Softwr

Events · head to head

Activity Messenger vs Partiful

Activity Messenger logo

Activity Messenger

Events

Registrations, payments and communications for sports and leisure

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Partiful logo

Partiful

Events

The party planning app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Partiful has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Activity Messenger entry pricing is 99 dollars a month, and online registration itself only appears on the 149 dollar Premium tier, so the cheapest plan is a communications tool rather than a registration one.; Partiful no automatic email or SMS delivery to guests, requiring manual link sharing for event invitations
  • They diverge on capability: Activity Messenger covers Online registration, Partiful covers Digital invitations.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Activity Messenger and Partiful actually diverge.

Attributes where Activity Messenger and Partiful differ
AttributeActivity MessengerPartiful
Starting price$99/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebiOS, Android, Web
Founded20192021

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 Activity Messenger

  • Online registration
  • Digital waivers
  • Email and SMS automation
  • Memberships and ticketing
  • Staff management
  • Attendance tracking
  • Bulk certificates

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.

Activity Messenger

  • Running seasonal camp and class registrationsnot Partiful
  • Collecting signed liability waivers digitallynot Partiful
  • Managing memberships and recurring programmesnot Partiful
  • Onboarding and timesheeting seasonal instructorsnot Partiful
  • Email and SMS campaigns to a registrant listnot Partiful

Partiful

  • Event planningnot Activity Messenger
  • Ticket salesnot Activity Messenger
  • Attendee managementnot Activity Messenger
  • Virtual eventsnot Activity Messenger
  • Event marketingnot Activity Messenger

Where each one falls short

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

Activity Messenger

  • Entry pricing is 99 dollars a month, and online registration itself only appears on the 149 dollar Premium tier, so the cheapest plan is a communications tool rather than a registration one.
  • Payment processing costs 2.9 percent plus 30 cents on cards with a 1 percent service fee on all methods, which is charged on top of the subscription.
  • Tiers are gated on email subscriber counts, so an organisation with a large mailing list and few registrations pays for the list.
  • Staff scheduling is listed as coming soon on the Pro tier rather than available.
  • The customer base and case studies are concentrated in North America, so a European organisation should check tax and payment handling before committing.

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

Activity Messenger

$99/month
  • Light$99/month
    • Email marketing with Canva integration
    • Digital waivers and signatures
    • Surveys and forms
  • Premium$149/month
    • Online registration and camps and activities management
    • Staff management
    • Memberships and automations
  • Pro$229/month
    • Private lessons and bookings
    • Unlimited users
    • Fully white label
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Unlimited data storage
    • Fundraising for athletes

Partiful

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Partiful review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Activity Messenger if

  • You need online registration.
  • You also want digital waivers.
Activity Messenger review

Choose Partiful if

  • You need digital invitations.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want rsvp tracking.
Partiful review

Questions people ask

Is Activity Messenger or Partiful better?
Neither clearly leads. Activity Messenger starts at $99/month and Partiful at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Activity Messenger or Partiful?
Partiful has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $99/month for Activity Messenger and Free for Partiful.
Does Activity Messenger or Partiful run on more platforms?
Activity Messenger runs on Web. 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. Activity Messenger starts at $99/month.
What is Activity Messenger best used for?
Activity Messenger is most often used for running seasonal camp and class registrations, collecting signed liability waivers digitally, managing memberships and recurring programmes, onboarding and timesheeting seasonal instructors. Of those, running seasonal camp and class registrations and collecting signed liability waivers digitally are not what Partiful is typically brought in for.
What can Activity Messenger do that Partiful cannot?
Activity Messenger covers Online registration, Digital waivers, Email and SMS automation, Memberships and ticketing. Partiful covers Digital invitations, RSVP tracking, Guest messaging, Photo sharing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Activity Messenger: What does Activity Messenger cost?

Light is $99 a month, Premium $149, Pro $229, and Enterprise is custom priced. A $10 pause plan is available for seasonal businesses for up to six months.

Source
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.

Source
Activity Messenger: Are there transaction fees on top?

Yes. Credit card payments are 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction, Interac and bank transfers are 1 percent plus $0.40, and a 1 percent service fee applies across all payment methods.

Source
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.

Source
Activity Messenger: Which tier includes online registration?

Premium at $149 a month. The $99 Light tier covers email marketing, digital waivers, surveys and forms, but registration, camps and activities management, memberships and ticketing start at Premium.

Source
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.

Source
Activity Messenger: Who is it built for?

Sports and leisure organisations: classes and camps, schools, federations, dance studios, gymnastics clubs, swim schools, soccer academies, tennis clubs, parks and recreation departments and sports associations.

Source
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.

Source
Activity Messenger: Who built it?

Founded in Montreal in 2019 by Martin Drapeau, Olivier Rousseau and Michael Shpigelman. Drapeau was previously CTO of Amilia, where he spent six years growing the company from 15 to 110 people.

Source
Activity Messenger: What does it integrate with?

Stripe for payments, Zoom for online sessions on the Premium tier and above, and Canva for email design.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Activity Messenger

More on Partiful

Keep looking

Other head to heads