JotCast is a chat moderation platform built for organizations that need to host large-scale, moderated live conversations. Instead of an open free-for-all chat, JotCast requires moderator approval before any message appears publicly, giving hosts control over tone and content during live events, webinars, sports broadcasts, university programming, and corporate town halls. The platform supports multiple simultaneous moderators, private one-on-one messaging between moderators and attendees, password-protected and encrypted chats, polls and quizzes, emoji reactions, a 'peanut gallery' comment feature, and post-event discussion boards. Hosts can customize chat themes and branding without code, embed YouTube and other video sources for paired-viewing experiences, and track engagement with real-time analytics. JotCast says it has been in operation for over a decade and lists case studies including the Wildlife Center of Virginia, Notre Dame, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Key Features
Pre-publish message moderation — Every audience message requires moderator approval before it becomes publicly visible.
Multi-moderator support — Multiple simultaneous moderators can manage large chats; Enterprise plans support unlimited moderators.
Private messaging — One-on-one conversations between moderators and attendees, with optional direct messaging between participants.
Password-protected, encrypted chats — Chats can be password-protected with encryption for user identities and messages.
Polls, quizzes, and emoji reactions — Interactive elements for instant audience feedback and engagement during live events.
No-code theme and branding customization — Hosts can customize chat colors, fonts, and logo branding without writing code.
Video embedding — Embed YouTube videos and other video sources alongside the chat for paired live-viewing experiences.
Real-time analytics — Track audience size and engagement with interactive graphs and export the underlying data.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Every message requires moderator approval, giving hosts full control over what goes public
Supports multiple simultaneous moderators for large audiences
Free Basic plan available to get started before upgrading
Interactive features like polls, quizzes, emoji reactions, and discussion boards
No-code theme and branding customization
Real-time analytics on audience engagement
Cons
Paid plans price by reader-minutes and concurrent readers, which can get costly at scale
No public numeric pricing for Enterprise beyond the calculator/contact-sales model
Branded advertisements appear on lower-tier plans unless white-labeled for an extra fee