19 Free Event Planning Tools to Use Today
Sometimes the best things in an event planner’s life really are free! Check out these unique headache erasing, to-do list crushing, productivity-boosting event planning tools.
Explore Free Event Planning Tools That Save Time:
We only chose products recognized by the events industry for being the best at what they do. Whether it’s appearing as the top-rated option on trusted software review sites or winning awards like the Gartner Magic Quadrant, the free event planning tools below will help you be more productive.
We also made sure to include a wide variety of options that cover the myriad of tasks event planners must do when starting a new project. From brainstorming to outlining your checklist to assigning tasks, be prepared to add at least one of these fabulous event planning tools to your own must-have list.
1. Cvent Supplier Network
This venue search engine features elite hotels and event spaces for events of all kinds across the country.
What You’ll Use it For: Finding and contacting the perfect corporate event or meeting location.
Why We Love It: The search features are comprehensive – you can narrow down the results to only include things like specific layouts, onsite technology, and add on services. Also, each listing comes with 3D space diagrams so you can create a visual for your entire event before you even step foot on the property.
2. Social Tables
Our free event planning software helps take care of big picture event concerns (like finding venues) without letting any of the details (like event diagramming and streamlined check-in) slip through the cracks.
What You’ll Use it For: Social Tables covers event planning from A to Z.
Why We Love It: One of the standout features offered by Social Tables is 3D Diagramming, which makes it easy to design layouts that make the most of your venue space, create detailed seating charts, and check-in guests. And, you can templatize successful event plans, then recycle them for future projects.
3. Wedding Spot
Wedding Spot is an advanced wedding venue search engine covering locations of all kinds across the United States as well as high demand international destinations.
What You’ll Use it For: Finding the perfect ceremony and/or reception venue for your budget, style, and region.
Why We Love It: All the locations in this directory include the most important details right in the search results preview (including accurate pricing and venue max capacity). You can also use advanced filters to narrow down your selection. Plus, the selection is amazing.
4. Kapow
Kapow is a venue search engine focused on helping corporate event planners who want something a little more creative or special for their events.
What You’ll Use it For: Finding hidden gems that suit a variety of popular corporate event types, including cocktail hours, experiential dining, and VIP get-togethers.
Why We Love It: They offer great packages, accurate space availability, and unique venues and experiences you won’t find on other corporate event search engines.
5. Yodeck
Yodeck is a free document signage tool designed for both desktop and mobile devices.
What You’ll Use it For: Drafting vendor agreements, capturing sponsor signatures, and organizing event speaker media releases.
Why We Love It: They offer a drag and drop editor, which means you can create a new document in a matter of minutes. They also organize signed, pending, and drafted agreements all on one visual dashboard so you can get an idea of the status on all your paperwork at a glance.
6. Corkulous
This event planning tool is a digital corkboard you can pin ideas, images, phrases, and examples to right from your tablet.
What You’ll Use it For: Provide visual aids for clients, group images all on one uncluttered space, and keep inspiration in one place by linking relevant websites together.
Why We Love It: It’s super convenient and easy to use. And because event planners are more likely to be visual learners, it provides a great way to accurately communicate event concepts with partners.
7. Mindmap
This multi-functional tool helps event planners create a virtual mind map of their event designs, to-do lists, and marketing plans.
What You’ll Use it For: Structured brainstorming sessions during the initial design and concept stages of your event.
Why We Love It: It’s a personal tool for coming up with and sorting your thoughts before you bring them to the rest of the team. They also have a ton of features that let you color code, draw, and design your mind map to your heart’s content.
8. Coggle
Coggle is a user-friendly and collaborative brainstorming tool for projects of all sizes.
What You’ll Use it For: Organizing a complex string of priorities, ideas, and input from event stakeholders. You can gather everyone’s thoughts in one place or add them as users to your Coggle Flow Chart so they can make changes themselves.
Why We Love It: If you have to work with a team, Coggle will help you make sure everyone’s priorities and ideas are all on one page so everyone can see where there is overlap or differences. Or, if you manage a group of event planners, you can use Coggle to preview and approve their event plans ahead of time.
9. Greetings Island
This free digital card creator can send personalized email invitations for events that are beautifully designed and on-brand.
What You’ll Use it For: Thanking sponsors, congratulating event partners, and rewarding VIPs with links to gift cards, surprise videos, and more.
Why We Love It: They have hundreds of templates for any occasion and you can send them to an entire list of recipients just by uploading your list to their site.
10. Basecamp
Basecamp is a project management tool that can help event planners get their entire team on the same page while scaling their services to accommodate multiple events at once. Their task lists are advanced, allowing planners to organize complex thoughts into actionable steps.
What You’ll Use it For: Resource management – everything from budgets to scheduling to task assignments can be visually represented and tracked by this tool.
Why We Love It: Their dashboard pins entire project files to it so you can quickly see everything you have on your plate in one space. You can also communicate with teammates in the projects themselves, eliminating issues caused by messy email chains and chat groups.
11. Monday.com
Monday.com is another project management tool event planners can use to get everyone on the same page. The difference is here is how you’ll use it – their platform is highly visual and relies more on images than lists to track open tasks.
What You’ll Use it For: Simplifying project status updates and keeping your event timelines in check while giving team members autonomy to communicate with each other all on one site.
Why We Love It: You can quickly add members to a project via email, drag and drop workflows as needed, and view project data in 4 different ways (as a calendar, bar chart, circle graph, and color-coded lists) in the simplest possible visual forms.
12. Wrike
Wrike is all about efficiency and for event planners, this means being able to draft projects, anticipate and plan for roadblocks, and collaborate with large teams all in one place.
What You’ll Use it For: Creating repeatable workflows, downloading instant event data reports, and organizing all your event goals.
Why We Love It: While the other project management options on this list are also really great, Wrike has built-in task automation, which means event planners can scale their productivity without doing anything extra.
13. EZOfficeInventory
This time-saving event planning tool helps you iron out back-office details and organize all the physical bits and pieces you’ll need for the big day.
What You’ll Use it For: Automatically keep up with office supply ordering, catalogue event decor materials, and create an equipment lending system your event partners can use.
Why We Love It: The interface is simple and clean. They let you take your own photos or pull brand name images from the seller’s website. It’s super easy to figure out at a glance which speakers have which microphones, what laptops are still available for presentations, and who might have that missing tablet.
14. Ticket Tailor
Ticket Tailor is an affordable ticket sales platform that you can customize to suit your event needs and branding.
What You’ll Use it For: Create a smart event ticketing website using templates and automatic data tracking.
Why We Love It: It’s great for one time events or for event planners who need something simple yet beautiful without compromising on functionality.
15. TicketSource
TicketSource is another ticket sales platform that helps planners organize, advertise, and sell-out events. It also allows attendees to select their own seats, automatically receive physical tickets in the mail, and print their own wristbands at home.
What You’ll Use it For: Sell tickets, market your event on social media and via email newsletters, then keep track of it all with advanced reporting and analytics.
Why We Love It: It’s user-friendly but also venue specific. So things like floor plans and seating arrangements options are more accurate.
16. ThunderTix
ThunderTix integrates with your existing event website or other favorite event apps and helps planners sell, refund, and exchange tickets.
What You’ll Use it For: Market and sell event tickets as well as set up gift cards and loyalty programs.
Why We Love It: If you have an event website tool, marketing software, or payment processor you already love, ThunderTix can work in the background to streamline payments as well as handle all other ticket-related tasks.
17. Wild Apricot
This event planning tool is a membership management software designed to help users create groups, market events, and create a community.
What You’ll Use it For: Add your VIPs to a special club, organize and assign event volunteers to different activities, and create an event registration site that accepts secure payments.
Why We Love It: Not only does it cover some of the most basic event planning necessities, Wild Apricot gives event planners the tools they need to authentically engage with attendees before, during, and after the event.
18. GiveSmart
GiveSmart is a fundraising software available as a mobile app.
What You’ll Use it For: Create an engaging donation platform, add custom branding to any campaign, and manage event ticketing.
Why We Love It: Their users rave about their great customer service as well as how easy it is for both their team and their attendees to use the platform.
19. Avochato
Avochato is a business texting platform designed to scale communications across all types of mobile devices as well as pinpoint new sales opportunities.
What You’ll Use it For: Drip market your event tickets and special packages, organize all attendee communications onto one dashboard, and increase lead conversions.
Why We Love It: It’s fantastic for sales and customer service. And it integrates with major relationship management tools like Salesforce and Slack.
Ready to jump-start your next event planning project?
Then take a look at these event management tools, some event planning insurances you might need, and some productivity hacks to save you even more time!