Best Whova Alternatives in 2026 for Conference Organizers

Published: October 2026 · Last Updated: October 2026

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you asked Whova what your conference would cost and were handed a form instead of a number. That is not a small irritation when you are drafting a budget for a board meeting. Whova publishes exactly one figure, its ticketing fee, and quotes everything else after you describe your event. The product itself is not the problem. Whova holds 4.8 out of 5 on both G2 and Capterra across more than 4,000 combined reviews, and anyone who has run an agenda or attendee networking through it knows why.

The organizations searching for alternatives to Whova tend to fall into two groups. Some want the same conference tooling with a price they can see in advance. Others are associations that already run Whova for the annual conference and a separate system for members, and are wondering whether one platform could do both. This page covers eight options for both groups, with published prices wherever a vendor publishes them, and it says plainly where Whova is still the better choice.

Why organizations look for Whova alternatives

You cannot see the price before the sales conversation. Whova’s pricing page is a quote request. It asks for event type, duration, attendee count and how many events you run per year, and the license figure comes back afterward. The only published number is the ticketing fee of 3.0% plus $0.99 per paid ticket. For a team that has to commit to a conference budget months in advance, not being able to rule a vendor in or out on cost is a real obstacle, and it is the most common frustration in reviews.

Add-ons are scoped separately from the base quote. Features beyond the core package are priced on top, so the total is only clear once the quote arrives. That is normal for quote-based software. It just means two Whova quotes for similar events can differ more than buyers expect, and comparing vendors fairly requires asking for the all-in number.

The attendee app can get noisy. Even in otherwise positive Capterra reviews, a recurring note is that in-app and push notifications become excessive, which makes the important updates harder to spot. It is a fixable configuration issue for some events and a genuine annoyance for others.

Getting data out is not always smooth. Reviewers mention not being able to export attendee or contact lists from the mobile app, and some report difficulty reaching presentation materials after the event ends. Neither is a dealbreaker, but both matter if the conference feeds a CRM you keep all year.

Whova runs the event, not the relationship. This is the structural reason most associations start looking. Whova is built around the conference itself. It has no recurring dues, no membership renewals and no member CRM. To its credit, it integrates with membership systems such as MemberClicks, iMIS, WildApricot, YourMembership, Glue Up and Neon CRM to check member status at registration. But that is the point: it expects you to run a second platform for members. One association described exactly that setup to us:

“with our conference, we use Whova right now to facilitate the agenda, the ticket registration and things like that for it, but it would be great if our members only site also had the ability to kind of facilitate events as well.”

Membership lead at a national accreditation nonprofit (verbatim, Raklet sales call, 2026)

Two systems, two invoices, and a conference that sits outside the platform holding the members. That is the problem a good share of this list is built to solve.

What to look for in a Whova alternative

1. Published pricing you can budget against without a sales call. This answers Whova’s main complaint directly. A vendor that publishes figures lets you disqualify it in ten minutes instead of after two demos.

2. An all-in quote, including add-ons and ticket fees. License, per-ticket fees, modules and implementation, calculated at your real attendance. A cheap per-ticket model can cost more than a flat license once you sell a few hundred tickets, and the reverse is true below that.

3. Whether you need the platform between events. Ask one question: after the conference ends, does an attendee become a record you can renew, segment and email for the next eleven months? If yes, you need a membership platform that runs events. If no, a conference tool is the right shape.

4. Control over attendee notifications. If notification volume was a problem at your last event, check how granularly a replacement lets organizers and attendees tune alerts before you sign.

5. Data portability. Confirm you can export attendees, contacts and engagement data in a standard format, from the admin side and not only one record at a time.

6. The depth of conference tooling you actually use. Be fair to Whova here. Its agenda builder, attendee matchmaking, session engagement and speaker workflows are genuinely deep, and since late 2024 it has shipped AI features including an AI writing companion and AI-generated event summaries. If those are the reason you bought it, most membership platforms on this list will feel thinner on event day.

The Best Whova Alternatives in 2026

1. Raklet

Founded 2013 · Privately held · 10+ employees

Raklet is a membership platform that runs events, rather than an event platform that stores attendees. Memberships, recurring dues, a member CRM with a full activity timeline, event registration, QR check-in, email campaigns, payments, directories and a private member community all live in one account. A conference registrant becomes a member record you can renew next year, not a spreadsheet you archive after the closing session.

The trade is honest and worth stating up front. Raklet does not have a standalone conference app, an agenda builder with attendee matchmaking, or speaker and exhibitor workflows. Events support unlimited ticket types, member-only or public sales, confirmation emails with QR tickets and on-site scanning, which covers most association events but not a large multi-track conference. What you get in exchange is the other fifty weeks of the year.

Pricing is public. There is a permanent free plan covering 100 contacts with no credit card required. Paid tiers are $49 per month for Essentials, $99 for Professional and $399 for Premium, all billed annually, and each tier raises the contact limit and unlocks capabilities: Essentials adds event check-ins, digital membership cards and the email designer, Professional adds integrations and automated reminders, and Premium adds API access, SSO and a custom domain. Extra contacts come in 1,000-contact packs at $29 per month, so you do not have to jump a whole tier. Raklet adds a per-plan transaction fee on top of standard Stripe processing, with rates listed on the Raklet pricing page. Payments run through Stripe plus limited PayPal. Every plan includes free native iOS and Android apps, and a custom-branded app under your own name is a $299 per month add-on billed annually. AI features are on the roadmap and not yet shipped.

Best for: associations, nonprofits, chambers and clubs that run events and need membership, dues and a member CRM year-round.

Not ideal for: a single large conference that depends on agenda personalization, attendee matchmaking and a dedicated event app.

See the full Whova vs Raklet comparison for a feature-by-feature breakdown.

2. Glue Up

Founded 2013 · Privately held · ~150 employees

Glue Up is the other platform here built for the membership-and-events double job, aimed squarely at associations and chambers of commerce, with particular strength in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It bundles membership management, event registration, email campaigns, a mobile app and a community module, and Whova itself lists Glue Up among the membership systems it integrates with, which tells you how often the two are run side by side.

Unusually for this category, Glue Up publishes its pricing. The Professional tier runs from $3,000 to $6,500 per year with an allowance of 25 events, Advanced from $8,000 to $18,500 with 75 events, and Enterprise is quoted. Contracts are billed annually and sold through a demo rather than self-serve checkout, and there is no free plan.

Best for: associations and chambers that want membership and events in one platform at mid-market pricing, especially outside North America.

Not ideal for: small groups that want to start free or buy without a sales demo.

Visit Glue Up

3. Cvent

Founded 1999 · PE-owned by Blackstone (2023, $4.6B) · 4,800+ employees

Cvent is the enterprise answer, and the right comparison only if your program has outgrown Whova rather than the other way around. It covers registration at very large scale, venue sourcing and a hospitality supplier marketplace, on-site check-in and badge hardware, and an attendee app. Since mid-2025 it has also shipped AI across the platform under the CventIQ name.

Cvent does not publish prices. Third-party pricing guides put the base license at roughly $19,500 to $79,000 per year depending on program size, plus per-registrant fees for the attendee app of about $7 to $12, plus first-year implementation that can run from $5,000 to $50,000. Treat those as estimates. Contracts are annual.

Best for: corporate and enterprise event teams running a heavy multi-event program who need venue sourcing and on-site hardware.

Not ideal for: associations whose budget sat comfortably in Whova’s per-event pricing.

Visit Cvent

4. Bizzabo

Independent · VC-backed (Insight Partners led Series E)

Bizzabo targets mid-to-large B2B and corporate event teams that run a program of events across the year rather than one conference. It covers registration, event websites, an attendee app, sponsor and exhibitor management, and its own Klik SmartBadge on-site hardware, which is one of the few alternatives to Cvent’s check-in ecosystem.

Bizzabo publishes its core price, which most vendors at this level do not. Its Event Experience OS is $499 per user per month billed annually with a three-user minimum, which the company states as starting at $17,999 per year. Klik hardware and add-ons are quoted separately, and there is no free plan or single-event option.

Best for: B2B marketing and events teams running several branded events a year who want published pricing.

Not ideal for: one annual conference, where the per-user annual license is hard to justify.

Visit Bizzabo

5. Swoogo

Founded 2015 · Independent, owner-operated · ~157 employees

Swoogo is the registration-first choice: event websites, registration flows and attendee management that teams can configure themselves without an enterprise implementation. Its reputation is built on setup speed, and it holds about 4.9 out of 5 on G2 across roughly 200 reviews.

Swoogo lists its Professional plan at $11,800 per year on its pricing page, with Enterprise quoted. The base package includes unlimited events and registrations, a check-in app and a broad set of integrations. The flat structure matters: a well-attended event does not raise the invoice.

Best for: in-house event teams that care most about registration and event websites and want a flat, predictable license.

Not ideal for: buyers who mainly used Whova for attendee networking and the event app experience.

Visit Swoogo

6. Accelevents

Independent · VC-backed · ~60 employees

Accelevents is a hybrid and virtual event platform that also handles in-person conferences, with registration, a virtual venue, exhibitor and sponsor tools, attendee networking and an event app. It also includes fundraising features such as silent auctions, which nonprofits running a gala alongside a conference will actually use. It holds about 4.5 out of 5 on G2.

Pricing is published. The Professional plan starts at $7,500 for a single event, Business starts at $13,500, and Enterprise and White Label are quoted. All plans advertise 24/7 live support. If you run several events a year, compare the Business tier against Whova’s multi-event package rather than the single-event price.

Best for: organizations running virtual or hybrid events, or pairing a conference with a fundraising gala.

Not ideal for: small in-person events, where $7,500 for one event is more than most associations spend on Whova.

Visit Accelevents

7. EventMobi

Founded 2010 · Privately held, Toronto · ~100 employees

EventMobi is the closest like-for-like swap for Whova on this list: an event app and conference platform for mid-size conferences, with a mobile app, agenda, attendee engagement, virtual sessions and registration. It acquired the virtual events platform Run The World in 2023 and holds about 4.6 out of 5 on G2 across roughly 250 reviews.

The difference from Whova is that EventMobi publishes its pricing: $3,000 per event, or $8,900 per year for unlimited events, with custom plans above that. A free trial is available. For an association running two or more conferences a year, the unlimited plan is the number to compare against a Whova multi-event quote.

Best for: conference organizers who like Whova’s event app model but want a published price.

Not ideal for: organizations that need membership, dues or a year-round CRM in the same system.

Visit EventMobi

8. Eventbrite

Founded 2006 · Owned by Bending Spoons since March 2026

Eventbrite is the discovery-first option. Publishing an event is free, the marketplace sends real traffic, and attendees already know how to buy a ticket on it. For public, ticketed events where being found matters more than conference depth, nothing else here competes. It has no agenda personalization or attendee networking to speak of.

The cost sits in ticket fees: 3.7% plus $1.79 per paid ticket as a service fee, plus 2.9% payment processing. That works out to roughly $8.39 on a $100 ticket. Pro plans from $15 per month expand email marketing and do not reduce ticket fees. Free events cost nothing. Eventbrite was acquired by Bending Spoons in March 2026 and cut staff the following month, which is worth knowing for a long-term commitment.

Best for: public ticketed events where discovery and low friction matter most.

Not ideal for: member-only conferences or anything that needs a networking app.

Visit Eventbrite

Whova Alternatives Compared

Here is how Whova and its main competitors line up on the questions buyers ask first.

Prices as of October 2026 based on published pricing pages. Quote-based figures are ranges from third-party pricing guides, labeled as estimates.

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What does each platform cost at your event size?

Prices as of October 2026 based on published pricing pages. Quote-based figures are ranges from third-party pricing guides, labeled as estimates.

Most platforms in this category price by event or attendee rather than by member count, so this table uses annual attendees as the unit. Raklet and Glue Up are the exceptions: they price by contacts, which for an association usually means the membership list plus past attendees. The pattern to notice is that Whova, Cvent and Eventbrite scale with ticket sales, while most of the rest charge a flat license.

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Assumptions, stated so you can check them. Whova does not publish a license price, so only its per-ticket fee is shown. Raklet uses annual billing, with 1,000-contact add-on packs at $290 per year in this table. Cvent uses a $19,500 license plus $7 per registrant, the low end of third-party estimates, and excludes first-year implementation. Accelevents assumes one event on the Professional plan; multi-event programs start at $13,500 on Business. EventMobi assumes you run more than two events a year; a single event is $3,000. Eventbrite assumes a $100 ticket at 3.7% plus $1.79 in service fees and 2.9% processing; free events cost nothing.

Which Whova alternative is right for you?

You run one large annual conference and the event app is the job. Honestly, Whova may still be your best option, and switching for the sake of it is a mistake. If you want the same model with a published price, EventMobi is the closest match. If you are scaling into an enterprise program, Cvent or Bizzabo. Just get Whova’s all-in quote first so you are comparing like with like.

You run several events a year and want predictable costs. Swoogo for registration-heavy programs with a flat license, Accelevents if virtual, hybrid or fundraising events are part of the mix, and EventMobi’s unlimited plan if you want an event app across every conference.

Your events are public and ticketed. Eventbrite, accepting that its per-ticket fees add up at volume.

You are an association where the conference is one part of a year-round membership. Raklet or Glue Up. Both hold members rather than attendee lists, and both can replace the second system you run alongside Whova. Raklet publishes a free tier and every price; Glue Up is sold through a demo from $3,000 per year. If membership is the bigger problem, our roundup of Wild Apricot alternatives covers that category in depth.

One honest caveat about Raklet. An association evaluating us this year asked directly whether we had “anything that is similar to Whova” for hosting a conference. We do not, and we told them so. Raklet handles registration, tickets, check-in and online event links, and some associations with a very large conference keep a dedicated event app for that one event while moving everything else into Raklet. If that is your situation, compare Raklet pricing plans against what you spend on your membership system today, or start free with 100 contacts and run your next smaller event through it before deciding anything.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Whova alternative?

It depends on what you used Whova for. If the event app and attendee networking were the job, EventMobi is the closest alternative with published pricing. For registration-heavy programs, Swoogo is the strongest flat-license option. For associations that also need membership, dues and a year-round CRM, Raklet or Glue Up replace both Whova and the separate membership system many associations run alongside it.

How much does Whova cost?

Whova does not publish license pricing. Its pricing page is a quote request that asks for event type, duration, attendee count and how many events you run each year. The only published figure is the ticketing fee of 3.0% plus $0.99 per paid ticket. Add-ons are priced separately, so ask for an all-in quote that includes them before comparing vendors.

Is there a free Whova alternative?

Yes. Raklet has a permanent free plan covering 100 contacts with no credit card required, which includes the CRM, memberships, event management and community features. Eventbrite is free to publish events and charges fees only on paid tickets. EventMobi offers a free trial rather than a free plan. Glue Up, Bizzabo, Swoogo and Cvent have no free plan.

What is the cheapest Whova alternative?

For year-round use, Raklet is the cheapest platform on this list with a real license, starting free and rising to $49 per month billed annually for 500 contacts. For a single public event, Eventbrite costs nothing upfront and charges per ticket. Among dedicated conference platforms, EventMobi’s $3,000 per event is the lowest published price.

Does Whova handle membership management?

No. Whova is an event platform. It has no recurring dues, membership renewals or member CRM. It does integrate with membership systems such as MemberClicks, iMIS, WildApricot, YourMembership and Glue Up to check member status at registration and offer member-only ticket types. Associations using Whova typically run a separate membership platform alongside it.

How long does it take to migrate off Whova?

Plan for one event cycle. Attendee and registration data exports quickly from the organizer side, though reviewers note the mobile app does not export contacts. Rebuilding the agenda, registration forms, ticket types and email templates is the slower part and usually takes a few weeks on a mid-market platform. Because Whova is often bought per event, the real timeline is usually set by your next conference date.

The Bottom Line on Whova Alternatives

Whova is a strong conference product with a pricing model that makes it hard to budget and a scope that ends when the event does. If the event app is the job, EventMobi gives you a similar model with a published price, and Swoogo or Bizzabo suit larger multi-event programs. If you are an association running Whova next to a separate membership system, Raklet and Glue Up are built to hold the relationship year-round, and they are the shortlist worth testing first. The roundups below cover the neighboring event platforms in the same depth.

Compare to Other Event Platform Alternatives

If you are still deciding between event platforms, these roundups cover the vendors Whova buyers most often cross-shop.