BigMarker vs RingCentral Events

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.

RingCentral Events is the virtual and hybrid event platform formerly known as Hopin. Hopin was founded in London in 2019 by Johnny Boufarhat and grew explosively during the pandemic; in 2023 RingCentral, the US cloud communications company, acquired the events product and folded it into its video portfolio alongside RingCentral Webinar and RingCentral Video.

The platform recreates the structure of a physical conference online: a main stage for keynotes, parallel session rooms, one-to-one and group networking, sponsor expo booths, chat, polls and Q&A. For hybrid events it adds registration, ticketing, on-site check-in and badge printing, and organizers get attendee analytics, custom branding and integrations with marketing automation and CRM systems. Pricing is per organizer on an annual commitment, starting with the Events Pro plan, with unlimited events and registrations and a 30-day free trial; the product is aimed at companies running several events a year.

RingCentral Events suits marketing and event teams that need a full conference experience with networking and sponsors, particularly organizations already using RingCentral communications. It is much more than a webinar tool, so smaller teams running simple online talks will find Zoom Webinars, Livestorm or RingCentral Webinar easier and cheaper. Enterprise event programs also compare it with Cvent, Bizzabo, ON24 and Airmeet. Since the acquisition, the product's roadmap follows RingCentral's priorities, which buyers should confirm before signing a multi-year contract.