Events · head to head
ACTIVE Network vs Partiful
ACTIVE Network
Events
Registration and payment software for parks departments, races and camps, owned by Global Payments
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Partiful has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- 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.; Partiful no automatic email or SMS delivery to guests, requiring manual link sharing for event invitations
- They diverge on capability: ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, Partiful covers Digital invitations.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which ACTIVE Network and Partiful actually diverge.
| Attribute | ACTIVE Network | Partiful |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | quote | Unknown |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | iOS, Android, Web |
| Founded | Unknown | 2021 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Events).
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 Partiful
- Digital invitations
- RSVP tracking
- Guest messaging
- Photo sharing
- Calendar sync
- Apple Calendar
- Google Calendar
- iMessage
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 Partiful
- A race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendornot Partiful
- A YMCA needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one systemnot Partiful
- An agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing feesnot Partiful
Partiful
- Event planningnot ACTIVE Network
- Ticket salesnot ACTIVE Network
- Attendee managementnot ACTIVE Network
- Virtual eventsnot ACTIVE Network
- Event marketingnot 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.
Partiful
- No automatic email or SMS delivery to guests, requiring manual link sharing for event invitations
- Ticketing fees are not disclosed until setup time, making budget planning difficult for event hosts
- No support for interactive seat maps or assigned reserved seating for ticketed events
- Designed primarily for informal social events and works best for gatherings under 300 people
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
Partiful
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Partiful review.
Which should you pick?
Choose ACTIVE Network if
- You need activenet.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want activeworks endurance.
Choose Partiful if
- You need digital invitations.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android, Web.
- You also want rsvp tracking.
Questions people ask
- Is ACTIVE Network or Partiful better?
- Neither clearly leads. ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Partiful at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, ACTIVE Network or Partiful?
- Partiful has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ACTIVE Network and Free for Partiful.
- Does ACTIVE Network or Partiful run on more platforms?
- ACTIVE Network runs on Web, iOS, Android. Partiful runs on iOS, Android, Web.
- Can I use Partiful for free?
- Yes. Partiful has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ACTIVE Network starts at On request.
- 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 Partiful is typically brought in for.
- What can ACTIVE Network do that Partiful cannot?
- ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, ACTIVEWorks Endurance, Camp and Class Manager, Participant-paid fees. Partiful covers Digital invitations, RSVP tracking, Guest messaging, Photo sharing.
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.
Partiful: Is Partiful free to use for creating events?
Yes. Creating events and inviting guests is completely free. Ticketing features are available with variable fees based on ticket price and event size, but the basic event creation and RSVP collection has no cost.
SourceACTIVE Network: How does ACTIVE make money?
Primarily from registration processing fees, charged as a percentage plus a fixed amount per registration.
Partiful: Does Partiful support assigned seating or seat maps?
No. Partiful Ticketing supports tiered pricing and capacity limits but does not currently support interactive seat maps or assigned-seat reserved seating.
SourceACTIVE 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.
Partiful: How does Partiful notify guests about events?
Partiful primarily uses link sharing rather than automated email or SMS delivery. Hosts must share event links with guests, typically via text message or social media.
SourceACTIVE Network: Is pricing published?
No. Both licence and processing rates are quoted per account.
Partiful: What ticketing features does Partiful support?
Partiful Ticketing supports tiered pricing for different ticket tiers, capacity limits with QR code check-in, and promo codes. However, it does not support ticket add-ons, waitlists for ticketed events, or individual refunds from the dashboard.
SourceRelated pages
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