RegOnline by Cvent (Discontinued) vs. Eventbrite

RegOnline has been well-suited for providing registration for participants as well as payment options in the same place. That is literally all that my department uses it for, and it is very well-suited for this purpose (though pricey). And although it is pricey, it was one of the only approved options by my university to accept credit card payments for our annual conference, as other options could not be properly tracked by the university. So for this purpose, RegOnline is very well-suited. I think that if someone needed to build an event registration page that did not require payment options as a necessity, then RegOnline would be less suited for use. It still can easily track participants, but I think there are better options out there for those who only need the most basic of services. I also think that since RegOnline has provided additional formatting capabilities, that it does handle the registration pages better than it has in the past. However, these still need improvement, with the ability to rearrange the order of required and optional questions.

Incentivized

This software is very well suited for a variety of larger events, like lectures and performances. I have appreciated setting it up and allowing it to run around the clock for our participants, which ultimately provides a smoother experience. However, I probably wouldn't recommend it for events where you're expecting a smaller audience. It can take a while to set up exactly as you'd like, and it may not be worth the time if you're expecting 30 people or less (depending on how much info you're trying to gather, of course).

Incentivized

• Easy set up for simple and complex registration events.
• Looks very professional
• Reports are easy to set up and download
• Cost per registration is reasonable

Incentivized

• Eventbrite is a well-known and trusted place for purchasing tickets. That trust helps us sell tickets. It also eliminates the need for integrating some other payment system into a webpage, which would be the alternative.
• Eventbrite makes sending invitations easy. Upload contacts and using contacts from a previous event is very straight-forward. Building emails is simple, since there are a couple of prebuilt templates.
• Discount codes and strategic pricing structures are a significant part of our marketing for events. Eventbrite makes it easy to offer discount codes. We also create several ticket types that include multi-ticket discounts, early-bird type specials and more. Each of which help us reach our audience at the right time with the right price.

Incentivized

• One of the areas that RegOnline could improve on is the price. Because of the expense $3.55 per registration, the Department is unable to use the software for other events. We have mine training classes that we couldn't use RegOnline for because of the expense.
• RegOnline was not able to directly deposit registration fees collected from participants for other events and as a result we are unable to use it for those events.

Incentivized

• While integration with Facebook is fairly seamless, once you have uploaded the event description to Facebook, any additional revisions must be made on both Eventbrite and Facebook individually. It's not a live integration.
• My initial on boarding was extended by needing to seek information through various blogs, outside users and exploration through the site. More comprehensive training for first timers to the site would be welcome.
• Integration with the manager calendar would help the marketing timeline. It's helpful to get email reminders, but would be fabulous if milestones could be dropped in my calendar.

Incentivized

Excellent platform and easy to use to create events. Eventbrite sets the standard for simple, effective and safe ticketing platforms. Our customers trust Eventbrite and we've always done well when we use this platform for ticketing. They have recently updated some of the virtual connectivity tools which make it even easier to set up and promote virtual events.

Incentivized

Great platform with so many incredible features. It streamlines workflow, communication, messaging, and analyzing data. I know of no other platform that can do what Eventbrite can do for the price or user-friendliness. They also offer great support for new users and integrate well with other platforms (i.e., social media and Sched).

Incentivized

We've never had an issue they couldn't resolve in one phone call.

Incentivized

Always willing to help out and they have a ton of information handy on their website for self-service. If you can't find what you're looking for, their support team is quick to help out and provide any assistance you may need.

Incentivized

Just jump in, don't over thinking it, doing it will net the very few basic questions you'll have. There's not much complexity so one doesn't need to plan as if moving a canal. It's as simple as can be.

Incentivized

The Department also uses RegFox for training events as well as conferences. One of the main reasons they use RegFox is because of the price, it only charges $0.99 per registration whereas RegOnline charges $3.55 per registration. Because we are a state agency, that can make a big difference to our budget. That being said it is easier to build multi-track events in RegOnline.

Incentivized

My "go to" for event registration has always been Constant Contact because they don't charge additional processing fees above the standard transaction. If it's a more basic event where I just need to capture name, email, and payment, I'll continue to use Constant Contact over Eventbrite. However, if it's more complex and requires marketing, I would choose Eventbrite.

Incentivized

• RegOnline has been a major time-saver. Before RegOnline, we were getting emails and calls all through the registration window. Now, 99% of attendees are able to register independently and manage their own registrations.

Incentivized

• We have greater flexibility using Eventbrite than with our previous system. Previously, we could not schedule events or invites to occur at a specific time. If we wanted to promote our event 1-week in advance, our invite would go out based on the date/time of the event.
• Generally, about half the number of people who register for our events actually attend. But there are occasions when we need to limit registrations, something we couldn't do with our previous system.
• Eventbrite allows us to email our registered attendees ahead of an event with further details, or to follow-up with things discussed during our event. It provides yet another way of promoting our next event.

Incentivized