Best Webinar Software 2025: Zoom vs WebinarJam vs Riverside
You need a webinar platform that won’t buckle on launch day, can automate follow-ups, and doesn’t force you into enterprise pricing before you prove ROI. This guide cuts through the noise with plain-English comparisons and real numbers so you can pick confidently—and launch this week.
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Best Webinar Software 2025: Zoom Webinars vs WebinarJam vs Riverside (Free Tiers, Automation, and What Actually Works)
- Zoom Webinars (including the premium Webinars Plus, formerly Zoom Sessions): A familiar, enterprise-grade engine with on-demand and simulive (pre-recorded “as-live”) options, predictable pricing, and strong attendee UX. Starts at $79/month for 500 attendees; Webinars Plus from $99/month with TV-style production via Production Studio.
- WebinarJam: A marketer-friendly live webinar platform with high attendee caps (up to 5,000), built-in promo pages and email/SMS reminders. No permanent free plan; typical $1 trial for 14–30 days; paid plans commonly listed from $39–$79+/mo (annual billing), scaling to $229–$379/mo on higher tiers. Evergreen automation needs EverWebinar (separate product).
- Riverside (Webinar plan): Studio-quality recording/streaming with multistreaming, lead capture, automated reminders, pre-record & stream as live, and a legit free tier for recording (webinar features start paid). Webinar+ Live Studio is $99/mo or $79/mo billed annually (up to 100 registrants; Business plan goes to 10,000).
Why this matters: You’re choosing between a rock-solid corporate standard (Zoom), a conversion-focused marketer’s tool (WebinarJam + optional EverWebinar), and a modern content studio that now does full webinars (Riverside). Your pick should fit your audience size, funnel strategy, and how much you lean on automation.
1) What to buy and why (with real-world scenarios)
If you want the most recognisable attendee experience
Pick Zoom Webinars. Internal comms, B2B demos, investor updates—people know Zoom, which lowers join friction. Pricing is transparent and predictable (subscription or pay-per-attendee), and on-demand + simulive lets you stretch a single event into a campaign.
Mini case note (Canada, B2B SaaS): A Toronto-based SaaS runs a monthly demo. They go live once, then publish on demand with registration kept open all month, adding 35% extra pipeline touches without staffing more live sessions. Zoom’s on-demand feature automatically records to the cloud and continues to collect registrants after the event.
If you sell with launches and evergreen funnels
Pick WebinarJam for the live event day energy and add EverWebinar to “evergreen” it afterwards. You’ll get split-tested registration pages, email/SMS reminders, replays, and the scale to handle big promos (thousands live). The trade-off: automation lives mostly in the separate EverWebinar product.
Mini case note (UK creator-educator): A London-based course maker hosts a high-energy live event with WebinarJam, spikes sales in 72 hours, then moves the asset into EverWebinar with multiple daily sessions. Result: steady enrollments between launches with minimal hands-on time.
If you want polished production and content repurposing
Pick Riverside. You get studio-quality recording (4K), multistreaming, a lead capture form, automated reminders and follow-ups, and analytics. You can pre-record & stream like it’s live to control quality and still engage with chat/Q&A. There’s a free plan for recording to test your setup, but webinars start on the paid Webinar tier.
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Mini case note (US marketing agency): A New York agency pre-records a webinar in Riverside, refines the edit, then runs it “as-live” with Q&A and a moderator. The pristine recording produces dozens of short clips for paid social—without the rough edges of a one-take live demo.
2) Step-by-step: how these compare in setup, automation, and re-use
A. Launch day setup
Zoom Webinars
- Pick capacity (e.g., 500).
- Enable Registration and On-demand if you’ll need post-event access.
- If your talk is pre-recorded, schedule a Simulive session (plays your upload “as-live”).
WebinarJam (+ EverWebinar for evergreen)
- Build a registration page (AB test two variants).
- Set email/SMS reminders and post-webinar follow-ups.
- Go live via WebinarJam; then import to EverWebinar for automated replays on a recurring schedule.
Riverside (Webinar plan)
- Record in 4K (or go live) in the Riverside studio.
- Pre-record & stream like it’s live with unlimited scheduled sessions.
- Turn on lead capture, automated email reminders & follow-ups, and optional HubSpot sync.
B. Automation depth (what’s native vs add-on)
- Zoom: Native On-demand and Simulive cover most automation for education and demand gen; good analytics and registration workflows; Webinars Plus adds a cloud Production Studio for polished layouts and backstage.
- WebinarJam: Native live tools + replays. For true “evergreen” (multiple daily showings, fake-live chat, etc.), you’ll rely on EverWebinar (separate subscription).
- Riverside: Native pre-record & stream as live, automated reminders/follow-ups, registration, Q&A, analytics, and HubSpot lead sync. Evergreen-style scheduling is practical even without a separate product.
C. Re-use and content ops
- Zoom: One-click recording to cloud, on-demand viewing via registration links. Great for libraries and post-event nurture.
- WebinarJam/EverWebinar: Designed for sales replays and always-on funnels.
- Riverside: Purpose-built for repurposing—Magic Clips, AI show notes, and clean 4K masters for shorts and reels.
3) Pricing, caps, and constraints (side-by-side)
| Platform | Entry pricing (Sept 2025) | Free tier | Trial | Built-in Automation | Capacity (entry → upper) | Best for | Limits to note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom Webinars | $79/mo (500) • Webinars Plus from $99/mo | No (Zoom Meetings has free; webinars are paid) | N/A | On-demand, Simulive; pay-per-attendee option; Production Studio in Webinars Plus | 500 → 10,000+ tiers | Enterprise/B2B, public companies, education | Branding flexibility is improving but not as funnel-centric as marketer tools. |
| WebinarJam | Commonly listed tiers from $39–$79+/mo (annual billing); higher tiers $229–$379/mo | No | $1 for 14–30 days | Live + replays; truly evergreen via EverWebinar (separate) | Up to 5,000 attendees | Launches, direct-response, large promos | Automation beyond replays usually means buying EverWebinar too. |
| Riverside (Webinar) | $99/mo or $79/mo billed annually (up to 100 registrants); Business to 10,000 | Yes (recording-only free plan; webinars require paid) | 14-day free trial | Pre-record & stream as live, automated reminders & follow-ups, lead forms, HubSpot | 100 → 10,000 (Business) | High-quality production, content repurposing | Entry webinar tier caps registrants at 100; scale requires Business. ( |
Notes on availability & payments (US/UK/Canada/Nigeria): All three sell in USD; Zoom supports a wide range of regional taxes/currencies and enterprise invoicing, while WebinarJam/EverWebinar and Riverside typically bill in USD (credit/debit). Nigerian businesses can use USD cards; FX fees may apply. Genesis Digital (WebinarJam/EverWebinar) states fees are in USD and can change dynamically.
4) Pitfalls, edge cases, and answers to questions you’ll actually ask
“I need a free plan”
- Truly free webinar hosting isn’t on the table for Zoom or WebinarJam.
- Riverside has a free recording plan (720p with watermark; 2 hours multitrack) to rehearse or produce content, but webinars unlock on paid plans. Riverside
“Can I run a webinar without presenting live?”
- Zoom: Yes—upload a video and use Simulive; or run live and publish On-demand immediately after with registration. Zoom+1
- Riverside: Yes—Pre-record & stream like it’s live on the Webinar plan. Riverside
- WebinarJam: Live-first. For evergreen “set-and-forget,” get EverWebinar. ewebinar.com
“What’s the real attendee cap I should plan for?”
- Zoom tiers start at 500 and scale to high thousands depending on plan. Webinars Plus boosts production features, not capacity itself. meetgeek.ai
- WebinarJam markets up to 5,000 live attendees. home.webinarjam.com
- Riverside: 100 registrants on Webinar tier; 10,000 on Business. Riverside
“Do they send my reminder emails for me?”
- Zoom: Yes, standard webinar emails and post-event flows.
- WebinarJam: Yes—email/SMS built-in.
- Riverside: Yes—automated email reminders & follow-ups built-in. Riverside
“What changed in 2025 for Zoom?”
- Zoom Sessions rebranded to Zoom Webinars Plus (Aug 2025) and added a cloud Production Studio, bringing broadcast-style layouts and backstage to premium webinar workflows. Zoom
5) Advanced tips, metrics that matter, and helpful add-ons
Automation patterns that work in 2025
- Live → Simulive → On-demand (Zoom): Run your flagship session once, then simulive the same asset for additional regions, and leave an on-demand gate open for ongoing capture. Keep the registration URL stable.
- Live launch → Evergreen (WebinarJam + EverWebinar): Launch with urgency, then migrate to EverWebinar for recurring sessions (e.g., every hour during business hours), with just-in-time scheduling and replay CTAs.
- Pre-recorded “as-live” (Riverside): Record once at studio quality, schedule multiple “as-live” runs with automated reminders, and harvest clips for paid social and nurture.
Metrics to instrument (and target benchmarks)
- Registration → Attendance rate (aim 35–45% for warm lists).
- Live watch time (median minutes; aim >20 for 45–60-min sessions).
- CTA click-through (2–8% during pitch slides; track unique URLs per channel).
- Q&A participation (questions per 100 attendees; target 8–15).
- Pipeline created / revenue (post-event within 30 days).
Helpful tooling & integrations
- CRM sync (HubSpot native in Riverside; Zoom + WebinarJam via native or Zapier) for lifecycle tracking. Riverside
- Captioning/transcripts (Zoom cloud recordings; Riverside AI transcripts) for accessibility and repurposing. Riverside
Hands-on: quick comparison flows you can replicate today
Zoom: Set up an on-demand webinar in minutes
- Schedule your webinar → tick Registration required.
- Enable Make the webinar on-demand; Zoom will auto-record to cloud.
- Share the on-demand registration link post-event; registrants get immediate access. Zoom Support
WebinarJam: Ship a high-impact live event, then evergreen it
- Pick a registration template; AB test two variants.
- Configure email/SMS reminders and post-event sequences.
- Go live; after the event, import into EverWebinar and schedule automated sessions.
Riverside: Pre-record and stream it “as-live,” with built-in follow-ups
- Record in the Riverside studio (4K, multitrack).
- On the Webinar plan, select Pre-record & stream like it’s live; add lead capture.
- Turn on automated email reminders & follow-ups; connect HubSpot for CRM syncing.
The call: which one should you choose? Zoom Vs Webinars Plus vs Riverside
Choose Zoom Webinars if you need scale, predictable delivery, and a UI everyone already knows. You’ll get simulive and on-demand without adding extra tools, and Webinars Plus adds TV-style production. Downsides: less “funnel-native” than marketer-centric platforms.
Choose WebinarJam (+ EverWebinar) if you’re a marketer optimizing conversions, launches, and evergreen sales. Expect strong registration tooling and replays; budget for EverWebinar if continuous automation is core to your strategy.
Choose Riverside if production quality and repurposing are your edge. It’s the most modern “record once, run many” workflow with automated reminders and solid analytics—and it’s the only one here with a free recording tier to test studio quality before you pay.
For African audiences (e.g., Nigeria): All three work globally over the web. Payment is typically in USD; plan for FX fees on international cards. Genesis Digital explicitly bills in USD and uses dynamic pricing.
Conclusion
You can’t optimize what you can’t ship. If you want the safest path to a reliable, professional webinar with built-in evergreen options, Zoom Webinars is the balanced pick. If your business lives on launches and evergreen funnels, WebinarJam + EverWebinar will feel like home. If your brand voice is cinematic content and you want one recording to power everything from the live “event” to social clips, Riverside is your best friend.
CTA: Pick the platform that matches your funnel style, set a date this week, and run a 45-minute session with a single, clear offer. Then automate the follow-ups and keep the registration link live for 30 days.
Comparison Table (at a glance)
| Feature | Zoom Webinars | WebinarJam | Riverside (Webinar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $79/mo (500) • Webinars Plus from $99/mo | $39–$79+/mo (annual billing) → $229–$379/mo on higher tiers | $99/mo or $79/mo billed annually (100 registrants) |
| Free tier | No (webinars) | No | Yes (recording only; webinars paid) |
| Automation | On-demand, Simulive | Replays; evergreen via EverWebinar (separate) | Pre-record & stream as live; automated email reminders/follow-ups |
| Max scale (common tiers) | 500 → 10,000+ | Up to 5,000 | 100 → 10,000 (Business) |
| Standouts | Familiar UX, pay-per-attendee, Production Studio | Marketing features, high caps, launch-friendly | Studio quality, lead capture, repurpose-ready |
| Ideal for | B2B, education, public webinars | Course launches, direct-response funnels | Agencies, creators, product teams |
FAQ (5)
Q1: Is there a free webinar plan on any of these?
A: Not for full webinars. Riverside offers a free recording tier; webinars start paid tier. Zoom and WebinarJam are paid for webinars; WebinarJam often has a $1 trial. Riverside
Q2: Can I run a webinar without being live?
A: Yes. Zoom offers Simulive; Riverside lets you pre-record & stream as live; WebinarJam requires EverWebinar for evergreen. Zoom, Riverside+2
Q3: Which scales to the biggest audience?
A: Zoom and WebinarJam both scale to thousands; WebinarJam markets up to 5,000 live attendees; Zoom tiers commonly go 500 → 10,000+. Riverside’s Business plan supports 10,000 registrants.
Q4: What changed with Zoom in 2025?
A: Zoom Sessions rebranded to Zoom Webinars Plus (Aug 2025) with a cloud Production Studio for broadcast-quality layouts. Zoom
Q5: Do any offer pay-per-attendee pricing?
A: Zoom lists a pay-per-attendee option alongside subscriptions, useful for infrequent events.
Key Takeaways
Start live once, then automate: live → simulive/evergreen → on-demand nurture.
Zoom is the safest all-rounder with native simulive and on-demand; starts at $79/mo.
WebinarJam is built for launches; true evergreen needs EverWebinar (separate). ewebinar.com
Riverside brings studio-grade production with pre-record & stream as live, lead capture, and a free recording tier. Riverside
For Nigeria and other African markets, expect USD billing and possible FX fees.
Zoom Webinars is the balanced pick for most teams—stable, familiar, and equipped with simulive/on-demand. WebinarJam shines for launch-driven marketers but needs EverWebinar for full evergreen automation. Riverside wins on studio-quality production and “pre-record as live,” plus a free recording tier to test quality. Choose based on funnel style: enterprise comms (Zoom), launch + evergreen (WebinarJam/EverWebinar), or content-first webinars (Riverside). Next step: schedule a 45-minute session this week.
