When it comes to managing registration and payments online, finding the best online registration software is key.
Online Registration Fun Facts
- 90% of applicants prefer registering online
- 60 hours a month are spent EVERY month on average on registration related tasks
- 27% of users will abandon their registration process if they are redirected to a 3rd party website
- Registration software online can increase payment rate by 35% and form completion by 25%
Finding the best online registration software means understanding your needs, and then finding a solution to meet them. Not the other way around!
Good registration platforms should allow you to:
- Collect data according to your exact needs
- Securely collect payments online
- Automatically bill clients
- Download client reports and view analytics on your data
Below are several online registration software options to consider that fit the criteria above and will help you to manage registration and seamlessly accept payments online.
Jump to a Solution
Regpack
Cvent
Regfox
Google Forms
Campbrain
Formstack
Active Network
WeTravel
Accelevents
Eventbrite
Coursestorm
Wufoo
Additional Resources
The Best Online Registration Software: Regpack
Overview of this registration system
Regpack is an online registration software that allows any organization to create a unique onboarding process for their registrants. Examples of Regpack markets include:
- Camps
- Classes & Courses
- After School Programs
- Events & Conferences
- Group Trips
- Retreats
- Workshops
- Educational Tourism
- Virtual Events
- And more!
Regpack’s registration software allows any organization to create a customized set of forms that allows a user to move through the registration process smoothly.
This customized processes is rooted in Regpack’s conditional logic functionality, which allows you, the admin, to create a unique process using logic to individualize the onboarding process.
This logic can include adding forms to a user based on their answer to a specific question, triggering a specific product to add to their cart automatically, and sending emails instantly based on their actions, including payments, form completion and more.
The idea is that two different users will have two very different application processes that are unique to them.
Our favorite online registration features
In addition to conditional logic, the ability to create custom payment plans that automatically bill clients on specified dates means a lot less work on your end! Your non-payment rate will decrease and your cash flow will improve greatly.
Regpack is also one of the few and best online registration sites that allow you to embed the system directly on your website, including your payment forms.
Research has shown that 27% of users will abandon the registration process when redirected to a 3rd party website. Keeping users on your website, with your branding and design, is a key element of a professional registration experience.
What makes Regpack the best solution?
Regpack gives you a very powerful tool at a price point that scales for any organization, including month to month plans that don’t lock you into long term agreements.
Regpack is known for making program registration and online payments easy. Plus the system can be customized for any organization type, including trips, courses and classes, events, summer camps, retreats, and more. This speaks to the power the system has to conform to your unique needs, as well as allows an organization to use the same platform for different processes within their organization.
Online Registration Software for Large Organizations: Cvent
Overview of this registration system
If you are a large event with a big budget, Cvent is amazing. It’s the one stop shop for every event management tool you need to successfully execute large scale events.
Cvent provides, in addition to online registration for events, venue sourcing and mobile event app technology. They also offer many integrations with other marketing tools for a full suite of event tools.
Our favorite online registration features
Cvent is a great option for meetings as well as complex conference events.
They offer a branded website which can be great if you don’t already have a website or want a template to get started.
Cvent’s venue sourcing capabilities and supplier network making finding your event location hassle-free. They even offer a complementary version of their sourcing product for small or one time events. Their sourcing database has over 250,000 locations!
Lastly, the seating/diagramming tools make managing these tasks easy.
What makes Cvent a great solution?
For large organizations with a sizeable budget, Cvent has everything you need to manage an event or events from start to finish. From registration, data and analytics, onsite solutions, venue sourcing and more.
Another Awesome Online Registration Solution: Regfox
Overview of this registration system
Regfox is a build your own event registration platform.
They give you the tools you need to build out a registration process that meets your needs, including templates and other personalization tools to make it look great.
With secure integrated payments, Regfox is a great budget registration solution.
Our favorite online registration features
Regfox has great check-in features, including a branded app that allows you to check in registrants from your phone or tablet.
Their event registration management system also integrates with social media platforms to make sharing event information easy for applicants.
Lastly, Regfox offers a merchandise sale option so you can showcase and sell products during the registration process.
What makes Regfox a great solution?
Regfox is a cost-effective alternative to Cvent and other big name event software.
Regfox is very transparent and simple when it comes to their pricing. They also take branding seriously and make it easy for your registration process to sync up with your own branding and specific customizations.
Another Awesome Online Registration Software: Google Forms
Overview of this registration system
Google forms is a great option for simple events or programs to collect data. You build out the questions and fields you need, and simply send a link to applicants to complete it.
All information collected in your Google Forms populates in real time to a Google Sheet, which you can then share with your team for instant collaboration and real time edits.
As a program registration software, Google Forms offer the option of templates as well to customize the look and feel of your form.
Payments are not integrated into a Google Form, however you have the option of showing a link or further payment information instructions at the end of the form.
Our favorite online registration features
You can’t beat the real time editing power of a Google doc or Google Sheet.
The form and survey builder is very easy to use, and there is no on-boarding process to use Google, like there is with with all other solutions represented in this post. Simply create a new form and go!
If you need a tool to send out and manage survey responses, Google Forms leads the pack! Google Forms is the best way to collect information from users with a personalized quick, survey or form option.
What makes Google Forms a great program registration software?
Google Forms is a FREE tool, that anyone with a Gmail account can use. Google forms aren’t built to automate all aspects of a registration process, but many smaller organizations use Google Forms for this purpose due to budget.
While it’s one of the easiest to use registration software on the market, with a basic but easy to use online form builder, it lacks payment functionality and customization tools.
Another Good Online Registration Solution for Camps: Campbrain
Overview of this registration system
Campbrain is a summer camp online registration software used by Camp Directors and Camp Administrators to manage registration and payments for families.
Campbrain provides a solution for schools, camps, day programs and more.
Our favorite online registration features
Campbrain offers a variety of solutions to help manage any camp including a form builder, attendance tracking, transportation coordination, staff and counselor applications, group assignments, weekly reporting, and more.
The platform also offers email communication tools to communicate with parents efficiently, with an HTML editor to make emails look great.
What makes Campbrain a great solution?
While the price tag for Campbrain can be high, they offer many tools that larger camps can benefit from to help manage large groups of campers for overnight and day camp programs.
Campbrain was built originally in 1994, so they’ve been in the business a long time!
Another Good Registration Software: Formstack
Overview of this registration software:
Formstack is a great tool to make custom forms on your website.
Formstack lets you create many forms from their templates, including HIPAA compliant forms.
Our favorite online registration features
Formstack integrates with other tools you might be using like Mailchimp, PayPal and Stripe.
If you choose to use an outside payment processor like Stripe, you won’t get any custom payment reporting options.
Their drag and drop form builder, shown below, makes creating simple forms a breeze!
What makes Formstack a great registration system?
If you’re looking for a self-serve software that will let you create good looking forms on your website, fast then Formstack is a great options.
You’ll need to setup accounts with other services like payment providers and other email marketing tools like Constant Contact, in order to streamline your workflow, using their API to piece these parts together.
While Formstack doesn’t embed directly on your website, you can create a custom sub domain for some personalization.
Another Good Online Registration System: Active Networks
Overview of this registration system
Active has several products to work for different events and programs, including:
- Races
- Camps
- Classes
- Education
- Parks & Rec
- Swim & Team Sports
They also provide digital marketing consulting services to help your outreach in communities as you build your programs and events.
Our favorite online registration features
Active has several features to help manage online registration and payments, including e-signature, secure payment processing, program booking tools, waitlist management, merchandise sales built into the registration process, and more.
Active also has an attendance tracking tool including mobile check-in and check-out.
What makes Active a great solution?
Active works with a large variety of organization types – so they probably have a system to fit your needs.
Whether you’re hosting a large race with thousands of attendees or a summer STEAM program, Active provides online registration and payment tools to help you manage your event or program.
Another Good Online Registration Software for Trips: WeTravel
Overview of this registration system
WeTravel is a payment platform for travel companies that allows trip organizers to collect payments and manage bookings online.
WeTravel provides a pre-designed booking page that organizers can then register and collect payments for their upcoming trips or events.
Our favorite online registration features
The pre-designed booking page template is easy to setup and looks great. The platform makes it easy to collect information and payments from participants, and download reports to manage your data offline.
WeTravel also offers basic payment plan options as well as automated emails.
What makes WeTravel a great solution?
If you need to collect basic information without the need for flexibility in your registration process, WeTravel is a great option for trip organizers and tour operators.
If you don’t have a website – WeTravel’s booking page is a great alternative to building your own website for your trip or retreat.
Another Good Online Registration Software for Events: Accelevents
Overview of this registration system
Accelevents is an intuitive yet robust and event registration platform designed to make selling tickets easy for events of any size.
Accelevents focuses on providing an intuitive platform coupled with a world-class 24/7 support team making the ticket-selling experience simple and easy for the organizer and their team.
You can use Accelevents for:
- Fundraisers
- Conferences
- Festivals
- Venues
Our favorite online registration features
Although Accelevents can be used for pretty much any event, when using Accelevents you will have access to great tools such as:
- An easy-to-use platform that provides you with a streamlined check-in process for all of your events.
- Real-time ticketing data so you can better plan your event and make faster decisions.
- A contact module that allows you to email your event attendees in seconds.
What makes Accelevents a great solution?
Accelevents offers daily payouts from ticket revenue which makes it easy to pay staff and the venue. They also have the ability to scan guest tickets (physical and digital) using their mobile device’s camera.
And because data collection is so important, they make it easy to collect basic contact information, add custom attributes and include questions to learn more about your guests.
Another Good Online Registration System: Eventbrite
Overview of this registration software:
Eventbrite is an easy to use ticket software that lets you create a simple event quickly and sell tickets fast.
Pricing can get steep for large events since there is a 2% +$.079 charge for each ticket on top of their payment processing fee of 3.5% + $1.59 per transaction; however if you have a free event – it’s totally free to use!
Our favorite online registration features
Their simple to setup platform makes it a great choice if your event doesn’t have a lot going on. You can also use their check-in app to manage check-in and get an overview of your financials.
What makes Eventbrite a great registration system?
Eventbrite is great if you don’t have a big data management need. For one time events, its a simple solution to implement with little setup time.
Eventbrite doesn’t provide complex automatic billing systems or a customizable database that will allow custom email communications, data and user management, and comprehensive reporting though. If these are must haves to manage your event, check out some other options on this list.
Another Good Online Registration Software: Coursestorm
Overview of this registration software:
Coursestorm is a great option for online registration for classes and courses to present your offerings and manage registration for your programs.
Features including integrated payment processing, mobile registration, email marketing tools, and more.
Coursestorm is great for schools to manage students with a nice backend portal.
Our favorite online registration features
Coursestorm has an email marketing feature that allows you to send messages to registered students about other courses you have available that are similar to ones they’ve already purchased. A great automated marketing tool for course providers big and small.
They even have a built in image library so you can design your course offerings.
What makes Coursestorm a great registration system?
Coursestorm can be a great online registration software for schools but it does not embed on your website, so you’ll still send users to another website to register and pay. However, the interface is nice and can match the look and feel of your website and makes it easy for students to view your classes and make a payment.
Another Good Registration Software: Wufoo
Overview of this registration software:
Wufoo is an online form builder that creates a database in the cloud.
You can create custom online forms to collect attendee or student data and collect payments through the forms as well.
Our favorite online registration features
Drag and drop form builder makes it easy to create a custom form for your website.
You can also use a variety of payment processing partners to collect payments (you’ll need to setup a separate account with them to make it work!)
What makes Wufoo a great registration system?
Like Formstack, it’s a great tool to build a simple form with the questions you want to ask; and collect payments for a simple event, program, or class.
Wufoo is best for non-profits and events and features integrations with Mailchimp, Salesforce, Asana, and WordPress.
Additional Resources
If you are in the market for a new online registration software, download this FREE ebook, “How to Choose the Best Online Registration Software: A Guide”. You’ll find the best registration software features to consider and how to go about finding the best online registration sites that meet your needs.
You can also check out this excellent post on how to choose a registration software.
Compare online registration and payment options in these posts:
- Price Comparison: 7 Best Event Registration Software (go to list)
- Event Registration Software Comparison (go to list)