Best event apps compared: four types, ten vendors
The best event apps differ less in their feature lists than in how they are built: do attendees download an app from the store, open a web app from a link, and does the agenda come from the same platform as registration and tickets? This comparison sorts ten vendors by these questions, with sources and dates. The AirLST event app is a web app that gets its data from registration; where it fits and where it does not is at the end of the page.
Three questions decide which event app fits
Almost every vendor offers agenda, speakers, venue maps and push notifications. Three questions make the difference before you compare single features.
Should attendees install an app?
Native app: full device features and a store listing, but a download and store review. Web app: a link or QR code is enough, no installation; that lowers the barrier for one-off events.
Where do agenda, ticket and attendee list come from?
The same platform: registration, ticket and app share one record, and changes show up everywhere at once. An import: the app stands alone and gets its data as a list from another system.
Whose name is on the app, and where is the data?
Brand: your design, your domain or your own store app, often as an add-on. Data: server location, data processing agreement and certifications are not public at every vendor.
Event platforms with an app: Swapcard, Cvent, Bizzabo, Brella, Whova, EventMobi
Who it is for: conferences and trade shows with exhibitors, sponsors and networking, often international. Strength: registration, event website, app and reporting from one vendor. Limit: scope and price are built for large events; your own store app is often an add-on.
Documented: Swapcard, a France-based company, delivers its app on web, iOS and Android and supports registration, ticketing and badging; a branded store app is an add-on, optionally with no Swapcard branding1,2. Cvent, based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, offers native event apps and a web version in its Attendee Hub; registration is a separate product on the same platform16,17,18. Bizzabo describes a "fully brandable" app, sells the custom-branded app as a paid add-on and bills annual licenses per user19,20. Brella, based in Helsinki, ships a web app and native apps and states EU servers and a GDPR data processing agreement22,23,24. Whova is available in the App Store, on Google Play and in the browser, with quotes on request8,9,10. EventMobi, based in Toronto, delivers its app in the browser or natively on iOS and Android, as a white-label app, with event website and registration3,4,5.
Event app specialists: Eventee, LineUpr, Sched
Who it is for: organizers who mainly want agenda, announcements and engagement on attendees' phones and handle registration elsewhere or keep it simple. Strength: a fast start, often with public prices and a trial. Limit: invitations, guest groups and quotas are typically not the core.
Documented: LineUpr from Dresden, Germany, deliberately ships web apps instead of native store apps (translated from German), with no installation and servers in Germany; you can build and test the app for free, and a custom domain is an add-on11,12,13. Eventee from the Czech Republic offers an app, a web app and an event website, includes registration and check-in in all plans, and offers your own store app on request14,15. Sched offers web plus iOS and Android apps, ticketing via Stripe and your own store app in the Enterprise plan21.
App builders with your own store app: plazz
Who it is for: companies that want an app under their own name in the App Store, often beyond events, for example for employee communication. Strength: your brand in the store, building blocks with no coding. Limit: price and scope are set per project.
Documented: plazz AG from Erfurt, Germany, delivers its app platform Polario as a native app for iOS and Android and as a web app, with your name in the App Store; registration, waitlists and QR code tickets come through its own product registr. plazz states Google Cloud in Frankfurt, ISO 27001 and TISAX; prices are quoted per project (translated from German)6,7.
Attendee management with an event app: AirLST
Who it is for: companies, agencies and associations that invite and manage guests and want the app as part of that process. Strength: the app gets agenda, ticket and attendee list from registration; the QR code in the app is the same as on the PDF and in the wallet, and the check-in app scans it. Limit: no app in the stores under your own name, but a web app on your domain.
AirLST: the event app of AirLST GmbH, Munich, as a progressive web app with no app store; eight core modules (home, agenda, speakers, exhibitors, venue maps, ticket, attendees, content pages with FAQ), seven premium features as add-ons (push notifications, newsfeed, quizzes, feedback and surveys, 1:1 chat, photo gallery, more languages); your design with no AirLST branding, two languages included, custom domain from the Professional plan; hosting in Germany, TISAX-assessed. Details on the event app page, prices on the pricing page.
Ten event apps at a glance
What the vendors state on their own pages, as of November 1, 2026; sources per row in the first column. "Not stated" means not mentioned on the pages we checked, not that it does not exist. We list pricing models, not other vendors' prices.
| Vendor | Based in | Delivery | Branded app | Registration in the same system | Data and certifications | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swapcard1,2 | France | Web plus iOS and Android apps | Yes, as an add-on (own store app, also without Swapcard branding) | Yes, with ticketing and badges | ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR; server location not stated | Annual license by attendee count; trial |
| EventMobi3,4,5 | Toronto, Canada | In the browser or as an iOS and Android app | Yes, white-label app | Yes, with event website | GDPR and SOC statements; server location not stated | Per event or annual license; public prices |
| plazz (Polario)6,7 | Erfurt, Germany | iOS and Android app plus web app | Yes, your name in the App Store | Yes, via its own product (registr) | Google Cloud Frankfurt, ISO 27001, TISAX | Quoted per project |
| Whova8,9,10 | Not stated | App Store, Google Play or browser | Branding customizable; own store app not stated | Yes, as a separate product | Not stated | Quote on request |
| LineUpr11,12,13 | Dresden, Germany | Web app only, no installation | Own design; custom domain as an add-on | Session sign-up; a separate tool for invitations | Servers in Germany | Per event, public price calculator; build and test for free |
| Eventee14,15 | Czech Republic | App, web app and event website | Yes, own store app on request | Yes, registration and check-in | GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001; server location not stated | Per event or annual license; trial |
| Cvent (Attendee Hub)16,17,18 | Tysons Corner, USA | Native apps and a web version | Not stated | A separate product on the same platform | Not stated on the pages checked | Quote or demo |
| Bizzabo19,20 | Not stated | Mobile app; form not stated | Yes, as a paid add-on | Yes, with ticketing | Not stated on the pages checked | Annual license per user; public prices |
| Sched21 | Not stated | Web plus iOS and Android apps | Yes, in the Enterprise plan | Yes, ticketing via Stripe | Not stated; Enterprise also on premises | Plans billed annually; trial |
| Brella22,23,24 | Helsinki, Finland | Web app plus iOS and Android apps | Branding with custom domain; own store app not stated | Yes, payments via Stripe | Servers in the EU, data processing agreement | Quote on request |
| AirLST | Munich, Germany | Web app (progressive web app) in the browser, no app store | Yes: your design with no AirLST branding, custom domain from Professional | Yes: invitation, registration, ticket and check-in in the same guest record | Hosting in Germany, TISAX-assessed | From $799 per event or from $799 per month on an annual license; 30-day free trial |
What matters in an event app
Attendee adoption
An app only helps if attendees open it. With native apps, the download decides; with web apps, the link in the confirmation email and the QR code at the door. Check how the app reaches attendees and whether it works without an account.
Multi-day conferences with a returning audience make a stronger case for a native app, one-off events for a web app.
Data flow and freshness
A room change at 10:25 a.m. has to be in the app at 10:26 a.m. When the agenda comes from the same platform as registration and tickets, there is no import, and each attendee's schedule follows their registration.
With a standalone app, ask how often and how attendee data is transferred.
Brand and design
"Logo and colors" and "your own app in the stores under your name" are worlds apart, often with an add-on in between. Find out whether the vendor's name stays visible, whether a custom domain is possible, and what it costs.
Privacy and certifications
Attendee lists, chat and networking are personal data. Server location, data processing agreement, retention periods and certifications such as ISO 27001 or TISAX belong before the decision, not after.
Eight questions to ask every event app vendor
Ask every vendor these questions, including us.
- How does the app reach attendees? Download from the store, link in the browser or both; with or without an account.
- Where do agenda, ticket and attendee list come from? Your own registration or an import from another system.
- How fast does a change show up in the app? Room change, new session, canceled speaker.
- Whose name is on the app? Your design, your domain, your own store app, and which of these costs extra.
- Which features are included, which are add-ons? Push notifications, chat, surveys, gallery, more languages.
- Where is the data? Server location, data processing agreement, retention periods, certifications.
- What happens with weak Wi-Fi in the hall? What the app shows without a connection.
- How is it billed? Per event, per year, per attendee, and what branding adds.
AirLST's answers to questions 1 to 5 are on the event app page, to question 6 in the Trust Center, and to question 8 on the pricing page.
Where the AirLST event app fits and where it does not
A fit when the app is part of guest management
You invite guests, manage RSVPs, groups and tickets, and want every attendee to have their agenda and ticket on their phone with no download, in your event's design and with hosting in Germany. Then invitation, registration, app and check-in come from one record.
Four demo apps to scan and the features in detail are on the event app page; check-in on the check-in app page.
Not a fit if you need your own app in the stores
AirLST delivers the event app as a web app on your domain, not as your own app in the App Store. If that is what you need, the app builders and several platforms above offer it, usually as an add-on.
And if you only want an agenda on attendees' phones without registration, an event app specialist often gets you there faster than a platform.
Choosing an event app: FAQ
What is the difference between a native event app and a web app?
Attendees download a native app from the App Store or Google Play; it can use more device features, but it has to be installed, and a branded app has to pass store review. A web app (progressive web app) opens from a link or QR code in the browser and can be added to the home screen, with no download and no review. Many vendors offer both; LineUpr and AirLST deliberately ship a web app only. See how it works in the AirLST event app.
How much does an event app cost?
Three models are common: a license per event, an annual license for several events, and pricing by attendee count; a branded app in the stores under your own name is an extra at many vendors. The AirLST Event App starts at $799 per event (plus a package of app users) or $799 per month on an annual license, see pricing. We do not list other vendors' prices because they change; their pricing pages are linked in the sources.
Is there a free event app?
Permanently free event apps are rare for professional events; free trials are common. LineUpr lets you build and test the app for free, and Swapcard offers a trial of its starter plan (as of November 2026, see sources). AirLST can be tried free for 30 days, no credit card required.
Which event apps host data in the EU?
According to the vendors (as of November 2026): LineUpr with servers in Germany, plazz on Google Cloud in Frankfurt, Brella with servers in the EU, and AirLST with hosting in Germany. Several other vendors do not state a server location on the pages we checked; ask about it, and about a data processing agreement. AirLST documentation is in the Trust Center.
Do I need a separate event app if I already have event software?
Not necessarily. If registration, tickets and check-in already run on one platform, that platform's app is usually the simpler route, because agenda, ticket and attendee list reach the app without an import. A standalone event app makes sense when registration stays elsewhere and you mainly need the agenda and engagement on site. Our event management software comparison helps you pick the platform.
Another way in: try AirLST free for 30 days, no credit card required.
Sources
All vendor statements come from the public pages listed, retrieved on November 1, 2026. Some are the vendors' German-language sites; offers for the US may differ. Vendors change offers and prices; the vendor's own page is authoritative.
- Swapcard, home page (www.swapcard.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Swapcard, pricing (www.swapcard.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- EventMobi, event apps (www.eventmobi.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- EventMobi, pricing (www.eventmobi.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- EventMobi, contact (www.eventmobi.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- plazz, product portfolio (German) (plazz.ag, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- plazz, legal notice (German) (plazz.ag, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Whova, home page (whova.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Whova, event app (whova.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Whova, pricing (whova.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- LineUpr, home page (German) (lineupr.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- LineUpr, pricing (German) (lineupr.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- LineUpr, legal notice (German) (lineupr.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Eventee, home page (eventee.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Eventee, pricing (eventee.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Cvent, Attendee Hub (German) (www.cvent.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Cvent, about (www.cvent.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Cvent, event management FAQs (www.cvent.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Bizzabo, mobile event app (www.bizzabo.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Bizzabo, pricing (www.bizzabo.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Sched, pricing (sched.com, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Brella, pricing (www.brella.io, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Brella, security and privacy (www.brella.io, retrieved November 1, 2026)
- Brella, company information (www.brella.io, retrieved November 1, 2026)
Change log
- First version, German and English: four types, ten vendors, 24 sources reviewed.
- Next review: February 2027.