Quick Answer: The best Zoom webinar alternative in 2026 is Convay. Convay’s Big Meeting and Webinar add-ons support up to 10,000 participants at less than 20% of what Zoom Webinar charges for equivalent capacity. Zoom Webinar starts at $149 per month for just 500 attendees. Convay delivers 20x the audience scale at a fraction of the cost — with AI-powered meeting minutes included.
The Zoom Webinar Pricing Problem
Zoom Webinar is not included in Zoom Pro. It is a separate paid add-on that starts at $149 per month for 500 attendees. To host 1,000 attendees, you pay $350 per month on top of your existing Zoom subscription. At 10,000 attendees, Zoom’s pricing reaches $900 per month or more — before you add AI transcription, which is yet another paid feature.
For most organizations, Zoom Webinar pricing scales faster than the audience size justifies. A marketing team running quarterly product launch webinars should not pay enterprise broadcast pricing for an event that happens four times a year.
In 2026, Convay changes this equation entirely. The Convay Webinar and Big Meeting add-ons extend standard Business plan sessions to 10,000 participants at less than 20% of what Zoom charges for equivalent capacity — with AI meeting minutes already included in the base Business plan.
Convay’s Webinar and Big Meeting Add-Ons Explained
Convay’s pricing structure separates everyday meeting capability from large-event capability through a modular add-on system. You pay for the scale you actually use, rather than maintaining a maximum-capacity subscription year-round.
Convay Business base plan ($16.99/user/month billed yearly): Up to 350 participants, sessions up to 38 hours, AI-powered meeting minutes, unlimited transcripts, 15 GB cloud storage, screen sharing, interactive whiteboard.
Convay Big Meeting add-on: Extends participant capacity to 10,000. Designed for large-scale interactive sessions where all participants can engage. Priced at less than 20% of Zoom Webinar’s equivalent capacity tier.
Convay Webinar add-on: Dedicated webinar format for broadcast-style events — presenter controls, attendee view, Q&A management, and event-optimized infrastructure for up to 10,000 attendees.
Additional Convay add-ons available:
- In-Person Meeting — hybrid meeting tools for blended in-room and remote attendance
- Live Streaming — broadcast to external platforms
- Multilingual Meeting — real-time language support for international sessions
- Board Meeting — governance-grade meeting tools for board and executive sessions
This modular structure means a team of 10 on Convay Business pays $169.90 per month for their everyday meeting infrastructure — and adds the Webinar or Big Meeting add-on only when they run large events, rather than paying $149 to $900+ per month indefinitely like Zoom Webinar requires.
Table 1: Zoom Webinar vs Convay — Direct Comparison
| Feature | Zoom Webinar (500 attendees) | Zoom Webinar (10,000 attendees) | Convay + Big Meeting / Webinar Add-On |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max attendees | 500 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Add-on / event price | $149/month (add-on only) | ~$900+/month (add-on only) | Less than 20% of Zoom equivalent |
| Base meeting plan required | Zoom Pro ($13.33/user/mo) | Zoom Pro ($13.33/user/mo) | Convay Business ($16.99/user/mo) |
| AI meeting minutes included | No — AI Companion is separate add-on | No — AI Companion is separate add-on | Yes — included in Convay Business base plan |
| Unlimited transcripts | No — paid add-on | No — paid add-on | Yes — included in Convay Business |
| Session duration | Up to 30 hours | Up to 30 hours | Up to 38 hours |
| Cloud recording storage | Capacity varies by plan | Capacity varies by plan | 15 GB included in Business plan |
| Interactive whiteboard | Paid feature | Paid feature | Included in base Business plan |
| Everyday meeting tool | Separate Zoom Meetings plan | Separate Zoom Meetings plan | Same plan — no second subscription |
For a team of 10 running monthly webinars with 5,000 attendees: Zoom costs $133 (Zoom Pro for 10 users) plus approximately $660 (Zoom Webinar 5,000 tier) = roughly $793 per month. Convay costs $169.90 (Convay Business for 10 users) plus the Big Meeting or Webinar add-on at less than 20% of Zoom’s equivalent — a saving that compounds every month the subscription runs.
The 8 Best Zoom Webinar Alternatives in 2026
1. Convay — Best Overall: Scale to 10,000 at the Lowest Cost Per Attendee
Convay is the strongest Zoom webinar alternative in 2026 because it is the only platform that combines 10,000-attendee capacity, AI meeting minutes, unlimited transcripts, and interactive collaboration tools in a single unified subscription — at less than 20% of Zoom Webinar’s equivalent pricing.
Unlike purpose-built webinar platforms that charge per attendee block regardless of whether you use the capacity, Convay’s add-on model lets organizations activate large-event capability when they need it without paying for it year-round.
Convay webinar advantages over Zoom:
- Same 10,000-attendee capacity as Zoom Webinar’s top tier — at a fraction of the cost
- AI meeting minutes and unlimited transcripts included in the Business base plan — Zoom charges these as separate add-ons
- One platform for everyday meetings and large events — no separate Zoom Meetings plus Zoom Webinar subscription
- Sessions up to 38 hours — 8 hours longer than Zoom’s 30-hour maximum
- Interactive whiteboard and live annotation included free — Zoom charges for these
- Modular add-ons (Multilingual Meeting, Board Meeting, In-Person Meeting) extend the platform for specialized use cases without switching vendors
Best for: Organizations of any size running webinars, product launches, all-hands events, training sessions, or client briefings up to 10,000 participants who want AI-powered session intelligence included in the base price.
See Convay pricing and add-ons — start free
2. Cisco Webex Events — Best for Government and Regulated Enterprise Webinars
Cisco Webex Events supports up to 10,000 attendees with DISA-certified infrastructure, FedRAMP authorization, and HIPAA compliance options. It is the standard choice for US federal agencies, defense contractors, and healthcare organizations that cannot use commercial platforms with standard data terms.
Key features: 10,000 attendee capacity, branded registration pages, moderated Q&A, polling, attendee engagement reports, cloud recording, FedRAMP and HIPAA compliance modes, and enterprise-grade SLA guarantees.
Pricing: Webex Events starts at approximately $25 per host per month for small events and scales with attendee volume. Enterprise compliance plans are quoted directly.
When Webex beats Convay: Your organization requires DISA, FedRAMP, or HIPAA certification on the event infrastructure itself — not just the meeting platform. Convay’s enterprise security is strong, but Webex holds the specific government certifications that regulated agencies require.
Best for: US federal agencies, defense contractors, healthcare organizations, and regulated enterprises with mandatory compliance certifications.
3. GoTo Webinar — Best for Lead-Generation and Marketing Webinars
GoTo Webinar is a purpose-built marketing webinar platform with the deepest feature set for demand generation programs. It includes automated registration workflows, pre- and post-event email sequences, Salesforce and HubSpot CRM sync, source tracking for attendee attribution, and detailed engagement scoring that marketing operations teams rely on.
Key features: Registration pages with custom fields, automated multi-touch email sequences, CRM integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo, attendee source tracking, engagement heat maps, on-demand replay pages, and HD cloud recording.
Pricing: Starter at $49 per month (100 attendees), Professional at $99 per month (500 attendees), Enterprise at custom pricing for up to 3,000 attendees. Does not scale to 10,000.
When GoTo Webinar beats Convay: Your webinars are marketing-qualified-lead programs where registration source tracking, automated email nurture, and CRM deal attribution are the primary success metrics. Convay does not offer these marketing automation features.
Best for: Marketing and demand generation teams running pipeline-building webinars where attendee data flows directly into CRM and marketing automation systems.
4. Zoho Meeting Webinar — Best Budget Option With CRM Integration
Zoho Meeting’s webinar module offers registration pages, attendee management, polls, Q&A, and cloud recording starting at $15 per host per month for 25 attendees — the lowest entry price among dedicated webinar platforms. It integrates natively with Zoho CRM, Zoho Campaigns, and the Zoho ecosystem.
Pricing: From $15 per host per month (25 attendees) up to $99 per host per month (3,000 attendees).
Best for: Small businesses and startups already in the Zoho ecosystem that want dedicated webinar features at the lowest available price point.
5. Microsoft Teams Live Events — Best for Large Internal Broadcasts
Microsoft Teams Live Events is a broadcast-style feature included in Microsoft 365 E3 and above, supporting up to 10,000 attendees for one-to-many internal broadcasts. It is designed for all-hands meetings, executive town halls, and large company announcements — not interactive audience-participation webinars.
Key features: 10,000 attendee capacity, Q&A moderation, cloud recording, Teams-native scheduling, and no additional licensing cost for M365 E3+ subscribers.
Limitation: Broadcast-only format — attendees cannot enable cameras or microphones. Less suitable for interactive webinars with audience participation.
Best for: Enterprise organizations on M365 E3+ running large-scale internal broadcasts without additional platform cost.
6. StreamYard — Best for Social-First Webinar Broadcasts
StreamYard is a browser-based production studio that streams simultaneously to YouTube, LinkedIn Live, Facebook, and other platforms. It is not a traditional webinar platform but serves organizations whose webinars are content broadcasts rather than managed attendee events.
Pricing: Basic at $49 per month, Professional at $99 per month.
Best for: Content creators, thought leaders, and marketing teams broadcasting to open social media audiences without attendee registration management.
7. BigBlueButton — Best Open-Source Webinar for Education
BigBlueButton is a free, open-source platform built for instructor-led online learning with LMS integration (Moodle, Canvas), breakout rooms, polling, and interactive whiteboard. Self-hosted deployments have no hard attendee limit.
Pricing: Free for self-hosted deployments. Managed hosting from approximately $20 per month through third-party providers.
Best for: Educational institutions and e-learning platforms that want open-source webinar infrastructure with full LMS integration at no per-user cost.
8. Google Meet (Workspace) — Best Low-Cost Option for Simple Large Sessions
Google Meet on paid Workspace plans supports up to 1,000 participants without dedicated webinar features. It covers simple large-group presentations without the cost of a webinar platform when registration pages and attendee analytics are not required.
Pricing: Google Workspace plans from $6 per user per month. Higher participant limits require Business Plus or Enterprise tiers.
Best for: Google Workspace organizations that need occasional large-group sessions without investing in a separate webinar platform.
Table 2: Webinar Platform Capacity, Features, and True Cost
| Platform | Max Attendees | AI Summary Included | Registration Page | CRM Integration | Starting Webinar Price | Scales to 10,000? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convay + Add-On | 10,000 | Yes — free in base plan | No | No | Less than 20% of Zoom equiv. | Yes |
| Cisco Webex Events | 10,000 | Yes (paid) | Yes | Yes | ~$25/host/mo | Yes |
| GoTo Webinar | 3,000 | No | Yes | Salesforce, HubSpot | $49/mo (100 attendees) | No |
| Zoho Meeting | 3,000 | No | Yes | Zoho CRM | $15/host/mo | No |
| Teams Live Events | 10,000 | No (add-on) | Limited | Via M365 | Included in M365 E3 | Yes |
| StreamYard | Unlimited (stream) | No | No | No | $49/mo | Yes (stream) |
| BigBlueButton | Server-dependent | No | No | LMS only | Free (self-hosted) | With server |
| Google Meet | 1,000 | No | No | Google Calendar | $6/user/mo | No |
| Zoom Webinar | 10,000 | AI Companion = extra cost | Yes | Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo | $149/mo add-on (500 attendees) | Yes — at $900+/mo |
Table 3: Which Webinar Platform Fits Your Use Case
| Your Use Case | Best Platform | Why | Watch Out For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars up to 10,000 at lowest cost | Convay + Big Meeting / Webinar Add-On | 10,000-participant capacity at less than 20% of Zoom Webinar pricing. AI meeting minutes and transcripts included in base plan. One platform for everyday meetings and large events. | No dedicated registration pages or CRM integration. Best for event-driven rather than marketing-funnel webinars. |
| Lead-generation webinars with CRM attribution | GoTo Webinar | Automated registration, email sequences, Salesforce and HubSpot sync, and engagement scoring built for demand generation programs. | Caps at 3,000 attendees. Does not scale to 10,000. No AI meeting summaries. |
| Government or regulated industry webinars | Cisco Webex Events | DISA-certified, FedRAMP authorized, HIPAA compliant. Required for US federal agencies and regulated sectors. | More expensive than Convay. Compliance features require specific plan tiers. |
| Large internal all-hands on Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Teams Live Events | 10,000-attendee broadcasts included in M365 E3+. No extra cost for existing Microsoft enterprise subscribers. | Broadcast-only format. No audience cameras or microphones. Not suitable for interactive webinars. |
| Budget webinar for small audience under 100 | Zoho Meeting or Convay Pro | Zoho Meeting from $15/host/mo with full registration and CRM features. Convay Pro at $9.99/user/mo supports 250 participants with AI minutes. | Zoho is better for marketing funnel webinars. Convay Pro is better for interactive training and demos. |
| Webinar streamed to social media audiences | StreamYard | Simultaneous broadcast to YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook. Professional production overlays. No attendee registration needed. | Not a webinar platform — no attendee management, registration, or post-event analytics. |
| Educational webinars with LMS integration | BigBlueButton | Open-source, Moodle and Canvas native, built for instructor-led sessions with polling and breakout rooms at no per-user cost. | Requires self-hosting with server maintenance. No managed hosted option with enterprise SLA. |
| AI-powered post-webinar summaries and follow-up | Convay Business | AI meeting minutes and unlimited transcripts included in base plan. Automatically generates session summary, action items, and key decisions for every webinar recording. | Zoom charges AI Companion as a separate add-on. Convay AI summary included from the start. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Zoom webinar alternative in 2026?
The best Zoom webinar alternative in 2026 is Convay. Its Big Meeting and Webinar add-ons support up to 10,000 participants at less than 20% of what Zoom Webinar charges for equivalent capacity. Convay Business includes AI meeting minutes and unlimited transcripts in the base plan — features Zoom charges as separate add-ons. For lead-generation webinars requiring CRM integration and automated email sequences, GoTo Webinar is the stronger specialized choice.
How much does Zoom Webinar cost in 2026?
Zoom Webinar is a paid add-on starting at $149 per month for 500 attendees, on top of your Zoom Pro subscription at $13.33 per user per month. Scaling to 1,000 attendees costs approximately $350 per month (add-on only), and 10,000 attendees costs $900 per month or more. AI transcription and meeting summaries are additional paid features on top of these prices.
Can Convay host 10,000-person webinars?
Yes. Convay’s Big Meeting and Webinar add-ons extend the platform to 10,000 participants. The base Convay Business plan supports up to 350 participants at $16.99 per user per month. Adding the Big Meeting or Webinar add-on scales sessions to 10,000 attendees at less than 20% of Zoom Webinar’s equivalent pricing — with AI meeting minutes and unlimited transcripts already included in the Business plan base cost.
What is cheaper than Zoom Webinar for large events?
Convay’s Webinar and Big Meeting add-ons provide equivalent 10,000-attendee capacity at less than 20% of Zoom Webinar’s price. For webinars under 3,000 attendees, Zoho Meeting starts at $15 per host per month for smaller audience tiers. Microsoft Teams Live Events supports 10,000 attendees at no additional cost for organizations already on Microsoft 365 E3+.
Does Convay include AI features for webinars?
Yes. Convay Business includes AI-powered meeting minutes and unlimited post-session transcripts in the base plan at $16.99 per user per month. These features apply to all sessions including large webinars — automatically generating summaries, key decisions, and action items after every event. Zoom AI Companion is a separate paid add-on on top of both the Zoom Pro and Zoom Webinar subscription costs.
What is the difference between Convay Big Meeting and Convay Webinar add-ons?
Convay Big Meeting is designed for large-scale interactive sessions where all participants can engage with video, audio, and collaboration tools — suitable for all-hands meetings, large training sessions, and interactive workshops up to 10,000 people. The Convay Webinar add-on is optimized for broadcast-style events with presenter controls, attendee view management, and event-specific infrastructure for one-to-many presentations up to 10,000 attendees.
