Buyer's guide
The best Whova alternatives.
What to look for when you outgrow Whova — and where AgendaForge, the AI-native all-in-one, fits in.
Replacing Whova means accounting for more than its mobile app. Whova’s current platform covers registration and paid ticketing, call for speakers and abstract review, agenda and speaker management, attendee engagement and networking, exhibitors and sponsors, hybrid and virtual delivery, onsite tools, and analytics. A like-for-like alternative must address that breadth. AgendaForge is a narrower option for teams that want CFP, review, relationship records, and agenda authoring in a focused workspace; it does not replace Whova’s paid registration or attendee experience. Separate the program workflow from attendee and onsite requirements before building a shortlist.
What to look for
Picking a Whova alternative, the smart way.
01
Inventory Whova beyond the app
Document whether you use registration, call for speakers, reviews, speaker forms, agenda, exhibitors, badges, check-in, networking, virtual delivery, and reports. The replacement scope is the set you actually rely on.
02
Run a real CFP and review trial
Test submission fields, co-authors, reviewer assignment, anonymity, rubrics, rounds, scoring, decisions, communications, and accepted-session handoff instead of comparing feature labels.
03
Compare organizer AI by workflow
Whova documents writing, trivia, and post-event summary tools; AgendaForge documents drafting, pipeline analysis, people search, and scheduling. Verify inputs, permissions, review steps, and the time each workflow actually saves.
04
Treat paid registration and attendee experience as hard gates
If paid tickets, a native app, networking, virtual delivery, badges, or lead retrieval are required, include them in the first evaluation round. AgendaForge does not provide them.
05
Check whether people data survives across events
Ask how speaker, sponsor, submitter, and registrant records are reused, deduplicated, searched, tagged, and reported across an event portfolio—not only how they appear inside one event.
The AI-native pick
Where AgendaForge fits.
Whova combines program management with an attendee-facing event platform; AgendaForge concentrates on CFP review, a cross-event relationship directory, and agenda authoring. Whova now has substantive CFP and organizer AI capabilities, so the decision turns on product breadth and workflow fit rather than organizer-first versus attendee-first labels.
Sources & method
This buyer's guide is written by the AgendaForge team and was reviewed July 2026 against public product information. We state where Whova is the stronger fit and recommend verifying current features before buying. “Not publicly documented” records a gap in the reviewed sources; it does not prove that a capability is absent.
- [1] Whova platform overview ↗ — Registration, agenda, call for speakers, check-in, networking, and event management.
- [2] Whova Abstract Management ↗ — Submission, review assignment, conflicts, blind review, rubrics, decisions, and agenda handoff.
- [3] Whova Event Registration ↗ — Paid and free tickets, pricing, discounts, add-ons, attendee data, and app synchronization.
- [4] Whova Event Management ↗ — Speaker operations, registration, attendee engagement, exhibitors, sponsors, and analytics.
- [5] Whova event networking ↗ — Attendee networking, matchmaking, and engagement.
- [6] Whova integrations ↗ — Current integration ecosystem.
- [7] Whova AI event guidance ↗ — Publicly described AI writing, summaries, questions, and matchmaking.
- [8] Whova registration payments ↗ — Paid event registration and digital-wallet payments.
- [9] Whova attendee guide ↗ — Mobile and web attendee access, agenda, streaming, Q&A, networking, and virtual participation.
When to stay on Whova
Whova is the stronger fit when the organizer wants CFP and speaker management alongside paid ticketing, a native attendee app, networking, virtual or hybrid delivery, exhibitor and sponsor engagement, lead retrieval, check-in, badges, and event-wide analytics. Its current public materials also describe a substantial installed base and an integrated flow from accepted speaker submissions into the agenda. AgendaForge does not provide paid ticketing, a native attendee app, in-event networking, virtual delivery, lead retrieval, badges, or Whova’s all-in-one operating history. AgendaForge is invite-only and is best considered when the team wants a tighter CFP, people, and schedule workspace and can keep attendee-facing functions elsewhere.
Also in the category
Other tools worth a look.
-
Bizzabo
Bizzabo is an end-to-end event platform for B2B event teams, covering registration, event websites and agendas, speaker and sponsor operations, attendee apps and networking, onsite execution, virtual delivery, and event analytics.
AgendaForge vs Bizzabo → -
Cadmium
Cadmium's Eventscribe and Elevate products combine abstract and reviewer workflows, registration and event logistics, speaker and exhibitor operations, continuing-education credits, and hosted on-demand learning content.
AgendaForge vs Cadmium → -
Cvent
Cvent is an enterprise event-management platform covering registration, event marketing, abstract and speaker management, agendas, attendee apps, onsite operations, venue sourcing, integrations, analytics, and event-program administration.
AgendaForge & Cvent → -
EasyChair
EasyChair is a long-running academic conference suite for submissions, peer review, program publishing, proceedings, and attendee registration. Its free conference license is limited to 20 submissions, while paid licenses unlock Smart Program and additional review and publishing features.
AgendaForge vs EasyChair → -
Ex Ordo
Ex Ordo is a connected scholarly conference platform covering abstract submission and peer review, program building, delegate registration and payments, mobile and virtual event delivery, communications, and books of abstracts or proceedings.
AgendaForge vs Ex Ordo → -
Lineup Ninja
Lineup Ninja is a conference-content platform for submissions and review, speaker and content collection, rule-based and automated agenda scheduling, clash checking, and schedule distribution to websites, apps, signage, and event platforms.
AgendaForge vs Lineup Ninja → -
Oxford Abstracts
Oxford Abstracts is an academic conference platform spanning abstract collection and review, program building, delegate registration, invited-speaker management, and—on higher packages—online conference, networking, exhibitor, and sponsor features.
AgendaForge vs Oxford Abstracts → -
PaperCall
PaperCall is a focused CFP and speaker-submission platform with event landing pages, anonymized submissions, customizable ratings, organizer-to-speaker messaging, and a free Community tier.
AgendaForge vs PaperCall → -
Sessionboard
Sessionboard is a content-operations platform for submissions and evaluations, speakers, sessions and agendas, sponsor and exhibitor management, portals, integrations, and a growing suite of native AI tools.
AgendaForge vs Sessionboard → -
Sessionize
Sessionize is event-content software for calls for speakers, multi-mode session evaluation, speaker and session management, drag-and-drop scheduling with collision detection, embeds, an event PWA, and read-only APIs.
AgendaForge vs Sessionize → -
Swapcard
Swapcard is a unified event-management and revenue platform for trade shows, associations, and conferences, spanning registration, session and content management, mobile and web experiences, AI networking, exhibitor operations, lead capture, onsite access, and analytics.
AgendaForge vs Swapcard →
Ready to move on from Whova?
Invite-only while we onboard early partners. Tell us about your event and we'll bring you in — white-glove, no training course required.