What Is Whova?
Whova is one of the most recognized names in conference app software. Launched in 2013, it has built a strong reputation among academic conferences, professional associations, and corporate events. Whova offers a mobile app for attendees, agenda management, networking features, and sponsor tools — making it a full-featured option for event organizers who want everything under one roof.
Who Uses Whova?
Whova is popular with:
- Academic and research conferences
- Professional associations hosting annual meetings
- Non-profit and government events
- Corporate training events and summits
What Whova Does Well
- Networking features: Whova's community board and attendee matching tools are genuinely useful for attendee engagement.
- Brand recognition: Many attendees are already familiar with the Whova app, reducing friction at check-in.
- Agenda builder: Multi-track agenda support with session descriptions and speaker profiles.
- Gamification: Scavenger hunts and leaderboards help drive engagement.
Where Whova Falls Short
Despite its popularity, Whova has significant drawbacks that frustrate event organizers — especially those running multiple events per year:
- Per-event pricing: Whova charges $3,000–$8,000+ per event, which quickly becomes unsustainable for associations and recurring conferences. There's no annual plan that rewards loyalty.
- Cluttered app experience: Attendees frequently report that the Whova app feels overwhelming, with too many features competing for attention. Navigation isn't intuitive.
- Limited branding control: White-label customization is restricted, meaning your conference app still feels like a Whova product rather than your brand.
- Complex setup: Getting a conference fully configured in Whova takes weeks of back-and-forth, with a steep learning curve for first-time users.
- Support gaps: Customer support quality varies widely; smaller events often feel deprioritized compared to large clients.
Whova Pricing: The Real Cost
Whova doesn't publish pricing publicly, which is a red flag. Quotes typically land between $3,000 and $8,000+ per event depending on attendee count and features. For an association running two or three conferences a year, that's $10,000–$25,000 annually — with no volume discount and no guarantee of consistency.
Why ConferenceTap Is the Best Whova Alternative
If you're searching for a Whova alternative, you're likely frustrated with one (or more) of these pain points: unpredictable per-event costs, a cluttered attendee experience, limited branding flexibility, or a setup process that drags on for weeks. ConferenceTap was built to solve exactly these problems.
ConferenceTap vs. Whova: Feature Comparison
| Feature | Whova | ConferenceTap |
|---|
| Pricing model | ❌ Per-event ($3,000–$8,000+) | ✅ Flat annual plan from $2,500/year |
| White-label branding | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ Full white-label, your brand throughout |
| Mobile app (iOS + Android) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Agenda & session management | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Attendee networking | ✅ Yes | ✅ 1:1 messaging, meeting scheduler, directory |
| Sponsor management | ✅ Yes | ✅ Virtual booths + lead capture |
| Setup time | ❌ Weeks | ✅ Days |
| Dedicated support | ⚠️ Varies by account size | ✅ Real humans for every account |
| App simplicity for attendees | ❌ Often reported as cluttered | ✅ Clean, intuitive UX |
Key Advantages of ConferenceTap Over Whova
- Flat annual pricing saves thousands: Unlike Whova's per-event model, ConferenceTap's annual plan covers unlimited events. If you run two or more events per year, you'll save significantly — often $5,000–$20,000 annually.
- Your brand, not ours: ConferenceTap offers full white-label branding so your attendees experience YOUR conference app, not a generic platform. Custom colors, logos, and domain options are included.
- Simpler attendee experience: We've obsessed over UX. Attendees can navigate the agenda, connect with peers, and engage with sponsors without getting lost in a maze of features.
- Launch in days: Our onboarding team gets you live faster. Most organizers are fully set up within 3–5 business days — not the 3–4 weeks typical of Whova implementations.
- Support that actually responds: Every ConferenceTap customer gets a dedicated point of contact — not a ticketing queue. We know your event because we're invested in its success.
Who Should Switch from Whova to ConferenceTap?
ConferenceTap is the ideal Whova alternative if you:
- Run 2+ events per year and are tired of paying per-event fees
- Want a cleaner, more modern attendee app experience
- Need full white-label branding to maintain your organization's identity
- Value fast setup and real human support over enterprise complexity
- Serve 100–10,000 attendees and don't need (or want to pay for) features built for Fortune 500 mega-events
Ready to make the switch? ConferenceTap offers a personalized demo so you can see exactly how it compares to Whova for your specific event type. Most organizers who switch save money immediately and go live faster than they expected.
