Guidebook alternative: Guidebook pricing, app model, and other options
Guidebook builds native event and campus guide apps. Attendees either download the Guidebook app and find your guide, or download a branded app with your name in the app stores. If you are weighing a Guidebook alternative, the questions are usually price, store approval time, and whether attendees should have to install anything. This page covers all three.
Built for conferences like yours
Open a real event agenda
How Guidebook works
Guidebook gives you two ways to publish. The first is a guide inside the flagship Guidebook app. Guidebook says a new guide is usually approved in about one business day, and later edits go live in seconds. You can also group several guides in a Branded Space with your logo and colors, still inside the Guidebook app.
The second is a branded app with its own store listing. Guidebook says Apple and Google must approve it first, which typically takes 10 to 21 days, and new branded apps carry an implementation fee. Plan that time into your launch.
Guidebook sells Unlimited licenses aimed at campuses and associations that publish many guides a year. It now sells registration too, including paid events. Reviewers on G2 and Capterra praise its ease of use, real-time updates, and support. The most common complaints are cost for small departments and limited design flexibility.
Pick Guidebook if you want a native app with your own icon in the app stores, or you run many guides a year (campus tours, orientation, conferences) and want them all under one license.
Look further if you do not want attendees to install anything, cannot wait two to three weeks for store approval, or need live video sessions inside the event app.
What Guidebook costs
Guidebook's pricing page asks for a custom quote. It says there are no per-attendee fees for mobile apps, which is a real advantage for large audiences. Its current plans are named Inform and Engage. Engage adds networking tools, push notifications, live polling, gamification, sponsor placements, and quizzes. Guidebook also sells an Unlimited license for associations and campuses, also by quote.
For a ballpark, Capterra lists Guidebook's Full Service plan at $3,750 a year and its Branded App plan at $7,000 a year, both billed annually on a two-year agreement. Guidebook's G2 listing shows no published pricing. Treat the Capterra figures as a starting point, not a quote.
Questions to put to Guidebook. Is the agreement one year or two? What is the implementation fee for a branded app? Which features are Engage only? How many admin logins are included? What are the fees on paid registration?
How ConferenceTap prices it. One flat price per event, or one price for a year of events, quoted for your calendar. The price does not go up with attendance, organizer seats, or features. Paid tickets carry 3% plus Stripe processing; free tickets are free. See how the plans work.
ConferenceTap and Guidebook side by side
We only fill in what we can verify from a published source. Where we could not confirm a Guidebook detail, the cell tells you to ask Guidebook.
Scroll sideways to see all columns
| What to compare | ConferenceTap | Guidebook |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat price per event or per year, quoted by email. No per-attendee fee. | Custom quote. No per-attendee fees for mobile apps. Capterra lists Full Service at $3,750 a year and Branded App at $7,000 a year on two-year agreements. |
| How attendees get in | In the browser on any phone or laptop, with a free account. Nothing to install. | Download the Guidebook app and find your guide, or download your branded app. |
| App store review | None. There is no app to submit. | Branded apps: Apple and Google approval, typically 10 to 21 days. Guides in the Guidebook app: about one business day. |
| Your branding | White-label: your logo, colors, and banner; our logo removed. | Branded app with its own store listing, or a Branded Space inside the Guidebook app. |
| Multi-event use | Unlimited Events: one annual price for every event you run. | Unlimited license for associations and campuses, by quote. |
| Live video | Built in. Up to 15,000 attendees per session, with breakouts, Q&A, polls, and recordings. No Zoom license. | Ask Guidebook. |
| Networking and engagement | Directory, direct messages, forum, 1:1 video speed networking, polls, and Q&A. | Networking, push notifications, live polling, and gamification on Engage. |
| Registration and tickets | Registration pages. Paid tickets 3% + Stripe processing (2.9% + 30¢); free tickets free. | Registration, now with paid events. Ask Guidebook for ticket fees. |
| Check-in | QR check-in from any phone. | Ask Guidebook. |
| Organizer logins | Unlimited. | Ask Guidebook. |
| Onboarding | 1:1 onboarding and a designated customer success manager on both plans. | Full Service plan listed on Capterra. Ask Guidebook what it covers. |
Sources checked October 13, 2026: the Guidebook pricing page (custom quotes, no per-attendee fees for mobile apps, publishing options, approval times, implementation fee); Guidebook plans (Inform and Engage, paid registration); Guidebook Engage (Engage features); Guidebook Spaces; Guidebook Unlimited; Capterra's Guidebook pricing listing (Full Service, Branded App, two-year agreements); G2's Guidebook pricing listing; and reviews on G2 and Capterra. Third-party prices can lag the vendor's. ConferenceTap details are from conferencetap.com and our knowledge base on the same date. Confirm current terms with each provider before you sign.
Other Guidebook alternatives worth a look
Start with how you want attendees to get in: a branded app in the stores, a shared app they may already have, or a browser link with nothing to install. That one choice narrows the list quickly.
EventMobi offers a branded app and a web app, plus registration, badge printing, and virtual events. It publishes starting prices. See our EventMobi comparison.
Whova is an installed app with a web version and attendee networking that many people already use. It quotes by request. See our Whova comparison.
Sched is a lighter, agenda-first choice with published plan tiers, suited to multi-track technical and academic programs. See our Sched comparison.
ConferenceTap fits when you want no install and no store review, with the agenda, live sessions, networking, sponsors, and check-in at one flat price. See what is included.
What to check before you leave Guidebook
Do this with your real guide content and made-up attendee records. It takes an afternoon.
- Check your Guidebook agreement end date. Capterra lists two-year terms on some plans.
- Export your schedule, speakers, maps, and attendee list while you still have access. Note the file formats.
- Ask us to load a sample agenda with at least two tracks and your venue map. Open it on a phone and a laptop.
- Send the attendee link to a few colleagues who have never seen it and watch how they get in.
- Rehearse a last-minute change: move a session and time how long it takes attendees to see it.
- Get both totals in writing: platform, setup or implementation fees, and ticket fees.
These are evaluation steps, not a promise that every Guidebook module maps cleanly into ConferenceTap. Download the quote comparison worksheet (CSV) to keep both quotes side by side.
Questions about Guidebook and its alternatives
How much does Guidebook cost?
Guidebook quotes each customer and says it charges no per-attendee fees for mobile apps. As of October 13, 2026, Capterra lists a Full Service plan at $3,750 a year and a Branded App plan at $7,000 a year, both billed annually on two-year agreements. New branded apps also carry an implementation fee. Ask Guidebook for a written quote.
Do attendees have to download an app to use Guidebook?
Guidebook is built around native apps. Attendees download either the Guidebook app or your branded app. Ask Guidebook what attendees can do without installing anything. With ConferenceTap, attendees open the event in the browser on any phone or laptop.
How long does a Guidebook branded app take to launch?
Guidebook says Apple and Google approval typically takes 10 to 21 days from start to finish. A guide inside the Guidebook app is usually approved in about one business day. ConferenceTap has no app store step.
Is Guidebook good for universities?
Yes. Guidebook sells an Unlimited license for campuses, one price for many campus apps. If your campus wants one native app for many guides a year, get its quote. If you mainly run conferences with live sessions and networking, compare ConferenceTap's Unlimited Events plan too.
Does ConferenceTap have a native iOS or Android app?
No. ConferenceTap runs in the browser, so there is nothing to download and no store review. Attendees create a free account at registration and can use it on a phone or laptop.
Can I see ConferenceTap with my own event first?
Yes. Book a demo and we will build a sample of your event with you, so you can try the attendee app and organizer tools before you decide.
See your Guidebook content running in ConferenceTap
Bring your schedule, maps, and sponsor list. We will show you the attendee view, the organizer portal, and the price for your event.
- Your event format and expected attendance
- What you publish in Guidebook today
- Your timeline, branding, and budget