Best ON24 Alternatives for Automated Webinars (2026)

Last updated 2026-10-04 · By the BrightStage AI team

Quick answer: ON24 is built for large marketing teams running enterprise webinar programs with content hubs and lead scoring, which is more than many smaller teams need. Alternatives range from simpler live-webinar tools to BrightStage AI Events, which runs the entire presentation with an AI presenter and no host present. The right pick depends on whether you still want a human on camera or want the event to run itself.

Who looks for ON24 alternatives and why?

ON24 is widely known as an enterprise webinar and engagement platform, used by marketing teams that need detailed engagement scoring, content hubs, and integration with large marketing automation stacks. That depth is exactly why some teams go looking elsewhere.

Smaller companies, solo founders, and agencies often find that an enterprise platform brings a learning curve and a setup process built around teams with a dedicated webinar producer. If you just need to run a sales presentation on a schedule, or you want to stop showing up live every week, a lighter or differently built tool may fit better.

Two common reasons people search for an ON24 alternative: the platform feels heavier than their actual use case, or they want something that doesn't require a live presenter at all. This page covers both kinds of alternatives.

What is ON24 built for?

ON24 is strong where enterprise marketing teams need it most: detailed attendee engagement data, content experiences that extend beyond the live event, and integration with large-scale marketing and sales systems. Teams running multi-stakeholder webinar programs across a big organization often choose it for that reason.

That strength is also what makes it feel like more than some smaller teams need. If your goal is a focused sales event that runs on repeat without a producer behind it, you may be paying for capability you won't use. For current plan details and limits, check ON24's own site, since these change over time.

BrightStage AI Events: the AI-run option

BrightStage AI Events takes a different approach than ON24 or most webinar platforms: an AI writes the sales presentation, script and slides, and turns it into a video with an AI presenter whose avatar and voice the host chooses. There is no live host and no producer running the room.

Events start on a schedule or on demand, around the clock. Inside the event room, an AI answers attendee questions in the chat in real time, polls appear during the event, and offer buttons appear at the moments the host sets. The video plays like a live event, so attendees can't skip ahead, and a replay is called an Encore.

Registration and thank-you pages can be split tested in up to three versions, with email and SMS reminders going out beforehand and follow-up messages that respond to what an attendee did. Attendees join in a browser or install the BrightStage app from the thank-you page, so later events open in one tap. One dashboard shows visitors, registrations, attendance, offer clicks, and revenue, with AI-written insights pulled from the host's own numbers.

BrightStage AI Events fits best for founders, coaches, agencies, and small sales teams who want the event itself to sell, without rehearsing, presenting live, or hiring someone to host. Customer examples include Sportscard Official, which moved from selling $1 cards on eBay to selling $800 cards on its own site, ReAction TM, which ran more than 20 autonomous events with zero ad spend, and The Legacy Partners, which sells homes through private digital tours hosted in BrightStage AI. Pricing starts with a 14-day full-access trial (a card is required for verification, and you can cancel any time), then from $59.95 per month, with a commercial license available for agencies running events for clients.

See BrightStage AI Events for a full walkthrough, or read the AI Events guide for more on how the format works.

Other ON24 alternatives worth considering

Livestorm

Livestorm is a browser-based webinar platform known for a clean interface and straightforward setup, including options for on-demand and automated webinars alongside live ones. It suits teams that want an easier day-to-day experience than enterprise platforms typically offer, while still running a human-hosted event. For a deeper look, see Livestorm alternatives.

Demio

Demio is built for marketers running live and automated webinars with a focus on simplicity and a polished attendee experience. It's a reasonable step down in complexity from ON24 for teams that still want a recognizable webinar room and don't need enterprise content hubs.

WebinarJam and EverWebinar

WebinarJam and its sister product EverWebinar are known for evergreen webinar funnels, where a recorded presentation plays back on a schedule to simulate a live event. They're a long-standing option for marketers who want automated playback without rebuilding their funnel from scratch. Check the vendor's current features for details on AI tools, since these are added and updated regularly.

BigMarker

BigMarker is a customizable virtual event platform used for webinars, summits, and larger branded event experiences. It fits teams wanting more design control over the room than many fixed-template tools allow. See BigMarker alternatives for a closer comparison.

ClickMeeting

ClickMeeting is a straightforward webinar tool with support for automated webinars alongside live ones, often chosen by teams wanting a simpler setup than enterprise platforms. See ClickMeeting alternatives for more on how it compares.

Zoom Webinars

Zoom Webinars is a widely used option for teams already standardized on Zoom for meetings, offering reliable live webinar hosting and familiar tools for most attendees. It is built around a live, hosted session rather than an unattended, continuously running event.

How do these alternatives compare?

Which ON24 alternative should you choose?

If you want a lighter, human-hosted alternative to ON24's enterprise feature set, Livestorm, Demio, ClickMeeting, or Zoom Webinars are reasonable starting points, each with a simpler learning curve for a smaller team. If your event design leans toward branded, highly customized virtual experiences, BigMarker is worth evaluating.

If what you actually want is to stop hosting the event yourself, that's a different question than finding a lighter version of ON24. WebinarJam and EverWebinar answer part of that with recorded playback. BrightStage AI Events goes further: an AI writes the presentation, presents it, answers attendee questions live in the chat, and triggers offers at the moments you set, with nobody in the room.

For more on that distinction, read AI Events vs Virtual Event Platforms and How to Run a Webinar Without Being Live.

Key takeaways

• ON24 is built for enterprise webinar programs with deep analytics and content hubs, which is more complexity than many smaller teams need.
• Livestorm, Demio, ClickMeeting, and Zoom Webinars offer simpler, human-hosted alternatives for teams that want to stay live but reduce setup overhead.
• WebinarJam and EverWebinar focus on evergreen playback funnels, a step toward automation but still built around a pre-recorded human presentation.
• BrightStage AI Events is the only option here where an AI writes, presents, and sells the event in real time, with no host present at all.
• Check each vendor's current site for AI features, pricing, and plan limits, since these change frequently across the category.
• See BrightStage AI Events to view how a fully AI-run event looks in practice.