Choosing the right platform to deliver continuing education, webinars, and virtual events can make or break your program’s impact. Two names you’ll encounter often are BeaconLive and ON24. Both offer robust event delivery and audience engagement.
But if your priorities include CE/CLE/CME workflows, automated certificate delivery, and accreditation-friendly compliance, BeaconLive tends to fit like a glove, while ON24 shines for large-scale marketing webinars and virtual event experiences.
Below is a practical, vendor-neutral walkthrough of features, benefits, and ideal fit, followed by a side-by-side comparison table to help you decide faster.
BeaconLive at a Glance
BeaconLive combines a CE-ready LMS backend with webinar and virtual event delivery. Teams can run live, hybrid, or on-demand programs and automate certificate delivery based on accreditor rules, while tracking credits, evaluations, and learning outcomes.
The platform is designed for legal, healthcare, associations, and corporate compliance programs that must prove attendance, manage credits, and pass audits. It also offers white-labeling and producer support to keep events polished without overloading internal staff.
Standout advantages:
- Automatic CE/CLE/CME/CPD certificates governed by accreditor logic.
- CE workflows and tracking across sessions, conferences, and libraries, with post-session evaluations and reporting.
- White-label webinar delivery with interactive features (polls, surveys, breakouts) and in-house producers.
Who it’s for:
Organizations that live and die by compliance—law firms, bar associations, medical education groups, associations, financial services, and any team that needs accreditor-friendly processes and audit-ready records.
ON24 at a Glance
ON24 is best known as an intelligent engagement platform for webinars, virtual events, and “always-on” content hubs. Marketers love its personalization, analytics, and program-level insights. ON24 also supports CE-style programming—with pages that discuss certification use cases and CPE delivery—although its DNA is rooted in marketing-driven engagement and pipeline impact.
Standout advantages:
- High-impact webinars and virtual events with keynotes, breakouts, sponsor areas, and lounges.
- Content hubs for on-demand journeys and self-education.
- Marketing-grade analytics and integrations to understand engagement and optimize conversions.
Who it’s for:
Marketing and field teams that need scalable programs, strong personalization, and deep analytics across webinars and virtual events, with optional CE-style elements layered in.
Side-by-Side Comparison
|
Capability |
BeaconLive |
ON24 |
|
Core Focus |
CE-ready LMS + webinar/virtual event delivery |
Marketing-led webinars, virtual events, and content hubs |
|
CE & Certificates |
Automated certificate delivery based on accreditor rules; robust CE workflows, evaluations, credit tracking |
CE and certification use cases supported, typically configured alongside webinar programs |
|
Event Types |
Live, hybrid, on-demand; conferences with multi-session tracks |
Webinars, virtual events with keynotes, breakouts, sponsor areas, lounges |
|
White-Labeling & Branding |
Strong—customizable, with producer/moderator support |
Strong branding controls across webinars and event experiences |
|
Producer & Help Desk Support |
In-house producers, moderators, help desk for end-to-end execution |
Training resources and platform expertise to enable teams; delivery typically owned by customer |
|
Audience Engagement |
Polls, surveys, Q&A, breakouts; credit-aware interactions |
Rich interactivity, personalization, content hubs, and AI-supported insights |
|
Analytics & Reporting |
CE and accreditation-friendly reporting; attendance, evaluations, credit audits |
Deep marketing analytics, performance dashboards, and program intelligence |
|
Ideal Buyers |
Associations, law/medical education providers, compliance-heavy teams |
B2B marketing teams, demand gen, virtual event producers |
|
Strength in Compliance |
High—designed for regulated CE programs |
Medium—supports CE scenarios but optimized for marketing at scale |
|
Scalability for Events |
Scales for CE catalogs, conferences, and recurring programs |
Scales for global webinar programs, multi-track virtual events, and content hubs |
When BeaconLive Is the Better Choice
Choose BeaconLive when compliance equals credibility. If you issue CLE, CME, CNE, CPD, or CPE and need certificates automatically triggered by accreditor rules, BeaconLive’s native workflows make life easier for admins and learners alike.
You can manage evaluations, track credits, and spin up multi-session conferences while staying audit-ready. White-label delivery and dedicated producers help you deliver polished experiences without growing your internal ops team.
Benefits you’ll feel:
- Fewer manual tasks with end-to-end CE automation.
- Cleaner accreditation evidence thanks to structured tracking and evaluation data.
- Consistent brand presence across courses, libraries, and events, backed by producer support.
When ON24 Is the Better Choice
Choose ON24 when your North Star is demand generation and audience growth. If you’re running large webinar portfolios, global virtual events, and always-on content hubs, ON24’s engagement features, analytics, and personalization help teams optimize outcomes. You can incorporate certification-style programming, but the biggest wins are felt by marketing teams who need program-level insights.
Benefits you’ll feel:
- Richer engagement data to guide content and follow-ups.
- Program scale and consistency across events and hubs.
- Polished event experiences with keynotes, breakouts, and sponsor activations.
Verdict: Prefer BeaconLive for CE-Centric Programs, Consider ON24 for Marketing Scale
Both platforms deliver top-tier virtual experiences. The key is your primary job to be done:
- Pick BeaconLive if your success depends on issuing compliant credits and certificates, simplifying audits, and running CE at scale with less manual work. It’s purpose-built for regulated learning and comes with the production support many CE teams need.
- Pick ON24 if you’re building a marketing engine around webinars, virtual events, and content hubs, and you want program-level analytics and personalization across a large portfolio.
| Feature / Dimension | BeaconLive | ON24 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Purpose-built for Continuing Education (CE/CME/CLE/CPE) with accreditation and compliance at the core | Primarily a marketing & webinar platform geared toward lead generation and large-scale events |
| Accreditation Support | NASBA, ACCME, ANCC, and other accrediting body integrations built-in for automated compliance reporting and certificate issuance | Limited or no direct accreditation tools; manual processes often required |
| Learner Tracking & Certificates | Robust attendance tracking, automated certificates, and LMS-style dashboards | Basic analytics; certificates typically need third-party integrations or manual issuance |
| Delivery Formats | Live, hybrid, and on-demand with interactive breakout sessions designed for professional learning | Focused on live webinars and virtual events; less emphasis on hybrid learning or continuing education needs |
| Engagement Features | Polls, quizzes, gamification, breakout rooms, and compliance checks designed to increase knowledge retention | Standard engagement tools (polls, Q&A, chat); lacks CE-specific interaction tools |
| Scalability for CE Providers | Scales from small workshops to multi-day accredited conferences; built-in compliance management for all event sizes | Scales well for marketing webinars and large audience events, but lacks CE-specific workflows |
| Customization & Branding | Highly customizable branding, sponsor spaces, and user experience to meet CE provider requirements | Branding options focused mainly on webinar landing pages and registration |
| Security & Compliance | HIPAA, GDPR, and data privacy baked into the platform for professional education providers | General security but not tailored to regulated industries like healthcare or legal education |
| Customer Support | Dedicated CE specialists, onboarding, and training focused on accreditation and learner success | Standard event platform support geared toward marketing/webinar clients |
| Best For | Organizations delivering accredited CE/CME/CLE/CPE programs needing compliance, automation, and high learner engagement | Companies focused on marketing, demand generation, and large-scale online events rather than compliance-driven learning |
When it comes to delivering accredited continuing education, BeaconLive outshines ON24. Our NASBA, ACCME, and ANCC-approved platform is purpose-built for CE, offering seamless tracking, automated certificates, flexible delivery formats, and interactive engagement tools.
Unlike general event platforms, BeaconLive is tailored to compliance-heavy industries—law, healthcare, accounting, and beyond.
If you want a platform that prioritizes accreditation, learner engagement, and measurable outcomes, choose BeaconLive as your trusted CE partner. Elevate your programs today with a platform designed for education success.
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