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Events · head to head

ACTIVE Network vs Glue Up

ACTIVE Network logo

ACTIVE Network

Events

Registration and payment software for parks departments, races and camps, owned by Global Payments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Glue Up logo

Glue Up

Nonprofits

Membership, events and engagement software with strong Asia-Pacific presence

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ACTIVE Network revenue comes from registration processing rather than licence fees, so the vendor is aligned with transaction volume and not with the quality of the administrative experience.; Glue Up pricing is not published, and quotes vary substantially by region, which makes budgeting harder than with the published North American tools
  • They diverge on capability: ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, Glue Up covers Event management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ACTIVE Network and Glue Up actually diverge.

Attributes where ACTIVE Network and Glue Up differ
AttributeACTIVE NetworkGlue Up
CategoryEventsNonprofits

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ACTIVE Network

  • ACTIVENet
  • ACTIVEWorks Endurance
  • Camp and Class Manager
  • Participant-paid fees
  • Facility and league scheduling
  • ACTIVE.com listing

Only in Glue Up

  • Event management
  • Membership management
  • Member mobile app
  • Email campaigns
  • Integrated CRM
  • Regional payments

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ACTIVE Network

  • A city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residentsnot Glue Up
  • A race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendornot Glue Up
  • A YMCA needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one systemnot Glue Up
  • An agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing feesnot Glue Up

Glue Up

  • Chambers of commerce and professional bodies operating across Asia-Pacificnot ACTIVE Network
  • Associations whose events are the core of member value rather than an add-onnot ACTIVE Network
  • Organisations wanting a branded member app rather than a web portalnot ACTIVE Network
  • Bodies needing local payment methods and regional data residencynot ACTIVE Network

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ACTIVE Network

  • Revenue comes from registration processing rather than licence fees, so the vendor is aligned with transaction volume and not with the quality of the administrative experience.
  • Passing the processing fee to participants is normal practice, which makes the cost invisible on the agency budget and visible to residents as a service charge at checkout.
  • The ACTIVENet codebase is long-lived and parts of the administrative interface remain dated, with upgrade cycles driven by the parent rather than by agency requests.
  • Support responsiveness is a persistent complaint among municipal customers, and escalation paths are slower than in a standalone software vendor.
  • Because Global Payments owns the merchant relationship, moving off ACTIVE means changing processor as well as software, which usually requires a procurement process rather than a simple switch.

Glue Up

  • Pricing is not published, and quotes vary substantially by region, which makes budgeting harder than with the published North American tools
  • Membership management is less deep than the dedicated association management systems, reflecting its event-management origins
  • Smaller North American and European ecosystem, so integrations and local references are thinner outside Asia
  • Fundraising and donor management are weak, so charities whose main activity is giving should look elsewhere
  • The breadth means individual modules are good rather than excellent when compared against specialist tools

Pricing, plan by plan

ACTIVE Network

On request
  • ACTIVENet$undefined/year
    • Registration, facility and membership modules
    • Revenue derived primarily from registration processing fees
    • Fee can be absorbed by the agency or passed to the participant
  • Camp and Class Manager$undefined/year
    • Flat rate or per registration fee model
    • Rates quoted per account, not published
  • ACTIVEWorks Endurance$undefined/year
    • Race registration priced on a per registration fee
    • ACTIVE.com listing included

Glue Up

On request
  • Essentials$undefined/year
    • Event management
    • Membership
    • Email campaigns
  • Professional$undefined/year
    • All Essentials features
    • Member mobile app
    • CRM
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Multi-chapter
    • API access
    • Custom integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose ACTIVE Network if

  • You need activenet.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want activeworks endurance.
ACTIVE Network review

Choose Glue Up if

  • You need event management.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want membership management.
Glue Up review

Questions people ask

Is ACTIVE Network or Glue Up better?
Neither clearly leads. ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Glue Up at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ACTIVE Network or Glue Up?
ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Glue Up at On request.
Does ACTIVE Network or Glue Up run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is ACTIVE Network best used for?
ACTIVE Network is most often used for a city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residents, a race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendor, a ymca needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one system, an agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing fees. Of those, a city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residents and a race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendor are not what Glue Up is typically brought in for.
What can ACTIVE Network do that Glue Up cannot?
ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, ACTIVEWorks Endurance, Camp and Class Manager, Participant-paid fees. Glue Up covers Event management, Membership management, Member mobile app, Email campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ACTIVE Network: Who owns ACTIVE Network?

Global Payments, which acquired it in 2017 for around 1.2 billion US dollars. It sits in the merchant solutions business.

Glue Up: Where is Glue Up strongest?

Asia-Pacific. Local payment methods, WeChat integration, regional data residency and in-region support are things the North American platforms cannot match there.

ACTIVE Network: How does ACTIVE make money?

Primarily from registration processing fees, charged as a percentage plus a fixed amount per registration.

Glue Up: Was it called something else?

Yes, EventBank. The rename to Glue Up reflected the shift from pure event management to membership and engagement.

ACTIVE Network: Can we absorb the fee instead of charging residents?

Yes, the agency chooses. Most pass it to the participant, which is why registrants see a service fee.

Glue Up: What does it cost?

Not published, and it varies by region. Expect an annual contract quoted on member count and modules.

ACTIVE Network: Is pricing published?

No. Both licence and processing rates are quoted per account.

Glue Up: Is the member app real?

Yes, a branded native app rather than a mobile web view. For associations whose members network at events, it is one of the strongest reasons to choose it.

Glue Up: Should a US-only association consider it?

It can, but Wild Apricot and MemberClicks have published pricing, larger local ecosystems and more local references. The Asia-Pacific advantage is the reason to pick Glue Up.

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