Last updated: 2026-01-15

For most people searching for a free webinar platform in the U.S., the fastest path is to start with StreamYard’s free studio, pair it with an unlisted YouTube stream, and upgrade only if you need built‑in registration. If you specifically want time‑boxed free trials with native registration or paid webinars, you can explore options like Demio, Crowdcast, or Zoom’s paid webinar add‑ons.

Summary

• StreamYard gives you a forever‑free, browser‑based studio with high‑quality audio/video and local recording that you can use to host professional webinars via YouTube.
• Built‑in registration and On‑Air webinar features are available on paid StreamYard plans; you can still collect leads on free plans using external forms.
• Demio and Crowdcast offer short free trials with registration built in, while Zoom’s free product is designed for meetings and limits sessions to 40 minutes for up to 100 participants. (Demio / Crowdcast / Zoom)
• For deeper interaction (polls, Q&A beyond chat), pairing your webinar with tools like Slido or Mentimeter often beats relying only on built‑in webinar widgets.

What should “free webinar platform” really mean for you?

When people type "free webinar platform," they usually want more than just a free video call. They’re looking for:

• Reliable, good‑looking audio/video
• Something that’s easy for guests and attendees to join
• Automatic recording
• Some level of branding
• Ways to interact with the audience (chat, polls, Q&A)

StreamYard’s approach is to give you a free production studio that checks most of these boxes out of the gate: browser‑based for hosts and guests, solid AV, branding controls, and recording. (StreamYard pricing) You can then layer in registration, email capture, and interaction tools as needed instead of being forced into a paid “webinar” plan on day one.

How far can you go with StreamYard’s free setup?

On the free plan, you get a full browser‑based studio with layout control, overlays, screen share, and up to six people on screen at once. (StreamYard pricing) Attendees watch wherever you send the stream.

A simple, effective free webinar stack looks like this:

1. Go live from StreamYard to YouTube.
2. Set your YouTube stream to Unlisted so only people with the link can attend.
3. Share that link on your landing page, email list, or calendar invite.
4. Use StreamYard’s built‑in recording so you have an instant replay.

What you get for $0:

• High‑quality audio/video from a browser, no installs for guests.
• Automatic recording (local recording is available with monthly limits on the free plan). (StreamYard support)
• Branding basics via overlays, backgrounds, and logo (with a StreamYard watermark on free).
• Live chat by using YouTube chat as your webinar chat.

What you don’t get for free is built‑in registration and email reminders. For many small teams, that’s easy to solve with a simple signup form (from your email tool, Typeform, or Google Forms) and a calendar invite that includes the unlisted YouTube link.

When does it make sense to use StreamYard’s paid webinar features?

If your webinar is core to your marketing or sales motion, relying on scattered forms and manual emails gets old fast. That’s when StreamYard’s On‑Air webinar features start to matter.

On paid plans, On‑Air adds:

• Hosted watch page with a fully browser‑based attendee experience and no logins required.
• Registration + lead capture with customizable form fields, registrant management, and CSV export so you can sync contacts to your CRM. (StreamYard On‑Air)
• Automated email sequence: confirmation, reminders (24 hours and 1 hour before), and a post‑event recording email when you enable on‑demand replay. (StreamYard support)
• Embeddable player + chat so your webinar looks fully on‑brand on your own site.
• On‑demand toggles so you can continue collecting leads after the live session.

Compared with other platforms that lock most of this behind higher tiers, we aim to keep setup and attendee experience simple: one studio, one link, browser‑based for everyone.

How does StreamYard’s free option compare to Crowdcast’s free trial?

Crowdcast is often considered by teams that care deeply about in‑platform registration and replays. It doesn’t have a forever‑free plan, but it offers a trial: you can test events with up to about 10 registrations and 60‑minute sessions. (Crowdcast pricing)

That trial is useful for evaluating the interface, but it’s not a sustainable free webinar option:

• Your attendee and time limits are tight.
• After the trial, you move to paid tiers with quotas on hours and live attendees each month. (Crowdcast pricing)

With StreamYard, your free plan is not a timed trial. You can run recurring webinars using YouTube and build a repeatable format before deciding whether you need On‑Air’s built‑in registration.

For most creators and small teams, that ongoing free access makes experimentation less stressful than racing to evaluate a limited trial.

What about Demio’s 14‑day trial for marketing webinars?

Demio positions itself strongly around marketing and customer webinars. Instead of a free tier, it offers a 14‑day free trial that lets you run sessions up to 1 hour long for up to 20 simultaneous attendees. (Demio free trial) After that, ongoing use requires a paid plan; there is no forever‑free version. (Demio pricing overview)

Demio’s trial is a good way to test a traditional “all‑in‑one” webinar experience with built‑in registration pages, reminders, and analytics. The trade‑off is clear:

• You get more native marketing features during the trial.
• You’re capped on time and attendees, and you have to pay to keep anything going.

With StreamYard, you can:

• Keep using the free studio indefinitely.
• Layer on your existing marketing tools instead of reinventing your tech stack.
• Move to paid On‑Air only when you actually need native registration, emails, and embedded webinar pages.

Is Zoom a realistic free webinar platform?

Zoom’s free product is designed for meetings, not webinars. Officially, Zoom’s free meetings allow up to 100 participants and are limited to 40 minutes per group session. (Zoom free meetings)

You can technically run a “webinar” using Zoom’s free meetings if:

• You’re okay with the 40‑minute cap.
• You don’t mind attendees installing the Zoom app or using the client.
• You’re fine with a more meeting‑style experience rather than a polished broadcast.

For most external‑facing webinars, those constraints are painful. Zoom’s real webinar solution is a paid add‑on, and it makes more sense when your organization is already standardized on Zoom and you’re planning large, formal events.

That’s why many small businesses and creators begin with StreamYard’s browser‑based studio instead: there’s no hard time limit on the free plan, and attendees can simply click a link and watch in their browser.

How should you think about interaction, polls, and Q&A on a budget?

No matter which base platform you choose, built‑in interaction tools tend to hit limits quickly—especially once you want advanced polls, word clouds, or detailed response data.

A practical approach is:

• Use StreamYard for the video and production.
• Use YouTube chat or On‑Air chat for basic interaction.
• Add an external tool like Slido or Mentimeter for deeper polling and Q&A; both offer free tiers.

This keeps your webinar flexible: your video stack stays simple, and you can swap interaction tools as your needs evolve. It also avoids locking your engagement data inside a single webinar vendor.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard’s free studio and an unlisted YouTube stream to run professional‑looking webinars without spending anything.
• Add simple external registration (email tool, form, calendar invites) until webinars are clearly driving results.
• When you’re ready for built‑in registration, automated emails, and on‑demand replays on a hosted watch page, turn on StreamYard On‑Air on a paid plan. (StreamYard On‑Air)
• Consider short free trials from Demio or Crowdcast only if you specifically want to test their marketing or monetization workflows; use Zoom’s paid webinar options when you truly need a more formal, Zoom‑native setup.