Webinar Marketing Statistics 2026: Attendance, Conversion and Cost

Editorial revision (November 5, 2026): Clarified source scope, definitions, comparisons and dataset references as applicable, using the retained source captures. This editorial review is not a new verification of source pages; original source-check dates remain visible below.

Direct Answer

Registration-to-attendee conversion, not established as live-only, was reported as 60% for the ON24 platform in 2025 by MarketingCharts, while a broader B2B sample reported a 41.6% median, average live attendance sat in the 44% to 50% band, and replay drove 42% of total views. Those four figures come from ON24, Contrast and Digital Applied. The latter is a secondary compilation describing roughly 12,400 B2B webinars, not a new independently audited sample. Wistia and TwentyThree supply separate findings below. Digital Applied reported a blended cost per attendee of $34 to $87 and, separately, fully loaded mid-market program budgets of $4,200 to $12,400. Its tier table includes lean programs in the lower attendee-cost range. Wistia reported that 43% of companies spent under $1,000 on webinars in 2025, while 9% allocated $30,000 or more.

Cite This Report

Use this URL when citing in your own analysis: https://konabayev.com/blog/webinar-marketing-statistics-2026/. Suggested citation: Konabayev, T. (2026). Webinar Marketing Statistics 2026: Attendance, Conversion and Cost. konabayev.com. Last verified May 10, 2026.

If you need raw data, machine-readable copies are available here:

• CSV: /data/webinar-marketing-statistics-2026.csv
• JSON: /data/webinar-marketing-statistics-2026.json
• JSONL: /data/webinar-marketing-statistics-2026.jsonl

Source pages used in this report, including secondary summaries: Wistia 2026 webinar benchmarks, ON24 2026 benchmark summary, MarketingCharts ON24 summary, TwentyThree State of Webinars 2026, Contrast webinar statistics 2026, and Digital Applied webinar statistics 2026.

For related context, see our B2B marketing benchmarks 2026 and content marketing statistics 2026 reports.

Top Citable Claims

Each claim below is sourced and dated; do not strip the source when quoting these figures.

Attendance

Reported registration-to-attendance rates range from roughly 40% to 60%, but not all measure live-only attendance. Wistia’s 2026 benchmark report, drawn from 900+ professionals and Wistia-hosted events, found that about 40% of registrants attended live. ON24’s 2026 Digital Engagement Benchmarks, based on platform data, reported a higher 60% registration-to-attendee conversion in 2025, up from 57% in 2024 and 56% in 2023. The years in this series come from the MarketingCharts secondary summary; the retained ON24 conversion paragraph does not specify a year.

ON24’s average webinar reached 239 attendees, up 11% year over year. MarketingCharts assigns 2025, but the retained ON24 paragraph labels this 2024; the year remains unresolved. Q4 2025 averaged 254 attendees, compared with 219 in the same quarter the prior year. ON24 separately reports that 67% of attendees joined live and 43% chose on-demand. These are not a mutually exclusive split; the retained summary does not resolve the overlap or bases. Its reported annual “1% rise” (relative percent versus percentage points unspecified) conflicts with the secondary summary discussed in Replay and Repurposing.

The Contrast benchmark, which sits between Wistia and ON24, reported average live attendance in the 44% to 50% range. Digital Applied’s aggregation of roughly 12,400 B2B webinars produced a 41.6% median live registration-to-attend rate, a 46.2% mean and a 28.4% bottom-quartile cutoff. Webinars with under 100 registrants saw 6% higher attendance, according to Contrast, an observational comparison that does not establish whether targeting caused the difference.

For broader audience benchmarks across owned channels, our B2B lead generation statistics 2026 report covers comparable conversion ranges across other formats.

Conversion and Pipeline

Reported pipeline attribution and revenue shares use different denominators and do not establish incremental revenue caused by webinars. Digital Applied reported that 58% of webinar-sourced opportunities first touched a replay. Webinar-sourced revenue was 8.4% of marketing-sourced ARR for B2B SaaS in their sample, while webinar-influenced revenue under any-touch attribution was 27.6% of closed-won ARR. Attendee accounts closed 18% faster and had a 14% larger average deal size than comparable non-attendee accounts.

ON24’s 2026 benchmarks show that interactive activity tied to deal motion is rising. Demo bookings rose 73% year over year, CTA engagement per attendee rose 49%, webinar engagement reactions per attendee rose 18%, and live chat with sales rose 51%. Meeting bookings during webinars rose 4x. Inside the content hub, demo requests rose 73% and pricing quote requests rose 43%. The MarketingCharts summary reported that total engagements per webinar rose 18% and reactions rose 43% year over year.

ON24 reported average activity per webinar: 150 poll responses, 101 resource downloads, 69 certifications, 52 reactions, 19 survey responses and 1.8 interactions per attendee. The MarketingCharts summary noted that interactions per attendee rose 7% to 1.8 and resource downloads rose 11% to 101.

Contrast offers a buyer-side view: nearly 63% of attendees make purchase decisions after attending a webinar, and 91% of B2B professionals name webinars their favorite content format. For deeper pipeline math, see our B2B SaaS conversion benchmarks 2026 report and the conversion rate optimization playbook.

Replay and Repurposing

Replay contributes reported views and replay-first opportunities; their shares are source-specific and do not measure incremental revenue. Wistia reported that one third of webinars still receive plays three months after the live event, 60% of teams turn webinars into on-demand recordings, and nearly 90% repurpose webinar content in some form. Contrast found that 42% of all views come from on-demand replay, even though many programs are still measured against live attendance.

ON24’s platform data showed that 43% of attendees chose on-demand webinars in 2025, with a reported “1% rise” per year from 2022 to 2025; the retained wording does not specify relative percent versus percentage points. The MarketingCharts summary noted that 43% joined on demand in 2025, down from 45% in 2024 in its summary of the ON24 dataset. The retained summaries do not establish why those figures differ; verify their definitions and periods before treating them as a comparable trend.

TwentyThree’s 2026 State of Webinars found that 68% of organizations repurpose webinars into clips, articles, social content or other formats, but only 48% integrate webinar data into the marketing stack. That integration gap means many programs lose attribution and follow-up signal even when they reuse the recording. Digital Applied’s claim that 58% of webinar-sourced opportunities first touch a replay reinforces the importance of treating the recording as a first-class asset rather than a leftover.

For workflows that turn long-form recordings into reusable assets, see our content marketing statistics 2026 and marketing automation statistics 2026 reports.

Costs and Budgets

Wistia reports annual company spending bands for 2025; Digital Applied reports costs per webinar. These are different measures. Wistia found that 43% of companies spent under $1,000 on webinars in 2025, 35% budgeted between $1,000 and $10,000, 13% spent between $10,000 and $30,000, and 9% allocated $30,000 or more. Wistia also noted that 24% of organizations did not host webinars at all.

Digital Applied broke down fully loaded mid-market costs at $4,200 to $12,400 per webinar, and separately reported blended cost per attendee between $34 and $87, spanning lean and mid-market tiers. They distinguish between mid-market standard programs at $4,200 to $8,800 and mid-market programs with paid promotion at $9,400 to $12,400. Enterprise analyst or custom programs ranged from $18,000 to $35,000 or more per webinar. Digital Applied reported average payback of 6 to 9 months for ICP-aligned topics including replay-sourced pipeline; treat this as directional guidance, not a guaranteed return.

Acquisition cost varies sharply by channel. Digital Applied reported LinkedIn paid promotion at an average $42 per senior B2B registrant, paid search at $78, and programmatic at $96. Owned email drove 71% of registrations, LinkedIn 14%, and partner co-marketing 8%. Contrast, citing VisitorQueue, reported the average webinar cost per lead at $72, with a $45 to $98 range.

Budget planning teams may also find our email marketing benchmarks 2026 report useful, since owned email is the dominant registration channel in the Digital Applied compilation.

Timing and Duration

Contrast and Digital Applied report different timing and duration patterns; the comparisons do not establish a universal best slot or format. Contrast reported that Tuesday webinars saw 49.71% live attendance. Monday had 53.26% raw and Friday 52.02% raw attendance, but both days produced fewer registrations. Thursday attracted 8% more registrants than Tuesday. By time of day, 2pm reached 55%, 11am 50% and 10am 49%. Seasonally, January saw 51% attendance and March and April both 50%.

Digital Applied reported that Tuesday and Wednesday at 11am ET delivered a 19% lift in registration-to-attend versus off-peak slots, an observational comparison. They also found that 35 to 45 minute webinars held 73% audience retention versus 51% for 50 to 60 minute sessions.

Contrast’s data on length is mixed: 90-minute webinars showed the highest live attendance at 67%, while 45-minute saw 49%, 60-minute 47% and 30-minute 44%. Sixty-minute webinars had 37% completion. Audience self-selection is one possible explanation, not an established cause: attendees who commit to 90-minute slots may be more qualified, while shorter formats have lower friction and broader appeal but more drop-off.

Contrast reported 27% higher live attendance among top-performing hosts using a three-step reminder sequence, an association rather than an isolated causal effect. Its 2026 survey of 524 B2B marketers reported 53% more ROI for educational sessions than product demos; this is a vendor survey claim, not audited incremental financial return. The average webinar in Contrast’s sample attracted 128 registrants. For a deeper look at platform choices that affect run-of-show, see our webinar software overview.

Methodology and Caveats

Each source uses a different sample, definition and reporting window, so do not blend the numbers without naming the source. Wistia’s 2026 benchmarks combine survey responses from 900+ professionals with platform data from Wistia-hosted events and the State of Video Report. ON24’s 2026 Digital Engagement Benchmarks come from ON24 platform data only. MarketingCharts published a secondary summary of ON24’s data, so figures from both ON24 and MarketingCharts in this report describe the same underlying dataset. TwentyThree’s 2026 State of Webinars draws on its own customer base and survey. Contrast publishes ongoing benchmarks based on its platform usage and customer surveys. Digital Applied is an aggregator combining data from roughly 12,400 B2B webinars across ON24, GoTo Webinar and BrightTALK from Q3 2025 through Q1 2026, according to its methodology.

Several caveats are worth keeping visible:

• Wistia’s “about 40% attend live” and ON24’s “60% registration-to-attendee conversion” describe different denominators and platform mixes. Quote each on its own dataset.
• The retained ON24 text labels the 239-attendee figure as 2024 in one paragraph, while the surrounding report and MarketingCharts describe 2025. This source-year inconsistency remains unresolved; no new measurement is claimed.
• Contrast’s 90-minute attendance figure (67%) may reflect audience self-selection, not a recommendation to lengthen webinars by default.
• Digital Applied’s live-only median and ON24’s attendance conversion have different definitions and source pools. The retained evidence does not isolate a cause for their difference.
• Wistia’s spending bands describe the share of companies in each annual bracket, not the average program cost.
• Year-over-year deltas like “demo bookings rose 73%” come from the ON24 platform sample and may not generalize to other platforms.

We did not adjust, blend or estimate any figure. Where two sources disagree (for example on live attendance share), both figures are reported with their source so you can pick the one that fits your context.

FAQ

Common B2B questions about webinar attendance, conversion, cost and timing, answered using the source-locked datasets above.

What share of webinar registrants typically attend live?

Reported attendance conversion is about 40% to 60% across these sources, but not all rates are live-only. Wistia reported that about 40% of registrants for Wistia-hosted webinars attend live; its separate survey of 900+ professionals is not that attendance denominator. MarketingCharts reported ON24 registration-to-attendee conversion of 60% in 2025, up from 57% in 2024 and 56% in 2023; the retained ON24 paragraph does not specify a year. Contrast saw average live attendance between 44% and 50%, and Digital Applied’s aggregation of about 12,400 B2B webinars produced a 41.6% median.

What shares of first-touch opportunities and views involve replays?

Digital Applied reported that 58% of webinar-sourced opportunities first touch a replay, and Contrast found that 42% of total views come from on-demand replay. Wistia reported that one third of webinars still receive plays three months after the live event, and that 60% of teams turn webinars into on-demand recordings, with nearly 90% repurposing webinar content in some form.

What is a realistic cost per attended attendee?

Digital Applied reported a blended $34 to $87 cost per attendee across lean and mid-market tiers. Cost per attendee, cost per lead and cost per registrant are different measures. Contrast, citing VisitorQueue, reported an average webinar cost per lead of $72, with a $45 to $98 range. Channel-level acquisition cost from Digital Applied was $42 per senior B2B registrant on LinkedIn paid promotion, $78 on paid search and $96 on programmatic.

How big a budget do most teams spend on webinars?

Wistia found that 43% of companies spent under $1,000 in 2025 and 9% allocated $30,000 or more, with most of the rest in between. Specifically, 35% budgeted $1,000 to $10,000 and 13% spent $10,000 to $30,000. Digital Applied placed fully loaded mid-market programs at $4,200 to $12,400 per webinar, with mid-market standard at $4,200 to $8,800 and mid-market with paid promotion at $9,400 to $12,400. Enterprise analyst or custom programs ranged from $18,000 to $35,000 or more.

When and how long should a B2B webinar be?

Digital Applied reports a 19% registration-to-attend lift for Tuesday and Wednesday at 11am ET versus off-peak slots, an observational comparison, and 35 to 45 minute formats that hold 73% retention versus 51% for 50 to 60 minute sessions. Contrast’s weekday data showed Tuesday at 49.71% attendance, with Monday and Friday higher in raw attendance but lower in registrations. Contrast’s 2pm time slot reached 55% attendance, 11am 50% and 10am 49%. Contrast reported 27% higher live attendance among top-performing hosts using a three-step reminder sequence; the comparison does not isolate the effect of reminders.

Are webinars actually moving deals, or just generating leads?

ON24 reports rising demo, meeting and sales-chat activity. These activity measures do not by themselves establish closed deals or financial return. Demo bookings rose 73% year over year, meeting bookings during webinars rose 4x, live chat with sales rose 51%, and content hub demo and pricing quote requests rose 73% and 43% respectively. Digital Applied reported that attendee accounts close 18% faster and produce 14% larger average deal sizes than comparable non-attendee accounts, and that webinar-influenced revenue under any-touch attribution reached 27.6% of closed-won ARR for B2B SaaS in their sample.

How are teams reusing webinar content after the live event?

Wistia reported that nearly 90% of organizations repurpose webinar content and 60% turn webinars into on-demand recordings. TwentyThree found that 68% of organizations repurpose webinars into clips, articles, social content or other formats, but only 48% integrate webinar data into the marketing stack, leaving an attribution gap. Contrast’s finding that 42% of views come from on-demand replay reinforces that replay contributes a substantial share of reported views; 42% alone does not establish a majority of total reach.

Last verified: May 10, 2026.