commentary to streaming coverage of major in-person events like an award ceremony or sporting event. Usually, webcasts are simply event coverage that does not involve interactivity between viewers.

 

Webinars: Webinars are almost always structured around small, online groups where a host or presenter is discussing a particular topic. However, these events rely on real-time video communication not just a one-way broadcast.  

 

Virtual conferences: This is an online-only event where participants are watching a live-streamed or on-demand video of a keynote speaker. However, at a live conference, some additional thought should be given to engagement features and the ability of attendees to communicate with one another.

 

Bespoke, or “white label” events: These are events that are heavily customized and branded to you. White-label events require platform support, but ultimately you will create, organize and customize the events so they look and feel unique to you. These types of events/platforms put your brand front and center.

 

 

FAQ

Why host a virtual event?

Virtual events have a leg up on in-person events in many key areas. The first area is cost. While event prices can vary widely (see our answer below), virtual events at a minimum eliminate the costs associated with scheduling and paying for a venue, as well as secondary costs such as seating, catering, and travel. This represents significant savings even versus an elaborate, big-audience virtual event.

 

The second key area is event impact. Virtual events expand your potential audience as travel for attendees and guests is not required, and people from around the world can join so long as they have an internet connection and a device to participate. Also time is no longer as much of a factor since people can tune in after the event and consume the session recordings for a long time to come.

 

Thirdly, engagement is a strong point of virtual events. Virtual event hosting platforms usually include customization and communication options that increase a sense of community among attendees. They additionally offer more ways to communicate and engage with fellow attendees and speakers than the brief Q&As offered by most in-person events.

 

Fourth, but perhaps the most important area, marketing and business-wise, is data. No in-person event, no matter how elaborate or fancy, will provide you with the depth and breadth of audience and performance data you can obtain from virtual events. Executive buy-in, reporting, sponsoring, lead generation, and conversion as well as future event strategy all highly depend on granular data of your event’s performance and the journeys and experiences of your individual attendees.

 

How do I start hosting a virtual event?

To make yourself the host of a virtual event, you’ll first need to select a virtual event hosting platform. We hope that this article has been a useful first step in that process!

 

How do I create a virtual event online?

Beyond acquiring a virtual event hosting platform, you need to specify a time for your event as well as assign a moderator/moderators and build an agenda. You also need to promote the event–you can decide to do it right away or further along in the event cycle. That’s the basics; different types of events may have different preparation requirements. Your platform of choice should also assist in some or all steps of the creation process.

 

How much does it cost to put on a virtual event?

This will depend on the number of participants and the per-user cost of the event software. That can vary widely between having 5 participants and 5000. Since there is no set cost, the best advice is to make sure you clearly define the scope of your event beforehand. You can additionally do some research for online articles that (depending on your needs and expectations) can ballpark it for you.

 

Conclusion

Virtual events have remained quite popular, even after social distancing was no longer a necessary best practice. It’s no wonder since as we point out they offer some very distinct advantages–including being a very economical event solution! Remember, though, your virtual event will live or die based on the virtual event hosting platform where it’s constructed. Make sure you put in the effort to find the strongest possible solution within your means. Consider your needs and budget and make sure you do additional research based on what features matter most to you. We hope our list above gives you an excellent jumping-off point to discover the best hosting platform for you!

 

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