Virtual event platforms revolutionize online connections, but which platforms actually work? This HeySummit review shows how one client’s success story generated six-figure revenue and attracted over 17,000 registrations.
HeySummit’s pricing starts at $33.00 monthly and includes unlimited events and attendees for virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats. The platform stands out with its integrated ticketing system, landing page builder, and advanced analytics. Many reviews only cover simple features and miss the platform’s powerful marketing tools. These tools include affiliate systems and sponsorship options that help events succeed.
Verified users have given HeySummit an impressive 8.91/10 rating. They consistently praise its value, user-friendly interface, and customer support team. You can try the platform without a credit card through their free trial. This review will reveal hidden costs and valuable features that most video reviews don’t mention.
What Is HeySummit and Who Is It For?
HeySummit is a specialized online platform that hosts professional events of all types. Since 2018, this all-in-one event management solution has combined ticketing, registration, email automation, and analytics into a single simplified platform. Users no longer need multiple tools to manage their events.
Virtual event types supported
HeySummit adapts to almost any format you can think of. You can plan:
- One-off webinars or monthly workshops
- Multi-day, multi-speaker conferences
- Live streaming sessions or pre-recorded content
- In-person gatherings or hybrid events
The platform naturally adjusts to each format. This flexibility becomes valuable when you switch between different event styles. HeySummit works with several video streaming services like Zoom, WebEx, and LiveWebinar. You can broadcast through four main methods: live webinar, custom stream, pre-recorded video, or direct access to replays.
Target users: creators, educators, and brands
HeySummit serves three main user groups:
Content creators come first – they want to expand their reach and earn from their expertise. The platform helps turn knowledge into income with built-in tools for ticket sales, add-ons, donations, and subscriptions. Users earn an average of $16,900 per event, with many making between $50,000-$200,000.
Educators make up the second group. They need to deliver structured online learning experiences. The platform makes complex educational events easier through customized registration, smooth attendee management, and strategic email sequences.
The third group consists of mission-driven organizations and brands that want to build authority and community. HeySummit’s Creator Program equips leading voices in event promotion and community building to increase their influence.
How it compares to traditional webinar tools
HeySummit offers much more functionality than standard webinar platforms like Zoom or Google Meet. Traditional tools only provide video conferencing with limited customization. HeySummit gives you:
- Detailed speaker management dashboards
- Sponsor engagement tools
- Built-in ticketing and monetization features
- Better technical support for complex events
HeySummit lets you host large virtual events with multiple speakers across different platforms at once – regular webinar tools can’t handle this.
Hidden Costs You Should Know Before Signing Up
“Transaction fees are essentially a platform fee that we charge at HeySummit for any ticket or add-on sales processed through the platform. For example, if you sell a $100 ticket and your transaction fee with HeySummit is 1%, we will charge $1 for that ticket to be processed.” — Ben from HeySummit, HeySummit Team Member
HeySummit’s attractive features come with costs that you won’t spot right away on their website. You should know about these hidden expenses to avoid budget issues down the road.
HeySummit’s attractive features come with costs that you won’t spot right away on their website. You should know about these hidden expenses to avoid budget issues down the road.
Transaction fees by plan
The platform takes a cut from every ticket and add-on sale that goes through their system. These fees vary substantially based on your subscription level:
- The Starter plan ($33/month) takes a hefty 7% fee on all sales
- The Growth plan ($99/month) brings this down to 5% per transaction
- The Success plan ($299/month) has the best rate at 2%
Note that these percentages stack on top of your payment processor fees from Stripe or PayPal. Your profits can take a big hit from these small-looking percentages, especially with high-volume events.
Limitations of the free trial and free version
HeySummit offers a 14-day free trial without asking for your credit card. However, lower-tier plans come with notable restrictions. The platform’s branding stays on your event unless you upgrade to the Success plan. This could be a problem if you care about your brand’s professional image.
Third-party tool dependencies (e.g., Vimeo, LiveWebinar)
A big expense that people miss is the need for external tools since HeySummit doesn’t have built-in webinar features. You’ll need to buy separate webinar tools or video hosting platforms. Users often struggle to blend LiveWebinar with the platform. These extra services add to your costs beyond the subscription and might need technical know-how to set up properly.
Customization costs: branding and email templates
HeySummit’s email templates aren’t meant to replace your main email service. Many templates have parts you can’t change – called “frozen items”. To get complete customization with white-labeling, custom ticketing, and better email features, you’ll need the Success plan at $279-299 monthly. Some users say the landing page builder isn’t as flexible as dedicated website tools.
Case study
HeySummit’s ground results tell a better story than any feature list. Many event organizers have turned their knowledge into profitable ventures and grown their audiences significantly with this platform.
A quilting virtual summit shows what’s possible. Starting with no email list and only 139 Instagram followers, the organizers built an impressive following. They worked through mutually beneficial alliances and HeySummit’s strong infrastructure to gain 11,500 new email subscribers without any ad spend. Speaker partners brought 60% of overall traffic. Craft supply companies with 90,000+ subscribers helped too. Traffic sources showed conversion rates between 50% to 80%.
Brooke Adams Law made waves with her Writing Brave Summit. She welcomed 3,000 attendees, and about 215 people bought the all-access pass, bringing in $14,000 revenue. One attendee’s words sum it up perfectly: “I have never seen an online event this professional before…much less one that’s free to access live”.
Daniel David Wallace’s success story stands out even more. His “Escape the Plot Forest” event pulled in over 3,000 attendees and earned more than $26,000. Daniel went from struggling content creator to successful entrepreneur thanks to HeySummit’s tools.
These stories back up HeySummit’s data showing customers earn an average of $16,900 per event, with some reaching $50,000-$200,000. The platform’s winning features include:
- Speaker affiliate systems that boost promotion
- Smooth movement between different sessions
- Chat features that build community
- Opportunities to sell more after registration
Many hosts turn their summit success into steady income through membership programs and regular audience interaction. This makes the platform valuable well beyond the original event.
Underrated Features That Make a Big Difference
HeySummit’s simple functionality comes with several powerful yet often overlooked features that are a great way to get more from your event organizing. These hidden gems make the difference between adequate and exceptional virtual events.
Speaker dashboard and affiliate tracking
The speaker dashboard gives presenters the ability to manage their own profiles, edit credentials, and update social links without organizer help. Speakers get access to the entire event once invited, which lets them experience other sessions firsthand. HeySummit’s integrated affiliate tracking helps turn speakers into promotional partners. Their dashboard shows:
- Total purchases from referral links
- Monthly commission earnings
- Detailed sales graphs
- Referral analytics
Speakers who become affiliates get their own dashboard in their speaker area. This lets them track sales and update PayPal payout details right away
Evergreen event setup and automation
HeySummit stands out with its evergreen event features that help organizers create content that generates revenue long after the original launch. Rather than one-time events, this feature turns your summit into an ongoing, automated marketing system. The platform handles registrations, permissions, and email sequences automatically after setup.
Built-in lead capture and urgency tools
The integrated lead capture system collects valuable attendee details that become your database for future promotions. This process creates targeted audience groups for tailored engagement and strategy updates based on real data. Without doubt, this feature helps you maintain meaningful connections through relevant content updates after your event ends.
Sponsor booth and upsell capabilities
The sponsor booth feature creates dedicated sponsor pages with private messaging, file sharing, and detailed brand presentation tools. Sponsors can showcase offers, manage attendee interactions, and get email alerts when offline. HeySummit’s upsell system maximizes revenue through tiered pricing, add-on purchases, and customizable checkout experiences—including options for donations, subscriptions, and physical merchandise sales.
Real-World Experience: What Users Love and Hate
My hours of learning about HeySummit user feedback revealed clear patterns of what works well and what frustrates even loyal customers.
Ease of use vs. UI limitations
The platform gets praise for its accessible interface. Users often mention how they “started setting it up yesterday” and had everything configured within just “two days” without needing much technical expertise. In spite of that, UI frustrations come up often in feedback. Users report toggles being “so faint and low in contrast that they are almost invisible”. The landing page builder gives “limited customization power”, which makes many events look similar.
Email system pros and cons
Users have mixed feelings about HeySummit’s automated email sequences. The system helps non-technical users “solve all the automated emailing issues”. Many users feel frustrated that “some of the email templates have frozen items that just don’t apply to our event”. The most important limitation is that users “can’t send any custom emails”. System emails don’t let you “include images or add attachments”.
Cloning events and attendee management
The cloning feature stands out as one of HeySummit’s best features. Users can duplicate an entire event with a few clicks and keep “all speakers, talks, landing pages, and settings”. But “attendees and custom domains will not be carried over”. This works great especially when you have recurring events, as users say it saves “a ton of time in the process”
Common complaints from long-term users
Long-term users point out several ongoing issues. They describe the social assets feature as “a tease” that creates “unusable” art that doesn’t “even match brand colors”. Users feel frustrated with UI navigation that “has been changed several times and is still not very user friendly”. We found that users want “the events to be more customizable”, particularly with font colors and background options.
Conclusion
My extensive testing of HeySummit shows it’s a valuable platform for event organizers who can work within its limitations. The $33 monthly starting price looks good on paper, but those transaction fees pack a punch – especially that 7% bite on the Starter plan that adds up fast when your events make money. You’ll also need to factor in the cost of third-party video hosting, which adds another layer to your expenses.
The platform really stands out with its affiliate features and complete event management system. The results speak for themselves. Some impressive examples include quilting summits that brought in thousands of subscribers and writing events that generated $26,000 in revenue. These success stories show what’s possible when you use the platform strategically.
In spite of that, there are some limitations worth noting. Organizations with specific visual needs might feel frustrated by the UI issues and limited branding options on lower-tier plans. The email system’s restrictions could also hold back your sophisticated marketing campaigns.
HeySummit works best for content creators and educators who care more about getting things done than perfect customization. The platform helps you turn your knowledge into profitable virtual events without needing deep technical know-how. But event organizers should do the math carefully – including those transaction percentages and third-party tools – before they jump in. Even with its limitations, HeySummit stands as one of the most complete virtual event solutions you can find in 2025. It’s particularly good if you want an all-in-one platform that can scale up as your events grow.
FAQs
Q1. What types of events can I host with HeySummit? HeySummit supports a wide range of event formats, including one-off webinars, multi-day conferences, live streaming sessions, pre-recorded content, in-person gatherings, and hybrid events. The platform is flexible enough to accommodate virtually any type of professional event you want to organize.
Q2. Are there any hidden costs associated with using HeySummit? Yes, there are some hidden costs to be aware of. These include transaction fees on ticket sales (ranging from 2% to 7% depending on your plan), the need for third-party video hosting services, and potential customization costs for advanced branding and email templates. It’s important to factor these into your budget when considering HeySummit.
Q3. How does HeySummit compare to traditional webinar tools? HeySummit offers significantly more functionality than standard webinar platforms. It provides comprehensive speaker management, sponsor engagement tools, integrated ticketing and monetization features, and superior technical support for complex events. Unlike traditional tools, HeySummit can host large virtual events with multiple speakers across different platforms simultaneously.
Q4. What are some of HeySummit’s underrated features? Some of HeySummit’s most valuable yet often overlooked features include the speaker dashboard with affiliate tracking, evergreen event setup and automation, built-in lead capture and urgency tools, and sponsor booth and upsell capabilities. These features can significantly enhance the success and profitability of your virtual events.
Q5. What do users love and hate about HeySummit? Users appreciate HeySummit’s ease of use, event cloning feature, and comprehensive event management system. However, common complaints include UI limitations, restrictions in email customization, and constraints in branding options, especially on lower-tier plans. Long-term users also express frustration with frequent UI changes and limited customization options for event esthetics.
