Guidebook vs. Modern Campus: How We Compare
Still looking for a Modern Campus alternative? See why Guidebook stands above Modern Campus for orientation, campus visits, student engagement, and the app students actually open.
Trying to solve one student-experience problem, like orientation, campus tours, housing or career fairs, but being sold a multi-product campus platform? With Guidebook, you get a branded app your students, families and staff can use right away, with no implementation project in between.
All features included - no hidden fees
Modern Campus is a higher-education technology suite built to help institutions manage the learner lifecycle across websites, curriculum, catalogs, scheduling, continuing education, student engagement and career pathways.
Modern Campus's strengths include:
- Broad coverage of institutional operations, from web content and curriculum to non-credit enrollment and student communications
- Purpose-built tools for continuing education, workforce development and lifelong learning
- Deep administrative functionality for registrars, academic affairs, marketing and continuing-education teams
However, this comes with tradeoffs:
- It is a multi-product platform, so teams may need to buy, configure and learn several modules
- Implementation and administration can require more institutional coordination and technical involvement
- It is not primarily designed as a fast, no-code event app for orientation, campus visits or student-life programming
- Public pricing is not generally available, which makes budgeting less predictable
Guidebook evolved from a mobile event app pioneer into an integrated event and campus engagement platform while keeping ease of use at its core.
Key Guidebook advantages:
- Transparent, all-inclusive pricing with no hidden add-ons
- No-code, drag-and-drop builder for branded event apps, campus guides and registration
- A mobile app, not a website squeezed onto a phone, designed for students, families and visitors
- Real people providing support in the US and UK
- Fast setup for recurring campus programs, from orientation to alumni events
For student-facing teams, Guidebook delivers advantages in speed, usability and adoption. Teams running recurring events benefit from cloning last year's app, unlimited content updates, and a single place for schedules, maps, notifications, check-in and engagement.
While Modern Campus serves institutional complexity well, teams prioritizing quick deployment, student adoption, transparent costs and responsive partnership typically find stronger long-term value with Guidebook.
Guidebook is a top-rated leader on G2 for Event Apps
Streamline your attendee engagement with this app
"It is easy to build and navigate. Minimal training is needed, as this app is easy to self teach.
The premium version makes it a one-stop shop for all conference related items. We really enjoyed the QR Code Scavenger Hunt game feature."
Easy manage and user experience!
"I really like the manage-end of Guidebook. The ease of uploading all of my events at one time and being able to edit easily in real time takes the stress out of the management of events with many moving parts.
I also like that you can customize as much or little as you want and the app experience for the user still looks cleans and welcoming."
Great product and easy to use
"It is very user friendly and easy to use. I like that they are affordable compared to other competitors and does not charge based on number of attendees, exhibitors, or company."
The user interface is an ongoing issue for learners. The restrictive nature of their reporting and integrations. Additionally, the limiting nature of notifications for staff.
This system has a lot of quirks and bugs. Assigning permissions on the server administrator side needs improvement.
It has glitches. When I contact customer service, it takes a long time to get a response. I would like a feature that automatically links phone numbers.
Why do 1,000’s of customers trust Guidebook?
Event planners choose Guidebook because it gives them clarity. Instead of juggling tools or chasing updates, they get one platform that’s simple, flexible, and backed by real people who care.
Whether you're managing a small workshop or a global conference, Guidebook helps you stay in control — without overwhelm.
Flexible Pricing and Ease of Use
Guidebook was built to make event organizers and attendees lives easier–we believe in fair, simple prices that don’t keep going up. If you have small events, we have a plan for that!
Ease of Use
Customers say it’s surprisingly easy to learn to build an app with Guidebook, see for yourself how easy it is to build an app and what that looks like for attendees here.
Superior Support
Whatever you need, our award-winning team is here to help. With real people available in the US and UK (and no robots), you get quick responses from people who care.
Customization and Flexibility
Your app is fully customizable and simple to update. Add your colors, logos, fonts, images, and publish to the stores. Invite as many collaborators to help you as required, and publish unlimited changes.
Open Integrations
Unlike Cvent and other event technology products, Guidebook has a free open-API available to all customers–and out-of-the-box integrations with products like Cvent, Splash, Eventbrite and more.
Mobile First
The Guidebook platform has been built for mobile since 2011, based on the belief that an event is an experience and mobile is the technology which can have the biggest impact on attendees having a happy, successful experience.
Your all-in-one solution for every event
- Inclusive and consistent pricing: When new features are added to the platform, they're instantly available to all Guidebook customers. No extra costs, no delays, and no more paying for things you don't want or need.
- Drag and drop: Pick the features you need, upload content using simple templates, and publish edits in seconds. Want to use last year's orientation app as a base? Clone it in seconds and save hours.
- Built for the device in their hand: Guidebook has been built for mobile since 2011, because the phone is where students actually are.
- Detailed mobile metrics: Monitor app usage and engagement, review which content resonates with your audience, and use the insight to build better programs next year.
- Award-winning support: Teams in the US and UK ready to assist, taking the time to understand your goals and provide consultative support.
- Offline access: Your audience can reach schedules, maps and guides even without an internet connection.
Security and Compliance
FAQs
They're different categories. Modern Campus is a system of record for administrators. Guidebook is a branded app for orientation, campus visits, move-in and student life, built by the team running the event.
If the job is getting students to an event and keeping them engaged once they're there, that's ours.
Guidebook's open API is free for every customer, so connecting campus data between the two doesn't come with a line item.
If you're being sold a multi-product platform to solve one problem, like orientation or campus tours, Guidebook is the smaller, faster answer.
With Guidebook there's no per-attendee calculation, no module list and no implementation fee. New features reach every customer the day they ship.
One branded app carries a student across all of them, so you're not rebuilding for each event on the calendar. Last year's orientation guide clones in seconds.