Zoho Backstage review

Zoho Backstage is the most approachable way into full event management software, because it has a permanent free plan. The free tier allows unlimited events with up to 100 attendees, 300 RSVP invites and three sessions per event. Essentials raises that to 200 attendees per event with unlimited sessions, Premium to 1,000 attendees, and Ultimate to 5,000 attendees per event, and Zoho sells extra attendees, exhibitors and abstract credits as add-ons. The product covers event websites, registration and ticketing, agendas, mobile apps for organizers and attendees, and third-party webcast services for virtual sessions, and higher plans connect to Zoho CRM, Flow, PageSense and SalesIQ with webhooks. The pricing page we fetched showed EUR and GBP only, so we mark the USD price as pending. The attendee caps are the main constraint: a meetup series fits easily, but a growing conference will move up tiers fast, so check the cap per event against your largest event, not your average one.

Who it is for

Small teams and Zoho users who want a free starting point and plans that step up by attendees per event.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Free plan with unlimited events, 100 attendees per event and 3 sessions per event
• Essentials plan for 200 attendees per event with unlimited sessions
• Premium plan for 1,000 attendees per event
• Mobile apps for organizers and attendees
• Zoho CRM, Flow, PageSense and SalesIQ integrations plus webhooks on higher plans

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: A permanent free plan for small events
• Strength: Plans scale clearly by attendee cap
• Strength: Fits teams already using Zoho CRM
• Weakness: Our fetch only showed EUR and GBP, so the USD price is pending
• Weakness: Attendee caps per event mean upgrades for growing conferences
• Weakness: Fewer sponsor and exhibitor tools on lower plans

Key facts

• Free plan: Yes, 100 attendees per event
• Plans: Free, Essentials, Premium, Ultimate
• Ultimate cap: 5,000 attendees per event

Where it ranks

Zoho Backstage is No. 5 in our Best Event Management Software verdict.