Mobile event apps have shifted from simple digital brochures to the control center for check-in, session navigation, lead capture, and networking. Enterprises, associations, and others including agencies, mid-market corporations, and nonprofits now rely on these apps to run busy show days smoothly and capture clean data for follow-up. This article compares how Accelevents and Brella approach mobile apps, with a focus on real-world workflows rather than feature checklists. You will see where Accelevents can benefit enterprises and associations that want an all-in-one platform, and where Brella fits as a specialized networking tool. The guide also helps you prepare for live demos and proofs of concept so you can see each workflow in action before you commit.
How to evaluate a mobile event app
When you evaluate a mobile event app, you are really deciding how staff and attendees will experience your program on show day. The right app should make it easy to get people into the venue, to their sessions, and into the right meetings, while quietly collecting accurate data in the background. It should reduce stress at registration desks, help exhibitors prove ROI, and give you a clear view of what is happening across rooms and halls in real time. You also need to understand how the app fits into your larger event technology stack, including registration, CRM, and continuing education workflows. The evaluation areas below provide a structure you can use for internal reviews and vendor demos.
- App creation and branding
- Agenda, content, and personalization
- Networking and meetings
- Exhibitor tools and lead capture
- Onsite check-in, badging, and staff tools
- In-app engagement, notifications, and gamification
- Offline reliability and data flow
- Integrations, security, and data model
- Analytics, pricing, and implementation
1) App creation and branding
Accelevents
Accelevents provides a mobile app that is tightly connected to your broader event setup, including registration, onsite tools, and exhibitors. You can configure the home screen with tiles for agenda, speakers, exhibitors, maps, announcements, and custom pages so attendees land on the information they need most. Branding controls let you apply logos, colors, banners, and navigation choices so the app feels like part of your own digital property.
White label branding is available, so the app can appear in the stores under your own name and visual identity. Organizations running portfolios of conferences or trade shows can manage multiple events inside a single app, each with its own theme and content, while staff manage configuration from one admin console. This is particularly useful for teams that repeat similar formats across different locations or audiences.
Brella
Brella centers its mobile experience on networking, and branding sits inside that meeting-first design. You can add your logo and colors and configure standard navigation elements, while the core layout keeps networking sections prominent. Events appear within the Brella container app, so attendees download one app and then select the specific event they are attending.
For organizers whose primary goal is to get people into scheduled meetings, this approach keeps the focus on connecting people rather than on a wide range of event content. At the same time, it means the look and feel of your event always sits within Brella’s framework, instead of a fully white labeled app store presence.
Why this matters
Branding and app structure affect how confident your stakeholders feel when they open the app and how quickly they find what they need. A strongly branded, multi-event app can become part of your long-term program strategy, while a container app may be quicker to launch for networking-centric shows. In demos, you want to see how quickly your team can build an event app, how far branding controls really go, and how easy it is to re-use work across events.
- Ask each vendor to build a basic home screen for one of your real events, including agenda, speakers, exhibitors, and maps.
- Have them show how to adjust colors, logos, and navigation for a second event inside the same app.
- Request a walkthrough of how the app appears in app stores and how updates are published before and during the event.
2) Agenda, content, and personalization
Accelevents
In Accelevents, session data, speakers, and rooms flow directly from your planning setup into the mobile app. As people complete event registration, they can select sessions or tracks, and the app reflects those choices with a personal agenda that updates in real time if staff make changes. Attendees can tap into session pages for abstracts, speaker bios, room locations, and attached materials like slides.
Because the platform includes native call for papers and abstract management with automatic reviewer assignment and a speaker portal, accepted sessions move cleanly into the schedule without manual re-entry. This saves planners time and reduces errors where session titles or times do not match between the website and app.
Brella
Brella supports agendas and basic personalization, but the content model centers on meetings rather than sessions. Attendees can browse the schedule, mark sessions of interest, and see how sessions fit around confirmed meetings. Session content is visible, though deeper workflows like abstract review and CE tracking usually live in other systems that you connect to Brella.
For events where a few headline sessions matter and the rest of the day is built around networking, this structure can work well. For programs with many parallel tracks and detailed learning paths, you may need to manage more of the content model outside of Brella.
Why this matters
Agenda handling affects how smooth your change management is in the run-up to the event and how confident attendees feel about where they should be. Native links between submissions, schedules, and the mobile view reduce manual work and data drift, especially for content-heavy conferences with CE requirements.
- Ask each vendor to update a session title, room, and time during a demo and show the change appearing in the attendee app.
- Have them demonstrate how speakers upload files and how those files appear on mobile.
- If you run CE programs, request a walkthrough of how attendance data from sessions flows into credit records and certificates.
3) Networking and meetings
Accelevents
Accelevents supports networking with searchable attendee directories, profile fields, and filters so people can find peers, vendors, or prospects based on role, company, interest tags, or ticket type. Attendees can favorite people, send messages, and coordinate meeting times in the context of their event schedule. Group chats and topical lounges inside the app let communities form around themes, regions, or membership segments, which is useful for associations and user groups.
Because networking is part of the wider event app, attendees move smoothly between networking, sessions, exhibitor visits, and check-in. Staff can encourage connections through announcements, curated lists, or gamification challenges that reward people for making new contacts.
Brella
Networking is where Brella differentiates itself. Its matching engine analyzes profiles, stated goals, and interests to recommend who people should meet, and uses structured meeting requests to get introductions on the calendar. Attendees can review suggested matches, accept or decline, and fill their calendars with one-to-one or small group meetings.
For deal-making events, investor meetings, or matchmaking programs, this approach can generate a high volume of scheduled interactions. It does require clean profile data and clear networking goals from attendees, and most planners pair Brella with other tools to handle registrations, learning, and exhibitor operations.
Why this matters
Networking performance often defines whether sponsors renew and whether senior attendees feel their time was well spent. An app that supports both self-directed discovery and structured meetings, or that specializes in one approach very clearly, will shape the character of your event.
- Have each vendor simulate how an attendee fills out a profile and how recommendations or search results change as fields are updated.
- Ask to see how meetings appear alongside sessions in the mobile calendar, including handling of time conflicts.
- Request reporting on meetings created, accepted, and completed so you can judge networking outcomes.
4) Exhibitor tools and lead capture
Accelevents
Exhibitor management in Accelevents includes digital booths, team coordination, and integrated lead capture. Exhibitors use the mobile app to scan attendee QR codes at booths, in meeting rooms, or at sponsored sessions. Scans instantly create lead records with contact details, ticket information, and any custom qualifiers you configure. Staff can score leads, add notes, and book follow-up demos directly from the app.
Lead capture works offline, with data syncing once devices reconnect, and there are no limits on how many booth staff can use the tool. Exhibitors see real time reports on leads captured, team performance, and engagement with their profiles or assets, and this data folds into event-level analytics for your sponsorship reporting.
Brella
Brella frames exhibitor value primarily around meetings generated by its matchmaking engine. Exhibitors can view profiles of interested attendees, propose meetings, and run structured conversations according to their sales process. The resulting meeting records form the basis of their lead lists, which are then exported or integrated to external systems.
For exhibitors whose main goal is scheduled conversations with well-qualified targets, this model can work very well. For those who need to capture walk-up traffic on a busy show floor, or scan badges at sponsored sessions, they may still need a separate lead retrieval tool.
Why this matters
Exhibitor satisfaction hinges on clear ROI and easy lead handling. If you can give exhibitors simple scanning tools, analytics on booth traffic, and clean exports into their CRM, they are more likely to renew or upgrade their investment. If your program is built around meetings, a strong matchmaking engine may be more important.
- Ask each vendor to demonstrate scanning a badge, applying qualifiers, and pushing that lead into a CRM in real time.
- Request a view of exhibitor dashboards, including traffic trends and staff performance.
- Clarify how licensing works for exhibitor users, and whether there are per-device or per-user charges.
5) Onsite check-in, badging, and staff tools
Accelevents
Accelevents was originally built for in-person events and now supports in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats while keeping onsite operations at the center. Attendees receive unique QR codes, which staff scan at arrival using mobile devices or check-in kiosks that can also trigger badge printing. The same app can support staff in monitoring room capacities, scanning for session attendance, and resolving issues quickly at help desks.
For continuing education events, session scans feed CE credit workflows so credits are assigned automatically, certificates generated, and audit-ready records kept without manual spreadsheets. On a busy morning, you can open multiple check-in lines, each with its own device, while still seeing a unified live count of people on site.
Brella
Brella provides QR codes for access and focuses on getting attendees into the app so they can see their meetings and networking recommendations. It can be paired with external check-in and badging tools if you need more complex setups, such as segmented entrances, different badge designs, or session-level scanning at many rooms.
For smaller or networking-heavy events, this may be sufficient, especially if you do not run high volumes through specific entrances. For large conferences with strict access control and CE tracking needs, teams often combine Brella with other onsite systems.
Why this matters
Onsite check-in is the first impression your attendees get, and it sets the tone for the rest of the event. Line length, error handling, and badge accuracy all influence satisfaction scores, as do the tools you give staff to see what is happening in real time.
- Ask vendors to show a full check-in flow, from scanning a confirmation email to printing a badge.
- Have them demonstrate session scanning at a room entrance and display how attendance appears to staff.
- If you run CE programs, request a walkthrough of how attendance at multiple sessions translates into credits and certificates.
6) In-app engagement, notifications, and gamification
Accelevents
Accelevents includes session-level Q&A, live polls, and surveys so speakers and planners can engage audiences during and after sessions. Push notifications can be sent to everyone or to targeted segments, such as VIPs, exhibitors, or people who favorited a specific track. This helps you manage flows on site, react to room changes, and highlight sponsors at key moments.
Gamification features let you create challenges that award points for actions such as visiting booths, checking into sessions, or completing profiles. Leaderboards, either in the app or on signage, encourage participation and can be tied to prizes. These tools give you levers to steer behavior and increase engagement with sponsors and content that matter most.
Brella
Brella’s engagement features revolve around networking activity. It uses notifications to remind attendees about upcoming meetings, new match suggestions, and messages from connections. Session interactions are available, but they play a secondary role compared to the meeting workflow.
For events where success is measured in meetings completed rather than in session engagement metrics, this emphasis aligns with sponsor expectations. For education-heavy programs, you may want more emphasis on polls, Q&A, and multi-session engagement journeys.
Why this matters
Engagement capabilities influence whether attendees feel passive or active during your event, and they shape sponsor exposure throughout the day. Targeted notifications and clear engagement tools help you respond to issues in real time and drive attention where it is needed most.
- Ask vendors to send a targeted push notification to a specific segment during the demo and show how it appears on devices.
- Have them run a sample poll in a live or simulated session and display results in real time.
- Request an example of a gamification challenge and leaderboard configuration suitable for your event format.
7) Offline reliability and data flow
Accelevents
Accelevents is known for reliability, with no references to outages in reviews. The mobile app caches agendas, tickets, and key content so attendees can still browse important information when connectivity is weak. Lead capture and check-in continue to function offline, storing scans locally and syncing as soon as devices reconnect, so exhibitors and staff are not blocked by network issues.
This focus on offline behavior is especially important in large venues where WiFi can be inconsistent, or when you run events in locations with limited infrastructure. It protects your data quality and keeps critical operations running even under pressure.
Brella
Brella also maintains core content when connectivity dips, but its networking and meeting features rely on live data to deliver value. Attendees need a connection to receive new match suggestions, update profiles, and adjust meetings during the day. When connections slow, attendees can still reference existing schedules, but some networking actions may be delayed.
Why this matters
Few venues can guarantee perfect connectivity for thousands of devices. Offline behavior determines whether your core workflows, such as scanning badges or checking people into sessions, continue to function when the network strains under load.
- Ask vendors to demonstrate offline mode by putting a test device into airplane mode and scanning badges or viewing agendas.
- Request clarity on which actions are supported offline and how conflicts are resolved when devices sync.
- Confirm how often data syncs and how you can monitor sync status during live events.
8) Integrations, security, and data model
Accelevents
Accelevents includes registration, mobile, onsite, exhibitor tools, and analytics in one platform, with no fees for native integrations to systems such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, and multiple association management systems. Public REST APIs and webhooks let your technical teams connect additional systems without using legacy formats, and there are no extra charges for API access.
Built on one consistent data model across registration, onsite, mobile, and virtual, creating a seamless experience for event organizers, attendees, exhibitors, and speakers. This single data model means ticket types, roles, exhibitors, lead qualifiers, and CE records are defined once and reused across tools, reducing mapping work and reconciliation after the event. Security features include custom roles, SSO, MFA, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 practices, and detailed audit logging so you can meet enterprise requirements.
Brella
Brella connects to registration systems, CRMs, and other tools through APIs and data imports. You configure mappings between attendee fields and Brella’s profile structure, and you define which data flows back to your core systems after the event, such as meetings held and connections made. Security features support single sign-on and standard authentication patterns, although more specialized governance, logging, or role models are often handled in the systems Brella connects to.
Why this matters
Integration design and data models directly affect your reporting, privacy compliance, and long-term admin workload. Platforms that reduce the number of separate schemas you manage will usually lower implementation and maintenance effort, especially across many events.
- Ask each vendor to diagram how data moves between the mobile app, registration, CRM, and marketing automation tools.
- Request a review of roles and permissions, including how onsite staff, exhibitors, and admins are separated.
- Have your technical team review API documentation and discuss any integration fees or limits.
9) Analytics, pricing, and implementation
Accelevents
Accelevents provides real time analytics across registration, onsite check-in, mobile engagement, exhibitor leads, and CE credits in one set of dashboards. You can see attendance by session, device adoption, booth traffic, and engagement actions while the event is live, then export detailed reports after the show. These views are shareable so sponsors, executives, and education committees can see results without needing admin access.
Pricing is built around transparent, scalable modules with pay-only-for-what-you-need structures and no surprise add-ons, so you can align costs with your mix of conferences, trade shows, fundraisers, internal meetings, and continuing education events. Implementation typically involves configuring templates for agendas, badges, and mobile layouts, then reusing them across future events. Teams of many sizes, including those with 1,847 customers worldwide, work with an Accelevents support team that responds in less than 21 seconds, 24/7.
Brella
Brella’s reporting focuses on networking outcomes, such as meetings requested, accepted, and completed, along with engagement in the networking features. You can export data to analyze which attendee segments were most active and which exhibitors or sponsors attracted the most meetings. Broader event analytics, including revenue and CE metrics, are usually drawn from the systems that handle those parts of your program.
Pricing is generally structured around attendee counts and networking usage, with larger or more complex deployments falling into higher tiers. Implementation timelines depend on how many external systems you connect and how detailed your matchmaking model is. Teams that already have strong registration and content systems can often add Brella as a networking layer with targeted setup effort.
Why this matters
Analytics, pricing, and implementation shape both your long-term budget and your daily workflows. Real time insight into attendance and engagement helps you adjust on the fly, while clear pricing and repeatable implementation mean you can expand your program without unpredictable costs or long build times.
- Ask vendors to show live dashboards from a recent event, including how often the data refreshes.
- Request sample contracts that outline what is included, what is optional, and how pricing scales.
- Clarify who leads onboarding, what training is provided, and how ongoing configuration changes are handled.
Decision guide
Accelevents bridges complex enterprise features and ease of use, delivering a balanced, highly customizable, all-in-one event solution. Organizations of all sizes, including large enterprises, mid-market corporations, associations, agencies, and nonprofits, often choose it when they want to consolidate registration, onsite tools, mobile apps, exhibitor management, CE tracking, and analytics into a single platform with a strong customer success focus.
Brella is typically selected when the primary outcome is networking, especially for events where scheduled meetings and curated introductions are the main measure of success. Teams that already have solid systems for registration, content, and exhibitor operations may layer Brella on top to add a strong matchmaking engine, accepting that admins will manage multiple tools.
If you run a portfolio that includes conferences, trade shows, fundraisers, internal meetings, and continuing education events, and you want to reduce vendor sprawl, Accelevents aligns well with that strategy. If you are running a smaller number of highly targeted deal-making events where most value is in one-to-one meetings, Brella’s focus can be attractive, as long as you are comfortable maintaining separate systems for other workflows.
Implementation checklist for live demos
- Have each vendor build a branded mobile home screen for one of your real events and publish it in a test state.
- Ask them to create a multi-track agenda, assign speakers and rooms, then change a session time and show how quickly the app updates.
- Request a live demo of badge scanning for check-in and session entry, including printing and CE credit tracking.
- Have exhibitors scan sample badges, apply qualifiers, and export leads into a CRM sandbox for review.
- Ask vendors to send targeted push notifications to different segments and demonstrate open and click metrics.
- Request a walkthrough of networking features, from profile creation through meeting scheduling and post-event reporting.
- Test offline behavior by disabling connectivity on a device and running through check-in, lead capture, and agenda browsing.
- Review analytics dashboards, export options, and how stakeholders without admin roles can access results.
Migration considerations
If you are moving from a simpler or web-only setup, start by defining how ticket types, roles, and access levels should translate into the new mobile experience. In Accelevents, you can configure ticket rules once so they drive registration pages, mobile permissions, onsite scanning behavior, and exhibitor entitlements, which simplifies future events. Plan time to rebuild key assets such as home screen layouts, badge templates, and standard reports as reusable components.
When you move between platforms, pay particular attention to data model alignment. Map ticket types to roles, exhibitors to company records, and lead qualifiers to CRM fields before you import historical data. For networking-heavy programs, define how existing contact and meeting history will be handled so you can track year-over-year outcomes consistently.
Before going onsite with a new mobile app, run tests for push notification segments, offline scanning, and CE credit rules. Train staff not only on how to use the admin tools but also on how to help attendees with downloads, logins, and navigation. For speakers and exhibitors, provide simple guides that show how to access their session or booth tools in the app so they arrive prepared.
Conclusion
Accelevents and Brella represent two different approaches to mobile event apps. Accelevents aligns the app with registration, onsite check-in, exhibitor management, CE credits, and analytics in one system, making it easier to manage a diverse event portfolio and to report consistently across programs. Brella narrows in on networking and scheduled meetings, which can be powerful when curated introductions are the primary outcome, but usually assumes other tools handle core event operations.
Teams should weigh data model design, admin workload, exhibitor licensing, onsite operations, and analytics expectations alongside networking needs. For many programs, especially those run by enterprises, associations, and others with complex education or exhibitor requirements, consolidating onto a single platform reduces long-term complexity. For programs where meetings and matchmaking drive most of the value, a specialized networking layer like Brella may complement existing systems.
If you want to see how an all-in-one platform can bring registration, mobile, onsite, exhibitors, and analytics together in one workflow, and how that compares to a networking-focused tool, you can explore the mobile experience in a live environment. To evaluate how this could work for your own events, Request a demo.
FAQs
How do Accelevents and Brella compare for networking and one-to-one meeting management?
Accelevents offers attendee directories, messaging, and meetings as part of a broader event app that also supports sessions and exhibitors. Brella focuses more narrowly on matchmaking and structured one-to-one or small-group meetings, using its recommendation engine to fill attendee calendars, which suits deal-making events where scheduled introductions are the primary outcome.
Which platform is better for exhibitor lead capture at trade shows, Accelevents or Brella?
Accelevents provides integrated QR code scanning for exhibitors, offline-capable lead capture, and real time dashboards on leads and booth activity. Brella centers exhibitor value on meetings generated by its matchmaking engine, which works well when prebooked conversations matter most but may require a separate lead retrieval tool for high-volume walk-up traffic.
How do Accelevents and Brella handle mobile event app branding and white-label options?
Accelevents supports strong branding controls and offers white label mobile apps that can appear in app stores under your own name, with multiple events managed from one admin console. Brella uses a container app model where you can brand the in-app experience, but your event always lives within Brella’s overall framework rather than a fully standalone app presence.
Can Accelevents or Brella support continuing education credits and reliable session attendance tracking?
Accelevents connects QR-based session scanning directly to CE workflows so attendance feeds automatic credit assignment, certificate generation, and audit-ready records. Brella can show session information and basic agenda personalization, but more detailed CE tracking typically resides in other systems you integrate alongside Brella.
How do Accelevents and Brella differ for onsite check-in, badging, and staff workflows?
Accelevents was built around in-person operations, enabling QR-based check-in, badge printing, room capacity monitoring, and session attendance scanning within the same platform. Brella supplies QR codes and emphasizes getting attendees into its networking app, but more complex check-in setups, segmented entrances, or extensive session-level scanning usually rely on additional onsite tools.
Which is better for enterprise analytics and CRM integrations, Accelevents or Brella’s networking-focused platform?
Accelevents delivers registration, mobile, onsite tools, exhibitor management, CE tracking, and analytics on a single data model, with native integrations to systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo and no extra integration fees. Brella connects via APIs and data imports as a specialized networking layer, with analytics centered on meetings and networking activity while broader revenue or education metrics are typically handled in your primary event systems.
