A webinar can only be as good as the software used to create it, and when it comes to the big leagues, WebinarJam and Zoom are two of the best.
Although popular, they can also be hard to differentiate again, with both offering many of the same features for webinar hosting.
What is best, WebinarJam or Zoom?
WebinarJam is considered the more through webinar platform that gives users access to in-depth analytics and marketing tools. Zoom is also seen as a powerful option but is more focused on convenience and quality for the webinar host and their viewers.
If you’ve been weighing up between these and other options, having a detailed comparison could be just what you need to finally make a decision.
With that in mind, we’ve created the ultimate comparison of WebinarJam vs Zoom so you can explore them further and find out whether they’re a good fit for your brand.
What is WebinarJam?
As one of the longest-running webinar platforms, WebinarJam has earned a name for itself since its inception in 2013.
The web-based platform lets users create webinars, market them, analyze how they performed, and market their products and services through this virtual event.
The Pros
- You can host and interact with up to 5,000 people on a webinar when using the WebinarJam Enterprise plan.
- Access to analytics after each session will show you what went right or wrong during a webinar.
- There’s no shortage of tools and features that you can use to create a webinar that’s as detailed as you need it to be.
- Loades of marketing features you can use before and after a webinar to boost sales and gain more followers.
The Cons
- This is an expensive option because it lets you host live webinars and prerecord them, especially for the higher Enterprise plan.
- It can be hard to get your branding on every aspect of the webinar which is a letdown if you’re a stickler for continuity.
What Is Zoom?
Zoom is considered the ultimate video conferencing software and it comes in both a web-based platform and as downloadable software.
Although primarily focused on video calls and business communications, Zoom also allows users to host webinars, and it’s a popular choice for those who want to have business meetings as well as larger-scale virtual events.
The Pros
- Zoom has exceptional HD video and clear audio so that you and your attendees benefit from the best.
- The layout of Zoom is simple and you can be taken through simple steps to create a webinar from scratch.
- Up to 50,000 live attendees can view your online events so the scale is a lot larger.
The Cons
- The range of tools available isn’t as impressive as some of the webinar-heavy platforms we’ve reviewed.
- There have been concerns with safety issues in the past on Zoom and it has caused some distrust in potential users.
Ease of Setup
If you’re worried about creating webinars or using this type of software, the good news is that both Zoom and WebinarJam are rated highly for user-friendliness.
The main difference is that WebinarJam comes with a lot more features that you have to consider and figure out if you plan on putting them to use.
Creating webinars on these platforms is as simple as following the steps they’ve set out so even a beginner can do it. As Zoom has fewer functions, people usually find it easier to navigate, and this goes for your audience as well.
However, if your business needs more than just a live webinar and would like to utilize analytics and marketing tools, you’ll be happy to learn the ropes with WebinarJam and see what it’s capable of.
Webinar Registration
Your webinar’s registration page has a lot more impact than you realize and it’s important to be able to customize it for your brand.
Thankfully, Zoom and WebinarJam understand this and offer a whole host of things you can do to get the registration page exactly as you like it.
The only difference is that WebinarJam has a one-click registration button which is a little easier for people when they sign up.
However, the downside is that the branding you use on the registration page won’t follow through to every part of the webinar which causes some issues with continuity.
There are numerous customization tools offered by Zoom and WebinarJam, including adding branding to the page and tracking traffic to see who is visiting and from where.
There are also features available like approving attendees, adding questions to the registration page, and enabling email notifications whenever someone registers.
The Audience Experience
The best way to decide if a webinar platform is a good fit is by looking at what your audience will experience in the process as well.
When you compare audience engagement features, WebinarJam has slightly more, as they offer things like Q&As, live chat, polls, and call to action buttons.
Zoom also has chat and Q&A but they also offer emoji reactions, digital whiteboards, and live answer notifications.
The major difference between these two as far as the audience is concerned is that Zoom doesn’t offer automated webinars or pre-recorded ones, so everything you do must be live.
If you prefer to give viewers access to presentations to watch at their own pace or want to create evergreen content for your website, going with WebinarJam’s higher level plans will allow you to.
Audio and Video Quality
When people sign in to your webinar, you want the audio and video to be of exceptional quality so that they hear your message and it appears as professional as possible.
While both Zoom and WebinarJam earn points in this area, Zoom would be the winner for their exceptional streaming services.
WebinarJam uses YouTube Live for their streaming so it’s not always the highest definition due to the compression that happens when the webinar gets recorded. This doesn’t mean it’s not good quality though, but when you compare it to Zoom it does suffer a little.
For live streamed webinars, it performs slightly better, provided you have a reliable and fast internet connection.
Zoom’s video and audio quality will be as good as your internet connection allows it, and it doesn’t compress any of the video and audio.
Obviously, without the ability to prerecord webinars, we can’t get a full scope of what Zoom has to offer, but when live streaming is on the table, Zoom is the winner.
Analytics and Reporting
If you like to look behind the scenes and find out how your webinars performed and why WebinarJam has a lot more to offer when it comes to analytics and reporting.
WebinarJam lets you look at all aspects of analytics from a single dashboard, showing things like monetization, webinar traffic, registration and attendance, and notifications.
Zoom does offer some feedback but it’s fairly basic and can all be accessed from a single page. You’ll be able to see the polls and Q&A answers, check registrations, see who attended, and look at performance figures.
It’s created into a CSV report so it’s fairly basic and easy to understand, but you will need to download a new spreadsheet for every webinar you want to analyze.
Depending on what you’re hoping to get out of webinars and how frequently you use them, either of these approaches might be a better fit.
Zoom covers the basics but WebinarJam goes a lot deeper for people who want to focus on marketing and sales when producing these types of events.
Integrations With Apps and Software
The ability of a webinar platform to play with others is crucial for efficiency, and WebinarJam and Zoom both have a long list of integrations.
The difference is the types of apps and software that they work best with, with WebinarJam being ideal for marketing and sales and Zoom being the better fit for people who are focused on business communications.
WebinarJam’s list of integrations is slightly more impressive for marketing-heavy users, with names like MailChimp, Zapier, and YouTube Live.
Zoom can integrate with platforms like Outlook, Google Drive, Skype and Microsoft, so if you plan on using webinars with other avenues of your business, this seems like a smarter fit.
Pricing and Plans
Zoom is considered the cheaper option for webinar hosting, but this comes down to the fewer features and capabilities that the software offers.
The Zoom pricing for Webinars and Events comes in two options: $966 a year for a single license for video webinars or $1,246 for video for their Event Platform offering.
WebinarJam offers a starter plan for just $39 a month which allows for up to 100 attendees.
However, if you want the full scope of what this software offers, it’s $379 a month for their Enterprise plan and 5,000 attendees which is billed annually at $4,548, making it considerably more expensive.
WebinarJam offers users a 14-day trial for just $1 which should give you ample opportunity to explore the software.
Zoom has no free trial but they offer a free plan with comes with some basic functionality, including the ability to host up to 1,000 participants in a meeting room.
Although this doesn’t include webinars and events, it’s still nice to know you can use Zoom for free in some aspects.
Customer Support
Creating webinars can be tricky business so knowing you have a platform with good customer support is a must.
WebinarJam offers a live support chat as well as email help requests, or you can check out their community for answers. They offer a range of training videos that allow you to utilize their software to the fullest.
Zoom has a massive customer support section designed to help its users make the most of this software, and take the lead just slightly in this area.
They have 24/7 support via live chat and phone for customers with a plan so you can get help with anything you need.
Within their webinar portal, you’ll also find the Learning Center which includes live training and on-demand courses that you can utilize at any time.
The Final Say
The winner of the best webinar platform will depend on what you require from this type of software, with WebinarJam being the best pick for marketing and analytics but Zoom having one over on them for ease of use and functionality.
Assess what your business needs from a marketing platform before you decide which of these will serve you best.
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- Zoom Webinar vs Zoom Meeting
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Related Questions
Choosing the right platform to produce and host your webinars is the key to success, but with hundreds of options out there it can be hard to differentiate between them.
We’ve answered some FAQs about these popular webinar platforms that can help you make an informed choice.
Is Skype a Webinar Platform?
Skype has a webinar feature that allows users to broadcast events to selected attendees using their Skype for Business accounts.
There are included tools like marketing, post-webinar analytics, and audience engagement functions including Q&As and surveys that can be completed during the webinar.
Does WebinarJam Have Breakout Rooms?
WebinarJam does not offer breakout rooms for people to use during or after a webinar.
However, if you want to give attendees a chance to connect, you can separate attendees into smaller groups during the webinar to make it easier for them to communicate and share ideas.
Are Webinars Free on Zoom?
Webinars are not free to host on Zoom as users must have at least a Pro account paid subscription to be able to use them.
Attendees can view the webinar for free if you’ve chosen not to charge for the event, but they will also need a Zoom account to do so.
