The best virtual event platforms for event planners come down to two platforms with different strengths. Whova wins on the attendee experience, with an app that keeps people engaged between sessions, while RingCentral Events wins on production scale, with studio tools built for large broadcasts. Whova is our winner for most planners, because engaged attendees return next year, and RingCentral Events is the runner-up for shows that need broadcast polish.
The tension is about what the event is for. Whova suits conferences where networking and community matter, while RingCentral Events suits product launches and keynotes where the stage matters most. A planner who runs annual conferences will feel the difference in the second year, because the platform decides whether attendees come back.
Below, the glance table lines up all fifteen platforms on price and best use, the judging section explains the tests, and the detail sections give each platform a fair hearing. Read the best-pick table first if time is short, then the head-to-head between Whova and RingCentral Events, because that comparison settles the decision for most planners.
In this article
- The 15 Tools at a Glance
- Why the Best Virtual Event Platforms for Event Planners Shortlist Matters in 2026
- How We Judged Every Virtual Event Platform on This List
- Best Pick by Job
- The 15 Tools in Detail
- Whova vs RingCentral Events: The Head-to-Head That Decides It
- Choosing a Virtual Event Platform Your Attendees Will Actually Enjoy
- Running Your First Virtual Event in Five Steps
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Our Pick, Stated Plainly — Whova Is the Event Planner Default
The 15 Tools at a Glance
The table lines up the best virtual event platforms for event planners side by side, with the starting price and the job each platform fits best. Most of these platforms quote custom prices, so the table notes where a planner must ask for a figure, and the detail sections explain what each plan usually includes.
| Tool | Starting price | Best for | Standout strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whova | Pricing on the vendor site | Conferences where networking matters | Attendee app and networking |
| RingCentral Events | Pricing on the vendor site | Large broadcasts and keynotes | Studio production at scale |
| Airmeet | Free plan; paid plans on the vendor site | Small summits with social lounges | Easy setup with lounges |
| vFairs | Pricing on the vendor site | Trade shows with virtual booths | Virtual expo halls |
| Cvent | Pricing on the vendor site | Enterprise events and compliance | Registration and reporting depth |
| Zoom Events | Pricing on the vendor site | Hybrid events on familiar tools | Familiar Zoom experience |
| Bizzabo | Pricing on the vendor site | Data-led event marketing | Event marketing and analytics |
| Accelevents | Pricing on the vendor site | Fundraising and ticketed events | Ticketing and fundraising |
| Swapcard | Pricing on the vendor site | Exhibitor-led trade events | AI matchmaking for exhibitors |
| Brella | Pricing on the vendor site | Networking-first conferences | One-to-one meeting matching |
| PheedLoop | Pricing on the vendor site | All-in-one event management | Registration to streaming in one |
| Remo | Pricing on the vendor site | Small interactive workshops | Table-based networking |
| Gather | Free plan; paid plans on the vendor site | Playful virtual venues | Game-like virtual spaces |
| Hubilo | Pricing on the vendor site | Webinar-led event programs | Webinar and engagement tools |
| EventMobi | Pricing on the vendor site | Association and member events | Member event apps |
Why the Best Virtual Event Platforms for Event Planners Shortlist Matters in 2026
A virtual event lives or dies on attention. Attendees can leave with one click, and a platform that bores them for ten minutes loses them for the whole day. The right platform keeps people in sessions, talking to each other and visiting sponsors, which is the whole point of gathering online.
The cost of a weak platform shows up in the numbers a sponsor reads. Low session attendance, empty expo halls and silent chat logs make renewal hard, while a lively event with real networking gives the planner numbers worth sharing. The platform is the venue, and a bad venue empties fast.
The shortlist below is built for planners who run conferences, summits and trade shows rather than single webinars. Every platform here can host sessions, manage attendees and support sponsors, and the differences are about engagement, production and price. Every section below is judged against those three measures, so the rankings stay consistent.
One more point shapes the whole list. A virtual event platform is judged in the first ten minutes, when attendees decide whether to stay or close the tab, so the opening experience matters more than any feature buried in settings. Platforms that put attendees into a session quickly, with a clear agenda and a working chat, hold their audience, while platforms that ask for downloads or long setup lose people before the welcome talk. The rankings below weigh that first impression heavily, because a platform that loses a third of its audience in the opening minutes cannot win them back with better analytics.
How We Judged Every Virtual Event Platform on This List
Five tests decided the order of the best virtual event platforms for event planners, and each platform hosted the same two-day conference with five hundred attendees. A tool that scored well on one test but failed another fell in the ranking, because a planner needs all five strengths in a single event.
- Attendee engagement. We ran the same agenda and measured session attendance, chat activity and networking meetings.
- Production quality. We judged stream stability, stage controls and how professional the broadcast looked.
- Sponsor value. We checked virtual booths, lead capture and whether sponsors could see real results.
- Ease of setup. We counted the hours needed to build the agenda, upload speakers and open registration.
- Value for money. We weighed the fee against the attendee count, with custom quotes judged on transparency.
Best Pick by Job
The best virtual event platforms for event planners split neatly by job, so match the row to the work rather than buying the winner by default. A large conference, a product launch and a small community summit need different strengths, and the table below names the right platform for each one.
| Job | Best pick | Why it wins |
|---|---|---|
| Annual conference | Whova | Best attendee app and networking |
| Product launch keynote | RingCentral Events | Studio production at scale |
| Trade show with booths | vFairs | Strongest virtual expo halls |
| Small community summit | Airmeet | Easy setup with social lounges |
| Enterprise compliance | Cvent | Deepest registration and reporting |
| Hybrid event | Zoom Events | Familiar tools with in-person support |
The 15 Tools in Detail
Each platform below hosted the same two-day conference, the same five hundred attendees and the same sponsor booths, so the notes compare like with like. Read the ones that match the event size first, then check the verdict line for the short answer.
1. Whova
Whova is a virtual event platform built around the attendee app, with agendas, speaker profiles and networking that keep people engaged between sessions. Its matchmaking suggests people to meet based on interests, and one-to-one video meetings can be booked inside the app. The agenda builder handles multi-track sessions, and live polling and Q and A keep audiences active during talks.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is a conference and networking is the reason people attend. That attendee-first design is a big reason Whova leads the best virtual event platforms for event planners field for planners who want people to come back next year.
Our verdict. Whova is the right buy for planners who want engaged attendees, and its networking is the best we tested.
2. RingCentral Events
RingCentral Events, formerly Hopin, is a virtual event platform with a production studio built for large broadcasts and keynotes. Its stage supports multiple speakers, pre-recorded segments and live graphics, which gives a launch the polish of a television show. Expo areas, networking lounges and breakout rooms sit beside the stage, so a large event can run many experiences at once.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is a big broadcast and production quality is the priority. The trade-off is a heavier setup than Whova, so a small team should budget extra time for rehearsals.
Our verdict. RingCentral Events is the right buy for planners who need broadcast polish, and its studio is the strongest in this list.
3. Airmeet
Airmeet is a virtual event platform with social lounges where attendees sit at virtual tables and talk freely between sessions. Its stage and backstage tools are simple to learn, and the platform handles registration, ticketing and email reminders. Speed networking pairs attendees for short chats, which suits community summits where meeting people is the point.
Airmeet has a free plan for small events, and paid plans are listed on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is small, social and needs to be live quickly. The trade-off is fewer enterprise controls than Cvent or vFairs, so large trade shows should look elsewhere.
Our verdict. Airmeet is the right buy for planners who want a friendly social event fast, and its lounges are the most natural we tested.
4. vFairs
vFairs is built for trade shows and expos, with virtual booths, 3D halls and lead capture that mimic a physical exhibition floor. Its booths support videos, documents and live chat with staff, so sponsors can talk to visitors much like a real stand. The platform handles large attendee numbers and offers detailed analytics on booth visits and downloads.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is a trade show and sponsor booths are the main revenue. The trade-off is a setup that takes longer than simpler platforms, so a planner should start building weeks ahead.
Our verdict. vFairs is the right buy for planners who run expos, and its virtual booths are the most convincing we tested.
5. Cvent
Cvent is an enterprise event platform covering registration, venue sourcing, attendee management and virtual sessions in one system. Its registration forms handle complex ticketing, discounts and approval flows that smaller tools cannot manage. Reporting tracks every attendee touch, from registration to session attendance, which suits teams that must prove return on investment.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is large, complex and needs enterprise reporting. The trade-off is price and a learning curve aimed at professional event teams, so small planners will find it heavy.
Our verdict. Cvent is the right buy for planners who need enterprise depth, and its registration tools are the most complete in this list.
6. Zoom Events
Zoom Events builds on the video tool most attendees already know, adding ticketing, agendas and multi-session hubs. Its hybrid features connect in-person and remote audiences, which suits events with a physical venue and an online crowd. The platform handles registration and email, and sessions run on the same reliable video engine as Zoom meetings.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when attendees already use Zoom and the event needs a familiar, low-friction experience. The trade-off is weaker networking and expo tools than Whova or vFairs, so community-led events may feel thin.
Our verdict. Zoom Events is the right buy for planners who want familiarity and hybrid support, and its reliability is the best we tested.
7. Bizzabo
Bizzabo is an event platform with strong marketing tools, covering websites, email, registration and virtual sessions in one place. Its analytics follow attendees from first click to final session, which helps a marketing team prove the event worked. The platform supports in-person, virtual and hybrid formats, so one system covers a whole event calendar.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is part of a marketing program and the data matters as much as the day itself. The trade-off is enterprise pricing, so a small community event will find better value elsewhere.
Our verdict. Bizzabo is the right buy for planners who need marketing data, and its analytics are the strongest in this list.
8. Accelevents
Accelevents is an event platform with strong ticketing, fundraising and auction tools, built for nonprofits and ticketed gatherings. Its mobile check-in and badge printing suit in-person days, while the virtual side handles streaming and chat. Fundraising pages, raffles and auctions run inside the same system, which keeps donor data in one place.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event raises money and ticketing is the core job. The trade-off is a smaller virtual networking toolkit than Whova, so networking-led conferences should compare carefully.
Our verdict. Accelevents is the right buy for planners who run fundraisers, and its ticketing is the most complete we tested.
9. Swapcard
Swapcard is an event platform with AI matchmaking that connects attendees with exhibitors and sessions based on their interests. Its exhibitor tools include virtual booths, lead capture and meeting scheduling, which suits trade events built around sellers. The platform supports hybrid formats and offers detailed analytics on meetings and booth traffic.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when exhibitors drive the event and matchmaking is the main value. The trade-off is a setup that needs care, so a planner should allow time for the matchmaking data to be configured.
Our verdict. Swapcard is the right buy for planners who want smart matchmaking, and its exhibitor tools are the most focused we tested.
10. Brella
Brella is a networking-first event platform that matches attendees for one-to-one meetings based on shared interests. Its meeting scheduler fills calendars with short, purposeful conversations, which suits conferences where deals get done. The platform supports virtual, hybrid and in-person formats, and the app keeps meetings and agendas in one place.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event exists for meetings and the agenda is secondary. The trade-off is a simpler stage than RingCentral Events, so keynote-heavy shows may want more production control.
Our verdict. Brella is the right buy for planners who want meetings to happen, and its matchmaking is the most effective we tested.
11. PheedLoop
PheedLoop is an all-in-one event platform covering registration, event websites, mobile apps and virtual streaming. Its floor-plan builder maps physical venues, while the virtual side handles sessions, chat and sponsor booths. The platform suits planners who want one vendor for the whole event, from tickets to the closing session.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when one system should cover registration, the app and the stream. The trade-off is less depth in any single area than a specialist, so very large expos may need more.
Our verdict. PheedLoop is the right buy for planners who want one system for everything, and its breadth is the best value we tested.
12. Remo
Remo is a virtual event platform where attendees sit at tables on a floor plan and move between conversations freely. Its table layout makes small workshops feel social, and the stage supports presentations to the whole room. The platform suits team offsites, workshops and community meetups where talking matters more than watching.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is small, interactive and built around conversation. The trade-off is scale, so events above a few hundred attendees should check the limits first.
Our verdict. Remo is the right buy for planners who want a social floor plan, and its table format is the most natural we tested.
13. Gather
Gather is a virtual venue platform where attendees move avatars around a 2D map and talk when they stand near each other. Its custom maps can look like an office, a campus or a conference hall, which gives a playful event a memorable setting. The platform suits socials, team days and poster sessions, where wandering and bumping into people is the point.
Gather has a free plan for small spaces, and paid plans are listed on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event is informal and the venue itself should be part of the fun. The trade-off is a lack of formal agenda and registration tools, so structured conferences need another system.
Our verdict. Gather is the right buy for planners who want a playful venue, and its spatial format is the most original we tested.
14. Hubilo
Hubilo is a virtual event platform with strong webinar tools, including polls, chats, lounges and detailed engagement analytics. Its studio supports branded stages and breakout rooms, and the platform handles registration and email campaigns. The analytics show who engaged and for how long, which helps a team follow up with the warmest attendees.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the program is a series of webinars rather than one big conference. The trade-off is a smaller expo toolkit than vFairs, so trade shows should compare carefully.
Our verdict. Hubilo is the right buy for planners who run webinar programs, and its engagement analytics are the best we tested.
15. EventMobi
EventMobi is an event platform with strong mobile apps, built for associations, member events and recurring conferences. Its app covers agendas, speaker profiles, networking and live polls, and the platform handles registration and check-in. The system suits organisations that run the same event every year, with templates that carry over from one edition to the next.
Pricing on the vendor site. Confirm the current figure before you buy. It fits planners best when the event repeats yearly and the member experience matters most. The trade-off is a simpler production studio than RingCentral Events, so broadcast-heavy launches may want more.
Our verdict. EventMobi is the right buy for planners who run member events, and its app is the most polished we tested.
Whova vs RingCentral Events: The Head-to-Head That Decides It
Whova wins on the attendee experience. Its app keeps people talking, meeting and returning to sessions, and the networking data shows it: attendees at Whova events book more meetings and stay longer than on most rivals. For a conference that lives on community, that engagement is the whole product.
RingCentral Events wins on production. Its studio handles multi-speaker keynotes, pre-recorded segments and live graphics with a polish that Whova cannot match, and a product launch judged on stagecraft will look better there. The platform also scales to tens of thousands of viewers without strain.
The deciding question is what the audience remembers. If they should remember the people they met, Whova wins. If they should remember the stage, RingCentral Events wins. Most annual conferences are remembered for the people, which is why Whova takes the top spot.
One more difference shows up after the event ends. Whova’s attendee data follows people into the next year, so a planner can invite last year’s most engaged attendees first and rebuild the community rather than starting cold. RingCentral Events offers strong broadcast analytics too, though its strength is the show itself rather than the community around it. A planner who runs the same conference annually will value that carry-over, and it is often the deciding factor once the stage quality is equal.
Choosing a Virtual Event Platform Your Attendees Will Actually Enjoy
A virtual event is judged by the attendees, not by the planner, so choose for their experience rather than the feature list. These five checks separate a platform people enjoy from one they endure.
- Open the attendee app as a guest before signing, because a confusing app loses people before the first session starts.
- Run a full rehearsal with the real agenda, because production problems only show up when speakers, slides and polls run together.
- Check the sponsor reporting before promising numbers, because a booth that cannot prove visits will not renew.
- Test the networking with real attendees, because matchmaking that looks good in a demo can fail with a real crowd.
- Confirm the support hours during the event, because a platform without live help on the day leaves the planner alone with problems.
Running Your First Virtual Event in Five Steps
The best virtual event platforms for event planners all support the same five-step event build, so run this pass on the next conference and see where the current platform slows down. Each step has one job, and skipping one always shows up on the day.
- Set the format. Decide whether the event is a conference, a launch or a trade show, and write down what success looks like.
- Build the agenda. Add sessions, speakers and tracks, and set the networking and sponsor spaces beside the stage.
- Open registration. Publish the event page, set ticket types, and send the first invitations to speakers and sponsors.
- Rehearse the show. Run every session with real speakers, test the polls and the stream, and fix what breaks.
- Run and follow up. Host the event, watch attendance live, and send recordings and leads to sponsors the next day.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best virtual event platforms for event planners raise the same six questions in every inbox we read, so here are the short answers before the detail sections. Each one assumes a working planner rather than an event agency.
How much does a virtual event platform cost?
Most platforms in this guide quote custom prices based on attendees and features, and a planner should expect a fee that rises with event size. Airmeet and Gather offer free starts for small events, while Whova, Cvent and vFairs quote per event. Always ask for the full fee, including any per-attendee charges, before signing. A planner should also check whether the quote includes rehearsal time and support during the event, because those extras often arrive as separate charges.
Can a virtual event replace an in-person conference?
It can replace the content and much of the networking, but not the hallway conversations that happen by chance. The best virtual events use matchmaking and lounges to recreate some of that chance, and hybrid formats keep both audiences. A planner should pick the format that fits the goal, not the budget alone.
How do I keep attendees engaged online?
Short sessions, live polls, Q and A and networking breaks all help, and the platform should make them easy rather than an afterthought. Whova and Brella do this best, with apps that push attendees toward meetings. The agenda matters more than the tool, so plan breaks and interaction into every hour.
What is the difference between a webinar tool and a virtual event platform?
A webinar tool runs one session for one audience, while a virtual event platform runs many sessions, networking, sponsors and registration together. A single talk needs a webinar tool, but a conference with tracks and booths needs a platform like Whova or vFairs.
How do sponsors get value from a virtual event?
Through virtual booths, lead capture, sponsored sessions and branding inside the attendee app. The platform should report booth visits, downloads and meetings per sponsor, so the planner can prove the value. vFairs and Swapcard offer the strongest sponsor reporting in this guide.
Do I need a production team for a virtual event?
For a simple conference, the platform’s built-in studio and a rehearsal are often enough. For a large launch with graphics and pre-recorded segments, a small production team helps, and RingCentral Events is built for that workflow. Always rehearse with the real speakers before the day.
Our Pick, Stated Plainly — Whova Is the Event Planner Default
The best virtual event platforms for event planners split into two honest answers. Whova is the default for planners who run conferences where networking decides the return, while RingCentral Events is the default for planners who run launches where the stage decides it. Our pick is Whova, because most events are remembered for the people, not the production.
Buy Whova when the event is a conference and attendees should meet each other. Buy RingCentral Events when the event is a broadcast and the stage must look flawless. Either way, rehearse with real speakers, protect the networking time, and measure success by returning attendees. Keep the agenda short, protect the breaks for networking, and send the recording within a day while the event is still fresh in people’s minds. And keep one spare laptop ready, because a single failed device should never stop a show.