As a result, more and more platforms now offer hybrid event solutions. The market is booming, and that makes it increasingly difficult for event planners to find the ideal platform.

So you may be asking yourself: What should you look for when choosing a platform? What types of platforms are out there? And which one best suits your event format? This guide will answer those questions—we’ll walk you through the key benefits, outline the most essential features, and introduce you to our top 5 hybrid event platforms.

What is a hybrid event?

Hybrid events are the future of the event industry. They combine in-person and virtual components, offering the best of both worlds. Participants can conveniently join from home or while on the go, while the live audience on site brings the energy and atmosphere of a traditional event to life.

Beyond that, hybrid events allow organizers to significantly extend the reach of their events and engage a broader audience—without compromising on quality. It’s an ideal format for companies looking to open their events to a larger crowd while maintaining a premium experience for everyone involved.

Why should you consider planning a hybrid event?

In our rapidly evolving world, people are becoming less inclined to travel long distances for events. This shift can be attributed to various factors—such as a stronger desire for work-life balance or the need to reduce CO₂ emissions. As a result, some attendees are either unable or unwilling to join in-person events. This growing trend has sparked increased demand for platforms that support both virtual and hybrid formats.

Hybrid events are suitable for companies of all sizes and offer a wide range of advantages over traditional formats. If you're still undecided about whether to make your next event hybrid, these benefits may convince you:

Hybrid events:

• are accessible to all participants
• reach a wider audience
• are more cost-effective
• offer greater flexibility
• are more eco-friendly
• enable stronger collaboration
• encourage higher engagement
• are scalable
• are future-ready

Which features should a hybrid event platform offer?

The best hybrid event platforms are those that offer a wide range of features to enhance the attendee experience. While there are many hybrid platforms on the market, not all of them provide the capabilities that are ideal for your event.

If you're planning a hybrid event, make sure your chosen platform includes the following core features to help you get the most out of your experience:

Outstanding user experience
A great platform is intuitive for both organizers and participants. If users have to think too much about how to navigate the interface, the fun quickly fades—and dropout rates rise. That’s why excellent usability should be a top priority.

High-quality audio and video
A seamless user experience also depends on great audio and video quality. If the stream frequently lags, freezes, or drops out, participants will quickly lose interest. The same goes for audio issues. A strong hybrid event platform ensures robust technical capabilities to deliver consistently high-quality streaming.

Customizable design
Your platform should allow full customization so that participants immediately recognize your brand. From the registration page to confirmation emails and the event space itself, everything should reflect your company’s branding—logo, colors, and fonts included. This builds trust and strengthens brand identity.

Chat and networking features
To foster connections among attendees, the platform should include intuitive live chat, one-on-one meetings, and other networking tools. Some platforms even let participants create personal profiles, highlight their interests, and use smart matchmaking to connect with like-minded attendees.

Engaging and versatile digital formats
Events should be dynamic and varied—not boring. So beyond the livestream, the platform should support various content formats such as text, documents, or on-demand video. Mixing formats helps you deliver a more engaging and memorable experience.

Event analytics and data protection
Planning and running an event takes effort, so it’s essential to track whether it paid off. The right hybrid platform makes this easy with built-in tools to track attendee engagement and generate detailed reports. At the same time, robust data protection measures must be in place to protect participant privacy. When selecting a platform, look for one that offers both powerful analytics and high-level data security.

Our top 5 hybrid event platforms

The benefits speak for themselves: hybrid events are no longer a niche trend—they’re becoming the standard. As mentioned earlier, the market for event platforms is growing rapidly, making it increasingly difficult for organizers to keep track and choose the right solution for their needs.

That’s why we’ve put together a helpful overview of the top hybrid event platforms to help guide your decision.

1. movingimage Virtual Events

Looking for a platform that delivers personalized, interactive, and secure experiences? Virtual Events by movingimage is the all-in-one solution for virtual and hybrid events of any size.

You can launch an impressive event in under 10 minutes—no technical expertise required.

From planning your event and designing the registration page to sending out invitations and running the event itself, the easy-to-use platform supports you every step of the way.

To foster the kind of interaction you’d expect from an in-person event, features like live chats, polls, and breakout rooms are built right in. That’s why Virtual Events is also ideal for workshops, networking, and breakouts.

For maximum brand alignment, you can fully customize the design to match your company’s corporate identity—adjusting fonts, colors, and logos as needed.

Third-party tools, external streaming services, video conferencing platforms, and even entire web pages can be embedded into your event with just a few clicks.

And to make tracking and optimization easier, the integrated analytics dashboard gives you deep insights into participant behavior—both during and after your event.

Whether you're planning an all-hands meeting, team-building event, investor conference, trade show, or interactive product demo, Virtual Events is your go-to platform for powerful hybrid experiences.

2. Webex Events

Webex Events is a powerful platform that enables you to host events of any size with ease. Whether you’re planning a small virtual meeting or a large hybrid conference, Webex offers flexible tools to support both.

The platform allows you to livestream your event, create recordings, and make those recordings available for on-demand viewing or download.

Customization is another key strength: with Webex Events, you can design personalized registration forms and send out branded email invitations. And because the platform is highly scalable, it’s suitable for anything from small workshops to major company-wide gatherings.

3. SpotMe Anywhere

SpotMe Anywhere is an event platform that includes a built-in marketplace where you can easily create seamless digital end-to-end experiences. In addition to its marketplace, SpotMe offers a range of helpful features that allow for effective planning and execution of events.

Some of its key features include:

• An online event planning tool to help organize and manage your event
• A registration feature that enables participants to sign up for events easily
• A payment integration to collect event fees from attendees
• Interactive options such as Q&A, applause, live polling, video breakout rooms, and one-to-one meetings

With its robust toolkit, SpotMe Anywhere is especially well-suited for companies seeking flexibility, engagement, and scalability in their virtual or hybrid event formats.

4. Hopin

Hopin is another powerful event platform offering a wide range of features to support your events. In addition to tools for online planning and organization, you can create a detailed agenda, invite speakers, and manage participant registrations with ease.

One standout feature is the ability to build a virtual event hall where attendees can meet and network in real time. This makes Hopin particularly effective for recreating the atmosphere of in-person events.

Hopin also provides various tools to help you promote and market your event. These include customizable event websites, social media integration, and ad campaign features to boost your visibility and reach.

5. Samaaro

Samaaro is a platform that not only allows you to plan, organize, and run events—but also offers a range of standout features.

To ensure your event runs smoothly and successfully, Samaaro includes a wide array of functionalities, such as:

• An intuitive and user-friendly interface for planning and organizing
• A built-in ticketing system to create and sell event tickets
• A comprehensive event management system for overseeing every aspect of your event
• Exceptional features like immersive 3D spaces, end-to-end customization, unified virtual & in-person experiences, trade shows, exhibitions, and much more

Conclusion

Hybrid events are the future. They combine the advantages of in-person gatherings with the benefits of digital participation. With the help of cutting-edge technologies, you can design your events to be engaging and exciting for all attendees.

To make your hybrid events unique, interactive, and entertaining, you need the right platform. Each of the platforms we’ve mentioned offers special features that make them stand out. Still, there are a few core essentials every platform should include—above all, reliability and security during the event.

When choosing your platform, make sure it offers top-notch technical performance, excellent customer support, and interactive features that enable real engagement with your attendees.

At movingimage Virtual Events, these qualities come standard. Whether it’s a small gathering or a large-scale event, our automatic stream optimization and high-speed HTML5 player help you reach all participants smoothly and reliably.

Got an idea for your next event? Share it with us and we’ll get in touch for a personal consultation!