(Editor's Note: If you're looking for an event app, check out ourEvent App Buyer's Guide. This free eBook walks through each step of the evaluation process so that you can find the right app for your organization.) To determine the real event app costs for organizations of all sizes and types, Guidebook published a 35-page report based on survey responses from more than 500 event app administrators–pro event and meeting planners who are event app power users. Planners may worry that they can't squeeze event app costs into their already tight budget. And it's true that the cost of everything is up and budgeting is a major concern–they told us so in the Mobile Event Tech Report 2014. So we learned more about how much event planners are really spending on event apps.  

What we learned:

It turns out that the average cost of an event app is only 1.2% of what you would normally budget on a single attendee... less than $5. And depending on your event size that number can decrease dramatically. In fact, your average cost-per-attendee for a large fan convention app is only $0.05. Compared to all the other costs that go into feeding, sheltering and delighting a single attendee, the event app cost is minimal. Traditional paper printing–the primary alternative to an event app–is twice as expensive. And there are myriad benefits you can't get with paper. You can't make instant content changes and populate them everywhere–mobile phones, tablets and the web. You can't promote networking with pieces of paper. You can't sell dynamic ad space, and you definitely can't interact directly with attendees. In our report we also learned that largely due to printing paper reductions and increased attendee satisfaction, 91% of planners say their adoption of event apps has produced a positive ROI. 82% say they can reduce or remove printing by moving to mobile. To find more illuminating data about event app costs, the concerns planners are facing, current event tech and more, read our free 35-page State of Mobile Technology Annual Report. Choosing the right event app for your organization can feel overwhelming! Take the mystery away withThe Event App Buyer's Guide. It's a free eBook that walks you through the process of choosing the best event app for you - including anEvent App Scorecard that will objectively rank your choices with a numerical score. Click the button below to download it for free!