Last updated: 2026-01-20

For a private webinar platform that stays simple while still handling invite-only access, email capture, and polished production, start with StreamYard’s On‑Air webinars on paid plans. If you specifically need strict enterprise sign‑in or deep marketing automation, Zoom or a marketing‑first tool like Demio can make sense alongside (or instead of) StreamYard.

Summary

• StreamYard On‑Air lets you run browser-based, invite‑only webinars with registration, CSV whitelists, and one-time access codes on paid plans. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Most U.S. marketers care more about reliability, ease of joining, and clean recording than about heavy IT-style authentication—and that is where StreamYard is strongest.
• Zoom offers organization-level authentication and domain restrictions; Demio and Crowdcast emphasize unique join links and CSV imports, but add more marketing/usage complexity. (Zoom Support)
• A practical setup for many teams is: StreamYard for production and delivery, plus external tools for payments, advanced analytics, and audience interaction if needed.

What is a private webinar platform, really?

When people in the U.S. search for a “private webinar platform,” they usually mean one of three things:

1. Invite-only access: Only a specific list of people can get in (clients, paying customers, internal staff).
2. Controlled sharing: Links can’t just be passed around freely, or at least not easily.
3. Professional experience: High-quality audio/video, automatic recording, and clean branding without a lot of tech support.

A good private webinar platform should also give you:

• Browser-based access so attendees don’t have to install software or create accounts.
• Registration plus email capture for follow-up.
• Automatic recording and simple on-demand replays.
• Live chat and, ideally, polls or Q&A for interaction.

StreamYard’s On‑Air checks these boxes while staying closer to “live show workflow” than “enterprise IT project,” which is why it’s a solid default for most private marketing and customer webinars in the U.S. (StreamYard On‑Air)

How does StreamYard handle private webinars?

On paid plans, you can set any On‑Air webinar to Private, which means only pre-approved people can watch. You upload a CSV of registrants that includes email, first name, and last name, and only those people are allowed through the door. (StreamYard Help Center)

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

1. Set the webinar to Private when you create it.
2. Upload your whitelist of approved attendees from a CSV.
3. Each person gets an email with a one-time, 6‑digit access code they use to join the browser-based watch page. (StreamYard Help Center)
4. The webinar runs in the same production studio we use for live shows—layouts, overlays, lower thirds, screen share, and more.
5. Afterward, attendees get an email with the recording link when on-demand is enabled, and you keep a recording in your library. (StreamYard Help Center)

Because everything is browser-based, hosts and attendees avoid installs and account creation; that’s a big deal if you’re inviting executives, clients, or non-technical audiences.

On top of privacy controls, you still get the webinar fundamentals most people care about:

• Customizable registration form fields and lead capture, with registrant CSV export. (StreamYard On‑Air)
• Confirmation, reminder, and post‑event emails.
• Embeddable player and chat so you can host the experience on your own domain.
• Live chat during and around the event window, with the ability to surface comments on screen (native polling is on the roadmap).

If you want to keep costs down, you can even run a “private‑ish” setup on our free plan using an unlisted YouTube stream, but the full private flow (registration, whitelists, access codes) is part of On‑Air on paid plans.

How to run an invite-only webinar (CSV whitelist + access codes)?

If your mental model is “guest list at the door,” a CSV whitelist plus one-time codes is often the easiest path. StreamYard’s flow is purpose-built for that model.

A simple playbook:

• Manage your list in your CRM or email tool.
• Export the segment as CSV and upload it to your On‑Air webinar. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Let StreamYard send the timed 6‑digit codes and reminder emails.
• After the event, export attendee data and pipe it back into your CRM for follow-up.

Alternatives like Crowdcast can also import external lists via CSV for registration and gating, though their docs don’t clearly spell out which paid plans include this. (Crowdcast Docs) For most teams that already live in a CRM, StreamYard’s CSV approach keeps control of your audience data while offloading the access‑code mechanics to the platform.

Zoom or StreamYard: which supports organization-level authentication and domain restrictions?

Some teams—especially in larger U.S. organizations—want more than a guest list. They want “only people logged in with a company email can attend.”

Zoom supports this through its authentication profiles. You can restrict attendance to signed‑in Zoom users, and even to accounts on specific email domains. If you require authentication along with registration, registrants must sign up with an email that’s tied to an active Zoom account. (Zoom Support)

StreamYard takes a lighter, browser-first approach. There’s no requirement for a platform account, but you can restrict On‑Air registrations to specific email domains—up to a defined number of allowed domains—so only people with those addresses can register in the first place. (StreamYard Help Center)

How to decide:

• If your priority is ease of joining and a broadcast-quality experience that still feels private, StreamYard is a better starting point.
• If IT needs strict SSO‑style enforcement for internal all‑hands, Zoom’s deep authentication controls may matter more.

Many teams actually use both: Zoom internally, and StreamYard On‑Air for polished, external‑facing private webinars.

Does Crowdcast support CSV-gated/private events and which plans include it?

Crowdcast is another browser-based option often used for courses and community events. Its documentation notes that you can import external email lists via CSV into an event, which can help gate or pre‑populate registrations from your own systems. (Crowdcast Docs)

However, the same public docs don’t clearly state which pricing tiers include CSV import or how that combines with overage-based attendee pricing. That lack of clarity can make capacity and cost planning harder, especially if you expect usage to grow.

Compared with that, StreamYard’s private‑mode behavior is straightforward: upload a CSV, approved people receive codes, and viewer caps are defined per plan.

How does Demio’s unique join link protect private webinar access?

Demio leans into marketing workflows and automation. Rather than time‑limited access codes, Demio issues unique join links for each registrant—tokens that are 16 characters long. (Demio Help Center)

Those unique links make casual link-sharing less convenient, since the token is tied to a specific registrant record. Demio also notes that attendee names and email addresses are visible only to hosts or admins, which is useful for privacy-sensitive audiences. (Demio Help Center)

Where Demio can be appealing is when teams want built-in marketing analytics and automated/on‑demand funnels more than production controls. But its pricing scales by host and room size, and you may find that combining StreamYard’s easier production with your existing marketing stack gives you the same results with less change management.

Best practices for securing invite-only webinars (access codes, authentication, waiting room)

Regardless of platform, a few patterns work especially well for private webinars:

• Use a whitelist, not just a hidden link. Whether it’s StreamYard’s CSV upload or Zoom registration with authentication, don’t rely solely on “unlisted” URLs for premium or sensitive content. (Zoom Support)
• Send individualized access. Time-limited access codes (StreamYard) or unique join links (Demio) discourage casual sharing. (Demio Help Center)
• Keep the join flow simple. The more apps people must install or accounts they must create, the more support tickets you’ll handle. A browser-based watch page is usually enough for marketing, sales, and customer webinars.
• Layer in specialized tools for deep interaction. For complex polls, Q&A, or interactive workshops, many teams bolt on tools like Slido or Mentimeter rather than relying solely on built-in webinar widgets.

In practice, thoughtful design and communication matter as much as the underlying platform: clear instructions, calendar invites with the correct join info, and follow-up emails will do more for attendance than any security toggle.

What we recommend

• Use StreamYard On‑Air on paid plans as your default private webinar setup if you value ease of joining, strong production controls, and invite‑only access via CSV whitelist and 6‑digit codes. (StreamYard Help Center)
• If your organization requires strict SSO or domain-authenticated attendance, pair StreamYard with Zoom or use Zoom for those specific internal events. (Zoom Support)
• Consider Demio or Crowdcast only when their specific strengths—automated funnels, built-in monetization, or multi-session structures—are central to your strategy; for most private webinars, StreamYard’s balance of simplicity and control is enough.
• For paid or highly interactive sessions, combine StreamYard with external ticketing and audience-engagement tools so you keep flexibility on pricing, branding, and long-term audience ownership.