There are multiple roles available for a webinar: host, cohost, panelist, and attendees. The role that you have in the webinar will be designated by the host.

The host of the webinar is the user who the webinar is scheduled under. They have full permissions to manage the webinar, panelists, and attendees. There can only be one host of a webinar. The host can do things like stop and start the webinar, mute panelists, stop panelists' video, remove attendees from the webinar, and more.

Co-hosts share many of the controls that hosts have, allowing the co-host to manage the administrative side of the webinar, such as managing attendees or starting/stopping the recording. The host must assign a co-host. Co-hosts cannot start a webinar. If a host needs someone else to be able to start the webinar, they can assign an alternative host.

Panelists are full participants in a webinar. They can view and send video, screen share, annotate, etc. You must be assigned panelist permissions by the webinar host. The host can also disable some features for panelists, including starting video, sharing your screen, and recording. Learn how to add and invite panelists as a webinar host.

Attendees are view-only participants who can be unmuted if the host chooses. Their view of the webinar is controlled by the host. They can interact with the host and the panelists through the Q&A and the chat. Learn about joining a webinar as an attendee.

Prerequisites for roles in Zoom Webinars

• Zoom Webinars Add-on
• Host privilege for this webinar
• For co-host feature:
  • Co-host enabled for host's account
  • Co-host control assigned by the host
• For panelist feature, promote attendee or invite panelist

Comparison of controls

The following table compares the webinar controls available to the host, co-hosts, and panelists. To learn more about each feature, click the embedded links in the table or see Host and Co-Host Controls in a Meeting.

Note:

• Features with an asterisk (*) can be disable by the host.
• Some features are dependent on certain prerequisites. If you do not see a feature, review the article to see if your account meets those prerequisites.

Participate in Zoom Webinars

	Host	Co-host	Panelist	Attendee
Join during practice session	✔	(see note)	✔
Start the broadcast	✔	✔
Mute/unmute themselves	✔	✔	✔
Start/stop their own video	✔	✔	✔*
View attendee list	✔	✔	✔
Share screen	✔	✔	✔
Request or give remote control	✔	✔	✔
Chat	✔	✔	✔	✔*
Save chat	✔	✔	✔
Ask questions in Q&A				✔
View All Q&A and respond	✔	✔	✔
Create or edit polls	✔
Start polling	✔	✔
Answer polls			✔*	✔
Assign someone to enter closed captions	✔
Enter closed captions	✔	✔*	✔*
Raise hand			✔	✔
Use call-out to join audio by phone	✔	✔	✔
End webinar	✔

Note: Co-hosts cannot be assigned ahead of time. If you would like to designate someone as a co-host, invite them to the webinar as a panelist and then promote them to a co-host. Alternatively, you can assign them as an alternative host. Alternative hosts are able to start or join a practice session.

 

Manage participants

	Host	Co-host	Panelist	Attendee
Mute or unmute attendees	✔	✔
Stop panelist's video	✔	✔
Ask a panelist to start video	✔	✔
Spotlight a Video	✔	✔
Promote attendee to panelist	✔	✔
Demote from panelist to attendee	✔	✔
Change attendees' view	✔	✔
Change who attendees can chat with	✔	✔
Remove attendees	✔	✔
Allow attendees to talk	✔	✔
Assign Co-host Permission	✔
Put panelist on hold	✔
Invite others to join webinar	✔	✔	✔

 

Record

	Host	Co-host	Panelist	Attendee
Record to cloud	✔	✔
Record locally	✔	✔	✔*

 

Live stream

	Host	Co-host	Panelist	Attendee
Live stream on Facebook	✔
Live stream on Workplace	✔
Live stream on YouTube	✔
Custom live stream	✔