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Webinars · head to head

Bizzabo vs Totara

Bizzabo logo

Bizzabo

Webinars

The Event Experience Operating System

From
$499/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Totara logo

Totara

LMS

Open source learning, performance and collaboration platform derived from Moodle and sold through partners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Bizzabo high starting cost of $499 per user per month with premium features requiring additional paid add-ons; Totara you cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • They diverge on capability: Bizzabo covers Event registration, Totara covers Organisational hierarchies.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Bizzabo and Totara actually diverge.

Attributes where Bizzabo and Totara differ
AttributeBizzaboTotara
Starting price$499/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
CategoryWebinarsLMS
Founded2012Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Bizzabo

  • Event registration
  • Mobile event app
  • Networking
  • Sponsor management
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Marketo

Only in Totara

  • Organisational hierarchies
  • Compliance and certification
  • Totara Perform
  • Totara Engage
  • Self-hosting
  • Programs and learning plans

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Bizzabo

  • Event planningnot Totara
  • Ticket salesnot Totara
  • Attendee managementnot Totara
  • Virtual eventsnot Totara
  • Event marketingnot Totara

Totara

  • Health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchynot Bizzabo
  • Organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructurenot Bizzabo
  • Moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carrynot Bizzabo
  • Buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendornot Bizzabo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Bizzabo

  • High starting cost of $499 per user per month with premium features requiring additional paid add-ons
  • Technical issues with event check-in, such as slow loading and syncing during peak times
  • Limited customer support on lower-tier plans with slow response times
  • Virtual event capabilities less advanced than dedicated virtual event platforms
  • Website builder has limited assets and customization options

Totara

  • You cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • Open source does not mean cheap. Subscription plus partner hosting plus implementation and version upgrade services commonly lands near commercial system cost, and the saving is in control and exit rights rather than in the invoice.
  • The administrative interface carries its Moodle lineage and is dense, so administrator training is a real project cost rather than an afterthought.
  • Major version upgrades are projects, especially where a partner has customised the deployment, and organisations that customise heavily find upgrades slower and dearer over time.
  • The learner facing experience is functional rather than engaging, and organisations wanting a consumer grade learning experience usually front it with something else.

Pricing, plan by plan

Bizzabo

$499/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Bizzabo review.

Totara

On request
  • Totara subscription via partner$undefined/year
    • Sold only through distribution partners
    • Partner sets hosting, implementation and support pricing
    • Source available under the GPL, but subscription required for supported releases

Which should you pick?

Choose Bizzabo if

  • You need event registration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want mobile event app.
Bizzabo review

Choose Totara if

  • You need organisational hierarchies.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want compliance and certification.
Totara review

Questions people ask

Is Bizzabo or Totara better?
Neither clearly leads. Bizzabo starts at $499/month and Totara at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Bizzabo or Totara?
Bizzabo starts at $499/month and Totara at On request.
Does Bizzabo or Totara run on more platforms?
Bizzabo runs on Web, iOS, Android. Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
What is Bizzabo best used for?
Bizzabo is most often used for event planning, ticket sales, attendee management, virtual events. Of those, event planning and ticket sales are not what Totara is typically brought in for.
What can Bizzabo do that Totara cannot?
Bizzabo covers Event registration, Mobile event app, Networking, Sponsor management. Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Bizzabo: What is the starting price for Bizzabo?

Bizzabo's Event Experience OS starts at $499 per user per month when billed annually, with a 3-user minimum, totaling $17,999 per year. Premium add-ons for virtual production, integrations, and networking features incur additional costs.

Source
Totara: Is Totara free because it is open source?

No. The source is available under the GPL, but supported releases require a subscription, and it is sold through partners who add hosting, implementation and support costs.

Bizzabo: What does Bizzabo's base platform include?

The base platform includes unlimited events and registrations, contact management, ticketing, email campaigns, event website builder, mobile app, analytics, and 24/7 customer support.

Source
Totara: How is it different from Moodle?

Moodle is built around courses and academic delivery. Totara adds organisational hierarchies, role based automatic assignment, recurring certification and appraisal, which is what workplace compliance reporting needs.

Bizzabo: What integrations does Bizzabo support?

Bizzabo integrates with over 20 platforms including HubSpot CRM, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Mailchimp, Marketo Engage, Slack, Stripe, PayPal, GoTo Webinar, and Zapier.

Source
Totara: Can we host it ourselves?

Yes. Self hosting is a genuine option and is one of the main reasons regulated and public sector buyers choose it over a hosted only competitor.

Bizzabo: Does Bizzabo offer AI features?

Yes, Bizzabo introduced Bizzy, an AI attendee copilot that provides real-time guidance, session discovery recommendations, and networking support to improve attendee experience.

Source
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