Tool comparison for webinars and webcasts

Not sure which conferencing tool to use for webinars and webcasts? Use the table below to choose a tool based on your needs.

See also:

Care must be exercised to manage and protect privacy during meetings held remotely. Whether you are the host or a participant, take note of these policies for enhancing confidentiality:

	Microsoft Stream	Microsoft Teams Live Events*	Webex Event	Zoom Webinar
Overview	A video sharing service for uploading, organizing, and sharing content across the organization. With Stream enabled, you can record any Teams meeting or call to capture audio, video and screen sharing activity and save it to Microsoft Stream.	An extension of the meetings function in Microsoft Teams that allows you to live stream content to large audiences. A maximum of 10,000 users can attend a Teams Live Event Live events will only be available by request* for special events.	Webex Events is a webinar and part of Webex platform that provides audio/video and slide presentation to a large audience 1000 active seats + unlimited webcast Included in standard Webex host account	Zoom also has webinar function that provides audio/video and slide presentation to a large audience. The zoom webinar may include: 500-1000 seats available in Webinars Webinars add-ons are by request only Meetings can be set to function similar to webinars with a limit of 300 seats
Recommended use	Meetings Presentations Training sessions	Recording training sessions Event broadcasting	Webinars Event Broadcasting	Webinars
Features	Organize videos by channel Can be integrated with other O365 apps	Q&A Screen sharing Live captions Downloadable video recording Teams Live Events must be set up by IST due to a limited number of concurrent streams Only live event producers/presenters are able to share audio/video to prevent audience interruption.	Instructor’s audio/video Slide Presentation Whiteboard Chat public or private Distributed multimedia link Live caption Mute/unmuted audience microphones/cameras Role assignments Recordings Telephone call in (optional) Polling Q&A Panelists for moderation Registration in advance Post event surveys Streaming to popular streaming services such as, YouTube, vBrick, IBM, etc.	Instructor’s audio/video Slide Presentation Whiteboard Chat public or private Live caption Mute/unmuted audience microphones/cameras Recordings Telephone call in (optional) Polling Q&A Panelists for moderation Registration in advance Streaming to popular streaming services such as, YouTube, FB.
Supported Operating Systems	Accessed via web browser	Windows Mac Linux	Can be accessed through a web browser Desktop applications available to Mac and Windows	Can be accessed through a web browser Desktop applications available to Mac and Windows
Resources	Visit the Stream Service page and Stream FAQ's	Please contact the IST Service Desk online or call 519-888-4567 ext. 44357	Please email itms-col@uwaterloo.ca or see IST’s Webex Events Knowledge base articles	See IST's Zoom knowledge base articles