Webinar and virtual event platforms
Asked as “webinar and virtual event platform”, and as “platform for hosting webinars and virtual events”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 27 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing
Goldcast41% of first choices at a 6% negative rate, against a field where the incumbents are named mostly to be warned against: Zoom, GoTo, Teams and ON24 all clear 29% negative.
First-choice share
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. Leader at 30% or more of first choices; criticized at 25% or more negative labels. Markers are keyed to the table below.
Negative label rate →
25% negative
30% first choices
Criticized challenger
Criticized default
Accepted challenger
Endorsed leader
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
100%First-choice share →60%
Full standing
| # | Product | First choices | Negative rate | Labels | Quadrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Goldcast | 41% | 6% | 17 | endorsed leader |
| 02 | Livestorm | 15% | 0% | 20 | accepted challenger |
| 03 | Zoom Webinars | 7% | 29% | 35 | criticized challenger |
| 04 | Demio | 7% | 16% | 19 | accepted challenger |
| 05 | ON24 | 7% | 42% | 26 | criticized challenger |
| 06 | Cvent | 0% | 31% | 13 | criticized challenger |
| 07 | Webex Webinars | 0% | 25% | 12 | criticized challenger |
| 08 | GoTo Webinar | 0% | 33% | 15 | criticized challenger |
| 09 | Microsoft Teams | 0% | 33% | 15 | criticized challenger |
| 10 | RingCentral Events | 0% | 41% | 17 | criticized challenger |
Warned against
A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Zoom Webinars29%
10 of 35 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“it is generally not recommended as the primary choice for B2B software marketing” Gemini 3.1 Pro, paraphrase prompt
GoTo Webinar33%
5 of 15 labels negative · 5 of 6 models · 1 hard negative
“criticized in one review as **too expensive for what it offers**” Perplexity Sonar Pro, negative prompt
ON2442%
11 of 26 labels negative · 5 of 6 models
“potentially expensive and cumbersome. Reviews frequently mention learning curve, confusing administration, integration limitations and upcharges.” GPT-5.6 Sol, negative prompt
Microsoft Teams33%
5 of 15 labels negative · 4 of 6 models · 3 hard negative
“This specific legacy product **retired on June 30, 2026**... Avoid when… You’re planning any new event program or integration.” GPT-5.6 Sol, negative prompt
Held under rewording
Whether each model's first choice on the direct prompt survived the paraphrase in this category, under the strict rule.
Claude Opus 5
Changed
Claude Opus 4.8
Changed
GPT-6 Astra
Held
GPT-5.6 Sol
Held
Gemini 3.1 Pro
Changed
Perplexity Sonar Pro
Changed
Noise floor in this category
Flips between the edition run and its calibration repeat (simulated until 12 September 2026). Six prompts per model is a small sample; the index-wide floor is the number to trust.
Claude Opus 5
0 of 3 flipped
Claude Opus 4.8
0 of 3 flipped
GPT-6 Astra
2 of 5 flipped
GPT-5.6 Sol
0 of 5 flipped
Gemini 3.1 Pro
3 of 5 flipped
Perplexity Sonar Pro
1 of 4 flipped
What each model said, prompt by prompt
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. Bold is the first choice, grey the alternatives, red what the answer argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
| Prompt | Claude Opus 5 | Claude Opus 4.8 | GPT-6 Astra | GPT-5.6 Sol | Gemini 3.1 Pro | Perplexity Sonar Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct recommendation What is the best webinar and virtual event platform for a mid-market B2B software company? | Goldcast BigMarker, Livestorm, Zoom Webinars against: ON24 | Goldcast Airmeet, GoTo Webinar, ON24, Zoom Webinars +1 | Goldcast Livestorm, ON24 | Goldcast Livestorm, ON24, Zoom Webinars against: Cvent, ON24 | Goldcast Demio, Livestorm, Zuddl against: ON24, Zoom Webinars | Demio Bizzabo, Livestorm, Zoom Webinars |
Paraphrase Which platform for hosting webinars and virtual events would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B software company? | Goldcast, Livestorm Zoom Webinars against: ON24 | ON24 Demio, GoTo Webinar, Livestorm, Zoom Webinars | Goldcast Demio, Zoom Webinars | Goldcast Livestorm, ON24, Zoom Webinars | Livestorm Demio, Goldcast against: ON24, Zoom Webinars | Livestorm Demio against: Bizzabo, ON24 |
Comparative What are the top webinar and virtual event platforms and how do they differ? | no first choice Bizzabo, Cvent, Goldcast, Livestorm +1 against: Demio, RingCentral Events, Zoom Webinars +1 | no first choice Airmeet, EasyWebinar, GoTo Webinar, Livestorm +8 against: SpotMe | Zoom Webinars Bizzabo, Cvent, Demio, Goldcast +4 | Zoom Webinars BigMarker, Cvent, Demio, GoTo Webinar +6 | Livestorm, RingCentral Events Airmeet, BigMarker, Cvent, Demio +4 | Livestorm, Zoom Webinars Demio, GoTo Webinar, ON24 |
Budget constrained What is the best webinar and virtual event platform for a company with a limited budget? | ClickMeeting, LiveWebinar, Zoho Webinar Demio, EasyWebinar, WebinarNinja against: BigMarker, Bizzabo, GoTo Webinar +3 | Zoom Webinars Airmeet, Demio, EasyWebinar, Livestorm +2 against: GoTo Webinar, RingCentral Events | Zoho Webinar Zoho Backstage, Zoom Webinars | Zoho Webinar Microsoft Teams, Zoho Backstage against: Demio, Zoom Webinars | Zoho Webinar Airmeet, EasyWebinar, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams +2 against: Cvent, ON24 | Livestorm ClickMeeting, WebinarKit, Zoho Webinar |
Scale constrained We are a 500 person company evaluating a webinar and virtual event platform. What should we look at? | no first choice | no first choice | Goldcast, Zoom Webinars Cvent, Microsoft Teams, ON24 | Goldcast, ON24 Cvent, Microsoft Teams, RingCentral Events, Webex Webinars +1 | Demio, Goldcast Livestorm, RingCentral Events, Webex Webinars, Zoom Webinars +1 against: Bizzabo, Cvent, ON24 | no first choice |
Negative framing Which webinar and virtual event platforms should I avoid or be cautious about? | no first choice against: Microsoft Teams, RingCentral Events, WebinarJam +1 | no first choice Cvent, ON24 against: WebinarJam, WebinarKit, Zoom Webinars +1 | no first choice against: Adobe Connect, BlueJeans Events, Microsoft Teams +3 | no first choice against: GoTo Webinar, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams +5 | no first choice against: Cvent, GoTo Webinar, Goldcast +7 | no first choice against: ClickMeeting, Demio, EasyWebinar +5 |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
Category-scoped readings
Zoom read as Zoom Webinars
Unresolved, counted raw
None awaiting human review.
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.
Every prompt and answer
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, latency and cost. Full answer text is in the responses download on the Data page.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 11:31 | yes | 40 | 82 s | $0.30 |
| Direct recommendation | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 11:33 | yes | 30 | 63 s | $0.32 |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 11:34 | yes | 6 | 33 s | $0.41 |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 11:35 | yes | 7 | 66 s | $0.28 |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 11:33 | yes | 11 | 40 s | $0.06 |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 11:33 | yes | 20 | 8 s | $0.01 |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 11:36 | yes | 25 | 50 s | $0.24 |
| Paraphrase | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 11:36 | no | 0 | 23 s | $0.06 |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 11:38 | yes | 4 | 25 s | $0.26 |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 11:39 | yes | 4 | 38 s | $0.18 |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 11:38 | yes | 15 | 70 s | $0.06 |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 11:37 | yes | 20 | 9 s | $0.01 |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 11:40 | yes | 43 | 86 s | $0.50 |
| Comparative | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 16:07 | yes | 34 | 65 s | $0.36 |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 11:48 | yes | 12 | 61 s | $0.61 |
| Comparative | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 11:49 | yes | 10 | 75 s | $0.36 |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 11:46 | yes | 10 | 36 s | $0.05 |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 11:46 | yes | 18 | 14 s | $0.02 |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 11:50 | yes | 27 | 64 s | $0.35 |
| Budget constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 11:51 | yes | 37 | 54 s | $0.25 |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 11:53 | yes | 5 | 29 s | $0.33 |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 11:53 | yes | 5 | 21 s | $0.12 |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 11:52 | yes | 11 | 60 s | $0.06 |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 11:51 | yes | 20 | 8 s | $0.01 |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 11:54 | yes | 29 | 75 s | $0.33 |
| Scale constrained | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 11:55 | no | 0 | 26 s | $0.07 |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 11:56 | yes | 5 | 40 s | $0.30 |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 11:58 | yes | 9 | 75 s | $0.26 |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 11:56 | yes | 8 | 42 s | $0.06 |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 11:55 | yes | 20 | 12 s | $0.02 |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 5 | claude-opus-5 | 2026-09-08 12:00 | yes | 39 | 128 s | $0.66 |
| Negative framing | Claude Opus 4.8 | claude-opus-4-8 | 2026-09-08 12:01 | yes | 34 | 61 s | $0.30 |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Astra | gpt-6-astra | 2026-09-08 12:02 | yes | 7 | 42 s | $0.48 |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.6 Sol | gpt-5.6-sol | 2026-09-08 12:04 | yes | 9 | 73 s | $0.32 |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.1 Pro | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | 2026-09-08 12:02 | yes | 7 | 35 s | $0.05 |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar Pro | sonar-pro | 2026-09-08 12:01 | yes | 20 | 9 s | $0.01 |