Show-up rate for webinars and events: formula and how to raise it

What is show-up rate?

Show-up rate is the share of registered people who actually attend an event or webinar. If 300 people register and 120 join, the show-up rate is 40%.

Show-up rate formula

Count unique attendees rather than joins, since one person may rejoin several times:

Show-up rate = attendees ÷ registrations × 100

The no-show rate is the other side: registrations who never joined, as a share of all registrations.

Average webinar attendance rate

For free online events, a show-up rate of roughly 35 to 50% is typical; paid and invitation-only events run higher. A typical webinar show-up rate also depends on when people registered: someone who signed up five minutes before the start is far more likely to come than someone who signed up three weeks earlier.

How to increase webinar attendance

  • Send reminders a day before and an hour before; reminder timing moves show-up rate more than anything else.
  • Make the calendar invitation part of the confirmation.
  • Pick a time that suits the main audience’s time zone.
  • Promise something people can only get live, such as their questions answered.

Tracking who came

Virtual Event Management Suite records check-in and joins per session, so you know who came to what, and attendees can be segmented by what they actually attended for the follow-up.

Last reviewed 2026-11-01.

Related terms

  • Engagement segment — An engagement segment groups event registrants by how deeply they took part, from no-shows to people who stayed throughout and asked questions, so the follow-up matches what each person actually did.
  • Retention curve — A retention curve shows how many people were still present at each moment of a session, as a share of the peak audience.
  • Webinar — A webinar is a live online presentation, talk or training session in which one or a few presenters speak to an audience that watches and takes part through chat, questions and polls.

All glossary terms →