GotoMeeting vs. GotoWebinar – What to Choose For Your Business?

The business world is evolving. People now have more reasons to hold online meetings and webinars. Such meetings require unique platforms that can facilitate visual exchange between two or more individuals.

There are tons of apps on the internet at the moment, capable of providing an online conferencing service. However, we will be focusing on two popular options – the GoToMeeting and the GoToWebinar. Do they share any similarities? If yes, in what aspects? Which is better between the two?

This article will discuss, at length, all you need to know about GoToMeeting and GoTowebinar, what are the differences between these two software apps, and what’s the best for your needs.

Get Familiar – GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar

About GoToMeeting

​GoToMeeting was developed by Citrix Systems, as a member of its GoTo Products Family. Like other GoTo products, this tool is all about communication. It is a web-based video conferencing and desktop-sharing tool designed to aid productive collaborations between clients and customers online.

Businesses that organize frequent meetings, training, presentations, and conference calls will find GoToMeeting quite useful. Users can schedule meetings both on mobile and desktop. There is the cloud version, as well as the installed versions on iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows devices.

About GoToWebinar

GoToWebinar is almost like the GoToMeeting tool. The significant difference, however, is that the former is geared towards one-way presentations. It is also a web-based webinar tool. Users can host online events and live demos. It has proven to be a vital marketing tool for most businesses.

The app comes handy for lead generation, training, reaching out to a target audience, and video conferences. The platform is well-known for its easy-to-use features and user-friendly interface. It is multi-linguistic, both when you are chatting or interacting with the interface.

The Talking Points – GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar

Response Features

Both apps are packed with impressive response features, as shown in the list of features below:

GoToWebinar Features

• Email Automation
• Real-Time Analytics
• HDFaces Video Conferencing
• Network Security
• Desktop/Application Sharing
• Custom Branding
• Practice Settings
• Audience Interaction
• Handouts Mobile Support
• Recording
• Lead Management

GoToMeeting Features

GoToMeeting Features

• Meeting Scheduler
• One-Click Meetings
• One-Click Recording
• Call Me to Join Meeting
• Built-In Audio
• Toll-Free Option
• Personal Meeting Room
• HDFaces Video Conferencing
• Join via Desktop Options
• Join via Mobile Options
• Desktop/Application Sharing
• Drawing Tools
• Hand Over Control
• Virtual Whiteboard

There is no poll and survey feature on GoToMeeting. However, it makes up for this with impressive interactivity features like remote control of participants’ computers, sharing of documents, and chats between participants.

The instant meeting feature on GoToMeeting helps to schedule and attend a meeting instantly. Conversely, GoToWebinar demands conferences or presentations to be pre-scheduled.

Attendees must register their attendance while providing relevant personal information that will be curated and sent to the controller.

Design

Both apps are designed to facilitate communication. While GoToMeeting allows you to share desktops and live visuals with other people, GoToWebinar is a collaboration tool that works best with one-way collaborations.

• GoToMeeting is best for real-time conversations and communications. 
• GoToWebinar allows users to share pre-recorded and pre-conceived presentations or ideas, which are ideal for online training, web events, and conferences. 

They are both suitable for small businesses, large enterprises, freelancers, and medium businesses.

Pricing

Both apps are available on monthly subscriptions. There are quarterly and annual monthly plans for users with long term intents.

GoToWebinar offers four pricing plans, alongside a trial offer where Plus Plan features are available for 10 participants. The higher the plans, the more the features and the number of participants allowed.

• The Starter Package costs $89 monthly when billed annually, and allows up to 100 participants.
• The Pro Package costs $199 monthly when billed annually, and allows up to 500 participants.
• The Plus Package costs $429 monthly when billed annually, and allows up to 2,000 participants.
• The Enterprise Package is a custom plan. It allows up to 5,000 participants.

GoToMeeting has four SMB and enterprise pricing plans. There is a free plan for teams of no more than three participants and a few basic features.

• The Starter Package costs $19 monthly and allows up to 10 participants.
• The Pro Package costs $29 monthly and allows up to 50 participants.
• The Plus Package costs $49 monthly and allows up to 100 participants.

Cross-Platform Compatibility

Both the GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar apps work fine on multiple platforms. However, the

GoToMeeting app is currently not available on Android.

GoToMeeting is available in cloud-based and installed versions. The supported platforms include Windows, Mac, Android, Windows Phone, and iOS devices. On the other hand,

GoToWebinar can be deployed on Web-based platforms, macOS, iPhone/iPad, Android, and Windows devices.

Customer Support

Both apps offer excellent customer support options. You can reach the customer service on both the GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar via Phone, Live Chat, Tickets, and Training.

Integrations

For ease of use, these apps are packed with integration features that allow them to work with other business systems and applications.

In the case of GoToWebinar, it is compatible with HubSpot, ProjectManager.com, Accord LMS, LeadPages, Hatchbuck, Infusionsoft, Instapage, Pipedrive CRM, net-Results, Genoo, ActiveCampaign, among the others.

Language Support

Both apps are multilingual. In the case of GoToWebinar, users can switch between English and Swedish, Polish, Dutch, Italian, French, German, Danish, Portuguese, and Spanish.

GoToMeeting, on the other hand, supports all these languages, alongside Norwegian, Polish, Hebrew, Hindi, and Finnish.

Which is better between GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar?

With hundreds of thousands of users worldwide, it is clear that these are two of the most-used and reliable online conferencing service platforms at the moment. Choosing between them can be understandably tricky.

The deciding factor, in most cases, is the target audience and attendees. GoToWebinar is better equipped for meetings with sales prospects and external clients. It can quickly reach a large group, thanks to its ability to send a wide-scale broadcast message.

GoToMeeting offers advanced sharing and interactive features, which make it suitable for internal meetings that require detailed interactions. Both apps have recording and playback features for analysis and easy referencing in future presentations and meetings.