WebinarJam vs Zoom: Which Is Right for You? (2024)

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, more and more of us have relied on webinar software as a communication, sales, and marketing tool.

The statistics support this. WebinarJam has more than 50,000 customers, and Zoom reported 300M+ daily meeting participants, in April alone.

Whether you’re using webinars for training purposes, meeting clients, communicating with employees and colleagues, or for lead generation, the right platform goes a long way to guarantee your success.

In fact, a recent ON24 survey found that:

• 95% of respondents say webinars are critical to their sales, marketing, and lead generation strategies
• 89% agree that webinars are the best platform for business growth and showcasing
• 76% generate more leads using webinars than any other marketing method
• 69% managed to increase their market share using webinars

So, with these stats in mind, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of this WebinarJam vs Zoom review!

Quick overview:

What is WebinarJam?

WebinarJam is cloud-based technology run by a company called Genesis Digital that’s been in business for 4+ years. WebinarJam allows you to host up to 5,000 participants with a maximum of six presenters per webinar.

Your audience will enjoy high definition (HD) images, 30 FPS (frames per second), and high-quality video and audio broadcasting.

With WebinarJam, participants can access your webinars via mobile, tablet, laptop, and desktop. And, as the host, you can use either a private or open live chat feed to communicate with your viewers. You can even record your broadcast to rerun it at a later date. Plus, scheduling tools are available to help you organize the running of your webinars.

In short, WebinarJam has lots to offer.

What is Zoom?

Founded in 2011, Zoom describes itself as an “innovative video-first unified communications platform.”

Users can host video meetings, webinars, and voice calls, via mobile devices, desktops, and conference room systems. Zoom’s primarily a general-purpose video conferencing platform aimed at businesses – but they also offer a live webinar broadcasting functionality. Plus, Zoom integrates with Facebook Live and YouTube, making webinar distribution to these platforms a breeze.

Like WebinarJam, Zoom also allows for real-time private and group messaging. And similarly, you can record and transcript webinars and integrate with calendar scheduling tools like iCal, Gmail, and Outlook.

So now you know who Zoom and WebinarJam are, let’s see how they compare…

1. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Ease of Setup

WebinarJam

When you go to set up a new webinar in WebinarJam, there are two options:

1. “Express Configuration”
2. “Full Configuration”

As its name suggests, the Express choice is perfect for setting up something quick – you can have a webinar ready to go within minutes.

Whereas, the Full Configuration choice takes up to 10 minutes and is more customizable, offering users its full range of options. There are nine steps to go through, each containing multiple panels, and every panel expands to provide even more choice.

This can seem confusing and overwhelming for first-time users.

Zoom

Setting up a webinar via Zoom is slightly different. You’re faced with one page where you input all your details, including the webinar’s topic and purpose, start time, how long it’ll run, and in which timezone.

You choose whether you want to use video and/or audio, tick whether you want a Q&A, run a practice session first, and/or record your webinar.

Overall, Zoom offers an easy-to-follow webinar set up.

2. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Webinar Registration

WebinarJam

You have a few options when it comes to setting up registration. If you want to capture your audience’s data by getting them to sign up to attend, WebinarJam offers one-click registration. This enables you to send a “click to register” email to your mailing list – this does what it says on the tin, anyone that clicks that link is automatically registered to your webinar. 

WebinarJam also provides users with several templates that allow you to design your registration and thank you pages. 

Zoom

Registering to attend a webinar on Zoom is pretty straightforward. Participants just have to provide their name, email address and prove they’re not a robot – which is excellent for building your email list. And, as the webinar host, you can either approve attendee participation automatically or manually.

3. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Attending the Webinar

WebinarJam

Attending a WebinarJam-created event is done within an internet browser. You just click the meeting’s URL to access the webinar.

As the webinar host, you have a dashboard where you can see what your audience is viewing. On your right-hand side, there’s the main control panel where you can view your live chat feed. It’s also where you can manage the slides and handouts you’ll use during the webinar.

Zoom

Before attending a Zoom webinar, you have to download Zoom’s software onto your device. So, allow extra time to download the software ahead of the webinar, in case of any glitches. This may seem cumbersome if you just want to participate in a webinar or two and/or don’t want to waste valuable storage on your device.

Once you’ve downloaded Zoom, set up an account with your email address and password. You can access any scheduled webinars you’ve been invited to via the link you’ve been sent.

As the webinar host, you determine whether participants can join the webinar before you’ve logged in.

4. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Webinar Audio/Video Quality

The quality of your audio and video can’t be underestimated. You won’t generate leads or sales if attendees can’t hear or see you very well!

WebinarJam

WebinarJam’s video streaming is built on YouTube Live’s platform. So, you won’t necessarily get the highest AV signal rate because the stream is being compressed while the webinar’s recorded.

Zoom

Provided you have a good internet connection, the video and audio quality on Zoom is perfect for live webinars and conference calls. There’s no audio compression because you’re not uploading the session as you record.

5. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Analytics

WebinarJam

WebinarJam’s analytics are pretty sophisticated, generating data reports across five categories:

1. Traffic
2. Inside Your Webinar
3. Monetization
4. Notifications
5. Registrants
6. Attendees

All analytics are conveniently accessible via a single dashboard.

Zoom

Where Zoom’s reporting is concerned, again, you’re faced with an easy-to-use, one-page option. You simply choose the type of report you want: registration, attendee, performance, Q&A, and/or poll report. Select which webinar(s) across the period you want to analyze, then click, “Generate CSV Report.”

6. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Features & Functionality

Both WebinarJam and Zoom offer a fair amount of features, so we’ve put together this table to see how they compare.

WebinarJam vs Zoom: Features

Edit

	WebinarJam	Zoom
Customizable branding	✕	✕
Live Chat	✓	✓
Multiple Hosts	✓	✓
Alerts/Notifications	✓	X
Event Management	✓	X
Q&A	✓	✓
Polls/Voting	✓	✓
On-Demand Webinars	✓	X
Screen Sharing	✓	✓
Reporting/Analytics	✓	✓ (Limited)
Social Media Promotion	✓	X

7. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Integrations

WebinarJam

WebinarJam integrates with an extensive list of third-party tools – including marketing solutions, shopping carts, CRMs, and many more. Popular integrations include MailChimp, ConvertKit, iContact, ActiveCampaign, Zapier, Twilio, and, of course, YouTube Live.

Zoom

Zoom also integrates with other platforms through Zapier, including Outlook, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Skype, and Microsoft (One Drive).

8. WebinarJam vs Zoom: Pricing

WebinarJam Pricing

How much does WebinarJam cost?

WebinarJam has three paid-for plans, each of which comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee:

1. Basic: $499/year
2. Professional: $699/year
3. Enterprise: $999/year

The Basic plan provides:

• Unlimited webinars
• Presenter limit: 2
• Maximum of 500 attendees
• Webinar duration capped at 2 hours

With the Professional plan, you get everything included in the Basic package, plus:

• Maximum of four presenters
• Maximum of 2,000 attendees
• Extended webinar duration to 4 hours per webinar
• An “Always-On” live room assigned to your company with your own branded URL that’s available 24/7.
• A Panic Button: So you can reboot in 10-15 seconds if there’s a live technical issue

The Enterprise plan gives you everything in the Professional plan plus:

• Maximum of 6 presenters
• Maximum of 5,000 attendees
• The Control Center: Staff can manage and moderate the event while you’re presenting.

At the time of writing, WebinarJam was offering a 14-day trial for just $1.

Zoom Webinar Pricing

Zoom has four price plans:

1. Basic: This is free
2. Pro: $14.99/mo per host (up to 9 licenses)
3. Business: $19.99/mo per host (starting at 10 licenses for $199.90/month)
4. Enterprise: $19.99/mo per host (starting at 50 licenses for $999.50/month)

Basic gives you:

• Unlimited 1-to-1 meetings
• Unlimited meetings
• You can host 100 participants
• A maximum of 40-minutes per meeting
• Video Conferencing
• Web Conferencing

Pro includes everything in the Basic plan, plus:

• No time cap on the duration of your meetings
• Group messaging
• Desktop & application sharing
• Local & cloud recording capability
• Custom personal meeting ID
• Admin controls

The Business plan comes with everything in the previous two packages, 10 or more host accounts, and:

• You can host 300 participants
• On-premise options
• Branding
• Single sign-on
• Dashboard & user management

Enterprise comes with all the above features, 100+ hosts, and:

• You can host between 500-1,000 participants
• Enhanced admin features
• Extended support and customization options
• Additional integration options
• Optional professional services

9. Who Should Use These Platforms?

WebinarJam

WebinarJam doesn’t hide the fact it’s more than just a communication tool. Its own homepage says, “Increase Your Sales and Engage More Customers.” Throughout its website, it says you’ll “increase your customers” by talking to thousands of people using WebinarJam.

Their claims aside, it’s clear WebinarJam’s more geared up than Zoom not only for webinars but also for marketing in general. Its integrations and analytics capabilities alone make it stand out as a great marketing tool.

Zoom

Essentially, Zoom’s great for hosting online meetings, but it’s not tailored for purposes broader than that. Its home page emphasizes connection, not sales, saying: “In this together. Keeping your securely connected wherever you are” and that its “committed to safety, security, and privacy for all Zoom customers.”

What You Should Consider When Choosing a Webinar Software

Each individual and every company has slightly different needs and requirements when it comes to webinar software. Here we’ve outlined 9, in our opinion, the most important factors that you should consider when picking your webinar platform.

1. Pricing

For most people, pricing is one of the most important factors when it comes to choosing software, and webinar platforms are no different. There’s a delicate balance between saving money for your company and sacrificing quality—fortunately, there plenty of reasonably priced webinar tools with a wide array of features out there.

While small businesses have an abundance of options when it comes to picking the best-suited webinar platform, larger companies might have to be willing to spend a bit more if they want to invite more people to their webinars.

2. Number Of Attendees You Anticipate

As you scale your business, likely more people will join your webinars. Your webinar tool should be able to scale with you. When choosing the right platform, make sure that the capacity won’t limit you anytime soon. That being said, don’t overspend on the most premium plan from the very beginning when your business needs don’t justify it. Most webinar platforms offer tiers, so it’s always possible to start with the most cost-effective option and upgrade as you grow.

3. Number Of Panelists/Presenters

How many presenters do you anticipate? Many webinar tools limit the number of hosts to no more than 1-2 at the time. While you don’t want to overcrowd your webinar with too many panelists, it’s good to have an option to add guest presenters when you wish to do so. Make sure to consider your typical usage and pick a webinar tool that best suits your business’ needs.

4. Video/Audio Quality

When it comes to video and audio quality, webinars are very similar to video or audio communicators. The audiovisual quality defines the experience your attendees will have over the duration of the webinar and will leave a long-lasting impression of your brand. Pick the webinar tool that offers maintains both the audio and visual quality at high levels. When you test the quality, make sure you use high-speed internet. Otherwise, your internet speed might become a bottleneck.

5. Video Recording And Storage

Recording your webinars comes handy if you want to capitalize on your past webinars by editing and selling them as a course or using them as a content upgrade. During your selection process, make sure that your webinar tool allows you to record and save sessions either locally or in the cloud. This feature will enable you to cut down on the number of live webinars you need to host

6. Customer Service

When it comes to webinars, top-notch customer service is crucial. No matter the provider, at some point, you will find yourself in a sticky tech situation where excellent customer service will save your day. You should always try to pick a webinar software that has onboarding help or even dedicated account managers that will help you as long as you stay with them as a customer.

7. Attendee Participation

Have you looked at attendee participation features? A good webinar platform should offer at least a few ways in which attendees can engage with organizers. The most popular features include audience chats, polls, and promoting an audience member to ask their questions via video as a presenter. Don’t underestimate those functionalities as a highly engaged audience is more likely to convert as a future customer.

8. Reporting

More and more businesses notice the opportunity to leverage webinars as a lead generation opportunity. Webinars became much more than just a presentation; they are a business opportunity. That’s where reporting comes in. Make sure that your webinar tool is equipped with a robust reporting section where you analyze the behavior of your attendees and much more.

9. Security

Last but not least, you should ensure that your webinar tool provides a certain level of data security. As webinars become more popular, data breaches are becoming a new normal. You will often find yourself collecting sensitive data from your attendees who will trust you to handle their data. Don’t let that trust go away because your webinar company didn’t put certain security features in place.

WebinarJam / Zoom Alternatives

As you might expect, there are way more webinar providers than Zoom and WebinarJam that we’ve focused on in this article. If you want to consider additional options, check out:

• Demio
• Webinar Ninja
• EverWebinar
• ClickMeeting
• GoToWebinar

WebinarJam vs Zoom: FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

WebinarJam vs Zoom: In Summary

So there you have it, our take on WebinarJam vs Zoom. We think Zoom is a solid online meeting platform, while WebinarJam is a powerful marketing tool.

For enterprises and solopreneurs alike, WebinarJam’s got the power to host large scale events and boasts better marketing capabilities. For instance, its pre-configured video injections allow to include client testimonials, data analytics enable to track attendee engagement and follow up tools make selling easier after the webinar ended.

Why not give WebinarJam a try and let us know how you get on scaling your business? Good luck!

Still not sure whether WebinarJam is the right choice for you? Read our in-depth WebinarJam review to learn more.