The 10 Best Virtual Event Platforms for 2020 According To Hundreds Of Event Planners

The Best Virtual Event Platforms for 2020

There are so many ways you can digitize your event. What’s the best approach? ​
Instead of bombarding attendees with yet another Zoom meeting, professional meeting planners have to go digital—the right way. Event planners need dynamic platforms with ample horsepower to engage attendees in a way that mirrors the stimulating impact of live conferences. 
Ditch the platforms that aren’t working and think outside your Zoom account. Consider your meeting goals, connectivity requirements, and content needs to find the perfect platform for your next virtual conference. 

The 10 Best Virtual Event Platforms

Which virtual platforms are worth their salt? The members of Conveners, an organization for conference excellence, weighed in with their thoughts. Ten platforms stand out as superior virtual conference solutions—see which one works best for your event. ​
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1. Microsoft Teams

MS Teams looks a lot like Zoom, but it offers more flexibility. This is ideal if you’re working with a speaker who needs to collaborate with attendees, like a workshop, or to conduct group Q&As after the main event. 
If you’re already using Microsoft Office 365, MS Teams is free. But if you’re not using Microsoft Office 365, MS Teams might be too pricey and unwieldy to make sense for your event. 

2. WebEx

Cisco’s WebEx software is another popular option. You won’t get as much versatility with WebEx, but it’s a great choice for:

• Keynote speakers
• Panel discussions
• Large group Q&As

If you’re already a Cisco organization, it makes sense to stick with WebEx as part of that suite. Keep in mind that attendees have had trouble using the WebEx app on their mobile phones, so keep an eye out for bandwidth problems. ​

3. Hopin

Hopin is an up and coming event platform with plenty of useful features. Meeting planners use Hopin for:

• Structured networking
• Keynote presentations
• Panel discussions
• Q&As
• Breakout group collaboration

I love Hopin; it allows heightened participant agency and collaboration that more closely mimics the real-world events we miss so much. For example, attendees can control their own access, navigating the virtual event as if they’re physically at a conference. Attendees can raise their hand to ask questions, attend networking events with other attendees, and even participate in chat roulette. 
Hopin is perfect if you have a speaker with a scripted keynote. It’s also flexible enough to work with a production company if your keynote speaker needs help setting up a virtual production. Since it has capacity for 100,000 people (and, in the future, 1 million), Hopin has one of the best live webinar programs on the market today. 

4. Pathable

Meeting planners love using Pathable for its customization. It includes helpful features like:

• Branded event apps
• Mobile conference apps
• Online agenda
• Private meeting scheduling
• Gamification
• Exhibitor listings
• Virtual tradeshow floor map
• Lead retrieval
• Networking
  

​If you’re hosting a digital tradeshow, Pathable gives attendees enough agency that your event will more closely resemble a real-world conference. It’s perfect for large keynote speakers as well as small breakout sessions.

5. MaestroConference

MaestroConference has capacity for up to 10,000 attendees and a long history of high-profile use. Presidential campaigns use MaestroConference for volunteer communications during the busy election season. 
What’s great about MaestroConference is the ability to add breakout groups, small group discussions, and explorations within your event. If you have speakers doing panel discussions or workshops, MaestroConference gives you enough flexibility to boost audience interaction. 
Plus, if your attendees are sick of downloading another app, MaestroConference is a great choice because it doesn’t require any downloads. 

6. Airmeet

Airmeet is a growing platform that’s gained more popularity during the pandemic. Event planners commonly use it to organize remote meetups of small teams. If your speaker is delivering a hands-on workshop, mastermind, or intensive, Airmeet could be a good virtual event platform for you. 
Need to foster digital networking? Airmeet is designed for small groups, so it’s perfect for both structured networking as well as small business webinars. It also gives your users more freedom, giving them the ability to choose which parts of the event they attend. 
Event planners love Airmeet’s free-flow video encounters and other great features, like:

• Audience reactions and claps
  
• Virtual tables
  
• Networking lounges
  

Plus, you don’t need an event organizer or subscription. Simply go to the Airmeet platform, organize an event with its simple process, and meet with up to 1 million attendees.
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7. Slido

Prestigious conferences like SXSW, Web Summit, and Money 20/20 rely on Slido to go virtual. It’s a smart, intuitive platform that allows you to split into large groups for breakouts or collaboration. If your speaker wants to give hands-on learning or design collaborative experiences at scale, Slido is a good option for your event. 
Slido excels at Q&A, polls, and other features for audience interaction. If you need to create an open dialogue that mimics an in-person meeting, participants love the convenience and engagement of Slido. 

8. Miro

While Slido accommodates masses of people, Miro is better suited for small groups that need collaborative tools. If your speaker wants to foster an ongoing dialogue with a small group of attendees, give Miro a shot. ​
Miro is a cloud-based tool that helps SMBs host engaging webinars. It includes helpful features like:

• A digital whiteboard
• An integrated library of icons
• Wireframes
• Google Drive integration

You can even create storyboards for the webinar with Miro’s pre-loaded templates.

Miro's Storyboard

​9. ​Braindate

Let’s face it: few people enjoy networking. But most conference attendees say networking is the reason they go to conferences. However, virtual networking can feel like nailing Jell-O to a tree: it’s an impossible task if you don’t have the right tools. 
Created by e180, Braindate is a structured but fun platform that’s perfect for virtual networking. This app facilitates idea-sharing in a structured way that works like a virtual speed-date.
Attendees can request a Braindate on a certain topic, which the app will then match with attendees offering help. If you need to facilitate connections and give more value to virtual conferences, Braindate is a great platform.

10. Pigeonhole

If your speaker wants to go live and poll the audience during their presentation, opt for Pigeonhole. This virtual event platform is perfect for larger groups that need to split into breakouts or collaborative sessions. 
Pigeonhole includes features like:

• Live Q&As
  
• Multiple-choice or open-ended polls
  
• Word cloud polls
  
• Quiz leaderboards
  

Pigeonhole also allows for complete white labeling, where you can remove Pigeonhole’s branding and insert your own. If branding is critical to your event’s success, this is a good option. You can choose from Pigeonhole’s available pre-built formats depending on your meeting’s needs, too. 

Final Thoughts on Virtual Event Platforms

The pandemic changed how we think about events. 
No single platform can tick all of the boxes. Merging a number of these platforms together can help create an engaging virtual event experience for your attendees.
Not all professional speakers transition well to a virtual platform. We know the speakers that do. That's why we exist—to make your event as valuable and painless as possible.

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The Keynote Shop

​Our mission is to be your meeting partner so that booking speaking talent through our firm is more than a transaction.  We strive to serve as your concierge to help facilitate the best experience possible for your participants.  To that end, as we work through these challenges together, you can count on us for information sharing, ongoing research into topics of significant importance to the meetings industry, and recommendations for speaking talent that we can wholeheartedly endorse as virtually fluent.