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BagEvent vs Whova for conference registration and check-in
Whova often wins on mobile networking and community. BagEvent is built as the primary mid-market stack for registration through door and settlement. Compare them only when your RFP actually needs both jobs on one shortlist.
This page does not invent Whova's current fee schedule or feature matrix. Where their product differs by plan or contract, check their site. BagEvent facts below match /pricing.
| TOPIC | APP / NETWORKING LANE | BAGEVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Who the product is for | Often wins on mobile attendee experience—networking, community, agenda—for associations and academic events. Confirm current positioning on their site. | Built for professional conferences and corporate programmes that need registration, door, and settlement as the primary system. |
| Primary job on the shortlist | App-and-community first; registration and onsite may be part of the package—verify depth against your RFP. | Registration → programme → door → settlement in one mid-market conference chain. |
| Platform fee on ticket sales | Commercial models vary—check their current public pricing or quote for paid registration volume. | 0% platform fee on every BagEvent plan. You connect your own Stripe or PayPal. |
| Who is merchant of record | Payment and payout paths depend on how you contract—verify on their docs. | You connect your payment account. Ticket revenue settles to you; your entity name is what finance expects to reconcile. |
| Several legal entities | Multi-company settlement is usually secondary to the app story—confirm if agencies or regional entities matter. | Map events or currencies to entities you nominate (Business: five; Enterprise: unlimited). |
| Check-in when Wi-Fi dies | Self check-in and staffed door options differ—verify offline staffed scanning if your peak needs it. | Staff apps download the list and keep scanning offline; sync when the network returns. |
| When BagEvent is the wrong tool | If the primary buy is attendee networking and community—and ticket ops are light—an app-first product may fit better. | If you need Fortune-grade M&E governance, venue sourcing, or deep sponsor/CRM orchestration as the real buy, stay in those aisles. |
Choose BagEvent when…
- Paid registration, invoices, and settlement are the primary system—not a bolt-on to a networking app.
- Ticket revenue must settle to entities you nominate.
- The door must keep working without venue Wi-Fi.
- You want a published 0% platform fee and your own Stripe or PayPal.
Stay with an app-first peer when attendee networking and community are the main purchase—and ticket ops are light enough that a full registration-to-settlement stack is overkill.
BagEvent vs Whova — questions
Whova is commonly chosen for mobile-first attendee experience—networking, community, agenda, and self check-in—especially in association and academic deals. BagEvent is built as a mid-market conference stack from registration through programme and door to settlement, with a subscription and 0% platform fee on ticket sales into your own Stripe or PayPal. For Whova's current fees and packages, read their site; we do not restate them here.
Yes when you need the primary system for paid registration, multi-entity settlement, and an offline staffed door. If the main job is attendee networking and community in the app—and registration is lighter—Whova's aisle may still fit better. Put both on the shortlist only when the RFP actually spans both jobs.
BagEvent charges 0% platform fee on ticket sales on every plan. You connect your own Stripe or PayPal account. Card processing fees still go to your payment provider.
Yes on Business (five entities) and Enterprise (unlimited). That is the multi-entity settlement model agencies and international groups use when one brand sells through several companies.
Yes. Mobile and desktop check-in apps hold the attendee list on the device, keep scanning offline, and sync when the network returns.
Plans are public on the pricing page: Pro $99/mo billed annually ($129 month to month), Business $479/mo billed annually ($599 month to month), Enterprise on request. Every plan includes a 0% platform fee on ticket sales and a 14-day free trial.
Field guides
- How do you shortlist event management software for a mid-to-large conference?Shortlist by aisle: Eventbrite vs Luma vs Cvent vs Swoogo, Bizzabo, EventsAir, Whova, and BagEvent. No price gossip—public positioning and five decision questions.
- What should you look for in event registration software?A demo shows the happy path. What to check instead: the real cost at your volume, where the money sits, the checkout, the event day, and leaving.
- How do you move to a new event registration platform?What to export, what you will rebuild by hand, how to switch sales, and what usually breaks when you leave an event registration tool.
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