〉Comparison of Zoom, WebinarJam, GoToMeeting, Webex (2024)

Zoom vs GoToMeeting vs Webex vs WebinarJam: Overview.

Zoom.

zoom is the most popular video conferencing application on the market. It is a cloud-based video communication platform that allows you to organize online conferences, online seminars, live discussions, screen shares, and more.

It allows you to organize an unlimited number of one-on-one meetings and host up to 100 participants by default at each meeting (and up to 1,000 with an add-on called Large Meeting).

It also has a telephone system that allows call routing, queuing, voicemail, video switching, etc. There is also a free VoIP and paid dialing option for over 55 countries.

Overall, Zoom offers four solutions, including conference rooms, a telephone system, a webinar platform, live chat, and a one-on-one meeting option.

Here's a quick look at some of Zoom's most important solutions:

1. Meetings and chat.

Zoom Meetings makes it easy to start, participate in, and conduct quick meetings. You can benefit from streamlined business chat and video conferencing from your desktop, mobile, and Zoom for Home Devices.

It also syncs with your calendar system and allows you to collaborate on any device. Additionally, the platform supports HD video and audio for up to 1,000 participants and 49 on-screen videos.

Want to see how Zoom compares to RingCentral? Check out my comparative article, RingCentral vs Zoom here.

Here are some of its main characteristics:

Screen sharing and co-annotation options.
Start meetings from Outlook, Gmail, or iCal.
Recording and transcribing.
Filters, reactions, polls, handouts, etc.
Integrated file and music/video sharing.
Searchable history and archives over 10 years.

2. Video webinar.

The Zoom video webinar allows you to connect more personally with your audience and organize large-scale training videos using interactive webinars. It also allows you to broadcast your event live on YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and other streaming services.

You can use virtual backgrounds, studio effects, and background noise cancellation features and host up to 50,000 attendees during your live webinars.

The main characteristics are as follows:

Social sharing buttons.
In-session chat options.
Allow participants to raise their hands.
Complete the surveys and organize a question and answer session.
Automatic survey after the webinar.
Transfer webinar leads into your CRM.
The ability to track and measure success.
The ability to create a webinar registration page, a post-webinar landing page, and email reminders

3. Conference rooms.

Zoom conference rooms make it easy to start a meeting, book a meeting, and share content. You can also share multiple desktops simultaneously in the room and use wireless sharing options. It also offers interactive whiteboards, annotation options, and optimization for every room size.

4. Phone system.

Zoom Phone allows you to make secure HD voice calls and even turn phone calls into video meetings. Key features include voicemail, call recording, call routing, automatic dispatchers, and interoperability. It also integrates with Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, and G-Suite.

Zoom has a unified app for phone, video, meetings, and chat. It lets you make and receive phone calls, share content, conduct video meetings, and turn phone calls into Zoom meetings. You can also send chat messages from the Zoom desktop and mobile apps.

GoToMeeting.

GoToMeeting is an online meeting, desktop sharing, video conferencing, and webinar platform that allows you to organize and join meetings from anywhere. You can set up meetings anytime and on any device.

Here's a quick overview of the main features of GoToMeeting:

Screen sharing - You can securely share your desktop, smartphone, or tablet screen no matter where you are.
Conference calls - Save time and money with integrated voice over IP conference calls.
One-click meetings - Quickly launch meetings from a variety of locations and platforms, including Microsoft Office, email, and instant messaging tools.
Personal meeting room - It allows you to organize real-time meetings in your personal meeting room using a personalized meeting link.
Video conferencing - It allows for face-to-face HD video conferencing. You can host meetings with up to 250 participants at a time.
HD webcams - You can use up to 25 webcams simultaneously to organize high definition video conferences.
Mobile conferencing - You can start an online meeting from your mobile device at any time.
Meeting recording and transcribing - The platform allows you to record your meetings in real time, take notes, mark action items, and share them after the meeting.
Meeting reminders - Send alerts to your participants when the meeting is about to start.
Conference room equipment - This kit includes professional and user-friendly video conferencing software.
Shuttle mode - It will allow you to organize or join meetings on the go without distractions while saving data.
Room launcher - You can book a nearby GoToRoom and start the meeting right away from your GoToMeeting mobile app.
Voice commands - Ask Siri to instantly start or join your online meeting or audio conferencing session.
Cloud recording - You don't need to take notes when organizing a meeting thanks to the cloud recording feature in the GoToMeeting mobile app.
Office 365 plugin - Integration with Office 365 helps you schedule, manage, and join upcoming online meetings directly from your calendar.

It also comes with lots of built-in tools like GoToWebinar, GoToTraining, GoToRoom, etc., to organize events, train your organization, etc.

Webex.

Webex is the first Alternative to Zoom that may come to mind. It is an American company that provides web and video conferencing platforms to its users. Cisco Webex offers solutions for online meetings, video conferencing, webinars, screen sharing, cloud calling, team messaging, file sharing, and more.

Here's a quick overview of the main features of Webex:

Seamless collaboration - You can collaborate with anyone, from anywhere, while working in sync with your current business applications.
Phone system - It supports integration with a telephone system for daily collaborative workflows.
Sharing options - It allows you to share your presentation or screen with your participants as a virtual background. You can also turn shared content into the background of your meeting with overlaid video.
Webex assistant - Webex has a digital meeting assistant that provides live translations in over 100 languages. It also offers features like automatic note taking, live transcription, and follow-ups.
Webex Calling - It is a cloud telephony service that integrates with your collaboration tools.
Digital engagement - You can provide customers with priority experiences through texts, social networks, chats, emails, or calls.
Reports - It offers private meetings and live chat options, as well as built-in analytics.
Noise suppression and speech improvement - This feature allows you to eliminate annoying background noise so that meeting participants can hear you clearly.
Gestures and reactions - Select an animated reaction or simply make a gesture with your hands.
Real-time translation - You can translate your meetings into over 100 languages in real time.
Smart status - Automatically set your status when you're in a meeting or out of the office to let everyone know when you're available. You can also set the “Do Not Disturb” status.
Meeting templates - Use pre-designed meeting invitation templates to attract more attendees.
Video layouts - It allows you to use a slider to show the participants in your meeting. You can also drag and drop participants onto the stage.
Important messages - You can automatically place the most relevant conversations at the top of the page or pin important messages for quick reference later.
Transforming a call into a meeting - You can turn a 1:1 audio call into a video meeting and take advantage of features like transcripts, recordings, notes, and more.

WebinarJam.

WebinarJam is a cloud-based platform that allows you to create and host webinar sessions and broadcast events via private rooms. It allows you to host up to 5,000 people in a presentation and even broadcast live events on YouTube and Facebook.

It's primarily used by marketers to create webinars as part of their overall sales funnel.

Here is a brief overview of the main features of WebinarJam:

Cloud streaming - WebinarJam's cloud streaming technology allows you to reach up to 5,000 people in a single presentation.
HD, 30 FPS, video and audio streaming - You can broadcast your webcam, share your screen, and create a PowerPoint presentation in high definition.
Compatibility - the platform supports desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones.
Real-time chat and questions - You can chat and ask attendees questions in real time to keep your events engaging.
Flexible options - You have options for live chat, private comments, moderation capabilities, highlighted comments, sticky ads, and more.
Automatic registrations - WebinarJam can automatically save your live stream to a video file.
Flexible programming - You can open a live room, schedule an event, and organize a recurring series of webinars in just a few clicks. You can also use the “Always-On” room function.
Spotlight for participants - Invite any of your webinar attendees to join you at any time during the presentation and share their thoughts.
Broadcast from anywhere - The WebinarJam conference room is adapted for mobile phones. It allows you to direct and join scheduled live events from your phone and broadcast your signal from anywhere.
Page creator - You can choose a template from the library and then customize the content. The WebinarJAM system also helps you determine which design will bring more registrations to your event.
Emailing and SMS system - You can set a series of reminders and follow-ups by email and SMS.
Panic button - You can press the panic button if something goes wrong in the middle of your meeting. The system will immediately start a brand new live room and automatically transfer all presenters and attendees to it.
Polls and surveys - You can conduct surveys to understand the needs of your participants or give them tests to assess their skills.
Easy Presentations - It allows you to import your presentation file and run it in HD.
Documents to be distributed - Download the files directly from your hard drive, click on “Share” and the system will automatically display the downloadable file on your participants' screens.
Sketch board - You can add handwritten notes above the slides, highlight important details, draw mind maps, or write descriptive annotations.
One-click registration - Prospective participants can register quickly without having to fill out a long form.
Payment options - You can choose the free option or connect the payment gateway of your choice, i.e. credit card or PayPal.
Room always available - Book a room dedicated to your business, available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
Password-protected rooms - Secure your content by limiting access to your live room with a password.
Analytical - It provides detailed reports and performance statistics in real time.
Personalize your experience - You can adapt your webinar room to your brand or to your current mood.

You can read my in-depth review of WebinarJam for more details.

Let's start with a side-by-side comparison of all of these web conferences and webinar platforms.

Global comparison

Let's start with the detailed breakdown, point by point.

1. Ease of use

Ease of use and navigation are two of the key characteristics that you should consider when choosing a conference platform.

zoom

Zoom makes it easy to conduct quick meetings and collaborate on any device. The control panel is integrated into the main screen and allows you to easily switch between all meeting options. You can hide the control panel and only see it when you hover over it.

It also allows you to switch from a voice call or a chat to a video meeting in one click. The mobile applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android OS also offer the possibility to start or join the meeting from anywhere and at any time.

Zoom also offers a variety of options to join the meeting instantly, via:

Email invitation
Invitation to email
Directly from the browser
Zoom desktop or mobile app
A fixed or mobile phone
With an H.323 or SIP device.

Additionally, Zoom allows you to view your screen in gallery view or speaker view once you've joined the meeting. The platform also offers the possibility to personalize the meeting in the dashboard and to use a password to restrict specific meetings.

There's also the “Breakout Rooms” feature that allows you to split single meetings into multiple discussion groups.

Here are other key features that make Zoom easy to use:

Integrated collaboration tools like co-annotation, screen sharing, whiteboarding.
Simplified calendar with Outlook, Gmail, or iCal.
The possibility to record your meetings.
Automatically generated and searchable transcripts
Invite internal and external participants.
Share and play videos without downloading files.

GoToMeeting

GoToMeeting offers great ease of use thanks to audio and video synchronization. It allows you to invite and manage participants, share your camera and screen, record and lock your meeting, and chat with participants.

It also offers mobile applications for multiple operating systems and allows you to organize meetings wherever you are.

On the other hand, potential participants can join the meeting in any way they want. They can download the desktop app or a mobile app. They can also use a Google Chrome browser to join the meeting online using the meeting link (no download or login required).

You'll also see a preview screen before joining the meeting, with options to activate your mic or camera. You'll see numerous buttons at the bottom of your screen to control camera, mic, and screen sharing settings.

The platform also comes with numerous technical parameters to optimize your webcam visuals and allows you to automate your workflows thanks to the Zapier integration. For example, you can automatically create new video conferencing meetings by adding an event to a calendar application.

Webex

Webex has a simple user interface and provides access to meeting options as soon as you enter its dashboard.

Simply select the “Schedule a Meeting” option and then choose any meeting template to set up a meeting.

Enter all the details and start the meeting right away or schedule it for later. During the meeting, you can see participants and other panelists on the right.

Participation and collaboration at the meeting are also facilitated. You can send invitations with instructions to participants on how to join the meeting in an invitation email, along with the meeting password.

The platform allows you to join the meeting from your computer system, mobile device, or video system. You can also join the meeting directly from the browser without installing the app or creating an account with Webex.

WebinarJam

WebinarJam is equipped with numerous features such as HD audio and video streaming, automatic recordings, participant promotion, page building, polls, surveys, etc.

Its ability to create various landing pages and the automatic recording of conferences are major assets. WebinarJam also allows you to create automated responses to registrants and send them based on your settings and their actions.

Additionally, it offers a unique “express setup” option that helps you set up your event in 30 seconds. Even the standard setup does not take more than five minutes.

It also supports operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux and browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etc.

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🏆 Winner: Draw.

All of these platforms are easy to use when it comes to organizing and attending events. They also allow you to set up your events in a few clicks, and the membership process is also simple.

In addition, they offer applications for numerous operating systems, making it easy to organize and participate in remote events.

2. Start a webinar.

All of these platforms allow you to organize webinars for hundreds and thousands of participants. The ideal tool should facilitate the set-up, programming, conduct, and participation in the webinar.

zoom

Zoom Video Webinar allows you to host up to 10,000 attendees for viewing only, depending on your license. Licenses start with a capacity of 100 participants and allow you to scale up to 10,000 participants.

You can also share your screen and video in a webinar, while attendees can interact using chat or question and answer options.

To create a webinar with Zoom, you need to fill out a one-page form, where you need to enter details such as topic, description, date, time, and more.

You can also use a webinar template that's already scheduled or create a new one from scratch. The logo on the page is the only personalization you get. Attendees can join the meeting in listening and viewing mode only using the link you share.

Zoom also allows you to set up a webinar with two options: with registration and without registration. Setting up a webinar with registration means that your participants will need to fill out a form before receiving the login link.