The Cvent alternative
- Cvent: a quote, an annual contract, an implementation cycle
- Here: no contract, flat fees from $0.99 a ticket, selling the same day
- Booths, tickets and sponsorships through one checkout
- Money settles in your own Stripe account, on your schedule
- Registration, badge printing and kiosks included at $0 a scan
- Budgets, invoices and supplier payments behind the show
Cvent is enterprise meetings software: modules, licences, implementation. Exhibitio is a commerce layer for exhibitions and trade shows that a small team runs without a services engagement.
Booth D22 soldModern Home Expo · $1,200Trade registrationFree pass · badge at the deskSponsorship securedGold package · $8,000Supplier paidAcme AV · $4,200Cvent is enterprise meetings software. Exhibitio is a commerce layer for exhibitions and trade shows that a small team runs without a services engagement.
Every payment settles directly to the organiser’s own Stripe account.
Cvent vs Exhibitio for a trade show
Cvent publishes no prices, so the honest comparison is structural: what you commit to before the first ticket sells, and what the platform does with your money once it does.
| What your show needs | Cvent | Exhibitio |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Quote-based annual licence, sized to registrations and modules | No subscription: flat per-sale fees from $0.99 a ticket, passable to the buyer |
| Time to first sale | Sales process and implementation | Create event, connect Stripe, sell the same day |
| Exhibitor booths | Exhibitor management module | Booth types, applications, approvals, deposits and instalments, floor plan placement |
| Sponsorships | Sponsorship module | Packages sold through the same checkout, with instalments |
| Where the money settles | Via platform contracts and invoicing | Your own Stripe account; standard, drip or manual payouts |
| Paying your suppliers | Outside the platform | Budgets, invoice capture and scheduled supplier payments, posting to Xero |
| On-site | OnArrival check-in products | QR scanning on any phone, walk-up sales, badge printing, kiosk self check-in, offline mode, $0 a device |
| Attendee support | Your team answers attendee email | A customer service agent drafts every reply from your event; you approve |
| Room blocks, RFPs, lead capture | Built in, and built around | Not offered; if your events live on these, stay on Cvent |
| Built for | Corporate meetings and events programs | Organiser-owned exhibitions, expos, conventions, trade shows |
Cvent details reflect their public product surface as at August 2026; their pricing is quote-based, so confirm specifics with them directly.
A commerce layer for exhibitions and events.
Money in
Your website
Event pages and checkout, embedded on your own site
Tickets
Sold on your event page
Booths and floor space
Deposit or pay in full
Sponsorships
Collected on schedule
Applications
Approve who can buy tickets, booths and sponsorships
Exhibitio workspace
One place to run the whole event
Claude connector (MCP)
Live
Connect your own Claude to your workspace: revenue, orders, invoices and applications on tap.
Marketing suite
In beta
Meta Ads and Google Ads connected: spend, conversions and return on ad spend, in your workspace.
Customer Service Agent
Live
Answers your buyers around the clock; you approve every reply.
Your Stripe account
Sales settle directly in your own account. Exhibitio never holds the money. Payouts and supplier payments run on Stripe rails, with automatic instalment plans for booths and sponsorships.
Venue
Scheduled payments
Suppliers
Scheduled payments
Crew
Scheduled payments
Your Xero ledger
Daily sales post into your own Xero as draft invoices, tagged per event, ready to reconcile against payouts and supplier payments.
Money out
Event commerce suite
Exhibitor space
Booth A12, Modern Home Expo
Corner space, 3m x 3m, power included
Payment method
Card
Card information
15% deposit locks the space. The plan collects the rest.
The exhibitor gets a tax invoice and a payment plan they can see.
Exhibitors pay in full or by instalments
Set the booth payment plan
A deposit locks the space; the rest collects itself in the weeks before doors.
Auto-collect via Stripe
Each instalment charges itself on the day. Reminders go out first.
Accept deposits
Buyers can start with the deposit plan or pay in full.
Automated exhibitor instalment payments
Event sponsorships
Gold Partner, Modern Home Expo
Naming rights, main stage and 6 passes
Payment method
Card
Card information
50% on agreement. The balance collects on schedule.
Sponsor receives the agreement, tax invoice and schedule in one email.
Secure sponsorships, inject cash flow
Set the sponsorship plan
Half on agreement, the balance on schedule, every payment against the one tax invoice.
Auto-collect via Stripe
Each instalment charges itself on the day. Reminders go out first.
Accept deposits
Buyers can start with the deposit plan or pay in full.
More sponsorships, more capital
Attendee tickets and passes
Modern Home Expo
Friday 28 August, 10:00 am, Melbourne
Payment method
Card
Card information
Tickets arrive by email with wallet passes and a QR for the gate.
Embedded checkout, and every ticket lands in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet
Choose your payout schedule
Sales settle into your own Stripe account. Change the schedule whenever it suits the show.
Standard
Daily
Daily
Drip
25% of sales paid out daily
25% of sales
paid out daily
Manual
Pay out on your own schedule
Pay out on your
own schedule
Payout details
Your own payouts never carry an Exhibitio fee.
Your payout schedule: standard, drip or manual
Real events, sold end to end
View a live demo event now
Open the ticket, booth, sponsorship and application pages for each event below.
Modern Home Expo
A three-day home, design and renovation show.
- 25,000+ attendees
- 500+ exhibitors
- Live design & renovation demos
Comic Lords Expo
A pop-culture convention: cosplay, comics and gaming.
- 40,000+ fans
- Artist Alley & celebrity guests
- Cosplay championship & panels
Track, pay out and reconcile event revenue.
Events financial automation
Exhibitio
Modern Home Expo
LYNN Events LLC
Admin
Revenue dashboard
Real revenue from paid orders across your show, live as sales complete.
Total revenue
Live$900,000.00of $750,000.00 goal 120%
Paid orders
2,860
Units sold
6,120
Avg order
$314
$125,000.00
of $300,000.00 goal
2,598 orders, 5,839 units
$600,000.00
of $650,000.00 goal
238 orders, 252 units
$175,000.00
of $200,000.00 goal
24 orders, 29 units
Net revenue
Door traffic
Busiest: Sat 18 Jul, 10:00 to 10:30 (412 check-ins)13,590 check-ins across four show days, in 30-minute slots. Darker means busier.
| Show day | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 · Thu 16 Jul | 2,340 | |||||||||||||||
| Day 2 · Fri 17 Jul | 3,180 | |||||||||||||||
| Day 3 · Sat 18 Jul | 4,650 | |||||||||||||||
| Day 4 · Sun 19 Jul | 3,420 |
Accounting automation
Budget planner
Plan income and costs, track budgeted against actual, and see the projected margin.
Received invoices: 3 awaiting review
Open invoicesAvailable balance
$412,300.00
Pending
$38,500.00
Planned income
$860,000.00
Actual income
$900,000.00
From real paid sales
Budgeted cost
$390,000.00
Actual cost
$262,600.00
From approved invoices
Projected margin
$470,000.00
Cost lines
Add lineMain hall hire
120,000
Rigging and power
24,600
Main stage AV
41,200
Security and cleaning
9,800
Launch campaign
36,500
Bump-in and show crew
0
Exhibitor lounge
6,200
Wayfinding and fit-out
9,300
Public liability and permits
15,000
Reserve
0
| Category | Description | Budgeted | Actual | Variance | Allocation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue hire | Main hall hire | 120,000 | 120,000 | $0.00 | Allocate | |
| Venue hire | Rigging and power | 28,000 | 24,600 | $3,400.00 | Allocate | |
| AV & Production | Main stage AV | 45,000 | 41,200 | $3,800.00 | Allocate | |
| Operations and logistics | Security and cleaning | 22,000 | 9,800 | $12,200.00 | Allocate | |
| Marketing and advertising | Launch campaign | 38,000 | 36,500 | $1,500.00 | Allocate | |
| Staffing & Crew | Bump-in and show crew | 30,000 | 0 | $30,000.00 | Allocate | |
| Catering & Hospitality | Exhibitor lounge | 18,000 | 6,200 | $11,800.00 | Allocate | |
| Design & Signage | Wayfinding and fit-out | 24,000 | 9,300 | $14,700.00 | Allocate | |
| Insurance & Permits | Public liability and permits | 15,000 | 15,000 | $0.00 | Allocate | |
| Contingency | Reserve | 50,000 | 0 | $50,000.00 | Allocate |
Exhibition and events invoicing
Invoices awaiting review
3 to reviewMCEC Venue final instalment
Matched to budget: Venue hire, Main hall hire
Acme AV Main stage AV progress claim
Matched to budget: AV & Production, Main stage AV
Bloom Studio Floral styling
Not in the budget yet
Invoices arrive by email, read themselves and land here matched to the right line. One approval allocates the cost and queues the payment.
Automated payments and reconciliation
Upcoming payments
Six weeks to doorsStaging Co
Floor build progress claim
$46,000.00Paid$46,000.00
MCEC
Venue final instalment
$60,000.00Scheduled$60,000.00
Acme AV
Main stage AV progress claim
$18,400.00On auto$18,400.00
Fork and Flame
Catering balance
$11,800.00On auto$11,800.00
Crew payroll
Bump-in and show days
$30,000.00Scheduled$30,000.00
Every payment runs from your Stripe balance on its date. Approvals upstream, money out on time, nothing typed twice.
Integrates directly to Xero
Simplified booth, ticket and sponsorship sales.
Invite exhibitors, automate their applications and instalment plans, then register them at bump-in: booth assigned, lanyards counted, passes printed.
Invite exhibitors to attend
Invite exhibitors
Send the link; each invite tracks from sent to applied to sold.
Approve and reject applications
Exhibitor applications
With applications on, buyers must be approved before they can pay for a booth.
Harper Lane trading as Coastal Ceramics
Booth B04, corner 3m x 3m
Marcus Chen trading as Chen Robotics
Booth C12, island 6m x 6m
Aria Sound trading as Aria Sound Pty Ltd
Booth C02, 6m x 3m
Priya Patel trading as Verde Living
Booth D08, 3m x 6m
Quickfit Tools trading as Quickfit Tools
Booth B11, 3m x 3m
Approved exhibitors get their checkout link the moment you say yes. Rejected ones get a courteous no, written for you.
Register everyone on site.
Event registration and check-in
Registration
The check-in desk for Modern Home Expo. Search the roster or scan at the gate; exhibitors bump in with lanyards counted against their allotment.
Attendees
4,812 checked inTicket check-in. Search the roster or scan tickets at the gate.
Exhibitors
212 of 252 bumped inBump-in desk. Booths, payment state, lanyards and exhibitor check-in.
Exhibitor desk
Coastal Ceramics
Booth B04
2 of 2 lanyardsBumped inChen Robotics
Booth C12
4 of 6 lanyardsBumped inVerde Living Priya Patel
Booth D08, 3m x 6m · Paid in full · 3 of 4 lanyards collected
Aria Sound
Booth C02
0 of 3 lanyardsDue todayInstalink
Booth A03
1 of 2 lanyardsBumped inThe same desk runs on a phone at the gate. Scan the QR, the roster updates everywhere.
Event and exhibition badges
Badge printing
Per-ticket-type designs on the event’s own branding. What you see is what prints.
MODERN HOME EXPO
18–20 September 2026
Sarah Mitchell
Interior Designer · Studio South
Weekend Pass
EX-48211
Attendee
MODERN HOME EXPO
Harper Lane
Coastal Ceramics · Booth B04
Exhibitor
Exhibitor · 3-day bump-in pass
The same questions every night. Answered.
Event customer service agent
Customer agent
Reads every question, drafts the reply, waits for your tick.
When it is not sure, it does not guess. The question lands with you instead.
A free custom address for your show
Your free agent address
Home Expo, Melbourne
Your event’s support address
Moving from Cvent
How does Exhibitio pricing compare with Cvent?
Cvent is licensed software: pricing is quote-based and typically an annual contract sized to registrations and modules. Exhibitio has no subscription and no contract: a flat $0.99 per ticket and flat fees of $15 on booths and $25 on sponsorships, all passable to the buyer, with revenue settling in your own Stripe account.
Is Exhibitio an event management platform or just ticketing?
It is the commerce and finance layer for a show: ticketing and passes, exhibitor booth sales with applications and instalments, sponsorship packages, on-site registration with badge printing and kiosks, plus budgets, invoice capture and scheduled supplier payments posting to Xero.
Does Exhibitio replace Cvent OnArrival for check-in and badging?
For an exhibition, yes. Any phone scans QR tickets, badges print on demand at the desk or from a kiosk the attendee runs, batch runs handle the night-before printing, and the live count shows per door and per session. It works offline and costs $0 a scan, a badge and a device.
Who is Exhibitio for, and who should stay on Cvent?
Exhibitio is built for organiser-owned exhibitions, expos, conventions and trade shows that live on booth, ticket and sponsorship revenue. If you run corporate meetings programs with room-block sourcing, hotel RFPs and lead capture for exhibitor sales teams, Cvent is built around that workflow and Exhibitio does not try to be.
Do exhibitors get a portal?
Exhibitors apply online, pay in full or by automated instalments, pick their booth on your floor plan when you enable it, and register their staff at a desk portal at bump-in, where their booth, payment state and lanyards sit on one row.
How long does implementation take?
There is no implementation cycle. Create the event, connect Stripe, publish, and you are selling the same day. The five-figure line in a Cvent quote that says services does not exist here.
Can we start with one event?
Yes, there is nothing to license. The platform earns its keep per sale, not per year, and you can leave with your data whenever you like.
Flat fees when you sell.
Never a percentage of your sales. No subscription, no monthly bill for selling.
Tickets
$0
Free ticket
$0.99
Paid ticket
Booths
$15
Flat, per booth sold.
Sponsorships
$25
Flat, per sponsorship sold.
Event Finance Automation
1% per payment
Minimum $1, capped at $495 a month.* Your supplier always receives the invoice amount exactly.
Customer Service Agent
$1.50 per resolution
Their own customer service handle. Answers buyers around the clock; you pay only when a query is resolved.
Your own payouts
Free
Standard or drip, straight to your Stripe account.
Event spotlight
Maine Home Show
Auburn, Portland and Augusta, United States
A three-city home show series presented by Hammond Lumber, a fourth-generation family lumber business. Around 80 vendors a show, run tight, booked out with local trades every autumn and spring.
