Cvent vs ON24: the short answer
Cvent and ON24 are no longer competitors. Cvent agreed to buy ON24 in late 2025 and closed the roughly $400 million deal on 1 April 2026; ON24 now operates as a wholly owned Cvent company. Cvent had already bought Goldcast, an AI video platform, in December 2025.
So the question has changed from “which vendor?” to “which product inside Cvent?”:
- Cvent (Registration, Attendee Hub, OnArrival) is for running in-person, hybrid and virtual events end to end, from venue sourcing to check-in.
- ON24 is for webinar-led demand generation: high-volume webinars, detailed engagement scoring per attendee, and content repurposing that feeds sales.
- Goldcast and Cvent Webinar sit in between, and are worth comparing if your webinars are marketing-led but not ON24-scale.
If your programme is mostly conferences and trade shows, start with Cvent. If it is mostly webinars that feed your CRM, ON24 is still the specialist. Either way, you are now negotiating with one company, which changes how you should buy.
Cvent vs ON24 at a glance
| Cvent | ON24 | |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Full event lifecycle: sourcing, registration, onsite, virtual | Enterprise webinars and digital engagement |
| Ownership | Cvent (owned by Blackstone) | Cvent company since 1 April 2026 |
| In-person events | Core strength: OnArrival, iCapture, Jifflenow, Passkey | Not its focus |
| Webinars | Cvent Webinar, plus Goldcast and ON24 in the group | Webcast Elite: live, simulive, on-demand, up to 10 presenters |
| Engagement data | Attendee Hub engagement and sponsor scoring | Per-attendee Engagement Score and Prospect Engagement Profile in Salesforce |
| Content repurposing | Goldcast AI clips and posts | ACE engine: blogs, clips, social posts, emails from recordings |
| AI | CventIQ | ACE, Key Moments |
| Life sciences | Approval workflows, spend tracking | HCP engagement tracking with Veeva integration |
| Pricing | Quote only; Professional and Enterprise editions | Quote only; Essentials, Standard, Advanced packages |
| Free trial | No; PayGo for basic registration | No |
Feature-by-feature
Webinars
ON24 is the specialist. Its Webcast Elite studio runs live, simulive and on-demand webinars with up to 10 presenters, and separates producer, presenter and moderator roles for teams running many webinars a month. Cvent Webinar is tied directly into Cvent registration and suits teams whose webinars support a wider event programme. Goldcast focuses on marketing webinars and AI repurposing.
In-person and hybrid events
Cvent wins clearly. Venue sourcing, hotel room blocks, OnArrival check-in and badging, iCapture trade-show lead capture and Jifflenow meeting scheduling have no ON24 equivalent. ON24 handles hybrid sessions but is not an onsite operations platform.
Engagement data and the CRM
This is where ON24 earns its place. Every poll answer, question, download and minute watched is tied to a named registrant and scored. The Prospect Engagement Profile gathers that history across webinars and embeds it in Salesforce, so reps see a contact’s content journey without leaving the CRM. Cvent captures engagement in Attendee Hub and syncs to the major CRMs, with more emphasis on events and sponsors than on content consumption.
Content after the event
ON24’s ACE engine turns recordings into blog posts, eBooks, social posts, follow-up emails and clips, and its Key Moments feature uses audience engagement to pick the best clips, including vertical video. Within Cvent, Goldcast provides AI repurposing of recordings.
Mobile
Cvent has a full attendee app. ON24 offers a mobile viewing experience rather than a dedicated event app, and reviewers note gaps against the desktop experience.
Regulated industries
Both hold strong certifications. ON24 has the edge in life sciences, where HCP engagement tracking and the Veeva integration matter.
Pricing and how to buy now
Neither publishes prices. Cvent quotes by edition and module; ON24 sells Essentials, Standard and Advanced packages based on features and contact volume. Neither offers a free trial, though Cvent has a pay-as-you-go option for basic registration.
The acquisition changes the negotiation more than the price list. With one parent company, ask these before you sign anything:
- Can we buy ON24 on its own, or only bundled? ZoomInfo reports Cvent has committed to continued investment in ON24, but standalone availability should be confirmed with sales.
- Will a bundle reduce the total, and does the discount survive renewal?
- Which webinar product is on the long-term roadmap? With Cvent Webinar, Goldcast and ON24 in one group, ask which will be the primary product in two years, and what happens to your contract if products are merged.
- How will data move between them? Integration work is ongoing; ask what is live today versus planned.
- Can we keep our current ON24 terms at renewal? Existing customers should check renewal language carefully.
If your contract is up within a year, consider a shorter term until the product roadmap is clearer.
AI features
- Cvent’s CventIQ (launched June 2025) covers planning and operations: AI-assisted venue RFP responses, writing help, personalised session recommendations, live transcripts and feedback summaries.
- ON24’s ACE focuses on content and engagement: generating blogs, emails, social posts and clips from recordings, and scoring audience engagement. ACE runs on Microsoft Azure OpenAI, and customers keep ownership of content they provide and generate.
Security and compliance
| Cvent | ON24 | |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | Yes | Yes |
| ISO 27001 and 27701 | Yes | Yes |
| SOC 1 Type II, PCI DSS | Yes | Not stated |
| Data residency | AWS, US and EU regions | Separate North America and EU data centres |
| AI data use | CventIQ data not used to train models; AI can be switched off | Customers own content in ACE |
Reliability
Both run large live programmes. For webinars, a failed stream is visible to every attendee at once, so ask for each product’s uptime record, SLA and live-event support model in writing. Now that both sit in one company, also ask whether support teams and escalation paths have changed since the acquisition.
Switching or consolidating
Many organisations already run Cvent for events and ON24 for webinars. Consolidating onto one product is tempting now, but webinar histories, engagement scores and Salesforce mappings do not always transfer cleanly between products. Before you consolidate, export engagement history from ON24, document every CRM field mapping, and run one webinar series in parallel.
Which should you choose?
| Your situation | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly conferences, trade shows and hybrid events | Cvent | Onsite, sourcing and lead capture ON24 does not do |
| High-volume webinar programme feeding sales | ON24 | Engagement scoring and Salesforce profiles |
| Webinars support a wider event calendar | Cvent Webinar | One registration system and data set |
| Marketing webinars with heavy content reuse | ON24 or Goldcast | ACE or Goldcast repurposing; compare both |
| Life sciences with HCP engagement rules | ON24 | Veeva integration and HCP tracking |
| You run both big events and big webinar programmes | Both, bought together | Negotiate one contract with clear product commitments |
Frequently asked questions
Did Cvent buy ON24? Yes. The deal closed on 1 April 2026, for about $400 million. ON24 operates as a wholly owned Cvent company.
Can I still buy ON24 without Cvent? The ON24 platform remains active. Whether it is sold standalone or bundled should be confirmed with sales.
What is the difference between ON24, Goldcast and Cvent Webinar? ON24 is the enterprise webinar and engagement-data specialist. Goldcast focuses on marketing webinars and AI video repurposing. Cvent Webinar is tied into Cvent registration for webinars that sit inside a wider event programme.
Will ON24 be merged into Cvent? Cvent has not published an integration timeline. Ask about the roadmap before signing a multi-year term.
Which is better for in-person events? Cvent, by a wide margin.
Sources: Cvent pricing, ZoomInfo: Cvent vs ON24, ON24 Trust Center.
Need help planning around the change?
We help teams build and integrate Cvent programmes, including webinar data flowing into the CRM. Talk to our team about your event and webinar mix. See our Cvent expertise and analytics and reporting services, or contact us.
