Roundup
Best Event Check-In Apps
The best check-in app is the one your door staff can use on their own phones, against the same live list you're editing. Zkipster publishes an offline mode, kiosks and seating. Gatsby and Splash suit corporate teams with badges and CRM or Cvent ties. Luma and Partiful check in free community and social events. Guestcount fits invite-only events where door staff sign in with a phone number, at no seat cost, from $249 per event.
Last updated
We compared each app on what a busy door needs: how guests are found and checked in, how door staff get access, badge printing, and what happens on a weak connection. Guestcount publishes this page and is on the list, so every other app's details come from its own public pages or named third-party sources, listed below. Where we found no source, the cell says so. Evite is left out because we found no published check-in feature on its pages.
The tools side by side
| Tool | Check-in methods | Door staff | Badges | Patchy signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guestcount | Search by name or phone, QR scan and walk-ups, on iOS, a shared phone or the dashboard. | Sign in with a phone number and a one-time code. No seat or PIN, unlimited on every plan. | Name badges print from the door on Brother label printers. | In the iOS app, check-ins made on a poor connection are kept and retried, and never counted twice. |
| Zkipster | QR and barcode scanning, kiosk mode and guest facesheets. | User seats by plan: 5+, 10+ or 15+. | On-site badge printing on Professional and Enterprise. | Offline mode for registration and check-in. |
| Gatsby | Kiosk, QR or staffed lanes, with Apple Wallet passes. | Team permissions, with Google Workspace SSO and Okta support. | Badge printing. | Not published |
| RSVPify | QR scanning and walk-in admission. | Unlimited check-in devices. | Not published | Not published |
| Luma | QR scanner on web, iOS and Android, with manual search. Scanning shows a guest's status; it doesn't check them in by itself. | A check-in manager role on Luma Plus. | Onsite badge printing on Enterprise. | Not published |
| Partiful | Check-in from the web guest list; QR ticket scanning on ticketed events. | Hosts and cohosts; check-in staff on ticketed events. | Not published | Not published |
| Splash | Onsite check-in through Cvent OnArrival, synced both ways with Splash. | Not published | Badges through Cvent OnArrival. | Not published |
“Not published” means we found no public source for it; ask the vendor directly.
Guestcount
Best for
- Invite-only events where door staff check guests in from their own phones.
- Doors with walk-ups and plus-ones: staff can add walk-ups, and you choose who may go past a guest's plus-one limit.
- Hosts who want privacy at the door: staff never see a guest's full phone number.
Not ideal for
- Self-service kiosks or seating charts at the door: Guestcount has neither.
- Casual parties where a free check-in list is enough.
Zkipster
Best for
- Premium events that need kiosks, seating and on-site badges.
- Doors where the connection can't be trusted.
Not ideal for
- Badge printing on the entry plan: it starts on Professional.
- Teams that want to pay per event: plans come with an event allowance.
Gatsby
Best for
- Executive dinners and relationship-driven events with badges and wallet passes.
Not ideal for
- Teams that want to compare published prices: pricing is through sales.
RSVPify
Best for
- Business and nonprofit events that already run RSVPs on RSVPify.
Not ideal for
- Organizers who need prices before talking to anyone: third-party sources disagree on its plans, so check with RSVPify.
Luma
Best for
- Community events and meetups that already run on Luma.
Not ideal for
- Badge printing without the Enterprise plan.
Partiful
Best for
- Free parties and social events that already run on Partiful.
Not ideal for
- Free events with separate door staff: hosts and cohosts check guests in, and check-in staff come with ticketed events.
Splash
Best for
- Field-marketing teams that already run Cvent OnArrival at the door.
Not ideal for
- Teams not on Cvent: Splash's onsite check-in runs through Cvent OnArrival.
Common questions
What is the best event check-in app?
It depends on the door. Zkipster publishes an offline mode, kiosks and seating. Gatsby and Splash suit corporate teams that need badges and CRM or Cvent ties. Luma and Partiful check in free community and social events. Guestcount fits invite-only events where door staff check guests in from their own phones, from $249 per event.
Which check-in apps let door staff use their own phones?
Guestcount door staff sign in on their own phone with a phone number and a one-time code, with no seat or PIN, and you can pair a shared device by QR for the night. Luma's scanner runs on web, iOS and Android, and Partiful checks guests in from its web guest list.
Which event check-in apps work offline?
Zkipster publishes an offline mode for registration and check-in. Guestcount's iOS app keeps check-ins made on a poor connection and retries them by itself, and a guest is never counted twice; the browser door needs a connection. We found no published offline mode for the other apps on this list.
Which check-in apps print name badges?
Guestcount prints name badges from the door on Brother label printers. Zkipster offers on-site badge printing on Professional and Enterprise, Gatsby includes badge printing, Luma offers it on Enterprise, and Splash prints badges through Cvent OnArrival.
How much does an event check-in app cost?
Luma and Partiful check in free events at no cost. Zkipster's plans start at $246 a month on an annual plan. Gatsby, RSVPify and Splash price through their own sites or sales teams. Guestcount includes door check-in on every plan and doesn't charge for door staff, with single events from $249. See pricing.
Sources
Details for other tools from these pages, checked . Guestcount details from the product.
- Zkipster homepage: https://www.zkipster.com/
- Zkipster pricing: https://www.zkipster.com/pricing
- Gatsby homepage: https://www.gatsby.events/
- Gatsby pricing: https://gatsby.events/pricing/
- RSVPify on Capterra: https://capterra.com/p/176614/RSVPify/
- Luma pricing: https://luma.com/pricing
- Luma help: check-in: https://help.luma.com/p/check-in
- Luma help: Enterprise: https://help.luma.com/p/enterprise-overview
- Partiful help: checking in guests: https://help.partiful.com/en-us/articles/15525408-how-can-i-check-in-guests-for-my-event
- Partiful help: selling tickets: https://help.partiful.com/en-us/collections/19666493-selling-tickets
- Cvent release notes, July 24 2026: https://release.cvent.com/eventmanagement/announcements/product-releases-for-july-24-2026