The best event app for trade shows depends on how the show operates. Treasure is the strongest fit for vendor-led card and collectibles shows. Swapcard focuses on B2B matchmaking, Whova on attendee engagement, Cvent on enterprise event programs, and EventMobi on app customization. Every option below supports workflows for exhibitors, attendees, or show-floor operations.
Best trade show event apps compared
| Trade show app | Best for | Key trade show capabilities | Pricing and main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treasure | Card shows, collectibles expos, hobby conventions, and vendor-led exhibitions | Vendor applications, table sales, payments, ticketing, check-in, interactive floor plans, vendor discovery, and item-to-vendor matching | Free Basic plan; paid plans from $10 per month when billed yearly. No exhibitor lead retrieval, general matchmaking, session management, CRM integration, public API, or SSO |
| Swapcard | Large B2B exhibitions and hosted-buyer programs | Exhibitor discovery, AI matchmaking, meeting scheduling, interactive floor plans, offline lead capture, and exhibitor reporting | From $610 per year. Annual subscription required, and several trade show features are paid upgrades |
| Whova | Attendee engagement, exhibitor self-service, and gamified booth traffic | Exhibitor registration, digital booths, QR lead retrieval, matchmaking, meeting scheduling, passport contests, and offline attendee access | Custom quote. Standard-package contents and add-on costs are not published |
| Cvent | Enterprise and multi-show event programs | Registration, attendee apps, exhibitor administration, appointments, check-in, badging, lead capture, and enterprise integrations | Custom quote. A complete setup may require several separately licensed products |
| EventMobi | Custom-branded attendee apps and organizer-sold lead capture | Exhibitor profiles, interactive maps, appointments, QR lead capture, check-in, badge printing, and engagement reporting | Published plan cards start at $3,500 per event. Lead Capture is separate and lacks native exhibitor CRM synchronization |
1. Treasure: best event app for card and collectibles trade shows
Treasure connects vendor applications, table sales, payments, floor plans, ticketing, check-in, and attendee product discovery in one system. It is built around the workflows used by card shows, collectibles expos, hobby conventions, and other vendor-led exhibitions.
- Vendor administration and sales: Collect custom applications, approve or waitlist vendors, request updates, store documents, create table tiers, and track participation.
- Booth assignments and floor plans: Build reusable venue layouts, number and style booths, assign approved vendors, and publish searchable maps.
- Attendee discovery: Visitors can search vendors, filter by tags, view profiles and inventory, and find corresponding table numbers.
- Ticketing and onsite operations: Sell attendee tickets and vendor tables, scan QR codes, check in vendors, monitor sales, and accept show-floor payments from the mobile app.
- Treasure Hunt: Collectors can submit card wish lists, receive responses from vendors carrying matching items, message vendors, and locate their tables.
- Communication and reporting: Send email and SMS updates while tracking revenue, ticket sales, table payments, applications, check-ins, payouts, page views, and comparisons across events.
Availability: Web, iOS, and Android.
Pricing: Basic is free. Starter begins at $10 per month and Pro at $35 per month when billed yearly. Transaction and payment-processing fees apply.
Main limitation: Treasure is designed for vendor-led and collectible shows rather than session-heavy conferences. Exhibitor lead retrieval, general buyer matchmaking, multi-track agenda tools, CRM synchronization, public APIs, and SSO are not currently offered.
2. Swapcard: best trade show event app for B2B matchmaking
Swapcard is designed for trade shows that depend on attendee-exhibitor meetings and measurable lead generation. Its attendee app, Exhibitor Lead Center, floor plans, and hosted-buyer tools share event and engagement data.
- Discovery and navigation: Attendees can search exhibitors, products, categories, keywords, and booth numbers through interactive floor plans.
- Matchmaking and meetings: Recommendations use attendee profiles, interests, company data, and in-app behavior. Hosted-buyer tools support structured buyer-seller appointments.
- Lead capture: Exhibitors can scan QR or NFC badges, capture business cards, add notes, qualify leads, and work offline.
- Exhibitor management: Booth teams can manage profiles, staff, meetings, recommended prospects, captured leads, and performance reports.
- Integrations and branding: Swapcard supports CRM, registration, association-management, and marketing integrations. Branded and white-label apps are available.
Availability: Web, iOS, and Android.
Pricing: The Event Engagement Platform starts at $610 per year for self-service use.
Main limitation: Swapcard requires an annual subscription. Lead capture, qualification, hosted-buyer tools, interactive floor plans, white-label branding, and onsite support may increase the starting price.
3. Whova: best mobile app for trade shows
Whova combines attendee networking with exhibitor self-service, mobile lead retrieval, and booth-engagement tools. Its strongest fit is a trade show that wants attendees to interact with exhibitors through meetings, promotions, and gamification.
- Exhibitor registration: Create exhibitor tiers, sell sponsorship options, collect booth details, and let exhibitors select available spaces.
- Digital booths: Exhibitors can publish company information, brochures, videos, offers, giveaways, and staff profiles.
- Lead retrieval: Booth teams can scan attendee QR codes, enter leads manually, apply qualifiers, add notes, and export results.
- Networking and meetings: SmartProfiles, private messaging, business-card exchange, matchmaking, and one-to-one scheduling support attendee connections.
- Booth engagement: Passport contests, promotional offers, and exhibitor activities encourage attendees to visit more booths.
- Onsite use: Attendees can access agendas, exhibitor information, messages, maps, announcements, and other key event content without reliable venue Wi-Fi.
Availability: Web, iOS, and Android.
Pricing: Whova uses custom quotes. The attendee app is free to download.
Main limitation: Organizers cannot determine the complete platform cost before requesting a quote. Whova also states that not every feature shown in its demo is included in the standard package.
4. Cvent: best trade show app for enterprise programs
Cvent is suited to organizations running large trade shows or multi-event programs that require connected registration, onsite operations, exhibitor administration, lead capture, and sales integrations.
- Attendee Hub: Provides exhibitor profiles, personal agendas, networking, notifications, appointments, and sponsor content.
- Exhibitor management: Supports booth staff registration, task tracking, communications, sponsored sessions, appointments, and reporting.
- LeadCapture: Booth teams can scan badges or business cards, record notes, answer custom questions, rate leads, and export data.
- Onsite operations: OnArrival supports attendee check-in, onsite registration, badge printing, session access, and attendance dashboards.
- Enterprise data: Cvent connects event information with systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Eloqua.
- Floor-plan support: Cvent Event Diagramming is available separately for venue layouts, collaboration, and 3D visualization.
Availability: Web and native mobile app.
Pricing: Cvent provides custom quotes for Attendee Hub, Exhibitor Management, LeadCapture, OnArrival, and Appointments.
Main limitation: Its trade show capabilities are distributed across several products and services. Buyers must confirm which modules, integrations, onsite services, and lead-capture licenses are included.
5. EventMobi: best event app for exhibitions with custom branding
As an exhibition event app, EventMobi combines a configurable attendee experience with exhibitor profiles, interactive maps, appointment booking, and a separate lead-capture product.
- Custom attendee app: Build a branded experience with exhibitor listings, agendas, documents, announcements, and sponsor placements.
- Exhibitor discovery: Publish searchable company profiles and connect them to booth pins on interactive venue maps.
- Lead capture: Exhibitors can scan attendee QR codes, add contacts manually, record notes, use custom qualification questions, and assign ratings.
- Networking: Attendees and exhibitors can schedule one-to-one appointments and communicate through private chat.
- Onsite operations: EventMobi supports registration, QR-code check-in, session tracking, badge printing, and attendee analytics.
- Organizer-sold licenses: Organizers can purchase Lead Capture access by exhibiting company and include or resell it through exhibitor packages.
Availability: Web and mobile attendee app; Lead Capture on iOS and Android.
Pricing: Published plan cards start at $3,500 per event. Lead Capture costs $50 per exhibiting company and is sold in packs of 10 licenses.
Main limitation: Exhibitors use a separate Lead Capture app. Captured leads are exported as CSV files because native exhibitor CRM synchronization is not available.
How we compared these trade show apps
We reviewed current product pages, support documentation, and published pricing. Inclusion required trade-show or exhibition workflows. We checked attendee usability, exhibitor tools, lead capture, networking, floor plans, administration, reporting, integrations, customization, security, and support.