Event Registration Software for Aviation Events: Choose a Unified Platform

Disclosure: I work at Visit by GES, one of the four platforms profiled below. No vendor paid for this article. I describe every platform from its own public pages under the same three headings: what it covers, price, and who it fits best.

An event registration software collects attendee sign-ups and payments for an event. The best choice for a conference or trade show is usually a unified platform: one system that runs registration, badges, check-in, the event app, the agenda, and exhibitor lead retrieval, with one list of attendees. Everything else is a tool that does one part and then sends you to another tool for the rest.

TL;DR

• Need more than three badges, check-in, an app, lead scanning, several ticket types, and invoice payment? Choose a unified platform.

• Cvent, Swapcard, Visit by GES and Whova are unified and priced by quote. Bizzabo (from $17,999 a year) and Accelevents (from $7,500 per event) publish prices.

• For 500 tickets at $400, registration tool fees run from about £300 (≈ $402) on Ticket Tailor to $8,295 on Eventbrite.

I analyzed the pricing and product pages of the platforms below on 23 October 2026. This article shows which ones are unified, profiles four top platforms used for events and trade shows, and compares what they cost.

Why a unified event platform is the metric that matters

A unified platform matters because every delegate, speaker, and exhibitor then has one record that registration, the badge, check-in, and lead retrieval all read. An aviation conference or trade show has many people who need that data: delegates, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and press. Each tool you add holds a separate copy of that list.

• Badges match registration. A person pays once, and the badge, check-in, and session scan all use the same record. No spreadsheet in between.

• Exhibitors scan real people. Lead retrieval only works if the badge links to the registration data. On a unified platform it does by design.

• One report after the show. Who came, who scanned whom, and who attended which session. On separate tools, you build that report by hand.

• Fewer things to break on the day. One login, one support team, one place to fix a wrong name.

Separate tools each keep their own list. A unified platform keeps one record for every attendee.

A registration-only tool can still be the right choice. For 500 tickets at $400, RegFox Standard's fees are $2,495; Bizzabo starts at $17,999 a year. But a registration-only tool leaves badge printing, the event app, and lead retrieval to three other tools, and leaves the data join to you.

Badge printing works best when it reads the same attendee list as registration. Illustration by The Flying Engineer.

What do aviation events need from a registration software?

Aviation trade shows and conferences often add three registration needs that consumer ticketing tools rarely cover. Ask every vendor about each of them.

Trade-only visitor vetting

Trade-only days check each visitor's company and job title before a badge is issued. Ask whether the platform can hold a registration as "pending" until someone approves it.

International delegates

Delegates paying in several currencies need VAT invoices, and some need visa invitation letters. Ask whether the platform issues both from the registration record.

Exhibitor staff badges

Exhibitors register stand staff in bulk. Ask whether each exhibitor gets a badge allocation; it manages itself.

Four unified platforms for conferences and trade shows

Cvent

Cvent has operated since 1999, when Reggie Aggarwal founded it, and is based in Tysons, Virginia. Cvent has been privately held by Blackstone since 2023, in a deal worth about US$4.6 billion. Public profiles put its customer base at more than 20,000 companies.

What it covers: online registration, badges and check-in (OnArrival), trade show lead capture (iCapture), a mobile event app, meeting scheduling, surveys and reporting. It also runs a large venue and supplier marketplace.

Price: not published. You get a quote after a demo.

Fits best: large events and associations with a full event team and several events a year.

Swapcard

Swapcard is a Paris based company, founded in 2013. It sells software for in person, virtual and hybrid events.

What it covers: registration and ticketing with conditional logic and promo codes, on site self check-in, AI recommended connections between attendees, exhibitor lead retrieval with badge scanning, and analytics.

Price: I could not read Swapcard's pricing page on 23 October 2026, so I give no figure. Ask for a quote.

Fits best: shows where meeting the right person matters more than the talks, such as trade shows and buyer meetings.

Visit by GES

Visit by GES, sold under the name Visit (see the Visit by GES page), is part of the GES group, one of the large exhibition services companies. It is built for association events, exhibitions, and trade shows, and it's a "unified platform" that covers every step of an event.

What it covers

Before the show: event registration with badge design and digital wallet passes, exhibitor and event management, and event accommodation.

During the show: a visitor and exhibitor app, onsite access control, lead retrieval, and networking that matches visitors with exhibitors and sessions.

After the show: analytics, data exports, and an API.

Price: not published.

Fits best: trade show organizers who want one system for visitors, exhibitors, and onsite entry. One of the successful events this company works with is the El Alamein International Airshow.

Whova

Whova is an event platform for in-person, hybrid, and virtual events. Its site names Google, Microsoft, Oracle, and Ford, among its customers.

What it covers: registration and ticketing, an attendee app with agenda and networking, badges and check-in, exhibitor and sponsor management with lead retrieval, abstract management for call for speakers, and an event website builder.

Price: not published. You fill in a quote form with your event size, format and number of events a year.

Fits best: conferences with a call for speakers and a strong networking goal.

Prices of 10 event registration platforms compared

Six of the ten platforms publish prices: two unified platforms (Bizzabo, Accelevents) and four registration tools (RegFox, Eventbrite, Tito, Ticket Tailor). Prices from each vendor's pricing page, 23 October 2026.

PlatformTypeHow it chargesCventUnifiedQuote after a demoSwapcardUnifiedQuote (price page unavailable on the day)Visit by GESUnifiedNot publishedWhovaUnifiedQuote, based on event size and formatBizzaboUnified$499 per user per month billed yearly, 3 users minimum, or from $17,999 a yearAcceleventsUnifiedProfessional from $7,500 for one event. Business from $13,500 for unlimited events.RegFoxRegistration, with badges and an app on PremiumStandard: $0.99 plus 1% per registration, capped at $4.99. Premium: $1.99 plus 1%, capped at $5.99. Professional: $499 a month billed yearly.EventbriteRegistration and marketplace3.7% plus $1.79 per paid ticket, plus 2.9% payment processingTitoRegistration3% per ticket, capped at €25Ticket TailorRegistration£0.60 (≈ $0.80) per paid ticket, or from £0.22 (≈ $0.29) with prepaid credits

Card processing by Stripe, PayPal or Square is a separate charge on most of these, usually about 2.9% plus 30 cents per payment.

What 500 tickets at US$400 cost on the registration tools

For 500 tickets at $400, platform fees range from about £300 (≈ $402) on Ticket Tailor to $8,295 on Eventbrite. Accelevents' unified plan, from $7,500, costs less than Eventbrite's fees. This is my own arithmetic from the published prices. It shows the platform fee only, without card processing and without extras.

Platform fee for 500 tickets at US$400, without card processing.

PlatformFee per ticketTotal for 500 ticketsTicket Tailor (pay as you go)£0.60 (≈ $0.80)about £300 (≈ $402)RegFox Standard$4.99 (the cap)$2,495RegFox Premium$5.99 (the cap)$2,995Tito$12.00 (3%)$6,000Eventbrite$16.59 (3.7% plus $1.79)$8,295Accelevents Professional (unified)flat pricefrom $7,500Bizzabo (unified)flat pricefrom $17,999 a year

US dollar equivalents use GBP/USD 1.34, the mid-market rate on 23 October 2026.

Percentage fees grow with your ticket price. Flat and capped fees do not. For 500 tickets at $400, RegFox Standard's $4.99 cap costs $2,495; Eventbrite's 3.7% plus $1.79 costs $8,295, which is $5,800 more. A unified platform costs more up front, but it replaces the badge printing, app and lead retrieval tools you would otherwise add.

Fee per ticket by ticket price. Tito caps its fee at 25 euros.

A badge handed over at the desk should match the registration record. Illustration by The Flying Engineer.

How to choose

1. List what you need on the day. Badges, check-in, app, exhibitor lead scanning, several ticket types, payment by invoice.

2. A unified platform pays off once an event needs three or more of these. Separate tools mean three extra contracts (badges, app, lead retrieval) and a manual data join after the show.

3. If you only sell tickets, a registration tool is enough. Ticket Tailor, RegFox and Tito keep costs low.

4. Ask each vendor: is lead retrieval included or paid per exhibitor? Does the fee apply to free speaker and exhibitor passes? Can buyers pay by invoice? Can you export all attendee data after the show?

Registration is only half the job

The platform sells tickets. It does not find the buyers. Make sure people can see your event: list it on an aviation events calendar, such as this website's aviation events calendar, which lists 463 events in 63 countries. Then follow their 9 month plan to promote an aviation conference.

If you run an event, you can add it or claim it on our list your event page.

Disclosure: I work at Visit by GES, one of the platforms in this article. The Flying Engineer checked the facts and prices of every platform on the same terms from each vendor's own pages.

Prices are as published on each vendor's pricing page on 23 October 2026, and change often. Cvent and Swapcard facts come from public company profiles; Whova and Visit by GES facts from their own websites. Fee totals are our own calculation. We did not test the software.