Meeting vs webinar vs town hall: which event model and policy
Verdict: Standard meetings for interactive calls; webinars for interactive events up to 1,000 attendees; town halls for broadcast events up to 100,000 with moderated Q&A. Policy packages can bundle meeting, messaging and events policies.
| Criterion | Standard meeting | Webinar | Town hall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendee cap | Standard interactive meeting | Up to 1,000 | Up to 100,000 |
| Interaction | Full participation | Interactive with registration | Broadcast, minimal interaction, moderated Q&A |
| Governed by | Meeting policy | Events policy (webinar settings) | Events policy (town hall settings) |
Rules
- Large broadcasts to tens of thousands with moderated Q&A use town hall settings, scaling to 100,000 attendees.
- Webinars are interactive events capped at 1,000 attendees.
- Policy packages can include meeting, messaging and events policies, but not Exchange or SharePoint configuration.
- A calling policy, not a meeting or messaging policy, governs call-forwarding features.
Traps
- A standard meeting policy is not designed for controlled broadcast to tens of thousands of attendees.
- Policy packages do not include Exchange transport rules or SharePoint permissions.