What's the difference between Standard, Webcast, and Recorded webinars?
GoTo Webinar offers multiple types of events to suit your needs, each of which offers different join experiences for attendees. Each time you schedule an event, you'll be able to choose which mode you want to use.
The features that are available on your account may vary depending on your subscription plan.
Event types
Standard events (formerly called "Classic" webinars) are fully interactive events that are hosted live by the organizer.
- These events can be set for a specific time and date, or they can be launched "on the fly" using the Webinar Now feature.
- If hosted on the v10 platform, attendees can join from the classic desktop app or the GoTo mobile app (downloads required).
- If hosted on the GoTo platform, attendees can join instantly from the browser or download and use either the GoTo desktop app or the GoTo mobile app.
Webcast events are also fully interactive events that are hosted live by the organizer.
Learn more.
- These events must be scheduled ahead of time for a specific time and date.
- Attendees can join instantly from a supported browser with no download needed or use the GoTo mobile app.
- Can be hosted in our classic or GoTo platform depending on your account setting.
Recorded events (formerly called "Simulated Live" webinars) are semi-interactive, pre-recorded events that start automatically and run on their own, so organizers do not need to be present to host the event.
Learn more.
- These events can be scheduled to start themselves at a specific time and date, or they can be made as "on demand" webinars that can be watched at any time.
- Organizers can pre-record the event, then select the recording they want to play back in a "simulated live" session.
- Attendees can join instantly from a supported browser with no download needed.
Virtual events are semi-interactive, multi-day and multi-session experiences that can replace in-person events such as sales kick-offs or other multi-day conferences. It gives you access to all the same features as weccast webinars.
Learn more.
- Organizers can create a custom agenda with a mix of pre-scheduled live sessions and pre-recorded sessions.
- Speaker details can be included in the agenda's.
- Attendees can join instantly from a supported browser with no download needed or use the GoTo mobile app.
Compare event features
All webinar types include GoTo Webinar engagement features such as polls, surveys, and handouts to use as desired.
| Standard | Webcast | Recorded | Virtual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facilitated live by an organizer | Facilitated live by an organizer | Pre-recorded and launched without organizer present | Can be live and/or recorded sessions, must be scheduled in advance |
| Join from desktop or mobile app | Join from browser app or mobile app | Join from browser app | Join from browser app or mobile app |
| Live Q&A | Live Q&A | Q&A sent to organizer after the session | Depends on the particular session type (since these are multi-session events) |
| Attendees can join from all available audio modes | Attendees can only join via computer audio (VoIP) | Attendees can only join via computer audio (VoIP) | Attendees can only join via computer audio (VoIP) |
| Attendees can be unmuted | Attendees cannot be unmuted | Attendees cannot be unmuted | Attendees cannot be unmuted |
| Attendees can be promoted to staff | Attendees cannot be promoted to staff | Attendees cannot be promoted to staff | Attendees cannot be promoted to staff |
| No change to max attendees | 3,000 max attendee limit (Plus); 1,000 max attendee limit (Pro) | Registration limit is max attendee capacity | 3,000 max attendee limit |
| Auto-recording is available | Auto-recording is available | Auto-recording not available (as the session itself is a recording) | Depends on the particular session type (since these are multi-session events) |
| Can be password protected | Cannot be password protected | Cannot be password protected | Cannot be password protected |