Event planning apps are no longer just nice to have. Event creators rely on their organizational features, tech-savvy attendees expect them, and sponsors and partners love the granular data they provide. 

As a bonus, event planning apps create engaging and informative experiences for everyone and greatly streamline the event-planning process. 

When integrated seamlessly with your events, an event organizer app can help deliver personalized experiences at scale. 

But with so many event planning apps available, how do you choose the right one?

At Eventbrite, we work with thousands of event creators, so we know what to look for in an app. We’ve even created our own check-in app Eventbrite Organizer

In this post, you’ll find a shortlist of the apps that best serve event creators. You’ll find industry-specific and general apps that are of great use to event organizers. We’ve broken the list down by type, and highlighted their main features, identified weaknesses, and provided pricing details.

Let’s dig in!

The Best Event Planning Apps Categorized

The best apps for event management

The best apps for event planners to manage projects

The best event planning apps for communication and promotion

The best apps for event activities

The best event apps for networking and B2B events

The best event apps for festivals and consumer events

The best event apps for ticketing

What makes a good event planning app? 

We have selected the apps that offer the best features for event planning. But what exactly did we evaluate? These are the features we looked for to decide which apps to include to maximize your event’s success:

Now let’s start by looking at apps for event management.

Event attendees using app

The best apps for event management

For comprehensive event control, the right app is crucial. It should provide real-time ticket sales data, secure on-site payment options, instant attendee check-in, and up-to-the-minute attendance tracking. 

Let’s explore our top picks for these all-encompassing event management tools.

1. Eventbrite’s Organizer App

The Eventbrite Organizer App, acclaimed as a top-tier check-in application, offers a comprehensive suite of event management tools, simplifying event organization from start to finish.

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Eventbrite charges a service fee of 3.7% + $1.79 per ticket and a 2.9% payment processing fee per order. These fees are generally paid by ticket buyers unless you choose to absorb them. Hosting free events incurs no fees. Get started with Eventbrite Organizer for free.

2. Core-apps

Core-apps helps connect your attendees before, during, and after your event — and companies like Yahoo!, SAP, and Microsoft are already users.

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Undisclosed

3. Guidebook

Built with ease of use and design in mind, Guidebook lets you create events through a simple drag-and-drop interface. Amazon, YouTube, ADP, Verizon, Google, and Coca-Cola are already users. It acts as a guide for events, conferences, campuses, and more. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free

4. Swapcard

Swapcard is a single platform to create and manage your events while tracking ROI. It allows you to personalize the experience, something which companies like Hyatt, IBM, and HLTH choose to do with this app. 

This app is handy if your event features various workshops and presentations, including live streaming. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free

5. Boomset

Simplify conference management as Visa, Ben & Jerry’s, and Yale University do with Boomset. It’s great for online events too. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free

Woman presenting a project

The best apps for event planners to manage projects

6. Spaces

Spaces by Wix simplifies an event creator’s tasks by keeping attendees engaged and updated. From receiving event news to online shopping and community interaction, it’s a comprehensive tool for cultivating and managing attendee involvement.

Features:

Limitations

Price: Free

7. Airtime

Airtime is a great way to communicate with teams. It’s like Apple’s FaceTime, but with the bonus that you can have up to six participants on one video call. This makes it super easy to stay in touch with vendors, coordinators, sponsors, or anyone else you may need to chat with daily.

Features

Limitations:

Price: Free

8. Teamwork

With Teamwork, event planners can manage their projects and stay up to date on thousands of activities. It is specifically designed for team and client management, so everything is in the same place.

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Limitations:

Price: Depends on the size of your team; there is a free option for small (<5) teams.

9. Zapier

With Zapier, an integrations app, exporting your attendee data from Eventbrite into a spreadsheet or email marketing list is easy.

Features:

That means you can automate your Eventbrite data, export it to a spreadsheet of registrants, subscribe attendees to your newsletter, and much more. 

Limitations

Price: $19.99/mo and up (depending on the number of tasks used in a month); there is a free option for individuals needing limited tasks (<100/mo).

10. Zkipster

Used by brands like Airbnb and Porsche, Zkipster is designed to seamlessly manage virtual and hybrid events. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: From $219/mo for the Essentials package to $679/mo for the Enterprise package. 

Event planning app for wedding planner
That Cheese Class / That Cheese Plate / Brooklyn, NY

The best event planning apps for communication and promotion

Whether it’s through email marketing campaigns or paid social media advertising, there are many ways to automate your promotional strategy. Optimize and keep on top of your activity (as well as its results) with these nifty event planner apps.

11. Boomerang

The Boomerang app is used by event planners and weblog Lifehacker to fully manage their emails. You can manage all your email accounts in one place, and it includes snooze, send later, response tracking, follow-up reminders, and more.

Features:

Limitations:

Price: $5.99/mo and up (depending on the volume of emails); a limited free version is available, and there is a free trial for paid subscribers

12. Thumb Keyboard

Not strictly an event planning app, but so useful for event planners! With Thumb Keyboard you can type emails and connect with attendees with a customizable keyboard. 

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Limitations:

Price: One-time purchase of $2.49

13. Drupe

Companies like Forbes, PCWorld, and Gizmodo use Drupe to organize important contacts and instantly connect with them through various apps. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free

14. SocialLadder

SocialLadder markets itself as an end-to-end creator and brand ambassador management platform to identify, track, reward, and engage your brand’s creators. 

The app includes over 150K trusted ambassadors, including Kendra Scott, Sarah Flint, and Live Nation. Social Ladder is specifically for events of 5,000+ attendees, so it’s ideal for large-scale festivals or conferences.

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free

15. Gleam

Gleam is designed to help users on Lootcrate, Shopify, and Trivago maximize and organize marketing activities during events, especially Facebook contests and rewards.

Features (Pro version):

Limitations:

Price: Full packages start at $97/mo; you can purchase individual features for $10-$29 each/mo.

Event planning app charity run
5k Beer Run x Badger Hill Brewing / Minnesota Brewery Running Series

The best apps for event activities

A lot goes into planning an event, and the right app makes it easier. Event planners can stay in contact with their teams and attendees through their app. The best apps are easy to use and come with tools integrated into the platform.

16. RunGo

RunGo is particularly useful for event creators organizing charity runs. They offer audio-guided running routes worldwide, created by local runners. Providing turn-by-turn voice navigation, it ensures your attendees can participate seamlessly, even without an internet connection if the map is downloaded.

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Limitations:

Price: Free

17. VoiceMap Audio Tours

If you work with events involving city tours, this is a great app to have. VoiceMap Audio Tours allows you to explore cities by car, bike, walking, and even boat whilst listening to celebrities and local stars narrate the tours.

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free

People networking at an event
Youth Marketing Strategy / Voxburner / SF

The best event apps for networking and B2B events

One of the biggest reasons attendees go to B2B events is to make connections. An event planning app that can help you facilitate networking before, during, and after your conference is critical.

Many apps offer social media integrations, mini social networks, and other features that foster networking. Knowing what will likely spur conversations (whether in person or online) can help guide your choice.

18. Floor

Companies like UBM, Hyve, and ITE Turkey use the Floor app to launch community events in only five minutes. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Four tiers of access depending on needs, ranging from $150-2000 USD. There is a limited free version.

19. Whova

An app built with Whova enables attendees to plan their experience around a focus of their choice so they can participate in the right panels and sessions. It’s an incredible networking tool that TEDx, AmericasFinestCity, EmTech, and Spring North East Expo are already using.

Features

Limitations:

Price: Undisclosed

20. Eventee

Eventee is a user-friendly app utilized by web expo planners, Work Awesome Group, and game developers. Organize an in-person, virtual, or hybrid event in a few minutes.

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free and paid versions are available depending on the features desired.

Festival event audience covered in paint
Prashant Holi Hai Festival of Colors / Bollywood Dreams Entertainment / New Orleans, LA

The best event apps for festivals and consumer events

Attendees and fans of consumer events and festivals enjoy using apps and technology when attending events. One way to deliver that is by offering an app that allows people to manage registration, schedules, and agendas.

A great example of this is using an event planning app that offers a calendar integration and the ability to send push notifications when a performer an attendee likes is about to go on stage. This kind of feature is sure to improve attendees’ experience.

Here are some useful apps for consumer events and festivals:

21. Aloompa Mobile Apps

Boasting a robust à-la-carte menu, Aloompa offers great solutions for in-person food, music, and community-focused events (think wine-tasting events, Boston Marathon, and state fairs).

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Free (for the app); a CMS platform is available for an extra fee.

22. Eventbase festival app

A feature-rich app with full-screen commercials and branded placement opportunities, Eventbase’s festival app can help you meet your and your sponsors’ goals. Big names like IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft are already using it. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Varies with features wanted; there is a free version.

Young woman paying with smartphone
Eventbrite / The Chappel / San Francisco, CA

The best event apps for ticketing

Simplify your ticketing process by using apps that benefit both yourself and attendees. Though many of the apps we’ve talked about, such as the Eventbrite Organizer App, include ticketing features, there are a couple that stand out for ticketing specifically.

23. Tixel

Dealing with canceled events is made easier with Tixel. Their marketplace is designed to help fans buy and sell tickets to their favorite shows without paying steep add-on fees. 

This app can help you to retain cash flow, stay sold out even if you have cancellations, and maintain good relationships with attendees.

Features

Limitations:

Price: Free and paid versions are available 

24. Cyfe

Get valuable business and sales metrics in one easy-to-use, real-time dashboard with Cyfe

Integration with Google Analytics, Salesforce, Google Ads, MailChimp, Facebook, and Twitter allows your analytics, marketing, sales, and support details to be all in one place. 

Features:

Limitations:

Price: Plans start at $19.99/mo; there is a free trial period

Simplify your work with the best event planning app

We’ve given you a lot to think about with all these apps. Eventbrite’s Organizer App stands out by offering powerful functionality, versatile integration with social media and email, and easy check-in and payments — key factors in choosing an event planning app.

Remember, your unique needs will drive your choice. An event planning app is just one way to upgrade your event planning game. 

If you’re looking for more ways to grow your events, check out our all-in-one platform designed for event creators and organizers — power and grow your event with Eventbrite.