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How to run a webinar for your business

To run a webinar you need a video platform that can host an audience, a way to collect registrations, and a list to invite people from and follow up with afterward. Many teams start with the video meeting tool they already pay for and check whether their plan supports webinar-style sessions and the audience size they expect. An email marketing tool then handles invitations, reminders and the follow-up that turns attendees into leads.

By Bill Belcamino · Page updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team

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How to run webinars and online events, step by step

Pick one topic and one goal for the webinar, such as booked demos or signups.
Check that your video platform plan supports webinars and your expected number of attendees.
Set up a registration page and send invitations and reminders to your list.
Do a full rehearsal with your speakers, slides, screen sharing and audio.
Run the session with one person hosting and a second person watching chat and questions.
Send the recording and a clear next step to everyone who registered, including no-shows.

The software this job takes

Which categories a job needs is Editorial assessment; the tools, prices and dates are Verified data.

Prices are each vendor’s published entry plan, recorded from its own pricing page and dated. The example column prices a team of 10: only per-user prices are multiplied; flat and per-account prices are shown as published. Change the team size in the finder.

You need this

Video Conferencing Software

Video conferencing runs meetings, webinars and recordings online.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Zoom	From $14.16/mo	Per user per month, billed annually	$141.60/mo$14.16 × 10 users (per user per month, billed annually)	Yes40 minutes for group meetings (unlimited 1:1)	Sep 5, 2026Vendor pricing
Google Meet	From $7/user/mo	Per user	$70/mo$7 × 10 users	Yes60 minutes	Aug 4, 2026Vendor pricing
Microsoft Teams	From $4/user/mo (Teams Essentials)	Per user	$40/mo$4 × 10 users	YesYes — 60-minute group meeting cap	Sep 12, 2026Vendor pricing
GoToMeeting	From $12/mo	Per organizer per month, billed annually	$120/mo$12 × 10 users (per organizer per month, billed annually)	NoN/A — no free plan, only a 14-day trial	Sep 5, 2026Vendor pricing
Webex	From $12/mo	Per user per month, billed annually	$120/mo$12 × 10 users (per user per month, billed annually)	Yes40 minutes	Aug 22, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Video Conferencing pricing →Head to head:Zoom vs GoToMeeting Zoom vs Microsoft Teams Zoom vs Webex Zoom vs Google Meet8 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

Often added

Email Marketing Software

Email marketing tools manage your list and send newsletters and campaigns.

Tool	Entry price (as published)	Billing unit	Example: team of 10	Free plan	Verified
Mailchimp	From $13/mo	Per account per month (up to 500 contacts)	$13/moFlat per account per month (up to 500 contacts); includes 3 logins, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	Yes250 contacts / 500 sends per month	Sep 18, 2026Vendor pricing
Klaviyo	From $20/mo	Per account per month, priced by active profiles	$20/moFlat per account per month, priced by active profiles	Yes250 active profiles / 500 emails + $5 of SMS/MMS credit per month	Aug 11, 2026Vendor pricing
Constant Contact	From $12/mo (500 contacts)	Per account per month, billed monthly (up to 500 contacts)	$12/moFlat per account per month, billed monthly (up to 500 contacts); includes 1 login, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	NoNo free plan — 30-day free trial (100 sends)	Sep 18, 2026Vendor pricing
ActiveCampaign	From $15/mo (1,000 contacts)	Per account per month, billed annually (1,000 contacts)	$15/moFlat per account per month, billed annually (1,000 contacts); includes 1 login, so more logins need a higher plan or extra users	NoNo free plan — trial available	Sep 14, 2026Vendor pricing

Compare all Email Marketing pricing →Head to head:Mailchimp vs Constant Contact Mailchimp vs Klaviyo4 switching guides Build a decision brief for these →

What to look for

Editorial assessment

Attendee limit Check the maximum audience on the plan you would actually buy. Hitting the cap on the day turns away the people you worked hardest to get.
Registration and reminders See whether the platform collects registrations itself or needs a separate form. Registrant details are what you follow up with afterward.
Host and panelist controls Look for the ability to mute attendees, promote guests to speakers and run Q and A or polls. These keep a large session orderly.
Recording and replay Check where recordings are saved and how easily you can share a replay. Some registrants will only watch the replay.
Connection to your email tool Check whether registrants and attendance flow into your email list automatically. Copying lists by hand after every webinar is where leads get lost.

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming meetings equal webinars A plan built for team meetings may not include a webinar mode or a large audience. Confirm this before you announce a date.
No rehearsal Audio, screen sharing and slide handoffs are the usual trouble spots. A full dry run with the real setup catches them.
Forgetting no-shows People who register but miss the session are still interested. Sending them the replay is part of the job, not an extra.
Buying for one event Paying for a bigger plan for a single webinar can cost more than it returns. Check whether you can upgrade for one month and scale back.

What to settle before you buy

How many attendees do you realistically expect at your largest session?
How often will you run webinars: once, monthly or weekly?
Who hosts, who presents and who moderates chat and questions?
Where do registrant details need to end up after the event?
Will you record every session and publish the replays?
Do you need attendees to join without installing anything?

Ready to take it to whoever signs off?Turn your shortlist into a one-page decision brief with verified prices, or price the whole job for your team size.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I run a webinar with the meeting tool I already use?

First check whether your current plan includes a webinar mode or add-on and what audience size it allows. If it does, set up registration, rehearse with the real setup, and assign a separate moderator. If it does not, compare the upgrade cost with the other tools in the table above.

What is webinar software?

Webinar software hosts an online presentation for an audience that mostly watches and asks questions, rather than a two-way meeting. It usually adds registration, speaker controls, Q and A, polls and recordings. We track 5 video conferencing tools: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, GoToMeeting and Webex.

How do I get people to attend my webinar?

Invite your existing email list, send a reminder shortly before the start, and make the topic specific enough that the right people recognize it is for them. After the session, send the replay to everyone who registered.

What do I need to do a webinar?

You need a video platform that supports an audience, a registration page, a list to invite from, a reliable microphone and connection, and someone to watch the chat. The table above shows each tool's verified entry price and billing unit.

How we built this page

We start from the job, not the product. The phrasings people search for this job (for example “how to run a webinar”) come from our research into how small and mid-size teams describe it. Which software categories the job takes is our editorial judgment. Every tool, entry price, billing unit and date comes from HelpCompare’s open dataset, recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page; nothing is estimated, and where a vendor publishes no price we say so. We take no affiliate commissions and publish no scores of our own. See our methodology or download the data from Open Data.

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How to run a webinar for your business

How to run webinars and online events, step by step

The software this job takes

Video Conferencing Software

Email Marketing Software

What to look for

Common mistakes to avoid

What to settle before you buy

Frequently asked questions

How do I run a webinar with the meeting tool I already use?

What is webinar software?

How do I get people to attend my webinar?

What do I need to do a webinar?

How we built this page

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Bill Belcamino