Compare
SocianaSociana vs Whova: an honest comparison for conferences & summits
Whova is a widely installed conference app with strong reviews, abstract tools and quote-based pricing in US dollars.
Pick Whova for conferences and academic or association meetings that want a proven, widely installed attendee app. Pick Sociana for per-guest flights, rooms and pickups published to each participant at a hospitality-heavy meet.
Who should pick which
Choosing between Whova and Sociana
Pick Whova when
You want Whova
- conferences and academic or association meetings that want a proven, widely installed attendee app
- organisers who value public review volume and a large catalogue of past case studies
- events that need abstract submission and speaker tools inside the same platform
Pick Sociana when
You need what Whova is not built for
- per-guest flights, rooms and pickups published to each participant at a hospitality-heavy meet
- recurring employee programmes, wellness challenges or weddings
Feature by feature
Sociana vs Whova, row by row
Checked on 19 Oct 2026 against public sources. Each row links to the page it was read from.
Found a wrong cell? Report a correction and we will fix it or reply within 5 working days.
| Capability | Whova | Sociana | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Login: phone or email OTP, employee code, delegate PIN | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| WhatsApp OTP, invites and campaign templates | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Agenda with personal schedule and Live / Up Next | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Social feed, reactions, photo wall and moderation | ✓ YesCommunity board and shared photo stream are core to the app. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| AI face-match photo finder | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| 1:1 chat with accept step and group chat | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Push, in-app and scheduled announcements by group | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Live polls, quizzes and session feedback | ✓ Yes | ✓ YesWord clouds are Custom: built per occasion | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| No-login public voting with venue-screen display | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Games library: bingo, trivia and puzzles | ◐ PartialLeaderboards and ice-breaker prompts rather than a games catalogue. | ✓ YesBranded games (KBC-style quiz and similar) are Custom: built to order | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Unified leaderboard with team boards | ◐ PartialGamification and leaderboards are listed on the app. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Wallet points and reward store with QR redemption | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Tournaments, contests and KPI submissions with approvals | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| QR attendance with time windows and repeat limits | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Self check-in and entry pass | ✓ YesKiosk self check-in is listed. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Step and wellness sync via Health Connect and Apple Health | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Per-guest hospitality publishing (My Stay, My Flights, cab, liaison) | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| ID-document, PNR and travel-detail tasks per participant | ✗ NoNot listed on whova.com as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Tickets, payments and invoices | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Meeting-room or time-slot booking with payment | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Exhibitor stall scanning, notes and stall chat | ✓ YesLead retrieval by QR or business-card scan. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Delegate directory, contact exchange and meeting schedule | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Multi-occasion or agency app with per-occasion branding | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Group-scoped content, polls, chat and notifications | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Organiser in-app tools and mobile dashboards | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Reports, exports, webhooks and Sheets | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| AI session summaries with organiser approval | — Not verifiedNot verified in our research as of 19 Oct 2026. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Managed delivery team included | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Branded app on the client's own store listing | ◐ PartialWhova runs one Whova-branded container app with event-level branding; a branded option is reported at extra cost (not verified). | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| AI matchmaking | ◐ PartialNetworking is promoted as producing 2x more connections; no AI matchmaking is named on the homepage. | ✗ NoDelegate directory with group rules and chat requests; no AI matchmaking | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| On-site badge printing and kiosk hardware | ✓ YesName badges on demand and kiosk self check-in are listed among the event management tools. | ✗ No | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Virtual, hybrid and webinar streaming | ✓ YesPositioned for in-person, hybrid and virtual events. | ◐ PartialLive streaming is available on request | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Security certifications shown publicly (SOC 2, ISO 27001) | ◐ PartialA data security and privacy page exists; no certification badges were visible on the homepage on 19 Oct 2026. | ✗ No | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Pricing figures published on the vendor site | ✗ NoThe pricing page is a five-question quote form rather than a price list. | ◐ Partial"From" prices per package on the pricing page | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Rupee pricing, GST invoicing and UPI | ✗ NoNo rupee pricing; support hours are US-based (support block promises replies within 30 minutes on business days). | ✓ YesRupee quotes with GST; Razorpay and PhonePe checkout | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Abstract and call-for-papers management | ✓ YesAbstract management is listed among the event tools; a few of the four Trustpilot reviews on 19 Oct 2026 call the submission tool weak, which is a small sample. | ✗ No | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Government and defence workshop deployments | ◐ PartialGovernment logos and case studies appear (for example a US Air Force civil engineering event) but no delegate-PIN or cached-reading model is described. | ✓ Yes | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Free tier or self-serve sign-up | ✗ NoA 20-minute consultant demo precedes any trial; there is no self-serve sign-up. | ✗ No | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Sponsor listings and partner zones | ✓ YesExhibitor and sponsor management with banners and promotion. | ✓ YesSponsor logos, pages and a newsfeed sponsor-ads module (add-on per occasion) | source, 19 Oct 2026 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
Sources and dates (4)
- whova.com · checked 19 Oct 2026
- whova.com/case-studies · checked 19 Oct 2026
- whova.com/pages/data-security-and-privacy · checked 19 Oct 2026
- whova.com/pricing · checked 19 Oct 2026
Fair is fair
Strengths on each side, said plainly
Where Whova is strong
- Most-reviewed attendee app in this comparison set: 4.8 stars from about 253,000 ratings on the US App Store (19 Oct 2026) and 4.8 on G2 as cited by learn.g2.com.
- Event-app depth that organisers praise in reviews: personal agenda, Live and Up Next alerts, community board, session Q&A and networking prompts.
- About 100 published case studies spanning associations, academic and government conferences, which gives buyers reference points by sector.
- A published support commitment: replies within 30 minutes on business days, with weekend and holiday cover.
Where Sociana is weaker
- On-site badge printing and kiosk hardware. Sociana does not offer this today.
- Abstract and call-for-papers management. Sociana does not offer this today.
- AI matchmaking. Delegate directory with group rules and chat requests; no AI matchmaking
- Security certifications shown publicly (SOC 2, ISO 27001). Sociana does not offer this today.
- Virtual, hybrid and webinar streaming. Live streaming is available on request
- Pure webinars, venue sourcing and dues-based membership management are not what Sociana is for.
Where Sociana differs
- Sociana publishes per-guest arrangements (My Stay, My Flights, pickups, liaison officer) back into the app; Whova lists no hospitality module on its pages as of 19 Oct 2026.
- Sociana scopes content, polls, chat and notifications by group (partners, employees, bride and groom sides); Whova scopes by event and agenda track.
- Sociana adds wellness challenges, recurring programmes and WhatsApp OTP inside the same app; none appear on Whova's product list.
- Sociana quotes in rupees with a managed delivery team; Whova quotes in US dollars with US support hours.
Pricing and India
What it costs, and how it bills
- Whova pricing
- Quote-only. The pricing page asks five questions (format, duration, attendance band, events per year, referral source) and routes to a 20-minute consultant demo; no figures are published. Third-party commentary describes low-to-mid four figures in US dollars per event, which we have not verified. (source, checked 19 Oct 2026)
- Sociana pricing
- Rupee quotes with GST, per occasion or annual programme. See the packages.
- India presence
- Rupee billing: not listed · WhatsApp: not listed · Whova is widely used by Indian medical and academic conferences (29 of the latest 30 India App Store reviews were five-star on 19 Oct 2026). Quotes are in US dollars; no GST invoicing or WhatsApp channel is described.
“Not listed” means we could not find it on the vendor’s pages that day, not that it does not exist. “Not verified” means the row was not checked page by page, so we make no claim either way.
FAQ
Sociana vs Whova: questions
When is Whova the better choice than Sociana?
Pick Whova when you want a familiar, heavily reviewed conference app with abstract management and sector case studies, and your attendees and budget sit outside India. Whova had 4.8 stars from about 253,000 US App Store ratings on 19 Oct 2026. Pick Sociana when the day depends on hospitality, group-scoped content or WhatsApp.
Why do organisers look for a Whova alternative?
Review themes cited on 19 Oct 2026 include notification volume (Trustpilot, four reviews, 2.6 average; G2 comments via learn.g2.com), connectivity at low-coverage venues, quote-only pricing and, in a few of those four Trustpilot reviews, a weak abstract submission tool. Against that, Whova holds 4.8 on the US App Store and G2, so these are themes, not a verdict on the product.
How does Whova pricing compare with Sociana?
Whova publishes no figures; its pricing page is a five-question quote form followed by a 20-minute demo. Sociana also quotes by scope, in rupees with GST, per occasion or per annual programme. Neither page can claim to be cheaper without a like-for-like scenario of attendees, days and modules.
Does Whova work for Indian conferences and what about SAARC events?
Many Indian medical and academic conferences use it. Pricing is in US dollars, support is on US hours and no WhatsApp or GST workflow is described on its site as of 19 Oct 2026. Sociana runs on UPI and Razorpay for India and names a local payment or invoicing path per SAARC country.
Can I move from Whova to Sociana mid-season?
Yes for the participant layer. Export the attendee list as CSV, import it into Sociana, re-issue logins by OTP or PIN and publish a branded store listing. Expect about three days of configuration and a week of content and launch; Sociana does not import Whova abstracts or session recordings.
Disclosure. Published by Sociana, which sells a competing event platform and is not affiliated with the Whova or its owner. Other product names are trademarks of their owners. Facts were checked against public vendor pages on 19 Oct 2026. Spot an error? Report a correction or email hello@sociana.in; we correct or reply within 5 working days.
Not sure Whova or Sociana fits?
Tell us the event, the guests and the date. We will say plainly whether Sociana is the right tool, and point you elsewhere if it is not.