Event Management Software For Small Business: 10 Top Tools

Juggling a dozen tools when event planning leads to wasted time, a lack of process, and unhappy attendees.

If you’re looking for an event management platform that has all your needs covered in one place, then check out this list of event management software for small business.  

These event planning tools will not only support event organizers with the planning stage of their events but will help them with developing a solid marketing strategy generating more leads for their events, along with event logistics.

Event Management Software For Small Business: Which Tool to Choose?

We selected each event software on this list based on its capability to do a few important things:

• Hosting different types of virtual or hybrid events for nurturing your audience and showcasing products or services

• Customization abilities to make unique landing page designs for your event

• Ability to automate event marketing and promotion

• Ability to process online payments and configure event ticket pricing tiers

• Manage speakers, attendees, and sponsors 

• Set event schedules and timetables

Moreover, each of these best event management software for small business platforms has a strong list of integrations, a positive customer support team, and scalability potential. 

Without further ado, are you ready to find the top event management software for your business? Let’s get into it.

1. HeySummit

Are we biased by putting ourselves at the top of this list?

Yes, probably…

But we strongly believe that we belong at the top of this list because we built our event management software specifically for small businesses, solopreneurs, and content creators.  

We want to make sure that your events are bringing in tangible ROI by helping you do three things:

• Grow your audience

• Bring in new leads

• Increase your loyal customer base

Now, in our experience, many businesses that choose HeySummit are still trying to figure out what works best for them in terms of generating leads and revenue. 

That’s where virtual events come in.

Here’s what separates us from other event software: we’ve made it as easy as possible from a technical standpoint to set up and run online or hybrid events that generate leads and customers.  

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

HeySummit has an intuitive interface that makes it easy to create and manage an event in one place using a simple step-by-step process. This, combined with our built-in audience growth tools and marketing integrations, allows you to ensure your events nurture your audience, prompt attendee engagement, and maximize conversions. 

All that being said, here are a few of our key features that have transformed our clients’ businesses, including our own. 

Speaker Management

Organize multiple keynote speakers and sponsors from one dashboard. Make it convenient for them to promote your event and update their own talk sessions or speaker profiles. You can even use HeySummit to discover and connect with the ideal speakers for your event via our Speaker Network. 

Talk Management

Add and customize how you showcase event content, e.g. pre-recorded or live video, automatic replays, and rich content options. 

Landing page builder

Build a landing page automatically based on the details you entered during the event setup process. 

You can also customize the design and content of your event website using our drag-and-drop builder. This includes pre-built tools such as signup forms and countdown timers to help you drive more registrations. 

Marketing and viral tools

Here are a few HeySummit features that will help you promote your event:

• Affiliate programs

• Custom email sequences

• Swipe copy

• Pre-registration pages

• Sponsorship management

Reporting and analytics

Create pre-event, live-event, and post-event reports. Analyze the ROI of your event marketing strategy. Get insights on where most traffic comes from, attendee registrations, social shares, ticket sales, engagement rates, and more. Track key metrics all from one dashboard. 

Ticketing and Revenue Management

Create events that generate revenue using an online event ticketing system where you can sell different types of tickets (e.g. early-bird tickets), expiration dates, and pricing tiers. You can also integrate with PayPal, Stripe, and ThriveCart. 

Pricing 

• Starter: $49/mo

• Growth: $99/mo

• Success: $349/mo

Summary

You can host all types of events with HeySummit, from small workshops, Q&As, and interactive webinars to large conferences. 

We built HeySummit for businesses who: 

• Want a single platform that makes it incredibly easy to organize an event

• Want to use events as a way to generate more traffic and leads, but aren’t sure where to start

• Want event software with integrated CRM systems and marketing tools to help attract sponsors and engage your target audience

We remove all the technical headaches that come with setting up and customizing an online event. And compared to other platforms, where you may feel overwhelmed by all the features, HeySummit declutters the entire process. 

Above all, we’re driven by your success. That’s why we’re quick to address each and every one of your needs or concerns. 

Try HeySummit for free. 

2. PheedLoop

PheedLoop automates the event planning and management process. Users can host in-person, hybrid, and virtual events of all sorts, including conferences, trade shows, and webinars. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

They offer features at reasonable rates that will help you deliver a positive experience for attendees. Here are a few things we found most notable: 

• Optimize the online registration process with payment gateways and custom forms to collect relevant attendee details

• Mobile app available on iOS and Android

• Create event schedules to organize talk sessions and speakers

• Promote your event with customizable landing pages and email templates

• Create networking spaces for your events 

• Reporting and analytics to track event ROI

Pricing

Paid plans start from as low as $1 per module per user but quickly increase the more features you use. 

Full pricing plans are available by getting in touch via PheedLoop’s contact form.

Summary

PheedLoop is a comprehensive solution for managing your events online and keeping everything under one roof. Moreover, it’s a scalable platform for businesses that are looking to develop their event marketing strategy. 

3. Hopin

Hopin is one of the event management solutions for small business that has a variety of interactive features, which makes it a good solution for hosting events when you want to optimize for engagement and participation.  

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

We liked the audience engagement tools available within their platform. Here are a few more key points:

• Event professionals can create virtual venues where attendees and speakers can network with one another 

• Deliver a more engaging experience by integrating polls, quizzes, and breakout rooms with several different speakers at your event

• Robust analytics are built in to track the success of events and get a better understanding of your attendees’ preferences

Pricing 

• Free: $0/mo

• Starter: $99/mo

• Business: starts at $6,000

Summary

Hopin puts an emphasis on audience engagement. They’re a good choice when you prioritize hosting interactive events where you want attendees and speakers to engage with your brand and with each other.

4. BigMarker

BigMarker is a virtual and hybrid event platform. Aside from events, they also have other functions, such as webinars and media hubs. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

Users can create branded events and video content. To be more specific, here’s what we found most interesting:

• Built-in networking tools to make it seamless for attendees to connect

• You can optimize the registration and live event experience with branded video content 

• Create virtual venues that highlight your brand 

• Marketing and analytics tools are provided to help promote your event and develop your event strategy

Pricing

For pricing, you’ll have to get in touch with the BigMarker sales team via the contact form on their website. As such, you may need to be prepared for high prices.

Summary

BigMarker puts emphasis on delivering video content. That’s why we teamed up with BigMarker so that you can get the best of both worlds:

• Use BigMarker to deliver live video content

• Use HeySummit to create online conferences and organize multiple talks at once

Using BigMarker this way through HeySummit allows you to further simplify the process at a fraction of the cost. However, you can still use BigMarker as a standalone platform for hosting video conferencing and webinars. 

5. EventCreate

EventCreate is an affordable platform for first-time event planners or businesses on a budget. Creating an event website is free, and you can set this up in just a few minutes. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

Besides the affordable pricing, we can see why small businesses would choose EventCreate as their event management software for a few reasons: 

• No coding is required for building a professional event website

• Built-in tools to help you optimize your event website for search engines

• Monitor RSVPs as well as attendee management and rates with text and email management tools

• Ticketing options are available so you can process online payments

Pricing

• Basic: $0

• Personal: $29/mo

• Personal+: $49/mo

• Business/agency: $119/mo

Summary

EventCreate is well-suited for businesses that want the basic features to manage an event at an affordable cost. You can set up a website, manage event signups, send email and text reminders, and track attendance rates. 

However, it might feel more limited compared to other platforms on this list when it comes to managing multiple speakers, sponsors, and talk sessions. 

6. Ticket Tailor

Ticket Tailor is an event software that’s focused on helping you manage the ticketing side of running an event. However, they also offer features and integrations to help you create and promote events. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

Pricing plans are reasonable. Plus, you can do more on this platform than just manage the ticketing of your events at affordable rates. With that in mind, here’s what we liked: 

• User-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate through the platform

• An event site is built for you as you’re adding event details (there are also pre-built themes and customization options so that you can align the design with your branding)

• Customize signup forms to collect the data you need ahead of your event

• Analytics dashboard to track ticket sales performance

• Schedule broadcast emails automatically to all those on your waitlist 

Pricing

• Free: $0

• Pre pay: $0.26 per ticket

• Pay as you go: $0.65 per ticket

Summary

Ticket Tailor is a good choice when you’re more concerned with managing the ticketing aspect of your events. However, the solution is not as comprehensive in comparison with  other platforms on this list. It lacks advanced features that help you to engage audiences and manage your speakers.

7. RegFox

RegFox is an event management software that labels itself as an affordable alternative to Cvent and Eventbrite. You can organize both in-person and virtual events using RegFox. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

They offer a wide range of features at reasonable rates. Besides the pricing, here’s what we liked the most:

• Smooth user interface when it comes to building custom event registration pages 

• Attendee management dashboard is easy to navigate, and event organizers can update individual financial transactions seamlessly

• Users can promote their event using RegFox’s social media and CRM tools, e.g. contact list management and discount codes

• Get analytics and performance reports to assess sales performance, traffic, and conversion rates 

• Use add-on features to upsell attendees during your event 

Pricing

• 99¢ + 1% fee per paid attendee + credit card processing of 2.99% (fees are capped at $4.99 per attendee). 

Summary

RegFox offers a range of functionalities without the high costs typically associated with event management software. 

This is a solid choice overall, whether you’re an experienced event planner or not. However, features may feel more limited compared to other platforms when it comes to customizing virtual venues and exhibit booths. 

8. Eventbrite

Eventbrite offers an event management system for businesses of all sizes. It’s a user-friendly platform that makes it easy to set up and promote your events as well as improve attendee engagement. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

You’ll have the basic tools required for the event creation and event ticketing process. On that note, here’s what we liked most:

• You can design and promote website pages that fit your branding 

• Tools to help you automate social media ads and email marketing campaigns

• Get real-time data on event performance

• Notify invitees regarding event updates and reminders with automated messages 

Pricing

• 0 fees when hosting a free event

• 3.7% + $1.79 service fees

• 2.9% payment transfer fees

Summary

Eventbrite is a solid all-rounder. You can create, customize, and promote both in-person and virtual events with ease. However, you may want to consider other platforms on this list when you have a specific goal in mind, e.g. organizing multiple speakers or video content. When it comes to event planning tools, Eventbrite is better suited to small, in-person events. If you require more customization or more sophisticated integrations, then other tools on this list will suit you better.  

9. Cvent

Cvent is an event software with various solutions for businesses of all sizes looking to host large in-person, virtual and hybrid events. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

Overall, we liked how it’s a comprehensive solution with a suite of event management tools that help you optimize experiential marketing campaigns. You can find a variety of features for the specific type of event you’re looking to host. 

Here’s some more things we like about this platform: 

• AI-powered networking tools that help you improve the attendee experience by sharing suggestions on relevant content and people to connect with

• Interactive tools such as polls, surveys, and Q&As

• Monitor key data regarding event ROI, budget, and attendee engagement

Pricing

No exact pricing figures are shown on the website. You’ll have to get in touch for a quote so you may need to be prepared for high prices.

Summary

Cvent streamlines the entire event management process. They also make it easier to organize exhibitors and sponsors. Although Cvent is a comprehensive platform, it’s not the most affordable. 

It also might not be the best for those who are completely new to event marketing because of all the integrations available, which may get overwhelming. 

10. Airmeet

Airmeet is an event software with a range of customization features for arranging hybrid and virtual events. Event managers can also host webinars or meetings that make it easy for attendees to interact and participate. 

Why We Believe This Platform Is Good for Small Businesses

What we liked most was the customization capabilities you have when it comes to delivering the actual event itself. Here’s what we mean:

• Create virtual venues where attendees can collaborate or attend different talk sessions going on at your event

• Create exhibition booths where attendees can learn more about your products or services

• Add a networking lounge to make it easier for attendees to connect at your event

Pricing

• Free: $0

• Starter: $500/mo

• Professional: $1,500/mo

• Enterprise: custom

Summary

Airmeet isn’t the most affordable platform on this list. However, you’ll have the tools necessary for customizing your virtual venues or exhibit booths. You’ll also be able to host a range of interactive events that will help you foster an online community.

Final Thoughts

Each event management software for small business on this list puts emphasis on different things. Some double down on the technical ease of use, whereas others double down on the ticketing and revenue management process of running an event. 

With that in mind, choose the platform that aligns most with your event goals. 

HeySummit is primarily for those who prioritize having a seamless experience and a done-for-you solution.

If you don’t want to worry about the technical aspects of running or promoting your event and all you want to focus on is delivering the actual event content itself, we built HeySummit specifically for you.

Try HeySummit for free here.