Works with screen readers
Works with the screen reader on every phone, and follows Apple and Google's guidelines, so students who navigate by voice or touch aren't left out.
4.7/5 (3.7k reviews)
Guidebook vs. Pathify: An App Built Around Your Campus Events
Looking for a Pathify alternative for orientation, campus visits, or year-round events?
Put schedules, maps, registration and updates in one branded app. Guidebook helps your team deliver a connected experience for students, families and visitors, from their first campus visit to their next big event.
4.5/5 (300+ reviews)
All features included - no hidden fees
| Campus event capabilities |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Open to guests without a campus login | ✓ | ✗ |
Offline access | ✓ | ✗ |
Self-guided campus tours | ✓ | ✗ |
Branded mobile app | ✓ | ✓ |
Event registration | ✓ | ✓ |
Event schedules and calendars | ✓ | ✓ |
QR code check-in | ✓ | ✓ |
Digital event badges | ✓ | ✓ |
Interactive campus maps | ✓ | ✓ |
Push notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
Forms, surveys and polls | ✓ | ✓ |
Engagement reporting | ✓ | ✓ |
Clubs and student communities | ✗ | ✓ |
Campus ID, meal and library passes | ✗ | ✓ |
If you're choosing a tool for orientation, campus visits or your event calendar, start with the job in front of you. Students need their schedules. Families need directions. Your team needs a way to push a change at 7am on move-in day.
Guidebook is built around that work:
- A branded app in the iOS and Android stores, built by your team and usually live in about two weeks
- Schedules, personalized agendas, interactive maps and self-guided tours in one place
- Registration, QR check-in and event badges, with attendance data you can take to a dean
- Content that keeps working when the venue WiFi doesn't
- Transparent, all-inclusive pricing, with new features reaching every customer the day they ship
Pathify is a campus experience platform. Its Engagement Hub brings campus systems into one authenticated portal for enrolled students, with dashboards pulling balances, holds and course data, forms, calendars, maps, a searchable directory and a digital ID wallet. If what you need is a single front door to campus systems for people who already have credentials, that is the problem Pathify is built to solve, and it solves it well.
One practical difference is worth knowing before you choose. Pathify's documentation states that unauthenticated visitors must log in with active campus credentials before they can register for an event, join a waitlist or check in. For a program of enrolled students, that's fine. For an open house full of prospective families, a campus tour, or an admitted student day in March, it is the whole problem.
Guidebook guides open for anyone you invite. Prospective students, admitted students, parents, alumni and visitors download your app and get straight in.
Plenty of institutions run both: Pathify as the portal enrolled students log into all year, Guidebook as the app their guests open on the day.
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."
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.
Event builder
Your all-in-one solution for every event
- Built around your program: Orientation, admitted student days, family weekend, conferences and campus tours. You build the guide around the thing you're actually running.
- Everything in one place: Schedules, maps, directions, resources and timely updates, so students and families stop asking your staff where to go.
- Registration through to attendance: Sign-ups, personalized agendas, QR check-in and event badges, with the numbers waiting for you afterwards.
- Open to the people you invite: Prospective students, admitted students, parents and visitors download your app and get straight in. No campus credentials required.
- Reuse what you built: Clone last year's orientation guide, update the dates and republish in minutes. Nothing starts from scratch.
- Award-winning support: Teams in the US and UK ready to assist, taking the time to understand your goals and provide consultative support.
Security and Compliance
The power of your brand in your app, from first visit to alumni.
Build trust
Attendees download your app, not ours. Your name, colors, and crest in the stores.
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One place for the whole event
Schedules, maps, registration, and updates in one branded hub - not five tools.
Stand out
A branded app is what people keep on their phone after the printed program is in the recycling.
Accessible for every student on campus
Accessibility isn't an add-on. Guidebook is built so every student can find their way, read their schedule, and stay connected, whatever tools they rely on to use their phone.
FAQs
What's the difference between Guidebook and Pathify?
Pathify is a campus experience platform: one authenticated portal bringing campus systems, dashboards, forms and calendars together for enrolled students. Guidebook is a branded app built around the events and programs your team runs.
The practical difference shows up at the door. Pathify's own documentation says visitors must log in with active campus credentials before they can register for an event or check in.
The practical difference shows up at the door. Pathify's own documentation says visitors must log in with active campus credentials before they can register for an event or check in.
Can prospective students and families use Guidebook without a campus login?
Yes. They download your app and open your guide. No campus credentials, no SSO, no account to provision.
That matters for open houses, admitted student days, campus tours and family weekend, where most of the people you're trying to reach don't have a campus login yet, and some never will.
That matters for open houses, admitted student days, campus tours and family weekend, where most of the people you're trying to reach don't have a campus login yet, and some never will.
When is Pathify the better fit?
When you want a single front door to campus systems for enrolled students: dashboards pulling balances, holds and course data, forms, a digital ID wallet and a searchable directory, all behind SSO.
That's the job Pathify is built for, and Guidebook doesn't replace it.
That's the job Pathify is built for, and Guidebook doesn't replace it.
Can Guidebook and Pathify work together?
Yes. Run Pathify as the authenticated portal for enrolled students, and Guidebook as the branded app for events, visits and programs where guests need access too.
Guidebook's open API is free for every customer, so connecting the two isn't a paid add-on.
Guidebook's open API is free for every customer, so connecting the two isn't a paid add-on.
How does Guidebook's pricing compare to Pathify?
Guidebook publishes one fixed fee. Pathify doesn't generally publish pricing.
With Guidebook there's no per-attendee calculation and no implementation fee, and new features reach every customer the day they ship.
With Guidebook there's no per-attendee calculation and no implementation fee, and new features reach every customer the day they ship.
What campus programs is Guidebook best for?
Orientation, campus visits and admitted student days, move-in, self-guided tours, career fairs, conferences, alumni events, and parent and family programs.
One branded app carries a student across all of them, so you're not rebuilding for each event on the calendar.
One branded app carries a student across all of them, so you're not rebuilding for each event on the calendar.