WebinarJam is a popular platform used to manage and host live webinars. Despite its popularity, it has several drawbacks. Therefore, I delved deep into the platform to uncover what these are.
Key Takeaways:
- Plans cost from $49–$499/month
- All plans include unlimited webinars, but the webinar max length varies
- On-demand webinars are available as a separate product and extra cost
WebinarJam Quick Overview
- Plans cost from $49/month
- WebinarJam is not currently rated on SupplyGem
- Rated 3.1 on Trustpilot
| Free trial | Trial costs $1 |
| Live webinars | ✅ |
| On-demand webinars | ❌ |
| Automated webinars | ❌ |
| Webinar series | ✅ |
| Hybrid webinars | ❌ |
| Max webinars | Unlimited |
| Max attendees | 100–5,000 |
| Max hosts | 1–6 |
| Max duration | 1 hour–4 hours |
| Video quality | HD 30 FPS |
What Is WebinarJam, and Should You Use It?
WebinarJam is a platform designed to create and host live and automated webinars.
Cloud-based technology gives you the tools to reach up to 5,000 audience members in one go, no matter where they are based in the world. You also get a bunch of features to make your webinars more engaging, such as live chat, on-screen whiteboard, and more.
Note that the emphasis is on “live,” though. What this means is that it’s simply a tool for running this type of webinar. I’ll talk about why this can pose a problem further in this article.
Should you use it? Sure, it’s a popular platform. If running live webinars is your thing, then WebinarJam will get the job done. However, read the rest of this article and get the full lowdown before you sign up!
Is WebinarJam Affordable?
WebinarJam is not especially cheap, especially if you want access to high attendee numbers. It has four paid plans available.
- Starter: From $49/month
- Basic: From $99/month
- Professional: From $299/month
- Enterprise: From $499/month
You can get a discount if you choose to pay annually:
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Monthly Cost Paid Annually | Total Annual Cost | Discount for Paying Annually | Attendees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49 | $39 | $468 | 20% | 100 |
| Basic | $99 | $79 | $948 | 20% | 500 |
| Professional | $299 | $229 | $2,748 | 23% | 2,000 |
| Enterprise | $499 | $379 | $4,548 | 24% | 5,000 |
Something I definitely don’t like is the fact that WebinarJam charges you to trial the software. Okay, it’s only a dollar, but this seems unnecessary considering most other platforms offer 100% free trials.
How I Rate the WebinarJam User Experience
If you have ever used Kartra, you will already know what to expect. WebinarJam is very similar and follows a step-by-step method to set up your webinars.
This can be great for beginners who don’t want to accidentally miss anything, but for advanced users, this drawn-out process can get frustrating quickly. You can’t quickly click between each setup step to get to the bit you want, so the whole thing feels quite laborious.
There is an express setup page, but it lacks the configuration options found in the standard setup tool.
The in-webinar features are easy to use, and you can quickly click between the different options and edit them during your live presentation.
Overall, this platform’s learning curve is low, and just about anyone will get the hang of it quickly. But, in contrast, the webinar configuration feels clunky and annoying.
What I Think of WebinarJam’s Customer Service
You can reach customer service via an email ticket or live chat.
Live chat is only available Monday to Friday, 12:00 am to 12:00 pm Pacific time, so it can be challenging to reach a live agent at a convenient time if you’re based elsewhere in the world.
However, when contacting support, I found them helpful and responsive.
I got hold of an agent via the email ticketing service, and while they took about 12 hours to initially get back to me, their subsequent replies were much faster. They also dealt with my issue swiftly and efficiently.
5 WebinarJam Features That Stand Out
I won’t go into detail about every WebinarJam feature because it wouldn’t be that interesting. The platform contains all the tools you’d expect to run live webinars efficiently, including:
- HD 30 FPS quality available on all devices
- The ability to create free or paid webinars
- Automatic webinar recording
- A comprehensive scheduling tool
- Customizable webinar and funnel pages
- “Panic button” instant webinar reboot: Pick up where you left off if your site crashes or glitches
- Import PowerPoint and Keynote slides
That said, here are five features I think WebinarJam has done a great job with:
1. Interactive Elements
Webinars can be boring for the viewer if there’s nothing to do but listen. Having interactive elements beyond the live chat facility (which is also available, by the way) is the perfect way to get attendees involved.
I like the polls and surveys feature because you can use it to gauge how your audience feels about a certain topic or segment of your webinar. You can use this information to improve your future webinars. The interactive whiteboard is also cool for building engagement and reinforcing understanding.
Having supporting documents available to download during the webinar also provides another dimension to the learning experience.
2. Attendee Speakers
To continue from the previous point, appointing attendees as speakers can level up your webinar into something that incorporates different viewpoints.
Inviting your attendees to speak shows you are interested in their opinions or expertise, which can make your audience feel valued and appreciated.
It also mixes things up. Although WebinarJam allows up to six hosts, adding additional speakers this way gives the audience different faces to look at and voices to listen to.
3. In-Webinar Offers
I love an opportunity to monetize, so I like the ability to create and display offers during the live webinar.
Doing this creates the urgency to purchase on the spot rather than trying to convince someone to buy once the webinar has ended and the buzz has died down.
My only complaint here is that WebinarJam does not have a checkout feature and cannot process payments. Therefore, you have to link the offer to an external payment page you’ve set up elsewhere.
4. Email and SMS Reminders
There’s no need to set up and use third-party email and SMS providers since WebinarJam includes this ability on its platform. While it is limited to sending out reminders and post-webinar notifications, it’s still a useful function nonetheless.
WebinarJam provides basic templates and an automated sequence, but you’re free to add as many emails into the sequence as you like.
SMS notifications and voice drops are only available for sending last-minute reminders (within an hour of the webinar starting). Still, even so, I think it’s neat that WebinarJam has included these for no extra cost.
5. Instant Live Room
The “always-on” live room allows you to jump into a webinar at any moment you choose.
Attendees can use the same link to access the live room, which prevents you from going through the webinar setup and configuration process each time. It’s as handy as it is time-saving.
This is perfect if you need to run a series of webinars with the same audience or if you want to jump on a video call with someone at a moment’s notice.
5 Reasons to Be Cautious of WebinarJam
1. Pricing
WebinarJam offers many features for its pricing, but it’s also not that cheap. And, unlike most other webinar platforms, it has chosen to remove the automated on-demand function and sell it as a separate product.
If you want both, this can add up to a significant amount.
I also feel that WebinarJam’s pricing can be questionable. Sometimes, the website displays monthly pricing options, and other times, only the annual pricing is available (with no monthly option).
Also, as I’ve already mentioned, the paid trial isn’t cool. No one should have to pay to see if they like something.
2. Bad Online Reputation
WebinarJam is only rated 3.1 on TrustPilot and 3.6 on G2. It fares better on Capterra where it has a rating of 4.0.
The TrustPilot score has improved recently, though. A few months ago, it was only 2.7. Still, its one-star reviews account for a staggering 39%, while five-star reviews only account for 19%.
The key concerns from customers are:
- Poor customer service
- Having difficulty or inability to cancel your subscription
- Webinars failing to run or severely lagging
While you are more likely to read about a negative experience than a positive one, it’s still worth keeping these complaints in mind, particularly as they seem to be recurring themes.
3. Limited Customization
You get a reasonably decent selection of page templates, which is good because there’s not much you can do to customize them.
Sure, you can adjust the colors and fonts to your liking, upload your own images, and overwrite the text. But you can’t change the page layout or add new elements.
The registration form builder is similarly limited. You can’t create custom form fields, which is a shame because asking attendees for certain information before the webinar allows you to better tailor the content toward them.
4. Outdated Page Editor
The page editor is as terrible as it is limited. It crashes or glitches ALL the time and makes editing the templates frustrating. When using the editor, I had to reload the same template three times because it kept freezing.
It seems outdated, too. The options bar that appears when you want to edit text looks like it came straight out of Windows 95.
5. Automated Webinars Not Included
I know I keep going on about this, but I feel it’s important because it limits this platform’s value.
If you look at rival platforms like Demio and EasyWebinar, they all include on-demand webinars as part of their core offering.
Having WebinarJam and EverWebinar as separate products just feels like a money grab.
WebinarJam Pros and Cons
WebinarJam Pros
- Unlimited webinars on any plan
- Email and SMS attendee reminders and notifications
- Low learning curve—easy to master the platform
- HD quality video with a good frame rate
- Panic button for quick rebooting
- Lots of interactive in-webinar features
- Responsive support
WebinarJam Cons
- You have to pay to trial the platform
- Poor online reputation
- Clunky setup process
- On-demand webinars are only available as a separate product for an additional cost
- Terrible page editing tool with limited customization options
Is WebinarJam Worth It?
This is the ultimate question!
WebinarJam is a good choice for those who want to run webinars for small audiences and who aren’t bothered about the on-demand webinar feature. Its Starter and Basic plans are perfectly adequate and affordable for basic needs.
For those wanting a tool to run webinars for larger audiences, I think other options provide a more comprehensive feature set for the price. WebinarJam’s Enterprise and Professional plans cost a lot and don’t give the same level of value as competing platforms.
In conclusion, WebinarJam is good, but other platforms are worth considering (see below).
WebinarJam Alternatives
If WebinarJam doesn’t make you want to open your wallet, here are some alternatives I feel are worth considering:
| Platform | Plans Cost from | Webinar Types | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demio | $59–$189/month | Live, on-demand, automated, series, hybrid | Customer support and focus tracking |
| EasyWebinar | Free–$197/month | Live, on-demand, automated, series, hybrid | Free plan and on-demand webinars |
| LiveStorm | Free–$499/month + custom pricing | Live, on-demand, automated, series, meetings | Video quality and user experience |
| WebinarNinja | $29–$399/month | Live, on-demand, automated, series, hybrid | Flexible plans and custom form options |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is WebinarJam Reliable?
WebinarJam supports over 50,000 businesses, which is a testament to its reliability. However, some online reviews state that it is not especially reliable. However, remember that the platform requires a good internet connection to run efficiently.
Is WebinarJam Like Zoom?
Webinar has similarities to Zoom in that they are both designed for live video streaming. However, WebinarJam’s features are geared toward marketing and monetizing an audience. In contrast, Zoom is intended for business communication purposes.
Does WebinarJam Have Good Video Quality?
WebinarJam’s video quality is good. It streams in HD with a 30-per-second frame rate.
How Long Can WebinarJam Webinars Run For?
The length of time your WebinarJam webinars can run depends on your chosen plan. The Starter plan allows one hour, the Basic plan two hours, the Professional plan three hours, and the Enterprise plan four hours.
