BigMarker vs Cvent

BigMarker is a browser-based webinar and event platform from Chicago, developed in 2010 by founder Zhu-Song Mei. It runs live, automated and on-demand webinars, virtual conferences and the digital side of in-person and hybrid events. Most customers are B2B marketing teams that treat webinars as a pipeline channel.

Webinars run without downloads, with chat, Q&A, polls, handouts, offers, breakout rooms and simulive or evergreen replays. The event suite adds custom registration, a mobile event app, badge printing and check-in, while Media Hubs turn recordings into on-demand video, learning and resource libraries. BigMarker AI creates derivative content and scores leads, and native integrations push data to Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo and Eloqua. Pricing is quote-based: webcast plans (Basic, Professional, Enterprise) differ mainly by host licenses, and event, mobile app and media hub licenses are priced separately.

BigMarker fits mid-market and enterprise teams that run frequent webinars plus a few large virtual or hybrid events and want both on one platform with CRM sync. It is too much for occasional small webinars, and the lack of public pricing makes quick comparisons hard. Demio is simpler and transparently priced for SMB webinars, Livestorm is a clean European option with self-serve plans, and Zoom Events suits companies already standardized on Zoom.

Buying tip: BigMarker does not publish list prices, and trials or proofs of concept are arranged through sales. Get a written quote covering host seats, audience size and add-ons.

Cvent is an event management and hospitality technology company founded in 1999 by Reggie Aggarwal and headquartered in Tysons, Virginia. Blackstone acquired it in 2023 for about $4.6 billion. Its core job: run an organisation's whole event program, from venue sourcing and registration to the onsite badge printer and post-event reporting.

The platform is a suite of modules: registration and event marketing, the Cvent Supplier Network for venue sourcing, Passkey for hotel room blocks, abstract and speaker management, mobile event apps, Attendee Hub for virtual and hybrid engagement, OnArrival check-in and badging, lead capture for exhibitors, webinars, surveys and event video. Prices are by quote: a Professional license covers only the modules you pick, Enterprise bundles registration, Attendee Hub and OnArrival with SSO and API access, and in some countries a pay-as-you-go option lets you build an event free and pay per registration.

Cvent fits enterprises, associations and agencies running many events a year that need Salesforce or Marketo sync, approvals and budgets in one system. It is expensive, implementation takes weeks, and smaller teams find it heavy. Eventbrite is far simpler for ticketed public events, Airmeet and Livestorm cover virtual events and webinars for less, and Zoom Events suits teams already standardised on Zoom.

Cvent closed its roughly $400 million all-cash acquisition of webinar platform ON24 on April 1, 2026, after buying AI video platform Goldcast in late 2025, so webinars now weigh more in the suite.