The 7 Best Virtual Event Platforms of 2026

It's 2026, and the virtual event landscape is more competitive than ever. Attention spans are low and Zoom fatigue is in full force.

The days of throwing a basic virtual event are over. You can’t expect people to show up and give you their undivided attention that easily. Today's audiences demand an engaging experience that rivals or even beats in-person events. But with so many virtual event platforms out there, how do you choose the one that's right for you?

Virtual events are a great marketing tactic. You can show off new products, promote thought leadership, and nurture leads. But marketers need to pick the right platform to get the full value out of events.

This article covers the 7 best virtual event platforms of 2026. We'll break down their features, pricing, pros, cons, and what makes them stand out.

1. Contrast
2. Zoom Events
3. Livestorm
4. Hubilo
5. Airmeet
6. Hopin
7. Watchity

If you're tired of boring virtual events and want yours to be better, then this article is for you. Let's dive in!

Contrast

Contrast's Website

Contrast stands out in this list of platforms for a few reasons. It's a new platform, built for modern teams. We built it with one goal in mind: to make virtual events more engaging.

Key Features

• Powerful virtual events in just 2 clicks. Contrast events are easy to set up and join.
• Get attendees talking by hosting engaging Q&A sessions and polls in a modern chat interface.
• Dynamic layouts and on-screen animations help to keep the event interesting. Customize both to match your brand's style.
• This virtual event software covers every basic to advanced level feature, including:
  • Custom invites and automated reminders
  • Easy to use backend for hosts and speakers
  • Screen recording and post-event editing and clipping and repurposing tools
  • Easy downloading (chat and webinar transcripts, viewer engagement data)
  • Integrations with Zapier, Make.com, Hubspot, Webooks, APIs, and more

You and your attendees will have a great experience with this virtual event platform.

Pricing

Contrast offers competitive pricing that matches your needs - especially for startups.

• You can start for free with an unlimited number of seats, up to 10 stored videos, and up to 30 unique attendees per month
• The Pro plan at €60 per month gives you up to 90 stored videos and 100 unique attendees per month
• The Premium plan is essentially unlimited EVERYTHING

What Customers are Saying

Contrast’s long list of happy clients includes tech startups like Vainu, Pennylane, and Getaround.

“Contrast brings a new vision of live video broadcasting. A vision that combines simplicity, beauty of content and performance management. I've been waiting for such a solution for years.”
Maxime Baumard • CMO at Pennylane

Zoom Events

Zoom Events Website

Zoom lets you run virtual events with all the standard features that you would expect. They have plenty of customization, data analytics, and solid event landing pages. It's a stable platform for both free, paid, live, and on-demand events.

Key Features

• Screen sharing and recording
• Special features for event sponsors
• Expo floor where attendees can interact with virtual trade booths
• Integrations with tools like Slack, Google Calendar, Shopify, and Salesforce.
• For an extra cost, you can have translated captions
• Whiteboards, cloud storage, and breakout rooms

Pricing

• A Free plan offers up to 40 minutes per meeting with access to 100 attendees/meeting along with other basic features like Teamchat, a basic Whiteboard, Mail & Calendar.
• For a more extensive audience and increased cloud storage, you can opt for the Pro or Business plans starting at $149.90/year/user and $199.90/year/user.
• For more advanced options, you’ll need to reach out to their sales team to explore their Enterprise plan.

Livestorm

Livestorm's website

Livestorm has an events platform that lets you manage real and virtual events in one place. Like most virtual event platforms in this list, it has the standard features you would expect. It has good options for customizing registration pages and email invites. Livestorm also does a good job with post-event analytics through a participation report.

Key Features

• Customizable registration pages
• Comprehensive analytics (aside from source tracking)
• Seamless integrations
• Live chat, Q&As, polls
• Automatic recordings
• Easy access to virtual rooms

Pricing

• The free plan gives you just 30 active contacts per month and only 20 minutes per event.
• They have a Pro plan at $82 per month but force you to pay annually. That plan covers 100 to 500 active contacts per month, unlimited team members, and up to 4 hours per event.
• Livestorm locked important features like integrations and longer events behind their Enterprise plan.

Hubilo

Hubilo's website

Hubilo is a versatile platform tailored for hybrid events. It has good engagement and networking features in its break-out rooms and lounges. They also have a mobile app that mirrors the desktop experience. That feature alone makes it a great option for hybrid events.

Key Features

• Live chat, Q&A sessions, and polls.
• Integrations with popular CRM and marketing automation tools like HubSpot, MailChimp, and Salesforce
• A public API lets users connect this virtual events platform to custom applications
• Sponsors and event partners can also customize their brand experience

Pricing

Hubilo has three plans, but they don’t share pricing for any of them. One major limitation is that their entry-level plan doesn’t include registration & ticketing features. You’ll also have to upgrade to get advanced engagement features like gamification.

Airmeet

Airmeet's website

Airmeet delivers high-quality virtual and hybrid experiences. Their platform works well for developing eye-catching landing pages and good-looking events. They also have a robust analytics platform designed for sales teams.

Key Features

• Reporting and analytics to track every detail
• Create unique branded experiences
• Interactive chat sessions, polls, and Q&As
• Their AirIntel feature helps track expected revenue from your event

Pricing

Airmeet has transparent attendee-based pricing. You pay for the number of attendees and can host unlimited events. You can choose from four plans:

• The Free Plan offers unlimited small webinars for 50 attendees per event. But, you can only have one organizer license per account.
• The Premium Webinars plan lets you have between 100-10,000 attendees. You'll also get 3 organizer licenses per account.
• The Virtual Events plan offers 5 organizer licenses per account and 100K attendees.
• Their All-in Suite bumps you up to 10 organizer licenses per account.

Hopin

Hopin's website

Hopin is a virtual events platform that tries to mirror in-person events. Replicating that is challenging, but Hopin's impressive virtual spaces deliver a commendable approximation. It is a browser-based platform like Contrast so you don’t need to download any software to register.

Key Features

• Access to customizable virtual venues and stages
• Multiple interactive features like chats and polls
• Immersive video experiences through integrated live video platforms like StreamYard and Streamable
• Unlimited concurrent live sessions and allowing up to a maximum of 100,000 viewers
• Available in 5 languages with 24/7 support

Pricing

Hopin is available in three different plans:

• A Free plan offering 100 registrations per 2-hour event. Basic analytics, transcripts, in-event integrations, and more.
• The Starter Plan at $99/month gives you access to core Hopin features like more than 100 registrations and 72-hour events. You also get the HubSpot integration, access to Canvas, event replay, and more.
• The Growth Plan at $799/month adds 5 admin organizers while lower-level plans only have 1 admin seat.
• Their Business Plan starts at $6000 and gives you access to all the best features. Multiple stages, advanced branding and analytics, SSO, Hybrid event capabilities and more.

Watchity

Watchity's website

Watchity is a comprehensive video engagement platform that includes everything you need to create webinars and virtual events with a professional look and a great attendee experience. It also allows you to produce live events for social networks and to record, edit and share videos for internal and external audiences.

Key Features

1. Management of virtual events from start to finish (registrations, landing pages, reminder emails, content customization, analytics, and session reports).
2. Live Studio for production, editing, and distribution of professional, tv-live video.
3. Event Room with multibitrate and adaptative HLS streaming, player controls (play/pause, start-late, DVR, etc.) and embed code for a seamless integration with any website.
4. An scalable and secure global video delivery network to reach your viewers wherever they are, with an unlimited number of simultaneous attendees.
5. Audience interaction through proprietary tools (Q&A, chat, surveys) or through third party integration (Kahoot, etc.)
6. Auto recording and auto playback of sessions.
7. Multistream (simultaneous live streaming to several social media accounts) and live clipping (cut and share videos straight from a live video feed)
8. Event and video analytics and reporting.

Pricing

Watchity offers three different pricing plans, “Business Starter” for SMB, “Business Plus” for Mid-sized companies and then “Enterprise” for large organizations, which is tailored to the customer’s needs. In addition, Watchity offers a free trial of 15 days to try out the functionalities and the potential reach of the platform.

Tips for Choosing the Most Efficient Virtual Event Platform for Your Business

When it comes to running successful virtual events, the platform you choose plays a huge role in whether your event succeeds or not. Here are the key factors to keep in mind:

1. User-Friendly Interface

A user-friendly interface is the cornerstone of a successful virtual event. Your attendees should be able to easily navigate the platform without any frustration.

2. Scalability

Your event might start small, but you never know when it might grow into something bigger. So, you need a platform that can scale up or down depending on your needs.

3. Record and Edit

Recording your virtual event is essential for several reasons. Look for a platform that not only lets you record your sessions but also provides editing tools.

4. Customization Features

Your virtual event should feel like it’s tailored to your brand and your audience. That’s where customization features come in.

5. Integrations

Your virtual event platform should work seamlessly with the other tools in your marketing stack. Integrations save time and allow you to pull clean, actionable data from your event into your CRM, marketing software, or analytics tools.

Why Contrast is the Best Overall Solution

Taking all of these factors into account, Contrast stands out as a fantastic choice for businesses looking to host engaging, professional virtual events. Here's why:

• Easy to use and get started
• Attendee engagement is your top priority
• Startup-friendly pricing

Wrapping Up

Ultimately, the platform you choose depends on what’s most important to you—whether that’s ease of use, scalability, or diving into more complex features. The goal is always the same: creating an event that sticks with your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are virtual event platforms different from basic video conferencing tools?

Virtual event platforms are built for structured, branded, and measurable experiences rather than simple meetings.

What features matter most when choosing a virtual event platform in 2026?

The most important features are engagement, scalability, integrations, and content reuse.

Which virtual event platforms are best for repurposing content after events?

Platforms with built-in recording, editing, and clipping tools are best for repurposing content.