Mobile Event Apps: FAQ + 12 Top Picks for Associations

Conferences and other large-scale events are among the best opportunities for engaging your association’s members throughout the year. However, your events will only reach their full engagement potential if you 1) use the right technology to support your processes and 2) cater to your audience’s preferences.

Mobile event apps check both of these boxes for your association. The global event app market is projected to grow to $54.9 billion by 2035 as more organizations realize these platforms’ value in planning, executing, and communicating about their events. Plus, the report linked above also explains that more than 90% of event attendees prefer using mobile apps for event-related activities like scheduling and networking over websites or printed materials.

In this guide, we’ll help your association get started with a mobile event app by covering the following topics:

• Mobile Event Apps FAQ
• The Best Mobile Event Apps for Associations
• Additional Resources on Association Events & Apps

As you explore these questions and options for event apps, keep in mind that events aren’t the only situations in which a mobile app could be useful for your association. In fact, some apps can boost membership value and involvement all year long. That being said, let’s dive in!

Mobile Event Apps: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a mobile event app?

A mobile event app is a digital, member-facing event command center that attendees access from their smartphones or tablets. It centralizes all important documentation, communications, and activities related to a specific conference or similar gathering in one place for easy reference and engagement.

There are essentially two types of event apps: mobile platforms that are designed specifically for boosting event involvement, and year-round membership apps that have event functionalities built in alongside other ongoing engagement capabilities. Which one your association chooses depends on member preferences, your ability to manage an app-based community, and your emphasis on events for engagement (i.e., how much member involvement is event-based compared to other activities like online courses or job searching?).

Why incorporate a mobile app into association events?

No matter which kind of event app your association chooses to use, there are many benefits to leveraging these platforms, including that they streamline:

• Logistics and scheduling: Allow attendees to explore the full event agenda, plan their days at your conference, locate activities, and view supplementary materials all in one place. App-based QR codes are also helpful for speeding up check-in and badge distribution.
• Session interactivity: Push gamified session elements, polls, Q&A submissions, prizes, and feedback opportunities directly to audience members’ phones to increase participation. Your app should store data on all of these interactive event aspects so you can evaluate your performance and follow up as needed post-event.
• Communication and networking: Ensure attendees never miss a message from your event organizers by immediately notifying them via your app. Some event apps also include features like discussion forums, digital business card sharing, and peer-to-peer messaging to encourage participants to connect with each other throughout the event.
• Sustainability efforts: Minimize paper waste (and reduce printing costs) with a centralized library of mobile-friendly event documents and information. You may still want to print a few attendee packets for your less tech-savvy members, but your app can significantly help prioritize eco-friendliness.

Mobile apps are also useful for all event formats—in-person, virtual, and hybrid—although you’ll likely tweak how you use the app in each context (e.g., whether you include room numbers, links to online meeting spaces, or both alongside each session on your agenda).

What features should you look for in an event app?

The exact features your association needs in its mobile event app will depend on your unique needs, preferred event format, and whether you’d like a conference-specific or a year-round platform. However, some capabilities you should always consider in potential platforms include:

• A branded interface and forms, since members are more likely to trust an app that features a logo and color scheme they recognize than a generic platform.
• An event agenda builder, which allows you to create separate attendee-facing and internal versions of your conference schedule.
• Discussion forums where members can connect about relevant issues (e.g., the sessions they’re attending or personal takeaways) before, during, and after your event.
• Interactive session features (polls, Q&As, etc.) that you can push to individual attendees’ apps at specified times to encourage deeper involvement.
• Push notifications to ensure participants see every opportunity for interactivity and receive messages from your team.
• Digital badges with scannable QR codes to streamline check-in and facilitate networking more effectively and sustainably than physical badges.
• Sponsorship tie-ins, such as exhibitor hall guides and in-app pop-up ads to maximize your event’s value for sponsors.

Remember to also check that each solution you’re considering is user-friendly for members and administrators, offers comprehensive customer support, integrates with other tools in your tech stack like your association management system (AMS) and marketing platforms, and falls within your desired price range. Browse each potential vendor’s website, read on-site and off-site client reviews, and schedule demos of your top picks to make an informed decision.

The Best Mobile Event Apps for Associations

Now that you’ve got the basics down, let’s look more closely at the top mobile event apps on the market today that work well for associations and similar membership-based organizations. Feel free to browse the entire list or use the table below to jump to specific solutions.

Clowder: Best Mobile Event App for Year-Round Engagement

Clowder is the #1 mobile engagement solution for professional communities, trusted by more than 150 associations worldwide. With Clowder, your organization can build a custom app for iOS and Android that not only enhances unlimited event experiences but also keeps members connected in a private social network-style environment all year long.

Some of Clowder’s key event features include:

• Interactive agendas that allow attendees to build their daily conference schedules in advance.
• Peer-to-peer messaging and forums that provide secure spaces for members to share their conference-related thoughts and continue networking post-event.
• Gamification capabilities that promote session engagement, exhibitor interactions, and networking.
• QR codes and digital badges that are linked directly to member profiles so you can collect data in real time.
• Sponsorship and advertising management that seamlessly connects event-specific and ongoing relationship-building efforts.
• More than 200 integrations with popular AMS, CRM, job board, and marketing tools that let you create a unified event planning ecosystem.

Associations that use Clowder see an average return of four times their investment in the platform, along with significant upfront cost and time savings. If you want to see how that’s possible in practice, check out the many available case studies that show how Clowder has worked for associations like yours, both during events and year-round!

iMIS: Best AMS for Event Engagement

If you’re in the market for a new AMS while planning a large-scale event, iMIS is a top option to consider. iMIS is purpose-built for member engagement—in fact, it’s technically classified as an engagement management system—and its mobile-friendly interface makes it perfect for busy event planning teams. Here are just a few of iMIS’s event-specific features (on top of its general robust member database and breadth of integrations):

• Unified dashboards where you can view logistics, outstanding tasks, and data collected for individual events.
• Event microsite and signup form creation, which allow for extensive customization with no coding required.
• Tiered pricing and discount code options that help you attract your target audience and ensure secure payment processing.
• Workflow automation to streamline event planning processes and communications.

OpenWater: Best Event App for Abstract & Awards Management

Abstract management is one of the most notoriously difficult aspects of conference planning because it has many moving parts, not to mention that choosing the right speakers can make or break your attendees’ experience. If you want to present awards during your conference to members who have gone above and beyond, that also requires significant administrative work. Enter OpenWater, a mobile-responsive application and review platform that streamlines abstract and awards management with features like:

• A drag-and-drop form builder that you can customize with unique fields, file uploads, and criteria for each award or presentation type.
• Multi-round, anonymous judging to standardize application scoring and minimize bias.
• Integrated schedule creation, meaning you can easily arrange approved abstracts on your agenda according to topic and format.
• Online gallery showcases so in-person, virtual, and non-attendees can all see and celebrate award winners’ achievements.

Whova: Best Mobile Event App for User Experience Optimization

With more than 15 million global app users, Whova has supported large-scale events of almost every type, from corporate and academic conferences to trade shows and art festivals. This platform focuses on providing the best possible attendee experience while saving upfront time and money. Its most distinctive features include:

• Interactive maps to help users find their way around convention centers and exhibitor halls.
• Extensive networking functions, such as smart profiling, attendee matching, and virtual “speed networking” sessions.
• Branded marketing material templates for consistent, efficient communication with attendees.

Cvent: Best Mobile App for Enterprise-Level Event Management

Cvent is a big name in the event management software industry, and the larger your organization’s event planning operation is, the more likely this heavy-duty platform will be the right fit for you. Cvent has managed more than seven million events in the past 25 years, many of which were for organizations with a multi-national presence, many local chapters under one umbrella, or multiple major conferences on their annual calendars. The features that make it possible for Cvent to handle these needs include:

• Marketing automation, which allows for quick event website replication and repurposing of communication templates.
• CventIQ, Cvent’s native suite of AI tools that combines predictive analytics and generative content creation to enhance every aspect of your events.
• Advanced data managementthroughout the entire process—collection, storage, analysis, and application.

vFairs: Best Mobile App for Interactive Virtual Events

vFairs got its start with hosting immersive 3-D virtual trade shows, but it has since grown into a full-service platform that supports all aspects of virtual events, as well as many in-person event needs. Among the many features its 1,400-plus customers enjoy, these mobile app capabilities stand out:

• An event content hub where attendees can find session replays, supplementary documentation, and sponsor collateral.
• User-generated content creation opportunities, including a live discussion feed, photo albums, and social media walls in-app.
• A complementary lead capture app so exhibitors can collect information from, qualify, and follow up with interested attendees.

Mosaic Apps: Best Event App for Online Community Integration

The Mosaic Apps platform essentially has two parts: a robust event engagement app and a year-round online community. Users can access both functionalities from either desktop or mobile, meaning they can take advantage of these distinctive features on their preferred device:

• Unified hybrid event experiences so attendees can participate in interactive or gamified activities from anywhere in real time.
• A touchless check-in tool that also has a “Store Mode” for easy product sales management during events.
• Multi-lingual options to make content and app functions accessible for diverse audiences.

MobileUp: Best Flexible Mobile Event App

MobileUp also provides mobile member engagement capabilities for events and year-round benefits. However, this platform has a separate Event App and Member App that organizations control from a central web-based interface, meaning your association can choose to leverage one or both functions at any given time. Other distinguishing features of the MobileUp Event App include:

• Intuitive administration design, which allows you to roll out your customized app within 30 days of starting setup.
• An interactive event feed that consolidates your team’s announcements and users’ discussions in one place.
• Automatic attendance tracking to streamline data collection, credentialing, and recognition of engaged participants.

Hivebrite: Best Event App for Association Culture-Building

Hivebrite focuses heavily on preserving the community aspect of association engagement during events and beyond. This platform aims to unify associations and nurture relationships among members with features like:

• Group and subcommunity management that’s perfect for managing chapter-based events or segmenting event-related communications.
• Hivebrite AI, which allows for automatic discussion forum moderation, tailored content recommendations, and enhanced networking recommendations.
• Mentorship program facilitation to help new and experienced members form meaningful connections through events and all year long.

eShow: Best Mobile Event App for Trade Shows

eShow is primarily designed for managing in-person and hybrid trade shows. It’s a modular platform that allows you to focus on the functionalities you need the most—managing conference sessions, exhibitors, registration, and/or mobile app engagement. To that final point, some standout features of the eShow mobile app include:

• Virtual trade show floor plans with searchable directories of exhibitions that show specific booth numbers.
• Real-time interface updates and messaging so attendees never miss a new opportunity.
• Proprietary lead retrieval that includes a name badge barcode scanner that exhibitors can use on their smartphones or tablets.

PheedLoop: Best Modern Design Mobile Event App

PheedLoop is all about continuous innovation, agile design, and modern user experiences. Its all-in-one event and community management platform includes various desktop and mobile-based components that you can leverage separately or together. For mobile event management, some of PheedLoop’s distinctive features include:

• Announcement schedule sending to ensure messages reach the right audiences at exactly the right times.
• Video streaming and playback so members can attend sessions virtually, catch up on missed presentations, or watch supplementary videos on their own time.
• Individual privacy settings that allow each attendee to choose who can message them and how much information they’re comfortable sharing during the conference.

Webex by Cisco: Best Event App for Secure Streaming

Originally an online meeting app, Webex by Cisco is now the gold standard for information security in livestreamed event management. In addition to ensuring your virtual and hybrid events align with your organization’s security standards (and branding!), Webex’s event app features include:

• Session view time tracking that makes it easier to award continuing education credits accurately.
• Advanced accessibility functions like real-time translation, transcription, and closed captioning.
• Digital guide creation to centralize event agendas, resources, and sponsor information.

Wrapping Up: Additional Resources on Association Events & Apps

The features, benefits, and platforms described in this guide should provide a solid foundation for your association to choose a mobile app to support its next large-scale event. Just remember that events aren’t the only time when mobile-first member engagement can benefit your association, and a year-round community app (like Clowder!) may be a better long-term investment for keeping your members satisfied and involved with everything you have to offer.

For more information on association apps and event planning, check out these resources:

• Mobile Apps for Associations: Everything You Need to Know. Dive deeper into the many ongoing roles a member engagement app can play at your association.
• How to Create an Association Event Run of Show + Template. Explore a key resource for leveraging your event apps to their fullest potential: event runs of show.
• Member Engagement Software: How to Choose the Right Platform. Discover more essential features, use cases, and options for association member engagement tools.