ON24, Inc. (ONTF): SWOT Analysis [Nov-2025 Updated]

If you're looking at ON24, Inc. (ONTF), the core question is whether their deep-dive engagement data can win against the scale of rivals like Microsoft Teams and Zoom Events. The numbers show a company stabilizing, not soaring: full-year 2025 revenue is projected between $138.6 million and $139.2 million, and while they hit $124.5 million in Total Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in Q3 2025, growth is still a grind. The real pivot is AI-nearly 20% of their customers now pay for AI-powered solutions, plus they've cut quarterly sales and marketing spend by $10 million since 2022 to boost profitability. That's a defintely smart move, but the fight for the future of B2B digital events is just starting, so let's map out the risks and opportunities that matter right now.

ON24, Inc. (ONTF) - SWOT Analysis: Strengths

You're looking for the bedrock of ON24's business, and honestly, it boils down to a high-quality, entrenched enterprise customer base that is increasingly committed to the platform. This isn't a general-purpose meeting tool; it's a specialized, data-rich engine for B2B marketing. That focus is a massive strength.

Established enterprise customer base provides stable Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).

The core strength here is the durability of the revenue base, driven by a focus on larger, more stable clients. As of September 30, 2025, the total Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) stood at $124.5 million, with the Core Platform ARR at $122.4 million. This revenue is concentrated in high-value accounts, which provides a strong buffer against broader market volatility.

Here's the quick math: the average Core ARR per customer has reached its highest-ever level at over $80,000. Plus, the $100K-and-above customer cohort-the true enterprise segment-represents approximately two-thirds of the total ARR, even though this group only contains 294 customers out of a total of 1,521. That's a high-leverage business model.

What this estimate hides is the contract quality: the percentage of ARR locked into multi-year agreements has hit an all-time high, increasing sequentially throughout 2025 to over 50% of ARR. Longer contracts mean more predictable cash flow.

Platform delivers rich, first-party engagement data for sales and marketing teams.

The platform's real differentiator is not the video stream, but the data it captures-what we call first-party engagement data. Unlike general video conferencing tools, ON24 is designed to capture every signal: the questions attendees ask, the content they click, and how long they stay on a specific resource. This is pipeline intelligence, not just attendance tracking.

This deep data capture is what powers their AI-driven solutions. Nearly one in five of their customers are already paying for AI offerings, a number that has been growing every quarter since early 2024. This adoption rate shows customers see real value in turning engagement signals into actionable insights for their sales teams.

• Capture every signal: questions, content clicks, duration of engagement.
• AI-powered solutions: close to 20% of customers pay for AI features like AI Propel+.
• Accelerates sales: data informs lead scoring and follow-up prioritization.

Strong brand recognition in the professional webinar and virtual events space.

ON24 has successfully maintained its position as a market leader, especially in the enterprise segment. This brand strength isn't based on old reputation; it's current and verified by users.

The company was ranked as the #1 Enterprise Webinar Platform in the G2 Fall 2025 Report. This top ranking, based on a combination of high satisfaction and market presence scores, is a powerful endorsement that reduces customer acquisition costs and strengthens negotiating power with large clients. It's defintely easier to sell when you're the recognized best-in-class solution.

Specialized focus on B2B marketing use cases, not just general meetings.

The platform is purpose-built to drive the B2B buyer journey, which is a critical distinction from competitors like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. The entire architecture is geared toward demand generation and pipeline acceleration, not just communication.

This specialized focus allows ON24 to command higher average contract values, especially in regulated industries like financial services and life sciences, where compliance and detailed audit trails are non-negotiable. The recent collaboration and integration with LinkedIn, aimed at helping customers attract targeted audiences to their virtual events, is a concrete example of this B2B-centric strategy in action.

ON24, Inc. (ONTF) - SWOT Analysis: Weaknesses

High customer concentration risk; loss of a few large accounts hits revenue hard.

You need to look closely at the composition of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), because while the company's customer base is broad, the financial impact of losing even a handful of large enterprise clients is still a serious risk. The good news is that no single customer accounted for more than 10% of total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2024, which limits the catastrophic risk from any one account.

Still, the average core ARR per customer is significant, reaching over $80,000 at the end of Q3 2025. This high average means the business is heavily weighted toward a smaller number of high-value contracts. When you see a decline in the overall customer base, especially a reduction in the number of subscriptions contributing at least $100,000 in ARR, as noted in Q1 2025, that signals vulnerability. Losing one of those six-figure contracts creates a revenue hole that requires multiple smaller deals to fill, and that's defintely an inefficient way to grow.

Perceived reliance on the traditional webinar format, which can feel dated.

ON24 is battling a perception problem. The market still largely views the company through the lens of the traditional webinar, which can feel dated compared to the slick, modern, and often in-person experiences competitors offer. The company is actually a leader in this space, having been ranked the #1 Enterprise Webinar Platform in the G2 Spring and Fall 2025 Reports.

But that very strength-being the top 'webinar' platform-reinforces the core weakness. Their platform is evolving, with new AI-powered features like the Analytics and Content Engine (ACE) and AI Propel+ driving expansion, but the brand association is sticky. This forces them to spend more to convince the market they are an 'Intelligent Engagement Platform' and not just a better version of old technology.

Sales and marketing expenses are high relative to revenue growth.

The cost to acquire and retain customers (Customer Acquisition Cost or CAC) remains a point of concern, especially given the current revenue contraction. In Q3 2025, Sales and Marketing (S&M) expenses were $14.4 million, which represents a significant 42% of total revenue of $34.6 million.

Here's the quick math on the expense ratio:

The good news is management is actively addressing this, targeting a reduction in the S&M expense ratio to the mid-30s in the next 12 months. But for now, that 42% figure is a heavy drag on the path to consistent, meaningful profitability.

Slower adoption of newer, more flexible event types like hybrid or on-demand experiences.

While the product team has rolled out solutions for hybrid and on-demand experiences, the overall financial results suggest that the adoption rate of these newer formats isn't fast enough to offset the decline in the core business. Total revenue for Q3 2025 was $34.6 million, a 4.7% year-over-year decline. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) also fell to $124.5 million as of September 30, 2025, down from $128.2 million in Q1 2025.

This decline indicates that the market shift away from purely live, virtual-only events is outpacing the company's ability to monetize its more flexible offerings. The market is moving toward a post-COVID hybrid model, and while ON24 has the features (like Hybrid Mode and Breakout Rooms), the revenue is still shrinking.

• Q3 2025 Total Revenue: $34.6 million (down 4.7% YoY).
• ARR (Q3 2025): $124.5 million (a continued decline).
• The market is adopting on-demand faster (engagement up 9% YOY), but this shift is clearly not yet translating into net-positive ARR growth.

ON24, Inc. (ONTF) - SWOT Analysis: Opportunities

Expand platform use cases into hybrid events and internal communications.

You have a clear opportunity to grow revenue by pushing the platform beyond traditional marketing webinars, specifically into the burgeoning markets of hybrid events and internal communications. The shift to a hybrid workforce is permanent, and companies are defintely looking for enterprise-grade solutions to connect remote and in-office teams seamlessly.

ON24's core strength is its ability to capture rich engagement data, which is exactly what internal communications leaders need to measure employee connection and training effectiveness. Using the platform for internal hybrid events, like company-wide town halls or sales kickoffs, allows for the crucial capture of audience interaction data-something a simple video stream can't do. This expanded use-case penetration is a low-hanging fruit for increasing Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from the existing customer base, which stood at a Core Platform ARR of $122.4 million as of September 30, 2025.

Integrate more Artificial Intelligence (AI) for content personalization and lead scoring.

The AI-driven shift is not a future trend; it's a 2025 necessity, and ON24 is already positioned well with its AI-powered Analytics and Content Engine (ACE). The opportunity is to deepen this integration to automate more of the marketing and sales funnel, turning engagement data into pipeline faster. This is where the real value is unlocked.

Honesty, the numbers show this strategy works: personalized experiences on the platform led to 4X more demo requests and 48% higher calls-to-action (CTA) conversion rates compared to generic experiences. Plus, audience engagement with AI-generated content soared by more than 7X in 2024, demonstrating audience readiness. By embedding AI deeper into lead scoring-using behavioral data like poll responses and content downloads-ON24 can deliver a higher-quality, sales-ready lead. That saves your customers time and makes the platform indispensable.

Capture market share from smaller, less-resilient competitors.

In a tough economic climate, smaller, less-resilient competitors with weaker balance sheets or less sophisticated technology will struggle. ON24, with its enterprise focus and established position, is poised to take market share. Being recognized as the #1 Enterprise Webinar Platform in the G2 Fall 2025 Report gives you a strong, objective argument for enterprise sales.

Your full-year 2025 revenue guidance of $138.6 million to $139.2 million suggests a focus on stability and efficiency, which is attractive to large customers seeking a reliable partner. The opportunity here is to aggressively target the mid-market and enterprise accounts currently using fragmented or less-secure solutions. The key is highlighting the platform's ability to consolidate tools, which is a big cost-saver for clients.

Monetize the rich first-party data through new analytics and integration services.

The first-party data collected by the ON24 Intelligent Engagement Platform is a goldmine, especially as third-party cookies fade away. This data is unique because it captures explicit buyer intent-what content they clicked, how long they engaged, and what questions they asked. You can and should monetize this data more effectively.

This means developing premium, high-margin analytics services and deeper, pre-built integrations with major Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Automation platforms. For example, the data shows personalized experiences drove 62% more webinar and virtual event attendees; turning this insight into a prescriptive, paid service for clients is a clear path to revenue growth outside of core subscription fees. This moves ON24 from a platform provider to a strategic data partner.

Here's the quick math on the 2025 financial base that supports these strategic moves:

The focus on AI and data is a must-win for 2025, and the company's financial position gives it the runway to execute.

ON24, Inc. (ONTF) - SWOT Analysis: Threats

You're looking at ON24, Inc.'s (ONTF) threat landscape, and the picture is one of a premium, specialized platform fighting for market share against a tide of large, bundled, and often lower-cost alternatives. The core threat is a structural one: the market is consolidating around giants, and while ON24's product is superior for enterprise-grade engagement, that specialization comes with a clear pricing and competitive risk.

The company's full-year 2025 total revenue guidance of $138.6 million to $139.2 million reflects a market where growth is challenging, and the need to maintain profitability is paramount, as evidenced by the expected Non-GAAP operating loss of between $4.2 million and $3.6 million for the year. This is not a high-growth environment; it's a fight for profitable retention.

Intense competition from large, well-funded players like Microsoft Teams and Zoom Events

The biggest threat comes from the 'platform giants' who can afford to bundle their virtual event capabilities into existing, widely adopted enterprise suites. Microsoft Teams Webinars and Zoom Events are not just competitors; they are incumbents in the daily workflow of millions of professionals, giving them a massive distribution advantage.

These competitors often offer a 'good enough' solution at a fraction of the cost, or even free, to customers already paying for a broader suite of services. This creates a ceiling on ON24's growth, even with its superior engagement and analytics features. Here's a quick map of the competitive threat:

Economic downturns causing enterprise customers to cut marketing technology budgets

While the long-term outlook for Marketing Technology (MarTech) spending is generally positive-with 8 in 10 MarTech decision-makers expecting their annual spend to increase over the next 3-5 years-near-term macro uncertainty is a real headwind for ON24. The company itself cited 'increased macro uncertainty' and 'softness in international/commercial segments' in its Q1 2025 outlook.

The immediate impact is visible in the top-line pressure: ON24's Q3 2025 total revenue was $34.6 million, representing a 4.7% decrease compared to the same quarter in 2024. When budgets tighten, MarTech is often one of the first areas to see cuts, as companies prioritize core business functions. This forces ON24 to work harder just to maintain its Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), which stood at $124.5 million as of September 30, 2025.

Customer churn risk as companies reassess their permanent virtual event needs

The post-pandemic market correction has forced companies to reassess the sheer volume of virtual events they host. The initial boom has subsided, and while ON24 is a leader in engagement, the risk of customer churn (customer attrition) is persistent. However, the company has shown signs of stabilizing its customer base.

Here's the quick math on retention: ON24 reported its highest in-period gross retention in four years in Q1 2025, which is a strong signal of product stickiness among its core enterprise users. Plus, over 50% of its ARR is now locked into multi-year contracts, which provides a buffer against immediate churn. Still, the risk remains that customers will downsize their contracts (a contraction in Annual Recurring Revenue, or ARR) rather than fully churn, as they move from a high-volume virtual-only strategy to a hybrid model.

• Churn risk is mitigated by strong gross retention, but contract downsizing is defintely a factor.

Pricing pressure from competitors offering lower-cost, bundled solutions

ON24 is positioned as a premium, data-rich solution-the 'Cadillac of webinars,' according to some users-but this premium status exposes it to intense pricing pressure. Competitors like Zoom and GoToWebinar offer subscription-based models that are often perceived as more cost-effective, especially for organizations that don't fully utilize ON24's advanced analytics and integration capabilities.

This pressure is most visible during contract renewals. Customers are actively negotiating hard, sometimes successfully eliminating all price uplift or fighting to keep a minimal 3% annual price increase when the vendor attempts a higher hike. This negotiating leverage, driven by the availability of lower-cost alternatives, compresses ON24's potential revenue growth and puts a squeeze on its gross margin, which was a robust 74.42% in Q3 2025 but is constantly under threat from competitors' bundling strategies.