Since the start of the pandemic, the need for hybrid event platforms has increased dramatically. Accommodating virtual and in-person attendees is essential, and you can’t do so without a hybrid event platform.
Picking the right platform allows you to demonstrate ROI and create a seamless, secure experience for all. The exact hybrid event platform you choose depends on your budget and desired features.
Here are 6 of the best platforms, including their pricing, pros, and cons so that you can make an informed decision.
Platform 1: Hopin
Price: $0 – $799+ per month | Free, Starter, Growth, Advanced Plans (custom)
Summary: Hopin is an all-in-one event management platform that allows you to optimize for virtual and in-person attendees.
Various ways to use the platform include workshops, online courses, webinars, trade shows, conferences, and networking events.
Features include customizing events for brand coherence, insights and data to understand how your event performs, and the ability to build custom landing pages to drive registration.
When hosting hybrid events, Hopin offers interactive features such as polls, chats, and Q&A to keep virtual attendees as engaged as in-person ones.
In-person features include self-service kiosks, cashless payments, QR code entry, and digital contact information collection.
According to those who’ve used it…
Pros:
– Great online integration
– Easy to use, intuitive
– Engaging features such as GIFs and animations
– Seamless front-end experience
– Ability to build events quickly
Cons:
– Technical issues
– Poor functionality at times
– Lack of customer service (no phone number for urgent contact)
– Price is increasing
– Inability to duplicate sessions and booths – need to recreate every time, inefficient
Platform 2: Swapcard
Price: $0 – $588+ per month | Free, Starter, Enterprise (custom)
Summary: Another all-in-one event platform, Swapcard allows users to build in-person and hybrid events.
Its features include event promotion, management, onsite production, integrations, interactivity, networking, community, lead management, ticket sales, and more.
Swapcard can be used for virtual, in-person, hybrid events, conferences, exhibitions, and more. They offer 24/7 customer support for any assistance you might need.
According to those who’ve used it…
Pros:
User-friendly
Easy to share contact information
Fast setup for events
Integration with major ticketing tools
Cons:
Not widely adopted yet
No dedicated app for events
Off-the-shelf platform
Platform 3: Hubilo
Price: $650 – $1,300 + per month | Advanced, Pro, Enterprise (custom)
Summary: Created to host virtual, in-person, and hybrid events, Hubilo offers a wide suite of features.
Hubilo allows event managers to customize client experience and branding, engage in-person and virtual attendees through Q&As, live chat, and more, analyze event data, and offers a mobile app. It uses QR codes for ticketing and registration and allows people to create customized badges with drag-and-drop templates.
According to those who’ve used it…
Pros:
– Highly available technical support
– Easy to use
– Highly customizable
Cons:
– Constant change and development, so you may lose certain features
– Limited integrations
– Polls can be ignored by attendees, limiting interaction
– No bulk upload of images
– No ability to undo uploaded data, tedious to fix manually
Platform 4: Goldcast
Price: $1,250 – $2,000+ per month (billed annually as $15k or $24k) | Growth, Premier, Enterprise (custom)
Summary: Goldcast is a comprehensive event platform for virtual and hybrid events. Its features include custom branding, online registration, live chats, analytics, survey management, lead generation, attendee management, and more.
This platform integrates with other major platforms, including HubSpot CRM, Marketo, and Salesforce. Goldcast is designed to ease registration, increase turnout, provide actionable insights, and boost audience engagement.
According to those who’ve used it…
Pros:
– Highly customizable
– Excellent customer support
– Actionable insights to prove ROI
– User-friendly
Cons:
– Max capacity of 15 for networking rooms, small
– Attendee registration can feel clunky
– Small company, can iterate too quickly
Platform 5: Airmeet
Price: $0, $2,400, or $10,000 per year | Free, Standard, Pro
Summary: Airmeet is a cloud-based virtual and hybrid event platform with various use cases, from workshops to town halls to tradeshows and beyond. The platform can host up to 100,000 attendees and allows for quick event setup.
Features include event creation, on-site ticketing, mobile check-in, lead generation, email automation and customization, event website creation, attendee networking and surveys, dry-runs for speakers, multi-lingual capabilities, and more.
Airmeet offers various integrations, including APIs, social media, CRM, and marketing automation.
According to those who’ve used it…
Pros:
– Easy for hosts and attendees to use
– Hosts up to 100k attendees but also handles smaller events
– Easy to engage with audiences through various features
– Quick event setup
Cons:
– Not the best suited for fully in-person events
– Some networking features break in Safari
– Event analytics not great
– Audience can’t view full profiles of fellow attendees
– Inability to upload files in chats when networking
– Doesn’t work on mobile
– Technical challenges
Platform 6: EventEngage
Price: $599 – $1,199+ per month, billed annually | Launch, Advanced, Enterprise (custom)
Summary: EventEngage is a comprehensive virtual, in-person, and hybrid event platform. It offers an impressive set of features at a reasonable price; the platform also provides impressive in-depth analytics not usually seen at this price point to help event marketers demonstrate ROI.
EventEngage prioritizes your and your attendees’ security with encrypted connections and compliance with stringent security standards.
Features include:
– Payments, receipts, coupons, group registration
– Registration analytics
– Contactless- or kiosk-based check-in
– QR-based attendance tracking
– Event and personalized agendas
– Digital business card exchange
– Booth content digital download
– Interaction between virtual and in-person attendees
– Meeting scheduler
– Chat, poll, and Q&A access for all attendees
– Built-in streaming
– Customer support and live support during events
According to those who’ve used it…
Pros:
– Easy to use
– Excellent customer service
– Seamless integration
– Highly customizable
– Smooth execution, high reliability
– Impressive analytics
Cons:
– Could offer more themes
– No free trial
– No mobile app
Curious to learn more about EventEngage? Check out our website today. We can’t wait to meet you!
Selecting the best event management software is no small decision. We hope this article helps you choose the best hybrid event platform for your needs so you can demonstrate ROI and offer a seamless experience.
