7 best virtual training software for online trainers: A detailed analysis
Virtual training software plays a major role in the growth of the online training industry, and it has revolutionized the way people teach and learn online. Its ability to simulate virtual, real-life learning experiences makes it a popular choice among the online training community.
As virtual live classrooms continue to gain popularity, countless providers are rapidly advancing their web conferencing solutions by incorporating enhanced training features to deliver the best possible learning experiences.
What is a virtual training software?
Before we go any further, let's first understand what a virtual training software truly means. While the term is broadly used to describe any technology that facilitates online training and learning, virtual training specifically refers to real-time live training—not on-demand training.
In simple terms, any technology that helps trainers conduct live classes and engage with their students can be called a virtual training software.
For online trainers, navigating this vast technology space can be challenging. Each software platform offers a unique set of functionalities, licensing models, and user interfaces, leaving trainers in a puddle of uncertainties if the product will truly align to their specific needs.
Simple virtual training software vs. complete virtual training business management solutions
In the current market, the virtual training software products can be broadly categorized into two types based on their core capabilities.
Simple virtual training software
Simple live virtual training software focuses on providing a robust web conferencing tool for trainers to conduct engaging training sessions. They also provide numerous real-time engagement and collaborative features, making sure to provide the best possible live classroom experiences. These products don't focus on or offer tools to manage the operations associated with running the business.
Let's look at an example. Imagine you're an individual trainer or a training consultant who sells live workshops to external audiences. With basic virtual training software, your capabilities are limited to hosting sessions—nothing more. To manage essential tasks like creating sales pages, managing enrollments, processing payments, and carrying out marketing activities, you'll need to rely on a bunch of third-party tools.
Complete virtual training business management solutions
Products that fall under this category holistically focus on providing tools for both live classes and business processes tightly knitted in a unified platform.
If the trainer is looking for a platform on which they can host live workshops, manage enrollments, automate ticket sales, and automate the business operations associated with it, they can choose from several complete training management solutions.
We'll take a deep dive into the features of each platform, examining their strengths and weaknesses in key areas such as learners' experiences and the ability to support the core business operations of an online training business.
TrainerCentral
Overview
TrainerCentral is the ed-tech brand of Zoho Corp, a renowned tech company based in India. The platform was launched in 2021 with a mission to transform the way people teach and learn online. TrainerCentral focuses on providing a unified platform that offers all of the necessary tools for modern-age trainers to create, sell, and conduct their virtual training business.
Key Features
Learning experience and engagement
The platform offers a native virtual workshop tool built specifically for the online training industry. Trainers can host live classes in high resolution, which is available by default for all paid plans. It also offers bandwidth optimization, which ensures uninterrupted streaming even for learners with a poor network connection.
You can choose to record and save live class sessions, which can be shared with registrants as needed. To gauge learners' progress, trainers can use the auto-graded assessments feature to conduct assessments between sessions.
The platform offers several engagement features such as live chat, reactions, breakout rooms, and polls, fostering a collaborative learning environment. TrainerCentral doesn't support features like collaborative whiteboard and annotations which is crucial for some trainers.
Features such as speaker spotlight, participant audio/video controls, guest invites, and multiple trainer access help trainers maintain better control of their workshops. TrainerCentral also offers a free mobile app for learners to facilitate learning on the go.
Administrative and business tools
TrainerCentral excels when it comes to providing tools to streamline marketing, sales, and payment operations. It offers a no-code site builder tool for you to create attractive registration pages for your workshops—a great feature that improves your ad conversions. You can also add snippets of your web analytics and keep track of registration sources, giving you valuable insights into the success rates of your promotional mediums.
Trainers can also configure pricing tickets to each workshop and make them available for purchase on their sales page. The payment gateway can be configured to your academy, and the payments will be directly routed to your bank accounts without any sales commissions or revenue share.
The platform also offers an e-certificate tool that automates the certificate for session participants based on their attendance. The certificates can be designed with unique IDs, brand logos, and custom messages. Because the platform offers a unified ecosystem of tools for training and business operations, trainers receive a 360-view of their business performance in a single interface.
Pros
Supports HD audio and video streaming for all paid plans
Native auto-graded assessments
Free learner mobile app
Supports single sign-on
Cons
No collaborative whiteboard
No annotations
Lack of marketing automation tools
No affiliate marketing
Summary
TrainerCentral was specifically built to be a unified platform to help trainers host, sell, and manage online live workshops. It gives trainers complete control of their virtual training programs and the business operations associated with them—no more burden of relying on several automation tools and integration complexities. The platform's capability to handle the end-to-end aspect of an online training business makes it a great choice for trainers and educational institutions.
Zoom for Education
Overview
Zoom was launched by Eric Yuan in 2013 with a mission to transform the video conferencing market. Initially, Zoom was conceptualized as a simple video-conferencing tool and later transitioned to support wider offerings such as online training. Many individual trainers and educational institutions prefer Zoom because it's easy to get started and it also has a free version.
Key Features
Virtual training experience and capabilities
From a learner's point of view, Zoom offers an intuitive user-friendly interface and reliable HD audio and video. The high-quality streaming options are generally available on higher paid plans. Zoom offers a robust mobile app that helps learners access live classes when they're on the go.
Features like breakout rooms, chats, screen sharing, whiteboards, and annotations facilitate collaborative learning experiences. Trainers can conduct simple polls during the live sessions, but for advanced quizzes and assessments, third-part integrations are necessary. Trainers also have the option to share downloadable files individually as well as to all participants during the session.
Tools to automate business operations
Zoom lacks the basic business automation tools, such as a sales page builder, ticketing and payment systems, and marketing automation. So, trainers are forced to use other third-party tools that can be integrated with Zoom and build the automation workflows they need. Features like SSO and LMS integrations make it easy for organizations and large teams to use Zoom with their existing systems.
Zoom also supports two-factor authentication for user registrations from particular domains, passcode-protected meetings, audio signatures, and screen share watermarks to ensure data security and help trainers easily manage session access.
Pros
Offers freemium access (e.g. free 45-minute session)
Supports breakout rooms
Supports single sign-on and LMS integrations
Session and recording watermarks
Cons
Doesn't offer business automation tools
No option to customize the session registration page
No built-in assessments
Summary
Zoom is a reliable video-conferencing tool for individual trainers and educational institutions, offering a seamless user experience and essential collaboration features. Using the free version, trainers can host free 40-minute sessions, which makes it an attractive choice for people with basic needs. However, limitations in business automation tools make it less suitable for trainers who require a more robust system to streamline their marketing, sales, and communications.
Microsoft Teams
Overview
Microsoft Teams was initially launched as part of the Office 365 suite to streamline internal communications for businesses. Later, it evolved from a simple workplace communication tool to a versatile platform capable of supporting engaging virtual training programs
Key Features
Learning experience and engagement
Microsoft Team supports a seamless, high-definition live workshop experience with an intuitive and familiar interface, which makes it easy for both trainers and learners to navigate and adapt. It offers a free version in which trainers can conduct 60-minute sessions and host 100 participants, making it a viable option for short and interactive training sessions without any financial investment.
For multiple trainers and uninterrupted training sessions and other essential engagement features, trainers should purchase the Microsoft 365 bundle. Trainers with paid license versions get access to features such as AI-powered transcription, live captions, and meeting recordings.
When it comes to learner engagement during live workshops, Microsoft Teams offers tools such as breakout rooms, live reactions, chats, and polls. However, it doesn't offer any built-in quiz or assessment tools and relies on third-party tools like Forms,Kahoot,and Mentimeter for assessments.
Administrative and business tools
One of the major drawbacks of Microsoft Team as a virtual training platform is its inability to offer native tools to manage session registrations, payments, and sales operations. Trainers may find it overwhelming having to constantly depend on third-party integrations for creating marketing and sales workflows and other necessary business automation functions.
Microsoft Teams does provide options to tailor meeting invite messages, as well as basic branding customizations for the live session room, but it doesn't offer a dedicated sales page builder with the payment gateway integrations that are available in platforms such as Zoom Events or GoTo Training.
On a positive note, Microsoft Teams provides a secure training ecosystem that supports enterprise-level security, including end-to-end encryption and advanced admin controls for managing session participants. It's compliant with GDPR and HIPAA standards as well. Microsoft Teams also supports Single Sign-on (SSO), which makes it easier to use alongside the existing tools. This makes it a great choice for organizations that prioritize data protection and security for their training programs.
Pros
Provides freemium access (e.g., a free 60-minute session)
Reliable and secure platform
Intuitive user interface
Supports single sign-on and third-party integrations
Cons
Lack of business management tools
Lack of learner assessment tools
Relies on third-party tools for business automation
Summary
Microsoft Teams is a good choice for organizations who are already using the Microsoft 365 ecosystem and require a simple training platform for internal training programs. For corporate trainers or educational institutions looking to sell courses to external customers or businesses, Microsoft Teams is inadequate and requires too many third-party integrations. The additional tool subscriptions and integration dependencies will eventually add more complexities and increase the tool costs drastically.
Google Meet
Overview
Launched in 2017, Google Meet is a popular web conferencing tool that's part of the Google Workspace suite. Originally designed to conduct corporate meetings and team collaboration activities, Google Meet gained popularity among online trainers and educators because of its free 60-minute sessions and deep integration with other Google services like Google Drive, Google Calendar, and Google Docs.
Key Features
Learning experience and engagement
Google Meet offers a wide range of features such as breakout rooms, group discussions, Q&As, and polls to help trainers host interactive virtual training sessions. Its clean and intuitive interface helps trainers and learners navigate the platform easily. Trainers have the option to pin, resize, and hide audiences' video feeds, which gives them a better control of the session.
Multi-language translated captions is a great feature for trainers conducting workshops for worldwide audiences. Trainers also have the option to add captions to the session recordings. Paid users have the option to record and store their virtual sessions in their respective Google Drive accounts.
Trainers can leverage high-resolution virtual sessions and the automatic bandwidth optimization feature to deliver uninterrupted workshops even for users with an unstable internet connection.
Administrative and business tools
The platform doesn't offer any native tools to streamline business operations. The platform's full capability can be unlocked when used as part of the Google Workspace ecosystem. Its deep integration capability with products like Google Classroom, Docs, Drive, and Office suite tools helps create an organized and efficient training workflow.
However, trainers who need to sell workshops to external audiences or organizations should rely on third-party integrations to create session registration pages, pricing tickets, and other marketing automations.
Attendance tracking and individual learner performance reports are great features to stay on top of the training programs. Google Meet boasts a robust, secure cloud infrastructure and provides a reliable ecosystem for trainers. Features such as single sign-on support provide flexibility for businesses that need virtual training software that can run parallel to their existing systems.
Pros
Offers 60-minute free sessions
Reliable streaming with an intuitive UI
Scalable up to 250 participants, depending on subscriptions
Session engagement features
Cons
Doesn't offer business automation tools
Relies on third-party integrations for marketing and sales
The session recording feature is only available in paid versions
Can only be bought along with the Google Workspace suite
Summary
Google Meet offers a seamless virtual training experience with all of the necessary engagement tools. However, you cannot purchase Google Meet as a standalone product; instead, you must purchase the entire Google Workspace suite. The lack of business management tools makes it difficult for trainers to rely on tools they need, which eventually increases the overall subscription costs and integration complexities. So, if you're already part of the Google office tools ecosystem and possess the technical expertise to manage multiple tools, Google Meet can be a good fit for you.
GoTo Training
Overview
GoTo Training is one of the leading products of the GoTo group (formerly LogMeIn). Unlike other single-purpose, video-conferencing tools, GoTo Training offers well-rounded features suited for corporate trainers, educators, and organizations that require structured training programs. With interactive engagement tools, built-in reporting, and flexible scheduling options, GoTo Training offers a robust training ecosystem.
Key Features
Learning experience and engagement
GoTo Training provides a high quality audio and video service with an intuitive interface offering a smooth experience for both trainers and learners. Trainers can host engaging sessions using features such as breakout rooms, collaborative whiteboards, chats, and other interactive tools. One major drawback is its session attendee count restrictions.
The basic standard plan supports 25 attendees per session, making it less suitable for trainers with sizeable learner groups. For additional attendees, trainers can opt for the Pro plan ($159/month billed annually) with a 50-attendee limit or the Plus plan ($314/month billed annually) that allows 200 attendees. The platform also offers tools like quizzes and polls to assess learners' progress during the live sessions.
To assess training quality, trainers can leverage built-in quizzes, polls, and surveys to measure engagement and comprehension. Unlike other platforms, GoTo Training doesn't rely on third-party integrations.
Administrative and business tools
The platform offers a library of tools to manage registrations, payments, and reports, making it easy for trainers to market and sell their workshops. PayPal is the only supported payment gateway to receive payments and manage refunds.
Trainers can customize the workshop registration page by changing the page logo and colors, but there's no dedicated sales page builder or deeper customizations. GoTo Training also offers mobile apps for both trainers and learners.
GoTo Training also offers features such as automated e-certificates, session recording and storage, attendance tracking, and detailed reporting, which can be valuable for compliance-based training scenarios.
Pros
Session registration page customization
Automated e-certificates
Built-in quizzes and polls
Comprehensive learner analytics
Cons
Learner per session limitations
Limited payment gateway options
Expensive for individual trainers
Summary
GoTo Training is a good fit for trainers with limited learner capacity and don't need extensive payments, marketing, and business automation tools. However, trainers who are looking for an all-in-one platform in which they can create appealing sales pages to promote workshops, host classes, and use multiple payment gateways may find its features somewhat limiting.
Kaltura Virtual Classroom
Overview
Kaltura is a leading video experience platform catering to different industries such as education, enterprise, and media. Kaltura Virtual Classroom is a dedicated vertical solution to help educational institutions and trainers to conduct and manage their virtual training programs.
Key Features
Learning experience and engagement
Kaltura Virtual Classroom offers immersive learning experiences with features like live chats, polls, quizzes, and 1:1 chats. In the basic paid plan, trainers can have eight learners per session, and there's no limit in terms of the number of sessions conducted.
It's mostly preferred as a parallel solution integrated with the existing LMS or CMS systems. Kaltura supports cloud-stored session recordings and a media library to manage all past session recordings.
Administrative and business tools
Kaltura offers a built-in, theme-designing module that trainers can use to create custom branded webpages for their virtual workshops. But the scope of webpage customization is limited and isn't flexible enough to create layouts and sections of your preference.
Trainers have the option to customize registration forms, automate email communications for different scenarios, and add tailored pop-up notifications during sessions. Kaltura Virtual Classroom offers a comprehensive session engagement report providing valuable insights for trainers. The platform relies on third-party integrations to manage workshop tickets and payments.
Pros
Supports LMS integration
Registration page customization
Pop-up notifications
Session recording cloud storage
Cons
Participant limitations
No ticketing or payment systems
No marketing automation tools
Summary
Kaltura is a reliable virtual training software that can be used as a parallel system alongside your existing LMS systems. The platform lacks some essential functionalities such as ticketing, payment support, and custom sales pages, which means you'll still need to rely on other third-party tools.
Adobe Connect
Overview
Adobe's virtual conferencing tool, Adobe Connect, is a popular virtual training tool with many features that help businesses and trainers conduct engaging live workshops and webinars at scale.
Key Features
Learning experience and engagement
Trainers and learners usually find Adobe Connect's interface to be easily adaptable. The ability to arrange widget pods and build custom session layouts helps trainers provide an immersive learning experience. The platform offers learner engagement tools such as interactive whiteboards, breakout rooms, screen sharing, chats, and polls.
To assess learners during the session, trainers can make use of the quiz module, in which they can import quiz questions, add different question types manually, set passing scores, and set time limits. Adobe Connect supports seamless audio and video streaming sessions in high resolution that can be accessed from both web browsers, client apps, and the mobile app.
Learners may not be able to access some features in the mobile app. Trainers are expected to have the latest browsers and OS updates for an uninterrupted training experience. With the standard license, trainers can host up to 100 participants in a session.
Administrative and business tools
Adobe Connect heavily relies on third-party integrations for all business-related functions. Trainers have an option to customize the session interface with their brand logos and tailor the look and feel of the learner interface aligned with their brand.
There's a comprehensive email notification and push notification system that helps trainers streamline learner notifications and other communications. Adobe Connect supports deep integration with popular LMS platforms, making it a convenient addition to your existing systems.
Trainers can leverage features such as single sign-on, and they can onboard learners seamlessly. In terms of security, Adobe Connect provides a secure ecosystem with granular-level privileges in classes for both learners and trainers, making it easy to scale and manage.
Pros
Collaborative whiteboard and annotations
Learner session UI customization
Supports single sign-on
Custom email and push notifications
Cons
Expensive for individual trainers
Depends on third-party tools for marketing and ticketing
No option to customize the session registration page
Summary
Adobe Connect is a robust platform that can be easily scaled for larger teams. It can be a great choice for enterprise-level organizations looking to launch a virtual training platform alongside their existing operation systems. However, Adobe Connect can be overwhelming in terms of both pricing and the learning curve for small organizations and individual trainers.
Disclaimer:All names and marks mentioned here remain the property of their original owners. The pricing details are as published by the named competitors on their website(s) on 01/08/2025 and are subject to change without notice. The details provided on this page are for general purposes only and cannot be considered as authorized information from the respective competitors. TrainerCentral disclaims any liability for possible errors, omissions, or consequential losses based on the details here.
Conclusion
In today's competitive online training landscape, choosing the right virtual training platform is more than a simple technical decision—it's a strategic investment in delivering impactful training and achieving business efficiency.
It's pivotal to consider platforms that are capable of handling evolving business needs, integrate smoothly with existing systems, and deliver a seamless unified training system. Security and data privacy must also be at the forefront, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected without sacrificing ease of access.
Ultimately, your goal should be to choose a virtual training platform that aligns with both the immediate and long-term objectives of your training initiatives.