In The Red Queen Effect I predicted that there would be a price war between online registration companies and that we could expect to see prices keep coming down as companies compete to be the cheapest. However, I didn’t expect to see so much change so quickly.
Since posting this comparison of some of the top online registration systems 8 months ago, 5 out 8 companies have reduced their price. As the Red Queen predicted, there are now so many registration systems to choose from that many companies have been forced to reduce their price to stay competitive. In this article we’ll update you on the latest pricing news.
Price? What Price?
If you take the time to review the hundreds of online registration systems available you will notice that the great majority of companies do not publish their prices on their website. This can be frustrating for the customer who is left in the uncomfortable position of having to contact a sales rep to get a quote. However, by keeping their costs hidden these companies do protect themselves from getting into a spiraling price war.
As a general rule, if you can’t find the price on the website it probably means the software is more expensive than any of the systems we will compare in this article. However, this doesn’t mean you should rule them out of your thinking. These software platforms are usually highly customizable and can be specifically tailored for your event. The best software is often not the cheapest.
Getting Fierce
The pricing war is fiercest in the ‘sign-up and go’ registration market. These are systems that you can login and use right away without ever having to talk to a sales rep. There are new companies popping up in this market all the time and since they have to publish their prices online this is where we are seeing the most competitive pricing.
We have reviewed many of these sign-up and go systems on this blog and the pricing grid below shows a current pricing comparison. Prices range from $2.95 to $8.90 to process a $100 ticket, with various other monthly fees depending on what system you use.
The best known sign-up and go systems are Eventbrite and RegOnline. These pack-leaders have such a well established market that they haven’t had to change their pricing – yet. As you can see, there are now a lot of cheaper alternatives and it will be interesting to see if they can resist reducing their prices too.
Ticket Leap, Event Method and Event Elephant all recently reduced the percentage amount they take for each ticket sale and are now just slightly cheaper than Eventbrite.
Planana have completely changed their pricing model and now charge a flat fee of $500 / month. This seems expensive compared other flat-fee companies such as Constant Contact ($20 /month) and A La Reg (at $5 / month). Planana clearly have confidence in their product and are standing in their distinct feature set rather than trying to be the lowest cost.
Bold Pricing from Picatic
The award for the most imaginative strategy goes to Picatic who recently introduced “pay what your want” pricing. The customer literally chooses how much they want to pay – even if that means they pay nothing. Picatic are relying on the altruism of their customers to make sure that they continue to turn a profit and time will tell if this strategy works.
Is Cheaper Better?
Overall, this pricing war is good news for the consumer but not so great for the software companies – most of which are small businesses who have literally put their heart and soul into their software. As we see prices continue to fall we are likely to also see many of these companies go out of the business.
While price is important, it is important to remember it is not the only factor. Focus on the features that you want and make those as important in your buying decision as price.
