8 of the best Cvent alternatives for training and event management

Recently updated on April 29th, 2025

You chose Cvent to manage your events and training but you may have found it to be complex to use, have clunky registration forms and expensive for what you get. 

Any platform that you use to manage your events or training should:

• Make it as easy as possible for your customers to sign up for the programs or events they want to register for (and register for multiple events or courses in the same form).
• Allow you to create and market training and events from a single platform.
• Have in-depth reporting and CRM features that give you complete visibility into how your events or courses are performing.
• Offer integrations with your wider tech stack, particularly your key marketing platforms, to keep your event or training management processes as synchronized as possible.

Cvent contains some of these features, but there are alternatives out there that you may want to consider.

Best Cvent alternatives

1. Arlo
2. vFairs
3. Whova
4. PheedLoop
5. Eventzilla
6. InEvent
7. SpotMe
8. Stova

Buying factors to consider when looking at Cvent alternatives

Factor #1 The software should have different registration forms you can use depending on the course or event type

If you’re operating a business that runs either private or public events or courses, the registration platform you use should support forms tailored to the specific type of event.

For instance, if you run paid events, your registration form should facilitate a full order process, enabling registrants to make payments and secure their spots. For free and private courses, more basic forms that don’t generate orders or invoices and automatically send course or event instructions upon form completion are ideal.

If you’re managing multiple courses or events, the platform should also provide a custom URL to promote specific courses or events on your website for a designated time frame.

Factor #2 – Forms should offer customers flexible payment options

To maximize registrations, it’s crucial to make ordering as easy as possible. This can be achieved by allowing payments through various methods, such as credit cards, invoices, or bank transfers.

For streamlined accounting, your forms should automatically transfer payments to whichever accounting platform you use, such as Xero or Quickbooks.

Additionally, to maximize revenue while still providing an excellent customer experience, you should be able to add custom modules to your registration forms, such as discounts and the ability to register multiple participants on a single form and make multiple event or course orders through that form.

Factor #3 – Administrators should be able to manage transfers, cancellations and refunds with built in-tools

Your platform should empower your training or event administrators to manage all aspects of transfers, refunds, and cancellations within one system, including tools that facilitate easy cancellation or transfer of registrations and automatically notify your customers of any changes.

Factor #4 – Does the platform have dedicated course management features?

The relevance of this factor depends on your business type. If you run one-off events, the Cvent alternative you choose may not need dedicated course management features. However, if you offer recurring training or courses, you’ll need a platform that easily creates and manages repeatable courses.

Look for features like course templates that pre-fill key information for quick scheduling, support for various teaching formats such as face-to-face, live-online, blended, and eLearning, and the capability to schedule multi-session courses that use different formats.

Bulk upload features for scheduling multiple courses at once and task management features that provide a complete view of upcoming courses, instructors, and venues are also worth keeping an eye out for.

Factor #5 – Do you need a platform only for event management, or one that also helps you sell more training and courses?

Cvent is primarily used by event planners for managing, marketing, and engaging attendees at events, but it isn’t designed to help businesses sell more training and courses. This makes it suitable if you regularly run events, but if your operations include a mix of events and training or courses, its not the best fit.

Most of the Cvent alternatives listed are suitable for hosting events, but Arlo is the only one specifically designed to support both event businesses and businesses running training programs and courses.

Cvent alternatives ranked

1. Arlo

Arlo is a comprehensive platform for training, course, and event management that helps you run, manage, and automate all aspects of your commercial events and training. Key features specifically important for managing events, training, and courses include:

Course and event management features that make running training and events a breeze

Arlo’s course management features enable you to create and sync new events or courses to your website in a few clicks. Rather than having to enter or copy all the same information (e.g. name, description, prerequisites) each time a course or event is scheduled, common information about the course is stored within a course template.

When you schedule a new course or event, if you have not run it previously, Arlo will also create a template. The template can then be used to schedule future instances of the same course quickly and easily. Your Arlo platform can store multiple templates for you to use for all of the courses and events you offer.

Information stored in the template includes the name, website content (e.g. what displays on the course or event website page), and default course settings. 

A course represents a scheduled instance of a template and includes the start date, end date, presenter, venue, and other logistical information (e.g. catering, room setup).

Arlo’s course creation features are designed to accommodate various formats, including face-to-face, live-online courses, blended learning, and eLearning. For events, you can create and schedule repeat events, a series of events or one-off events.

If you’re running repeat events, or ones with multiple sessions you can set different deliver method, e.g. if one event in a series is taking place virtually, and another in person.

The platform’s setup wizard guides you through the process of creating a course or event, making it easy to find and assign presenters, trainers and venues.

Arlo allows you to sell optional extras, which your registrants can choose from when registering for your events or courses. You can apply a price to the items, add a description which will be displayed on your registration form, and set a maximum number of available units (in case of having limited stock).

Some potential use cases for optional extras are:

• To sell products as an add-on to a course registration, for example, textbooks relevant to the course.
• To sell tickets to an event, e.g. an awards night, where you may or may not need to capture attendee details

Customized registration forms tailored to the type of event or course you are running

We spoke earlier about the importance of the platform you use to run your training or events having specific registration forms that are built specifically for the type of course or event you are running – and Arlo offers the exact types of registration forms we mentioned.

For paid private courses or events you can use the order process registration method where your registrant are expected to make a payment in order to secure their registration on the course. This registration method offers a full website shopping cart experience which can be configured to accept multiple payment methods and discounts.

Your customers can also register one or many people onto the course, with course instructions sent to registrants only once an order has been approved.

For free and private courses you can use a quick registration form that gives your customers a simple, single page form to complete in order to make their registration. No order or invoice is created, and course or event instructions are automatically sent to the person upon them completing their registration.

CRM features and integrations with your key marketing platforms

To effectively market your events, training or courses your platform should contain CRM features and integrate with your other key marketing platforms.

Whenever someone registers for one of your courses or events Arlo will create a new customer record, or if they’re an existing contact, update their profile accordingly. In-built CRM features also give you access to all of your communication history, certificates, documents and contracts in one place.

If you have a CRM in place such as Salesforce or HubSpot then you can automatically add registrants collected within Arlo to the CRM through utilizing Arlo’s native integrations, or through Zapier.

Training and event websites optimized for search engines

As part of centralizing your training or event operations into one platform Arlo integrates with your existing training or event website (should you want it to). Or you can utilize Arlo’s easy to use website builder than can be styled to match your brand.

If you choose to integrate Arlo’s web technology into your existing site courses will be automatically published to your website when you put them live in Arlo, so you don’t have to manually upload your course to multiple platforms.

You also get access to our extensive library of pre-built web pages and widgets to integrate into your existing site, these templates include:

• Course and event pages detailing details about your upcoming courses or events such as dates, duration, and a descriptive overview of what the course is about
• Trainer/presenter detail pages profiling key details about the person presenting your courses
• Venue details pages showing users exactly where your course is going to take place.
• A course feature widget that you can use to promote a chosen course or event on your website’s homepage.

View some selected examples of the best training websites built with Arlo’s templates, and a more extensive gallery here.

2. vFairs

vFairs is an event management platform that offers registration features for in-person, hybrid, and virtual events.

You can create custom forms and workflows that collect specific data, utilizing custom fields and drag-and-drop functionality to ensure your registration forms include the necessary modules while eliminating those that are unnecessary.

Other useful event registration tools include the ability to build a custom event website through the platform, leverage real-time analytics to monitor event registrations, revenue, and attendee data, and send automated post-registration emails to keep your attendees informed about the event they’ve signed up for and any changes.

Pros

• Great for virtual events.
• User-friendly dashboard.

Cons

• Implementation can be complex.
• Some users note issues with time zone synchronization.

3. Whova

Whova’s event software is designed to simplify the complexities of managing events like conferences and trade shows. It enables organizers to create multiple ticket types with customizable features such as early bird pricing, discount codes, and add-ons.

The platform offers personalized registration experiences with different registration forms available for different types of events and audiences, tailored confirmation emails, and session sign-up capabilities.

Pros

• Comprehensive event management platform.
• Many features useful for virtual and hybrid events.

Cons

• Some users note that the registration platform may not be robust enough for particularly large events.
• Pricing isn’t transparent.

4. PheedLoop

PheedLoop’s event registration system is designed to help you manage the entire registration process, from ticket management to detailed analytics.

The platform offers extensive customization options that allow organizers to tailor every aspect of event registration, including tickets, invoicing, and payments, all within a single system. It’s suitable for in-person, hybrid and virtual events.

Pros

• Versatile platform.
• The system is generally straightforward to use.

Cons

• Pricing isn’t transparent.

5. Eventzilla

Eventzilla supports virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. It allows users to create event registration pages quickly without requiring any coding skills, featuring a customizable event registration form with responsive templates and an intuitive drag-and-drop builder.

In addition to registration capabilities, the software includes marketing tools designed to increase audience engagement and drive event registration. Integration with existing systems such as CRM and ERP is straightforward, enabling seamless alignment of sales, marketing, and customer engagement activities.

 The platform also includes an automated queuing system to manage high registration volumes efficiently, alongside timed event ticketing to ensure effective crowd control.

Key features encompass custom branding, screen sharing, HD recording, live chat, multiple breakout rooms, and options for engaging participants through polls and surveys, all within an all-in-one solution.

Pros

• Setup is straightforward.

• Helps automate the creation and scheduling of events.

Cons

• Order management features can be difficult to use.

6. InEvent

InEvent provides a robust event solution that simplifies the entire event management process. It features customizable registration flows, real-time dynamic landing pages, and an integrated ticketing system. The platform supports advanced options like conditional logic, travel and booth management, and various CRM integrations with systems like Marketo, Salesforce, and HubSpot.

InEvent also offers powerful tools for automated email and SMS communications, as well as contract management with e-signature capabilities.

Pros

• Works well for virtual and hybrid events.
• Customizable platform.

Cons

• Some users note the platform has a steep learning curve.

7. SpotMe

SpotMe’s event registration platform is suitable for public and private events. You can set up a public page for public events for when you’re looking to maximize registrations, and set up private pages for events where you want to invite specific individuals.

The platform also enables you to create customized event registration landing pages where you can showcase the event agenda, presenters and speakers and sponsors all on the same page. 

Other notable features include: 

• Relevant personalized email templates suitable for the entire customer registration journey.
• Analytics dashboard showing event registration data like sign up numbers.
• A mobile app available to manage registrations on the go.

Pros

• Plenty of ways to customize features to your preferred workflows.

Cons

• Some users report that time zone differences can cause issues.

8. Stova

Stova offers event registration technology that is secure, intuitive, and highly customizable.. This platform allows you to create custom workflows defined by attendee type to personalize the registration experience. You can also create custom event registration landing pages, or entire event registration websites for individual events.

The platform offers built in themes and templates so you don’t need to create a site or registration form from scratch each time, and you can duplicate registration pages for your next event to save more time. 

Pros

• Great customer support.
• Comprehensive reporting features.

Cons

• Unclear pricing.

Want to discover how Arlo can help you say goodbye to manual event and training processes?

At Arlo we work with hundreds of training businesses that have ditched their outdated manual event, course and training management processes.

You can try out our award-winning course management platform free for 14 days to see if it’s the right fit for your business, or schedule a demo with our team for personalized guidance.