Top 6 Whova Alternatives & Competitors

If you’re looking for Whova alternatives, then you’ve come to the right place. While Whova has made a name for itself in event planning, it’s not for everyone. This article will uncover why, compare the platform with other popular event management platforms, and help you find the best Whova alternatives.

Whova Alternatives Comparison at a Glance

Detailed Comparison of Whova Alternatives and Competitors

What is Whova: Overview

Whova platform, an event management software offers in-person, virtual, and hybrid events. Known for its pocket-friendly packages, Whova’s platform is suitable for organizers with limited budgets. You can use this platform to host trade fairs, expos, conferences, corporate events, and community events. 

Some of Whova’s features include online registration, event promotions, live polling, ticketing management, and more. Whova offers both a virtual event platform and a mobile app, making it versatile for various event needs. Some of the common features offered include ticketing, event promotions and more.

Key Features

1. Event App

Whova’s event app is designed to streamline event management by replacing traditional paper programs with an interactive digital agenda. This app offers features such as personal agenda management, interactive maps, and document sharing, which significantly enhance the attendee experience. With Whovas’ platform, attendees can easily customize their schedules, navigate venues without hassle, and access important materials directly from their devices. 

Additionally, the app’s branding capabilities allow event organizers to create a cohesive and professional look, while offline access ensures that information is always available, even without an internet connection. Real-time updates further enhance the app’s utility, enabling instant communication of any changes to the event schedule.

2. Registration and Ticketing

The Whova event app offers a cost-effective solution for managing event ticketing, particularly for free events. There are no fees charged for free tickets, and for paid tickets, organizers have the option to pass on a small fee to registrants, allowing them to pay nothing out of pocket. This software ensures that event organizers receive instant payouts as tickets are sold, providing a seamless and efficient ticketing process.

Whova’s registration software integrates smoothly with its all-in-one event platform, eliminating the need for third-party registration services. This integration means attendee information is automatically synced with event management tools, ensuring a cohesive and streamlined experience. 

3. Event Management Tools

With its comprehensive suite of tools, including a mobile event app, the system ensures that every step is easier and faster. One standout feature is the Speaker Center, which allows you to efficiently manage speaker information. Additionally, the Name Badge Generation tool enables you to design and produce name badges for attendees with a single click, saving you significant time and effort.

Whova’s Event Management System also offers features that enhance attendee experience and engagement. You can quickly check in attendees with lightning speed, ensuring a smooth entry process.

4. Abstract Management

Streamline your event from beginning to end with Whova’s abstract management software. Our comprehensive tools provide everything you need to manage submissions, reviews, and decisions efficiently. 

Effortlessly collect abstract submissions through a professional-looking web portal, customize submission forms to fit your event’s specific needs, and automate email communications with built-in templates for invitations, confirmations, and notifications.

User Reviews

• “I found everything about the Whova platform helpful. It is a very useful and easy to use app and helped me to keep track of the agenda. I liked the fact that I was able to pull the speaker bio for each of the presentations. I had no trouble understanding how it works.” – Gabriel P., Enterprise
• “The app is relatively easy to navigate. I could see and change my agenda as the conference moved along. I also really liked that I could see the presentation slides in the app so that I could refer to them even after the conference.” – Dara S., Mid-Market
• “As a conference participant, it would be nice if there were a way to prioritize alerts. Much of what showed up as alerts wasn’t important to me and there were so many that I had a difficult time catching the things that were important, i.e., I missed a group notification of the time for when a conference planning team picture was taking place and ended up missing the opportunity to be included in the group photo.” – Melissa G., Program Evaluator II
• “It is quite overwhelming for first-time users with limited tech background and I think the user guide could be improved to include some things that may be considered minor. Also, the mobile app should be updated to allow attendees to view event time in local time, as is the case on the web app.” – Piniel Tawanda Z., Mid-Market

Top 6 Whova Alternatives & Competitors in 2024

1. vFairs

On top of our Whova alternatives and competitors list is vFairs, one of the leading in-person, hybrid and virtual events platforms that has helped organizations of all sizes to take their events online. With intuitive 3D virtual venues and features, users can create a custom virtual experience for their audience.

With vFairs, users can access virtual exhibit booths, fully functional webinars, content sharing, networking features, and more. Apart from all the amazing features vFairs offers, each event is supported by our renowned project management and customer service team who provide complete support every step of the way.

vFairs offers a powerful mobile event app that makes the event worthwhile. It offers immersive and lifelike virtual venues and chat tools. Other features include easy event check-ins, in-event and virtual attendee networking, customizable virtual exhibit booths, downloadable digital resources, and more.

vFairs also offers industry-specific event solutions that help users tailor their events to meet their organization’s objectives. Some examples include trade shows and conferences, educational events, recruitment and HR, internal events, and more.

Key Features

Mobile Event App

With vFairs’ mobile event app, users can enhance their virtual, hybrid, and live events so attendees can enjoy learning, and networking. Our event mobile technology offers numerous features that support hosts in maximizing their outcomes irrespective of what their goals are.

The features include easy event check-ins, virtual and in-person attendee networking, completely customizable virtual exhibit booths, downloadable digital resources, webinars on the go and post event analytics.

Event Registration & Ticketing

vFairs’ ticketing and registration solution offers a robust platform that allows organizers to efficiently manage attendees and process payments for their events. This user-friendly platform features a variety of customizable options, making it simple to create a seamless registration process for participants. 

Additionally, vFairs provides organizers with valuable insights and analytics, enabling them to make informed, data-driven decisions.

With vFairs’ ticketing and registration tool, event organizers can tailor the entire registration experience to match the event’s branding, ensuring a cohesive and professional presentation. 

The platform allows customization of various aspects of the registration process, including registration forms, ticket types, and pricing, providing a personalized and smooth experience for attendees.

Event Gamification 

No event is complete without entertainment. vFairs event gamification offers various features that help increase traffic to key spaces within the event and keeps the attendees engaged.

We offer virtual leaderboards, scavenger hunts, live polling, and trivia games. These activities serve as ice breakers, and make the virtual attendees feel like a part of the actual event. 

User Reviews

• “I would recommend anyone that had to pivot to online events to use vFairs or for anyone that considers hybrid events. The platform serves as a hub for the meeting and really makes our virtual meeting feel like a real one. No attendees ‘got lost’ in the virtual space thanks to vFairs. The ability to customize each virtual space and make it on brand really made a difference to our attendees. The design team is simply amazing at creating whatever you need.” – Hanna L., Director
• “Building our event platform from the ground up was seamless and simple with vFairs. The step by step instructions, detailed explanations and real time support we received made our first experience a huge success.” – Megan B., Production Operations Manager
• “We loved using vFairs to host two of our virtual volunteer expos. A fun and dynamic platform with lots of options for customization and a stellar project management team that supported us every step of the way.” – Nazneen K., Small-Business
• “I liked that we were able to create exactly what we needed with flexibility and ease. Collaborating with our job board vendor was also easy to navigate. Additionally, launching the event, guiding attendees, and reviewing the reports has been very easy to do.” – D’Najah T., Small-Business

2. RingCentral

RingCentral takes the second spot on our list of the six best Whova alternatives. It is an all-in-one event platform designed for hosting both online and hybrid events. It supports pre-recorded content as well as live broadcasts, enabling hosts to balance simplicity with high-quality video production.

With RingCentral, attendees can engage in one-on-one networking via live video, participate in breakout sessions, and connect with fellow attendees. The platform is equipped to host full-scale events of various sizes, offering live video chats. Additionally, event organizers can customize events to align with their brand and implement privacy measures such as password protection.  RingCentral’s user-friendly interface is designed for ease of use, even for those with minimal technological expertise. Organizers with little tech knowledge can design and successfully run events. 

However, some users have reported issues with customer service, experiencing delays in responses. This can be particularly challenging for new users who may need additional support to become comfortable with the platform.

One user on G2 wrote: “The customer support could be better. I have had some mixed experiences with RingCentral customer support. Sometimes I have received very helpful support, but other times I have had to wait a long time for a response, or I have received a response that was not helpful.”

User Reviews

• “Very clean layout, quick set up and designed to get the attendees to what they came for quickly – content, expo booths and networking. Hopin’s design team continues to innovate and bring new features online with virtually all helping accomplish our goal of trying to delight the customers.” – Bill S., Small-Business
• “As a techy person, I found Hopin simple to navigate. It was very easy and user friendly to upload materials and adjust the format for our event. The customer service was responsive and if I had a question they supplied the necessary support. Secondly, I consider the fact that downloading materials is easy for the attendants, without hitches.” – Hatem G., Mid-Market  
• “One drawback I’ve noticed is occasional glitches during high-traffic periods, which can disrupt the flow of virtual events. Also sometimes it can be tough when there are multiple panelists that need to share the stage at the same time and four people can hear them but not everyone else, so it means that they have to keep leaving and coming back in until everyone can hear them.” – Verified User, Small-Business
• “Nevertheless, there are a few cons. One of the most notable problems is the missing ticketing tool, which could be beneficial to us if we can sell conference access to attendees. Unfortunately, it is also not available, and we will have to wait for its release next year.” – Jovan M., Small-Business

3. Cvent

Cvent is a cloud-based event management solution that provides venue selection, event management, and marketing for virtual, onsite, and hybrid events. With Cvent, organizers can easily plan and create event calendars and sync them with their own schedules.

Organizations can streamline the event management process with Cvent, ensuring a superior event experience. The platform allows hosts to track attendance and related data efficiently. Cvent also features its own training academy, where clients learn to set up, manage, and navigate their virtual events. These training sessions help make the process hassle-free and less time-consuming.

Despite the comprehensive training sessions offered to new clients, proper customer support remains crucial. Many users have reported that the service is not budget-friendly for everyone, making it difficult for some to justify the investment. The cost can be a significant barrier, especially for smaller businesses or individual users who need more affordable options.

“The cost is hard with a university budget. I wish there were a cheaper option if you do free events to discount things a bit. ” wrote one user.

User Reviews

• “The system is pretty much easy to figure out for the early 30s and younger group as we’ve grown up with computers and have typically become proficient with figuring out how to navigate programs. There are a lot of options and templates that allow you to quickly put together a website that houses basic information.” – Julie-Michelle D., Meeting Manager
• “Cvent helps you to create attendees in the platform and after using the secret key and help of the Api Integration , you can import the attendees into the other platform. you can create auto 25 attendees per page and the rest will be shown in the other page. IOn Email you can select invitation lists , event mails and planner alerts.” – Mnnav G., Mid-Market
• “The cost is hard with a university budget. I wish there were a cheaper option if you do free events to discount things a bit. I also would love an easier way to connect Touchnet to Cvent. The connection is excellent, but if you need to make changes, you have to do it in both locations.’’ – Lesley I., Events Manager, External and Sponsored Events
• “I wish Cvent had an app for Cvent Enterprise management – meaning I would like to be able to access supplier network not from a browser, but from my phone so when I’m at tradeshows and meet with hotels, I can easily go in and send an RFP to the hotel that I’m speaking to in real time.” – Margaret T., Enterprise

4. 6Connex

6Connex is an all-in-one event platform that offers virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. From in-person event apps and pre-event registration to promotion, reporting, and analytics, their technology empowers marketers and event planners to seamlessly create a customized mix of in-person and virtual events, ensuring a unique and engaging experience for attendees worldwide.

6Connex helps businesses change the way they see, manage, and interpret events. They provide a variety of features, including virtual venues, engagement tools, security, and open universe integrations. The platform is designed to offer comprehensive tools for hosting dynamic events. 

However, it is important to note that 6Connex has limits on each solution, offering a restricted number of attendees, sponsor booths, virtual rooms, and venues.

“I wish the back end of the platform was more user-friendly and intuitive. It took a lot of training and practice to successfully build all aspects of the booths and the event. Without help from customer service I would have been a bit lost even after watching the training videos. Someone who is not tech savvy would struggle. I would also love the chat within the platform to appear larger and clearer for attendees.” – G2 User.

User Reviews

• “I personally like the personalization of 6Connex the best. With the ability to not only host a virtual event such as a live stream, but also have the capability of including company branding as well as other key features such as attendee registration, attendance, and key results from the chat feature. – Justin G., Small-Business
• “The platform and app are extremely intuitive and easy to use. After getting acquainted with the structure of the system/application, the implementation of changes and ongoing management of the event is very simple. The option of sending push notifications to the participants using the application works very well.” – Justyna B., Small-Business
• “Considering the mobile screen experience of the exhibition platform, it is a negative feature that the real exhibition experience offered to users in the desktop version does not exceed. In this section, it would be useful to prepare a study on how the mobile version will be more user-friendly and reflect the real view as you do in the desktop version.” – Görkem Y., Senior Art Director
• “I could say that it’s not yet optimized for mobile devices. Building a virtual hub is also not a walk in the park–It took us a few months as we had to conceptualize the look and uses, study the functions first, available/applicable features, and how to apply them. It took longer, considering we also had something else to do at work.” – Sam G., Small-Business

5. ON24

ON24 is a cloud-based platform that offers virtual management solutions, such as live streamed virtual events, webinars, and conference planning. On24’s digital experience platform helps generate, gauge, and personalize experiences that ensure business growth. 

Users can now host small communal events or larger business conferences through the same platform. 

However, it is not easy to set up an event on the ON24 platform. Many users have reviewed that their platform is not appropriate for smaller companies. Smaller companies require excellent support representatives completely dedicated to them. However, this is not the case for ON24. Since they allot customer support to the actual event, there might not be many customer support representatives available for companies to help with the onboarding and setup.

User Reviews

• “On24 has an extremely easy to use interface and I have been able to train people to set up webinars in less than 30 minutes. It is very intuitive and support is always available if you have any problems. Any time I have run into an issue or was confused by something, a simple email, phone call, or support chat session solved my problem.” – Miles S., Virtual Event Producer/Director, Product Marketing
• “Some of the features “freeze” on us, such as moving from slide to next slide in presentation mode. We have done all the necessary steps to make sure the slides are uploaded appropriately. Still have not got to the bottom of that!” – Mara S., Marketing Consultant
• “The integration with unique Salesforce instances is not easy to use or create. It needs a lot of customization and work from a marketing technology expert to ensure webinar data is appropriately passed through to Pardot or Salesforce. How your organization defines a “lead” will directly impact integration processes. Essentially, too much data comes with great responsibility.” – Matt R., Producer, Communications & Events
• “There are some things I wish would be easier to view in the post-webinar analytics. It would be great if I could export an overall report of all attendees with fields on which webinar they attended that can be exported to Excel would be great. There are some times where I have to pull multiple reports to get all of the data that I need.” – Verified User,. Small-Business

6. Splash

Splash is a versatile event management platform designed to help organizations manage and configure workflows with corrective planning and a centralized platform. Users can easily synchronize data with Splash, ensuring seamless integration and coordination.

Splash’s platform is known for its flexibility and customization options, allowing users to design their own branded events. It helps companies effortlessly manage, market, and gauge their events. 

Despite its robust features, many users find the platform difficult to comprehend initially. Comprehensive training sessions are often required to fully understand, manage, and operate the platform according to specific requirements.

User Reviews

• “Splash has allowed me to scale event management across our entire B2B sales organization. The ability for me to control event creation through a form, to feed a specific theme based on the event is a huge part of what makes our self-service event management a success.” – Jessica J., Enterprise
• “I think the user interface of Splash is very easy to learn. Their online instructional videos have a good sense of humor. We are currently planning 6 events using Splash and it’s very easy to collect registrants data, send calendar invites, confirmations and other reminders.” – Heather G., Industry Engagement Manager
• “It feels like many of the extras and services come at an additional fee. Things that you assume are something you can simply set up on your own like integrations require their services at an added cost. Fees per user is also not ideal and their webpage builder tool can be a bit hard to use at times if you aren’t working from a premade template.” – Danielle N., Industry Engagement Manager
• “It’s got a bit of a steep learning curve especially if the web has not been a primary skill for you. The Splash team provides plenty of guidance and resources but be prepared to learn a lot in the process. The user interface is a little confusing at times but generally fun to figure out. There are a ton of options and capabilities which means you can do just about anything that you have ideas for. But the platform is not ‘simple’.” – Verified User., Mid-Market

Final Verdict

In conclusion, we would agree that there are some amazing Whova alternatives out there that can be considered as Whova’s competitors as well. While Whova offers a robust platform, many first-time users find it overwhelming and the user guide lacking detail. In contrast, vFairs excels with its intuitive interface and comprehensive real-time support, ensuring even first-time users can navigate the platform with ease. Additionally, vFairs provides a scalable solution with no restrictions on the number of attendees or virtual rooms, which is a limitation seen in platforms like 6Connex.

This combination of ease of use and flexibility makes vFairs a superior Whova alternative for event organizers looking for a reliable and user-friendly event management platform

At vFairs, we make sure we provide our clients with an experience they will never forget. Book a demo now to experience it firsthand.