Livestorm vs Lu.ma vs Partiful: Which Is Right for You in 2026?
These three sit at different points on the events spectrum rather than being direct rivals. Livestorm is built for corporate webinars and virtual events with…
Best for: People planning informal social events who want animated invites and text-based RSVPs rather than business event tooling.
At a Glance
Livestorm
Lu.ma
Partiful
Primary category
Video Conferencing
Video Conferencing
Video Conferencing
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium / Usage-based (attendee credits)
Freemium
Free
Starting price
Free (30 attendees, 20-minute sessions)
Free (Plus plan from $59/month)
Free
Free plan
Yes
Yes
Yes
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web
Web
Web, iOS, Android
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Not documented
Standout Differences
Business webinars vs purely social invites
Livestorm's core job is video hosting for live and on-demand webinars, a business use case Partiful doesn't address at all - Partiful is built for personal gatherings like birthdays and house parties, not corporate content.
Livestorm, Partiful
Free tier limits differ
Livestorm's free plan caps sessions at 30 attendees and 20 minutes, a real constraint for anything beyond a short demo webinar. Lu.ma and Partiful are both free to start with no attendee limit mentioned, though Lu.ma's Plus plan at $59/month unlocks more for growing communities.
Livestorm, Lu.ma, Partiful
Lu.ma sits between the other two
Lu.ma covers both online and in-person meetups and communities with ticketing, occupying a middle ground between Livestorm's corporate webinar focus and Partiful's purely social use case.
Lu.ma
Different pricing mechanics
Livestorm uses usage-based attendee credits on top of its freemium plan, Lu.ma uses tiered freemium plans, and Partiful is entirely free - there's no ticketing or credit system to budget for with Partiful.
Livestorm, Lu.ma, Partiful
Feature-by-Feature
Core Capability
Feature
Livestorm
Lu.ma
Partiful
Live webinar / video hosting
Available
Not documented
Unavailable
Event page creation & RSVP management
Not documented
Available
Available
Ticketing / paid event sales
Not documented
Available
Not documented
Community / recurring event calendar
Not documented
Available
Not documented
Mobile-first casual party invites
Unavailable
Not documented
Available
Pricing & Plans
Feature
Livestorm
Lu.ma
Partiful
Free tier available
Available
Available
Available
Usage-based pricing (credits)
Available
Unavailable
Unavailable
No-download, browser-based access
Available
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Livestorm
Free — Free N/A
Pro — ~$2.50-3.00 per attendee credit Annual (attendee credits)
Enterprise — Custom pricing Contact sales
Lu.ma
Free — $0 N/A
Plus — $59/month Billed annually
Enterprise — Custom pricing Custom
Partiful
Free — $0 N/A
Pros & Cons
Livestorm
Pros
No downloads or plugins needed for hosts or attendees
Bundles the full webinar funnel from registration to post-event analytics
Attendee-credit pricing can be efficient for occasional large events
Permanent free plan available for evaluation and small use cases
GDPR compliance and ISO 27001 certification appeal to enterprise buyers
Cons
Free plan is limited to 20 minutes and 30 attendees, unsuitable for production use
Attendee-credit pricing model can be confusing compared to flat monthly tiers
Enterprise-grade CRM integrations require the custom-priced Enterprise plan
Costs can scale quickly for organizations running frequent high-attendance events
Session length caps on Pro (4 hours) may be limiting for longer events
Lu.ma
Pros
Polished, fast event page creation with minimal setup
Calendar model builds a durable community following instead of one-off ticket sales
Free tier is genuinely usable for unlimited events
Strong adoption within the tech, startup, and AI event ecosystem
Simple, well-designed check-in flow via companion app
Cons
5 percent platform fee on paid tickets unless upgraded to Plus
Less mature for very large-scale ticketed events compared to Eventbrite
Enterprise features like SSO require custom, undisclosed pricing
Limited built-in marketing/promotion tools compared to dedicated event marketing suites
Weekly invite send limits can require add-on purchases for high-volume communities
Partiful
Pros
Free for hosts and guests with no subscription cost
Guests do not need to download an app or create an account to RSVP
Highly visual, playful invitation designs popular with younger users
Strong organic adoption and growth among Gen Z and millennial social circles
Group Order feature simplifies coordinating and paying for party supplies
Cons
Monetization is still emerging and narrower than ticketing-based competitors like Eventbrite
Not designed for large ticketed or commercial events
Skews heavily toward a younger demographic, which may not fit all event types
Group Order commerce feature currently depends on a single delivery partner (Instacart)
Fewer enterprise or brand-event features compared to Eventbrite
Use Cases
Choose Livestorm: Marketers and companies that need to actually host and stream a live or on-demand webinar with engagement tools.
Choose Lu.ma: Startups, meetup organizers, and professional communities that need an event page, RSVP tracking, and optional ticketing.
Choose Partiful: People planning informal social events who want animated invites and text-based RSVPs rather than business event tooling.
Livestorm
B2B marketing webinars — Marketing teams use Livestorm to run lead-generation webinars with registration pages, automated email sequences and CRM integration.
Product demos and sales enablement — Sales teams use Livestorm for live product demonstrations with engagement tools like polls and Q&A to qualify prospects.
Customer onboarding and training — HR and customer education teams use Livestorm's on-demand and recorded event features for scalable onboarding and training sessions.
Lu.ma
Recurring community meetups — Organizers build a followable calendar to host regular meetups, workshops, or demo nights under one branded community hub.
Startup and conference events — Startups and conference producers use Luma to sell tickets, manage guest lists, and check in attendees for in-person or hybrid events.
Virtual workshops and webinars — Creators run paid or free virtual sessions through Luma's Zoom integration, collecting registrations and automating reminders.
Partiful
Casual birthday and house parties — Creating and sending playful digital invites for informal gatherings.
Group hangout coordination — Managing RSVPs, reminders and updates for informal social gatherings.
Party supply coordination — Using Group Order to collectively shop for party supplies ahead of an event.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Livestorm or Lu.ma better for hosting a virtual conference?
Livestorm, because it's purpose-built for live and on-demand webinar and video hosting with engagement tools. Lu.ma is primarily an event page, RSVP, and ticketing tool rather than a video hosting platform, so it's better suited to promoting and registering attendees for an event than actually streaming it.
Can I use Partiful for a business event?
Partiful is designed for casual social gatherings like birthdays and house parties and is popular with Gen Z and millennials, not for professional or corporate events. Lu.ma or Livestorm are better fits if the event is business-related.
Which of the three is free?
All three offer free access: Livestorm's free plan supports up to 30 attendees for 20-minute sessions, Lu.ma is free to start with a paid Plus plan from $59/month for more features, and Partiful is entirely free.
Does Lu.ma handle ticket sales the way Partiful handles RSVPs?
Yes, Lu.ma supports ticketing for paid events in addition to free RSVP tracking, giving it more monetization flexibility than Partiful, which is oriented toward free social invites and text-based RSVPs rather than ticket sales.
Which tool should a startup use to run a recurring meetup?
Lu.ma, since it's built for creating and promoting recurring events and managing a community calendar with optional ticketing. Livestorm becomes relevant once that meetup needs to move to live video or webinar delivery, and Partiful fits better for informal, one-off social gatherings than recurring professional meetups.