Softwr

Webinars · head to head

Cvent vs Totara

Cvent logo

Cvent

Webinars

Event technology for every event

From
$10000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Totara logo

Totara

LMS

Open source learning, performance and collaboration platform derived from Moodle and sold through partners

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cvent high cost prohibitive for small organizations and nonprofits; Totara you cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • They diverge on capability: Cvent covers Event registration, Totara covers Organisational hierarchies.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cvent and Totara actually diverge.

Attributes where Cvent and Totara differ
AttributeCventTotara
Starting price$10000/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, iOS, Android, Linux
CategoryWebinarsLMS
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Cvent

  • Event registration
  • Venue sourcing
  • Attendee management
  • Mobile event app
  • Event marketing
  • Salesforce
  • Marketo
  • Microsoft Dynamics

Only in Totara

  • Organisational hierarchies
  • Compliance and certification
  • Totara Perform
  • Totara Engage
  • Self-hosting
  • Programs and learning plans

What people use each for

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

Cvent

  • Event planningnot Totara
  • Ticket salesnot Totara
  • Attendee managementnot Totara
  • Virtual eventsnot Totara
  • Event marketingnot Totara

Totara

  • Health services and government bodies that must evidence mandatory training by job role across a large hierarchynot Cvent
  • Organisations with data residency rules that require the platform to run on their own infrastructurenot Cvent
  • Moodle users who need appraisal, competency and compliance features the academic product does not carrynot Cvent
  • Buyers who want exit rights over the platform code rather than dependence on a single hosted vendornot Cvent

Where each one falls short

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

Cvent

  • High cost prohibitive for small organizations and nonprofits
  • Complex modular pricing makes budgeting difficult

Totara

  • You cannot buy from the vendor. Every purchase runs through a partner who sets its own hosting, services and support pricing, so identical platforms are quoted at materially different totals and buyers must run a partner comparison as well as a product comparison.
  • Open source does not mean cheap. Subscription plus partner hosting plus implementation and version upgrade services commonly lands near commercial system cost, and the saving is in control and exit rights rather than in the invoice.
  • The administrative interface carries its Moodle lineage and is dense, so administrator training is a real project cost rather than an afterthought.
  • Major version upgrades are projects, especially where a partner has customised the deployment, and organisations that customise heavily find upgrades slower and dearer over time.
  • The learner facing experience is functional rather than engaging, and organisations wanting a consumer grade learning experience usually front it with something else.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cvent

$10000/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Cvent review.

Totara

On request
  • Totara subscription via partner$undefined/year
    • Sold only through distribution partners
    • Partner sets hosting, implementation and support pricing
    • Source available under the GPL, but subscription required for supported releases

Which should you pick?

Choose Cvent if

  • You need event registration.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want venue sourcing.
Cvent review

Choose Totara if

  • You need organisational hierarchies.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
  • You also want compliance and certification.
Totara review

Questions people ask

Is Cvent or Totara better?
Neither clearly leads. Cvent starts at $10000/month and Totara at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cvent or Totara?
Cvent starts at $10000/month and Totara at On request.
Does Cvent or Totara run on more platforms?
Cvent runs on Web, Mobile. Totara runs on Web, iOS, Android, Linux.
What is Cvent best used for?
Cvent is most often used for event planning, ticket sales, attendee management, virtual events. Of those, event planning and ticket sales are not what Totara is typically brought in for.
What can Cvent do that Totara cannot?
Cvent covers Event registration, Venue sourcing, Attendee management, Mobile event app. Totara covers Organisational hierarchies, Compliance and certification, Totara Perform, Totara Engage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cvent: Does Cvent offer a free trial or demo?

Cvent does not list pricing on its website but offers customized demos and evaluations. No free trial is publicly available.

Source
Totara: Is Totara free because it is open source?

No. The source is available under the GPL, but supported releases require a subscription, and it is sold through partners who add hosting, implementation and support costs.

Cvent: What modules are available?

Core modules include Registration, Attendee Hub, OnArrival, event app, badge printing, and real-time reporting. Additional modules can be added based on event needs.

Source
Totara: How is it different from Moodle?

Moodle is built around courses and academic delivery. Totara adds organisational hierarchies, role based automatic assignment, recurring certification and appraisal, which is what workplace compliance reporting needs.

Cvent: Does it support virtual and hybrid events?

Yes. Cvent Event Management supports in-person, virtual, and hybrid events with integrated registration, attendee engagement, and reporting across all formats.

Source
Totara: Can we host it ourselves?

Yes. Self hosting is a genuine option and is one of the main reasons regulated and public sector buyers choose it over a hosted only competitor.

Cvent: How much does it cost?

Cvent pricing starts at $10,000 per month and scales to $100,000+ for enterprise deployments, with costs based on selected modules and event volume. Exact pricing requires a sales consultation.

Source
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