Not all event planning software fits all events, so it’s essential to consider your event needs and what works best for your team and your events.

Which Event Software Is Right For You?

The real answer: it depends.

(Thankfully) gone are the days of having to plan your event on paper or with a word.doc or excel spreadsheet

(OMG all those tabs in the binders!)

…unless of course you prefer kickin’ it old school.

Today, event planners can take advantage of sophisticated features that create customized websites, registration, and ticketing pages and creates a sense of community with your event attendees.

For event planners that are in the beginning stages of their event planning career and who don’t have a large budget to purchase event planning software, there are (nearly) free options like Basecamp, Trello, or Smartsheet (excel spreadsheets still work well, too!).

How to Improve Your Events

However, if you’re looking for event management tools to improve your events and facilitate the planning process, we’ve included some paid options for event planners that have more specific software needs for their events.

10 Event Planning Software Options

Paid Event Planning Software

Planning Pod – With over 20,000 event professionals relying on this event management software, Jeff Kear and the Planning Pod team provide event management tools to manage your event, your calendar, venue, and billing (and more).

It’s perfect for #eventprofs, who have many moving pieces (apps, emails, notes, and files) because it manages everything in one place. (We have to admit, we love their simple and easy to navigate website!)

Watch our interview with Jeff Kear, Founder of Planning Pod, here.

Etouches – Offering solutions for event registration, floor plans, timelines, and task assignments, etouches is an excellent option for all cycles of your event. We think one of the best features etouches offers is integrating payment gateways like PayPal, which makes it easy to collect payment from your event attendees.

Eventbrite – One of the most popular event planning software options for event organizers (professional planners and community organizers) looking to sell tickets and manage event registration is Eventbrite.

With their fast, easy setup, you can manage the details of your event and promote it on your website or through social media sites like Facebook, with the option to promote your event on the Eventbrite site too.

Evolero – With a free two-week trial, Evolero was developed by an event planner. This software has all your event needs in one place, so you don’t have to switch between platforms – everything from managing event registration and websites to ticketing, planning and promoting.

Cvent – A leader in cloud-based event management systems, Cvent offers event planning software for mobile apps for events, email marketing, web surveys, targeted advertising, and online registration and venue selection.

Cvent offers a ‘Find Event Venues’ search option. However it appears that only hotels are listed in the search, so unless you’re a meeting planner looking for hotel and meeting space, the options are limited.

Azavista – Planning an event of any size, Azavista may be a good option for you. Offering flexibility, their platform allows event planners to set up a new event within minutes.

With their drag and drop functionality, ability to track changes in real-time, and multi-lingual support, they appear to offer the same features as other software solutions but with a simple interface.

Many of these event planning software options offer the same features – at least at first glance and according to the copy on their websites.

As an event planner, it may take a little more digging to find the solution that’s right for you.

Free Event Planning Software

Basecamp – Providing the ability to manage your events, groups (or teams), and clients in one place, Basecamp works well for event managers who need to divvy up workloads, store and organize files, and layout milestones and deadlines.

Your first event (or project) is free, then there’s a small monthly fee based on the package you choose, no matter how many people you’re using it with. This option is perfect for event planners with small teams to manage.

Trello – We use this one daily and it’s our favorite free collaboration tool! Trello organizes projects into boards, so it’s easy to track who is responsible for each task, due dates, and where the event is in the planning process.

Trello is flexible, free and lets you see everything about your event in one glance.

Smartsheet – Replacing spreadsheets, Smartsheet has the same look and feel as a spreadsheet, but lets you track your progress, work with others and automate your processes.

Your Smartsheets can be accessed from any computer, so your team or clients have current, up-to-date information. They offer a free trial, then charge a small monthly fee based on the features you need/want.

Evernote – Think sticky notes on crack! Evernote is the perfect place to save your ideas, thoughts, likes (or dislikes) with the ability to access your ‘notes’ from any device.

Not necessarily an event planning software platform, but worth mentioning since it can be used in conjunction with other event management tools because Evernote is a note-taking, organizing, and archiving powerhouse.

We’d love your thoughts…

Which of these 10 event planning software options listed above do you use or love?

Let me know in the comments below.

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