Whova and eventcloud both cover registration, badges, check-in and exhibitor lead retrieval for in-person conferences, but they are built around different centres. Whova leads with an all-in-one event app for in-person, hybrid and virtual events and prices by quote. eventcloud starts at the registration desk, with nothing capped on events, registrations or attendees.
What Is Each Tool Actually Built Around?
Whova describes itself on its own homepage as an all-in-one event management platform for in-person, hybrid and virtual events, with an event app, networking tools, badges, check-in and exhibitor tools under one roof. That is a sensible pitch if the app is the product you are buying and the programme runs on screens as well as in a hall.
eventcloud is built the other way round. The starting point is the person arriving at your venue: registration, badges, check-in and lead retrieval for in-person events. Organisers pay for their team, ticket revenue settles straight into their own Stripe account, and every capability is on every seat. If you want the full side-by-side, the Whova comparison page is the longer version.
The useful question for a conference producer is not which tool has more screens. It is which one makes the first ten minutes of your registration queue boring, and which one lets your numbers grow without a meter running.
How Do the Two Compare for a Conference Registration Desk?
The table sets out what each side states publicly about the attributes a conference desk cares about. Whova entries come from its pricing page and homepage, both read on 7 November 2026, neither carrying a page date. A feature missing from a public page may still exist in the product, so "not stated" means exactly that.
| Attribute | Whova | eventcloud |
|---|---|---|
| How you buy | Request a quote; the pricing page lists no figures | Team seats, with the model explained on the pricing page |
| Registration forms | Personalised registration with ticket types and add-ons | A different form for each ticket group, with answers flowing to badges, tickets and the Excel export |
| Private ticket types | Not stated | Private ticket groups reachable only by a secret link |
| Badges | Name badges, generated on demand | Badge designer in real millimetres with live answers from any registration question |
| Self-service badge printing | Self-service kiosks mentioned on the homepage | Badge Kiosk: a laptop and the printer beside it, ticket number in, badge out |
| Check-in | Listed as an event management tool | Browser check-in on any phone or tablet with one link and a four digit PIN |
| Exhibitor lead retrieval | Listed, including business card and QR code scanning | Exhibitors scan with their own phones, rate leads one to five and export to Excel |
| Hybrid and virtual | Offered | Ask us |
Whova's pricing is the interesting row. Its own page asks for event format, length, expected attendees and events per year, and returns a quote. A separate review, updated on 23 August 2026, also reports that Whova publishes no prices and that circulating figures mostly come from competitors. That makes budgeting a two step process: book a call, then compare quotes.
Does a Native App Matter at a Conference Door?
It depends who is standing at the door. Whova's homepage does not say whether its attendee app is a native download or has a web version, so check that with them before you plan around it. What matters for a registration desk is how many steps stand between an arriving delegate and a printed badge.
eventcloud's event app is a web app: nothing to download, phones only. Check-in works the same way. Staff open one link, enter a four digit PIN and find a ticket by QR scan or a typed code, including the nine digit ticket number. It shows name, email, phone, company, ticket and pass type, and flags repeat scans. A delegate with a flat phone battery and no appetite for installing anything is still a delegate you can admit. Our write-up of checking in a thousand attendees with phones walks through the lanes.
Conference Registration Without the Procurement Saga.
Delegate types, early-bird windows, session booking, badges designed in millimetres and check-in from any phone, with no limit on delegates.
Printing is a separate job from scanning. The staffed phone scanner never prints; badge printing at check-in runs through the Badge Kiosk, where visitors type their ticket number, check the details, correct their printed name if you allow it, and print. Printing checks them in.
What About Exhibitors and Lead Retrieval?
Both tools offer lead retrieval for exhibitors. Whova lists it with exhibitor and sponsor tools, and its homepage says sponsors can scan business cards and QR codes. With eventcloud, exhibitors scan the QR code on each attendee's badge or in their event app, rate and qualify each lead, answer up to ten questions the rep writes, and download their leads to Excel. Captures queue on the phone through a signal drop for up to 30 days.
There is no charge from us per scanner or per lead. You decide whether exhibitors get it with their pass or buy it at checkout for a price you set.
One thing worth saying in both cases: a scan is not consent. When an exhibitor scans an attendee, the lead record carries the details that attendee's badge or app shares, and your privacy notice should say so plainly. Treat the scan as a prompt for the exhibitor to follow up lawfully, never as permission in itself.
Which One Fits Which Conference?
If your programme leans on an app with networking and hybrid sessions, Whova describes exactly that on its homepage, and a quote call will tell you what it costs for your numbers. If your event is a room full of people to register, badge and admit, with exhibitors scanning on their own phones, the registration desk is where eventcloud puts its effort. Unlimited events, registrations and attendees on every plan: we count team seats, not tickets, so your bill does not rise because your event sells out. The limits that do exist are operational, not commercial: 99 of one ticket type per order line, 10,000 orders per Excel export, five languages per event, and one subdomain and one sending domain per organisation.
Your conference may mix both worlds. Running a hybrid event? Tell us what the in-person side needs at our contact page.
How Do Sessions Work If You Run Parallel Tracks?
A conference with parallel tracks needs two things: a way for delegates to reserve a place, and a way to count who walks in. eventcloud's session booking lets free or paid sessions carry their own capacity, be included with chosen ticket types, close at a booking cut-off and refuse clashes, with delegates booking at sign-up or later in the attendee portal. Session scanning at the door of each session admits or refuses with one scan, flags re-entry, and shows every device at that door a running count against capacity.
Ask Whova's team how the same job works on their side, since their public pages do not describe session capacity. Put the answer next to your track plan, not next to a feature list.
What to Ask Any Vendor Before You Sign
Ask each vendor for the same three things in writing: the full cost for your expected delegates and exhibitors, how a delegate gets from ticket to printed badge, and what happens at the door when the venue network drops. Then run a rehearsal registration of every audience you expect, including speakers and exhibitor staff, and print one badge of each type.
