Free webinar software exists, but most free plans are small. Hosted free tiers cap your audience or session length, live studios keep their webinar features on higher plans, and open source tools remove the caps while leaving the server work to you. Pick by the audience size and session length you need.
The most common mistake with free webinar software is booking the date first and reading the limits second. You announce a session, sixty people register, and on the day you find out the free plan you picked takes five attendees, or stops after half an hour, or was never a webinar tool at all but a meeting room with a webinar name nearby.
So this list starts from the limits. I've grouped eight tools by what their free tier really is, and every line below states what the free plan allows, as the vendors list it, as of Nov 2026. They're in no particular order, and none of them is crowned, because the right one depends on how many people you expect and how long you'll talk.
Audience caps decide most free webinars before they start
Here's what the free columns show once you read them closely. The hosted webinar platform with a permanent free plan lists 5 attendees and 30-minute sessions, which is fine for a rehearsal or a tiny client briefing and nothing more. The big suite option offers 100 participants for 60 minutes, but that's its meeting edition; webinars sit on a separate tab.
The live studios are generous with streaming and stingy with webinars. One lists its On-Air webinars, with 100 viewers, only on the top tier it shows. Another sells webinars as an add-on, outside its free plan. If you need registration, a private room and an audience, neither free tier gives you that.
Open source is the way round the caps, and it's a fair route if you've got the skills. The trade is that the limit moves to your server: you supply the hosting, the bandwidth and the fixes. One project's licence, AGPLv3, also points anyone building a private or commercial product to a separate commercial licence, so read the terms before you wrap it into something you sell.
Three kinds of free webinar tool
Hosted free plans with an audience cap
These run in the browser and need nothing from you but a sign-up. LiveWebinar is built for webinars and keeps a free plan with no time limit on the plan itself, though each session is short and small. Zoho Meeting gives you a far bigger room on its free meeting tier, which works well for an open Q&A, but you won't get the webinar edition's tools there.
Live studios where webinar mode sits higher up
Both of these are made for going live to an audience on social platforms. StreamYard is a browser studio for streaming and recording with guests, and its webinar mode is on a higher tier. Restream sends one live session to several platforms at once, and its webinar feature is an add-on. On free, think public live stream, not private webinar.
Open source you host yourself
No audience cap from a vendor, but your server does the lifting. Jitsi Meet works in the browser with no account, or on your own machines. Owncast runs a one-to-many broadcast with chat. MiroTalk offers self-hosted meetings, webinars and broadcasting. BigBlueButton is a virtual classroom built for teaching. All four want someone comfortable with servers, or a hosting partner.
The eight free plans side by side
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| BigBlueButton | Open source classroom | Live teaching with whiteboard, polls and breakout rooms |
| Jitsi Meet | Open source meetings | Quick browser sessions with no sign-up for anyone |
| LiveWebinar | Webinar platform | A first tiny webinar in a browser room |
| MiroTalk | Self-hosted WebRTC | Meetings, webinars and broadcasts on your own server |
| Owncast | Self-hosted live stream | One-to-many broadcasts with chat, no viewer cap |
| Restream | Multistream studio | Sending one live session to two channels |
| StreamYard | Live studio | Guest interviews streamed from a browser studio |
| Zoho Meeting | Meetings and webinar suite | Larger free meetings inside the Zoho suite |
Eight free webinar tools, in no particular order
BigBlueButton
Best for: Teachers and trainers who want an open source virtual classroom with whiteboard, polls, breakout rooms and LMS links; you install and run it yourself, or use commercial hosting.
Jitsi Meet
Best for: Quick browser sessions with no account needed, open source and, by the vendor's own account, encrypted; meetings on the public hosted service stop at 95 minutes.
LiveWebinar
Best for: Very small first sessions in a browser webinar room; the free plan allows 5 attendees, 30-minute sessions and about 50MB of storage, with no card needed, the vendor says.
MiroTalk
Best for: Developers who'll self-host WebRTC meetings, webinars or broadcasts under AGPLv3; private or commercial products point to a commercial licence, and your server carries the load as rooms grow.
Owncast
Best for: One-to-many broadcasts with built-in chat on your own server; the vendor promises no subscriptions, viewer limits or forced ads, but hosting and bandwidth are yours.
Restream
Best for: Sending one live session to 2 channels at once; the vendor's branding stays on free, and its Webinars feature is an add-on outside the free plan.
StreamYard
Best for: Hosts who interview guests in a browser studio, with up to 6 people on screen and 2 hours of local recording each month; its logo stays on free streams.
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Zoho Meeting
Best for: Teams already on Zoho who need a free meeting room for up to 100 participants and 60 minutes; recording, polls and the separate webinar edition sit on higher tiers.
What to check before you announce a free webinar
Run through these before a single invite goes out. They're the things that break a free event on the day, not in the demo.
- How many people can join? Compare the attendee cap with your registrations, not your hopes, and leave room for a few extra.
- How long can a session run? A hard stop at 30 or 60 minutes cuts off your Q&A, which is usually the part people came for.
- Is it a webinar or a meeting room? Meeting rooms let everyone talk and share. Webinar mode keeps attendees watching. Know which one you're on.
- Whose logo is on screen? Free studio plans often stamp their own branding on your stream. Fine for a test, less so for a client launch.
- Can you keep the recording? Cloud recording often sits on a higher tier. If you want a replay, check where the file ends up.
- Who runs the server? With open source, that's you. Name the person before the date, not after something goes wrong.
If you'd like to see what the bigger names offer once you outgrow a free tier, our guide to webinar platforms for growing businesses covers them, and this roundup of tools for running webinars mixes free and upgraded options.
My plain advice on running a webinar for free
Match the tool to the room you need, not the word on the box. If you expect a handful of people, a small hosted free plan is enough, and it's the least work you'll ever do for a webinar. If you expect dozens and want questions at the end, a free meeting tier with a bigger cap and a longer clock will serve you better than a webinar plan that stops at five.
If what you really want is reach, go live on social with a studio and accept the logo. And if you need big private sessions with no vendor cap, open source is the honest answer, as long as you've got someone to run it. Whatever you choose, do a full dry run with a friend on the same plan, from start to finish, so the limits find you before your audience does.
Do you make webinar software with a free plan? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any webinar software that's free with no limits?
Not from a hosted vendor. Free hosted plans cap attendees, session length or features. Open source tools you host remove the vendor caps, but your server, bandwidth and upkeep set the limits instead.
Can I use a free meeting tool for a webinar?
Yes, for smaller sessions. A meeting room lets every attendee speak and share, so you'll want to mute people on entry and keep control of screen sharing. It works well for an informal Q&A or a client briefing.
What's the difference between a webinar and a live stream?
A webinar usually has registration, a private room and attendee details. A live stream goes out to an open audience on platforms such as YouTube or LinkedIn. Free studio plans lean towards live streams.
How long can a free webinar run?
It depends on the plan. Free hosted tiers on this list stop sessions at limits ranging from half an hour to about an hour and a half, while self-hosted tools have no vendor timer. Always check the session cap before you set an agenda.
Do I need technical skills for open source webinar software?
For self-hosting, yes. You'll set up a server, install the software, keep it updated and make sure it copes with your audience. Some projects list commercial hosting if you'd rather not run it yourself.
Will free webinar tools show their own branding?
Often, yes. Free studio plans commonly keep the vendor's logo or branding on your stream. Read the free column before a client-facing event so nothing surprises you on screen.
