Key Takeaways
- A webinar platform handles live video. A coaching program platform handles enrollment, payment, attendance tracking, and scheduling — these are different tools for different needs.
- Zoom is reliable for video but handles nothing around the session: no enrollment, no payment, no attendance tracking, no cancellation policies.
- Crowdcast and Demio are built for marketing webinars and public events — not for recurring group coaching programs with enrolled clients.
- Merkora treats live group sessions as part of a practice: enrollment, payment, attendance tracking, and cancellation policies alongside your 1:1 sessions.
- If community interaction is central to your program, pair any delivery platform with Mighty Networks or Circle.
In this article
Most coaches start their live programs on Zoom. It works — until you notice that Zoom doesn't know who registered, doesn't enforce a cancellation policy, doesn't send reminder emails for your program specifically, and doesn't connect the live session to the package the client already paid for.
A webinar platform and a live program platform are different things. This guide compares five options coaches commonly evaluate: Zoom, Crowdcast, Demio, Livestorm, and Merkora. The goal is to match the tool to your actual program structure — not just your streaming needs.
What live program platforms need to do for coaches
Streaming is table stakes. What separates a webinar tool from a coaching-specific live program platform is what surrounds the live session:
- Registration and payment — can clients pay for your program and register in one flow?
- Attendance tracking — do you know who showed up to each session?
- Cancellation and refund policy — what happens when a client no-shows a $300 workshop?
- Session packaging — can clients buy a 4-week program rather than individual sessions?
- Recordings — can enrolled clients access replays automatically?
Most webinar tools handle streaming well. Almost none handle the practice management layer.
Zoom
Zoom is the default for live calls and it's genuinely reliable at that job. For a coach running 1-on-1 sessions or informal group calls, it's fine.
What it does well: Stable video, familiar to clients, breakout rooms, recording, broad device support.
Where it falls short: Zero practice management. No registration flow tied to payment. No attendance tracking per program. No cancellation policy enforcement. You handle all of that outside Zoom — typically across three or four other tools.
Best for: Coaches who just need reliable video for sessions they're managing entirely through other tools.
Crowdcast
Crowdcast was built for live webinars and online events. It handles multi-participant broadcasts with Q&A, polling, and a registration-to-replay funnel.
What it does well: Event registration, live Q&A, multi-session series, replay access for registrants, basic ticketing.
Where it falls short: Priced per registrant on lower plans, which gets expensive for regular group programs. No coaching-specific features (packages, credits, cancellation enforcement). Not a client management platform.
Best for: One-off public workshops or webinars where you want a clean registration and replay experience.
Demio
Demio is a marketing-focused webinar platform — it's built for lead generation and sales webinars rather than ongoing coaching programs.
What it does well: Beautiful attendee experience, automated webinars, strong integrations with email marketing tools, good analytics.
Where it falls short: Expensive ($59–$299/month). Optimized for one-to-many marketing broadcasts, not interactive coaching cohorts. No coaching business features.
Best for: Coaches who run webinar-style sales funnels as part of a marketing strategy — not for the actual delivery of a coaching program.
Livestorm
Livestorm is a browser-based webinar platform with a strong enterprise focus. It doesn't require attendees to download anything, which reduces friction for first-time participants.
What it does well: No download required, good analytics, automated email sequences for registrants, multi-host support.
Where it falls short: Expensive for small practices (free plan is very limited). No coaching-specific features. Focused on corporate and marketing use cases.
Best for: Coaches working in corporate or B2B contexts who need a professional-grade webinar tool for clients who can't install software.
Merkora
Merkora approaches live programs differently. Instead of being a webinar tool with added coaching features, it's a practice management platform where live programs are one of the things practitioners run — alongside 1-on-1 sessions, courses, and packages.
What it does well: Live group sessions with registration, payment, and attendance tracking built in. Multi-session programs where clients buy a block and attend individual sessions within it. Cancellation policy enforcement on program bookings. Session history visible to the practitioner. All on the same platform as your 1-on-1 sessions and courses.
Where it falls short: Not designed for large-scale public webinars (hundreds of attendees). No marketing automation or lead generation features. The focus is practice management, not broadcast media.
Best for: Coaches and therapists who run recurring group programs or cohorts alongside their individual sessions — and want everything in one place rather than Zoom + a scheduling tool + a payment processor.
For context on what differentiates live group programs from other formats, see Best Platform for Live Coaching Programs.
When each platform makes sense
Use Zoom if you're running informal group calls and managing everything else outside the platform. It's free at small scale and reliable.
Use Crowdcast or Demio if you're running a one-off public workshop or a marketing webinar. They handle the registration-to-replay flow well.
Use Merkora if you're running a structured group coaching program — especially a multi-session cohort where clients pay upfront and you need attendance tracking, cancellation enforcement, and session history without adding three more tools to your stack.
For selling session packages alongside your live programs, see How to Sell Session Packages as a Coach. And if you're ready to try a platform built for this, Merkora is free to start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best webinar platform for coaches?
For one-off public workshops: Crowdcast or Zoom. For marketing-focused webinar funnels: Demio. For recurring group coaching programs with enrolled clients: Merkora, which handles enrollment, payment, and attendance tracking alongside your other services.
Can coaches run group programs on Zoom?
Yes — Zoom handles the video delivery reliably. What it doesn't handle: enrollment, payment collection, attendance tracking per session, or cancellation policies. You need additional tools for all of those.
What is the difference between a webinar and a group coaching program?
A webinar is typically a single broadcast event, often free or low-cost, to a large audience. A group coaching program is a recurring series with a defined group of enrolled, paying participants who attend live sessions and may have homework or accountability between calls.
How do I take payment for a group coaching program?
You need a platform that connects enrollment to payment. Options: sell access via Stripe payment links (manual tracking), use a course platform like Kajabi or Teachable (limited session management), or use Merkora which handles group program enrollment and payment as part of the booking flow.
