Around vs Butter vs Crowdcast: Which Is Right for You in 2026?
Despite sharing a Video Conferencing category tag, these three don't actually compete for the same use case. Around was a floating-bubble video calling app…
Best for: Creators, educators, and event hosts running live, monetized webinars, courses, or summits with built-in interactivity.
At a Glance
Around
Butter
Crowdcast
Primary category
Video Conferencing
Video Conferencing
Video Conferencing
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Freemium
Subscription
Starting price
Free
Free (Pro plans reportedly from ~$18/month)
$49/month
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Yes
Platforms
Web, Mac, Windows
Web
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Yes
Not documented
Public API
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Standout Differences
One discontinued, one mislabeled, one active
Around was sunset by Miro in 2025 and is no longer available. Butter sits in the Video Conferencing category but is actually a video content-creation tool, not a live-calling platform. Crowdcast is the only one of the three still operating as an actual live video conferencing/webinar product.
Around, Butter, Crowdcast
Live meetings vs. produced content
Crowdcast (and formerly Around) are for real-time, synchronous video — live calls and webinars happening in the moment. Butter is for asynchronous production of finished video assets after the fact, which is a fundamentally different workflow.
Crowdcast, Around, Butter
Monetization is unique to Crowdcast
Crowdcast is described as having built-in monetization for live events — registration, ticketing, and paid access for webinars, courses, and summits. Neither Around's nor Butter's descriptions mention anything comparable.
Crowdcast
Pricing model contrast
Around and Butter were/are both freemium with low-cost paid tiers (Butter's Pro plans reportedly from around $18/month), while Crowdcast is subscription-only starting at $49/month with no free plan mentioned.
Around, Butter, Crowdcast
Feature-by-Feature
Status & Availability
Feature
Around
Butter
Crowdcast
Actively available for new signups (2026)
Unavailable
Available
Available
Core Function
Feature
Around
Butter
Crowdcast
Live, real-time video calls or webinars
Unavailable
Unavailable
Available
Branded motion-graphics / marketing video creation
Unavailable
Available
Not documented
Built-in monetization for paid events
Not documented
Not documented
Available
Pricing & Plans
Feature
Around
Butter
Crowdcast
Free plan
Available
Available
Unavailable
Entry paid tier under $20/month
Not documented
Available
Unavailable
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Around
Free — $0
Pro (historical, pre-acquisition) — Not publicly disclosed monthly
Butter
Free — Free
Starter — From $24/month per seat monthly
Unlimited — From $39/month per seat monthly
Crowdcast
Free Trial — Free 14 days
Lite — $49/month monthly
Pro — $89/month monthly
Business — $195/month monthly
Pros & Cons
Around
Pros
Distinctive floating-bubble format reduced the fatigue of staring at a grid of video tiles all day
AI face-framing kept presenters visible and well-composed without manual webcam adjustments
EchoPrevention solved the common problem of audio feedback when several people share a room
Lightweight, always-on feel encouraged spontaneous, hallway-style conversations for remote teams
Simple, playful interface with reactions, filters, and icebreakers that lowered the barrier to informal check-ins
Cons
Discontinued on March 31, 2025 — no longer available as a standalone product to sign up for
Capped participant counts made it unsuitable for large all-hands meetings or webinars
No phone dial-in or PSTN support for participants without a computer or app
Recording and admin/compliance controls were limited compared with mainstream platforms like Zoom or Teams
Best features (like EchoPrevention) depended on decent hardware and microphone quality to work well
Butter
Pros
Template-first workflow speeds up video production for non-specialist marketers
AI captioning and background removal cut out manual, time-consuming editing steps
Free plan available to try the core editor before paying
Used by well-known consumer brands, suggesting production-grade output quality
Cons
Full pricing tiers and feature-by-plan breakdown are not fully published
Small team size relative to larger video editing platforms
Name collision with an unrelated Danish company also called Butter can cause research confusion
Positioned mainly for marketing/social video, not general-purpose film or long-form editing
Crowdcast
Pros
No download required for attendees, reducing friction and no-shows
Monetization (tickets, subscriptions) is built directly into the platform
Automatic replay library extends the value of every live event
Simple host dashboard compared to production-heavy streaming tools
Cons
Percentage-based transaction fees on paid events can add up at scale
Session length and streaming hours are capped by plan tier
Smaller third-party integration ecosystem than larger, better-funded competitors
Higher attendee caps and multistreaming require upgrading to pricier plans
Use Cases
Choose Around: Was best for small remote teams wanting a lightweight, low-fatigue alternative to Zoom — no longer available since Miro sunset it in 2025.
Choose Butter: Marketing teams that want to produce branded motion-graphics videos, ads, and social clips from reusable templates.
Choose Crowdcast: Creators, educators, and event hosts running live, monetized webinars, courses, or summits with built-in interactivity.
Around
Remote pair programming and co-working — Engineers kept a persistent Around bubble open for hours to collaborate on code and ask quick questions without scheduling a formal call.
Ambient virtual office presence — Hybrid and remote-first teams used Around as a lightweight, always-on way to feel co-located and available for spontaneous chats.
Creative collaboration alongside a whiteboard — After the Miro acquisition, design and product teams launched Around calls directly from a Miro board to pair video with visual brainstorming.
Quick standups and 1:1 check-ins — Small startup teams used Around's low-friction bubbles for brief daily standups and one-on-ones without a full-screen meeting interrupting their workflow.
Butter
Social ad production at scale — Marketing teams use Butter's templates and magic resize to quickly produce multiple ad variants across social platforms.
Branded template libraries — Creative teams build a reusable library of on-brand templates and components so any team member can ship consistent video content.
Product video creation — Teams use AI background removal and motion graphics tools to turn raw product and lifestyle footage into polished marketing videos.
Crowdcast
Paid online summits — Event organizers sell tickets to multi-day virtual summits with multiple speakers and monetize the replay library afterward.
Membership-gated live shows — Coaches and creators run recurring live Q&A or teaching sessions available exclusively to paying subscribers.
Lead-generation webinars — B2B marketers host free registration webinars to capture leads and nurture them with automatic replay access.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Around still available to use?
No. Miro acquired Around in 2022 and sunset the service in 2025. It's no longer available for new or existing users.
Is Butter a video conferencing tool like Zoom or Crowdcast?
No, despite sitting in the same category. Butter is an AI-native video creative suite for building branded motion graphics, ads, and social videos from templates — it's not built for hosting live meetings or webinars.
Which of these can I use to host a paid webinar or online summit today?
Crowdcast. It's the only actively available live video platform of the three, purpose-built for webinars, courses, and summits with built-in monetization, starting at $49/month.
What happened to Around?
Around was a floating-bubble video calling app designed to reduce meeting fatigue for remote teams. Miro acquired it in 2022 and sunset the service in 2025, so it's no longer an option for anyone comparing tools today.
If I need both live meetings and branded marketing videos, do I need more than one tool?
Yes. Crowdcast (or another active live-video platform) handles hosting live, interactive sessions, while Butter is for producing finished branded video assets afterward — the two don't overlap, so most teams would need one tool for each job.