The Ultimate List of Webinar Statistics for 2024
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we suddenly started frequently hear about “online workshops”, “live classes,” and “virtual training.”, all of which are, in reality, alternative terms for webinars.
Webinars give you the opportunity to share your skills and knowledge while growing your audience. If you have a business, it’s a great way of reaching a whole new audience and as a marketing strategy, thanks to the proliferation of self-service webinar software platforms, webinars are easy and inexpensive to make.
We’ve compiled a list of webinar statistics for 2024, and based on what we’ve seen, the numbers suggest that webinars—as a marketing channel and sales funnel—will continue to grow in scale exponentially.
If you’re unconvinced, take a look at these figures and discover their potential for yourself.
Webinar Statistics — Editor’s Choice
- The average attendance rate is between 40% to 50%.
- Most people register 8 days before the event.
- 60% of businesses design their webinar to convert users into paying customers.
- 54% of B2B professionals watch webinars every week.
Let’s dive into the specifics of webinars and how it can affect your business.
General Webinar Statistics
Let’s start this list with basic statistics about webinars and the people who enjoy them. When’s the best day to have a webinar? How long should they be? Are people still watching them? How many attendees watch webinars from start to finish?
Let’s find out.
1. Mid-week days are the best days to host a webinar.
(Ready to Talk)
To be more specific, you should publish your webinars on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The same source mentions that the average number of registrants for a webinar is 260. The average attendance rate is 40% to 50% of those who registered.
2. Webinars should be 30 to 40 minutes long.
(BigMarker)
According to BigMarker, 44% of webinar attendees prefer sessions to last 45 minutes. 41% said that they’d like them to be 30 minutes long. Only 10% said that they’d like them to go a full hour.
So if you’re going to hold a webinar, you should try to make them last anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes. And the best hours to have them? Anywhere between 10 AM to 11 AM.
On a related note, 92% of webinar attendees said that they want a live question and answer session before a webinar is over. You need to factor that when you time your webinar. Otherwise, the session will go over the recommended webinar length.
3. There’s been an increase in webinar attendance.
(WorkCast)
According to WorkCast, their webinar attendance saw an 87% increase. About 94% of their webinars are made available on-demand. This is great since users take advantage of that to watch (or rewatch) the webinars on weekends.
18% of on-demand views happen on Saturdays and Sundays despite barely promoting the content to its users.
4. Most webinar attendees use Windows
(MegaMeeting)
According to MegaMeetings, 80% of its users run a Windows operating system. Only 18% use Apple devices (13% Mac, 5% iOS). Only 2% are on Android devices.
As far as browsers go, Microsoft is the preferred choice. 45% of users use Internet Explorer or Edge. It’s followed by Google Chrome at 39%.
5. 40% of webinar attendees pay attention from start to finish.
(Make Social Media Sell)
Make Social Media Sell says that on average, 40% of listeners pay attention from the beginning of a webinar all the way to the end. The rest tend to drop off as the webinar continues.
To make your audience stay, you’ll need to make your titles irresistible, make quick introductions, promise your viewers something new, and add a call-to-action.
Webinar Registrations
Now let’s look at the numbers for webinar registrations. When’s the best time for registration? Can you still get views after the live event? What makes people want to sign up?
You’ll find all the answers to these questions below.
6. Most webinar registrations happen 8 days before the event.
(Blogging X)
If you’re hosting a webinar, you want to open registrations 8 days before it launches. According to Blogging X, 54% of attendees sign up for the event around that time.
46% of the registration happens within the week of the event.
The same source mentions that email is the most effective way to promote webinars. Of all the days to send emails promoting webinars, Wednesday is the best. The response rate for emails sent on that day is 22%.
Emails sent on weekends only get a response rate of 5%.
7. Remember the 4 Us.
(OptinMonster)
OptinMonster says that the key for a good webinar is to remember the 4 Us: useful, urgent, unique, and ultra-specific.
By using this formula, attendees would be more engaged. It’s also important that you think about the products or services you want your audience to buy and what action you want them to take as you plan your webinar.
8. You still gain an audience after the event is over.
(Smart Insights)
10 days after an event, you could still 47% views if you have recordings available. That number drops to 24% after 20 days. By day 30, you’ll only get 10% views.
People will continue to watch the webinar after that but viewership drops to around 2% to 6%.
Webinars for Businesses (Best Practices)
If you’re running a business, you’d want to know how webinars impact revenue. Is it worth investing in webinars? How much money can they bring? Is this really as popular as it seems to be among entrepreneurs?
Below are stats that are worth looking into. They might just convince you to give webinars a shot.
9. 60% of businesses design their webinar to convert users into paying customers.
(GoToWebinar)
In 2017, GoToWebinar discussed how 60% of businesses use webinars to move people through the whole customer lifecycle. They want to convert users from prospects to loyal customers.
Other use cases include customer onboarding and training (31%), marketing and demand generation (29%), employee training (16%), town hall and all-hands meetings (10%), and press events (8%).
10. Webinars are popular in the pharmaceutical industry.
(Livestorm)
The pharmaceutical space has a participation rate of 63%. Webinars in this category are usually 20 minutes long on average which is the lowest compared to other industries.
Webinars are also popular in the following industries: SaaS, internet, consulting, education, and financial services. The industry with the lowest participation rate is advertising at 33%.
11. 42% of marketers said that they were planning on using webinars in 2021.
(Wyzowl)
83% of marketers find webinars effective even though only 41% of them participate or attend them. That is why 83% say that they plan on starting or joining webinars.
12. Making webinars available on-demand will increase the attendance rate.
(Venture Harbour)
Venture Harbour didn’t know why it was only getting a 20.56% sign-up rate when it did webinars. But that changed when it changed tactics and used on-demand features.
When viewers get to watch videos instantly, it finds that their audience had less time to change their minds. This increased the sign-up rate to 42.46% — more than double the original rate.
13. You can make $11,286 from a single webinar.
(Teachable)
Scott Britton made $11,286 from a single seminar for his online course, Udemy Fast Track.
Out of 16,000 people on his email list, 759 signed up for the webinar. That’s a conversion rate of 5.27%. That number fell further as only 232 of those who signed up had attended. But from there, 40 people converted into customers.
14. Marketers struggle to quantify the success of webinars.
The reason why marketers find it difficult to gauge the success of an event is that they only look at one or two metrics. There are several metrics to look at if they want to see how effective it is.
Marketers should look at webinar registrations, the webinar landing page conversion rate, the source of the webinar sign-ups, the cost of the webinar, the attendee conversion rate, and how much time the participants spent in the webinar.
They can also look into live vs recorded views, attendee feedback, the qualified lead conversion rate, and the revenue generated from the webinar.
Software Suggestion: Looking to improve your webinar conversions? Check out the best landing page builders to create highly-converting webinar funnels.
15. One webinar can get you over 500 leads.
(99 Firms)
Most businesses use webinars to generate leads. Around 73% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers think they can get high-quality leads using this platform.
There are more B2B companies using webinars than there are business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. 61% of B2B companies use webinars while only 17% of B2C companies explored this option. Non-profits come in third at 11%.
Webinar Consumer Behavior Statistics
Now let’s take a look at how webinars affect consumers. How do they consume webinars? How many of them will convert into paying customers? How often do they watch webinars?
This section will answer all of these questions and more.
16. 50% of an audience on average will download presentation slides.
(Adobe)
If there are presentation slides made available after a webinar, 50% of the audience will download them. 29% of the attendees will also download product solution briefs which makes it easier to catch shoppers in the marketing funnel.
After a seminar, 19% of the attendees will attend a 5- to 10-minute demo breakout session.
17. 25% of people watch webinars using their phone.
(WorkCast)
WorkCast said that 25% of people use their mobile devices to view webinar content. That’s why you need to make sure that your webinar platform of choice is mobile-friendly.
18. Between 2% and 5% of attendees will buy from you.
(The Branded Solopreneur)
On average, 2% to 5% of webinar attendees will buy from your business. That might seem low but not all attendees are part of your target market. So if you manage to get your webinar in front of the right people, the higher the numbers will be.
19. 54% of B2B professionals watch webinars weekly.
(Ring Central)
The 2020 pandemic prompted companies and marketers to change their strategies. That’s why there’s a sudden surge in webinar viewership.
67% of marketers invested more time on webinars. U.S. brands increased webinar offerings by as much as 36% — that’s just between February and March 2020.
Webinar Statistics – Cost and Fees
How much would it take you to host a webinar for your business? And what kind of equipment will you need?
Here’s everything you need to know about investing in your own webinar.
20. Webinar platforms can cost $150 to $500 per month.
(Corporate Meetings Network)
There are companies that help businesses host their webinars. A webinar platform plan can cost anywhere between $150 to $500 a month.
However, some of these platforms will let you run webinars for free. The biggest downside to a free webinar is that the number of attendees is limited. This feature is meant for you to try out the product. So not everyone can join in.
21. You don’t need fancy equipment to get started.
(Steep Digital Marketing)
You only need 3 things to host your first webinar. You need a microphone, a webcam, and good lighting. A good microphone can cost you between $50 to $250 depending on the brand. You can buy a webcam for $100 to $200.
With lights, you have many options. A starter softbox kit might cost you $39. Fancier lighting equipment will set you back $102.
You can make upgrades down the line like purchasing a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Don’t forget to check your internet connection. You’ll need fast internet to broadcast live webinars.
Webinar Statistics — Summary
Webinars are not a fad. Based on statistics, they’re here to stay.
More and more people consume webinars because it’s so easy to learn more about a product or service. If you’re running a business, it’s another way of introducing your brand to a bigger audience.
We’ll still feel the effects of the 2020 pandemic months after the year is over. That means most people will still work from home. So marketers need to be more creative with how they educate consumers. A webinar is a good way of adhering to social distancing standards while keeping the business alive.
Want to Learn More?
- How to Record a Webinar? (Step-by-Step Guide)
- The Best Webinar Software Platforms (Ranks & Reviews)
- WebinarJam vs Zoom – Which is the Better Webinar Software?
