by Promoting an event involves more than getting people to register. You may need designs, social media posts, emails, ticketing and a way to keep your team organized.
Luckily, you don’t need expensive software for all of this. Different event marketing tools can help with different parts of the process. Here are six budget-friendly options worth considering.
What to look for in an event marketing tool?
Before choosing a platform, think about which parts of event marketing you need help with. Look for:
- Event pages and registrations
- Ticketing
- Email marketing
- Social media scheduling
- Design tools
- Team collaboration
- Analytics
- Free or affordable plans
A small workshop may only need a landing page and social posts, while a larger event might need ticketing, emails and team management.
6 budget-friendly event marketing tools
1. PosterMyWall
Overview
PosterMyWall brings several parts of event marketing together. Its event marketing tool lets you create event pages, collect registrations and sell tickets. You can also design posters, flyers, videos and social media content for your campaign.
The platform includes email marketing, social media publishing and a Content Planner. Its AI tools can also help with creating images, writing content, editing designs and removing backgrounds.
Pricing plan
Free: $0
Premium: $13/month or $109/year
Premium Plus: $30/month or $319/year
Key features
- Event pages and registrations
- Paid ticketing
- Posters, flyers and social media designs
- Email campaigns
- Social media scheduling
- Content Planner
- AI tools
- Brand Kits
Who should use it?
PosterMyWall is useful for small businesses, community organizations and event organizers who want several marketing tools in one place.
2. Canva
Overview
Canva is a good option for the visual side of event marketing. You can create invitations, posters, presentations, social media graphics and videos using its templates and stock content. Its paid plans also include Brand Kits, AI design tools and social media scheduling. However, you may need another platform for registrations and ticketing.
Pricing plan
Free plan: Available
Canva Business: $20/person/month or $250/person/year
Key features
- Event posters and invitations
- Social media graphics
- Video editing
- AI design tools
- Brand Kits
- Social scheduling
- Team collaboration
Who should use it?
Canva works well for organizers who mainly need promotional designs and already have another way to manage registrations.
3. Mailchimp
Overview
Mailchimp is useful when email is an important part of your event campaign. You can send announcements, invitations and reminders and divide your audience into different groups.
It also offers landing pages, signup forms and marketing automation, making it useful for both promoting an event and communicating with attendees.
Pricing plan
Free: Available for up to 250 contacts
Essentials: Starts at $13/month
Standard: Starts at $20/month
Pricing increases as your contact list grows.
Key features
- Email campaigns
- Audience segmentation
- Marketing automation
- Signup forms
- Landing pages
- A/B testing
- Analytics
Who should use it?
Mailchimp is a good option for organizers with an existing email list or those planning an email-heavy event campaign.
4. Eventbrite
Overview
Eventbrite focuses on event registration and ticketing. You can publish an event, sell tickets and manage attendees from the same platform.
Public events can also be discovered through Eventbrite, helping organizers reach people outside their existing audience. There are additional promotional options, including Eventbrite Ads.
Pricing plan
Publishing events: Free
Free tickets: No ticketing fees
Paid events: Ticketing fees apply
Fees for paid tickets vary by country and currency.
Key features
- Event listings
- Registrations
- Paid ticketing
- Event discovery
- Attendee management
- Eventbrite Ads
- Analytics
Who should use it?
Eventbrite works well for workshops, conferences, performances and other events where ticketing and public discovery are important.
5. Hootsuite
Overview
Hootsuite is designed for social media management. It lets you plan, schedule and monitor event campaigns across several social platforms.
You can manage messages, create content with AI and track post performance. Its social listening features can also help teams monitor conversations around an event or brand.
Pricing plan
Free trial: Available
Standard: Starts at $99/user/month
Hootsuite is one of the more expensive tools on this list.
Key features
- Social media scheduling
- Content calendar
- AI content creation
- Social inbox
- Analytics
- Social listening
- Team workflows
Who should use it?
Hootsuite is better suited to organizations managing larger social media campaigns across multiple accounts.
6. Asana
Overview
Asana helps with the planning side of event marketing. Instead of creating content or selling tickets, it helps teams organize tasks and deadlines.
You can create tasks for social posts, emails, venue arrangements and other event activities, assign them to team members and track progress.
Pricing plan
Personal: Free for up to 2 users
Starter: $10.99/user/month when billed annually
Key features
- Task management
- Project timelines
- Calendar and board views
- Team assignments
- Event planning templates
- Automations
- Reporting
Who should use it?
Asana is useful for teams that need to coordinate an event campaign. It works best alongside other marketing or ticketing tools.
Pros and cons
| Tool | Pros | Cons |
| PosterMyWall | Combines design, events, email, social media and ticketing; affordable paid plan | Higher usage limits and some features require paid plans |
| Canva | Large template library; strong design and AI tools | Not focused on event registration; another tool may be needed for ticketing |
| Mailchimp | Strong email tools; useful automation and segmentation | Costs increase with contacts; not primarily a ticketing platform |
| Eventbrite | Strong registration and ticketing; public event discovery | Fees on paid tickets; fewer tools for creating promotional content |
| Hootsuite | Strong social scheduling and analytics; useful social listening | Expensive for small organizers; no registration or ticketing |
| Asana | Good team coordination; useful free plan | No content creation tools; no registration or ticketing |
Which event marketing tool should you choose?
The best option depends on what you need most. PosterMyWall is useful if you want design, email, social media, event pages and ticketing together. Canva is more focused on visual content, while Mailchimp works well for email-heavy campaigns.
Eventbrite is useful when ticket sales and event discovery are important. Hootsuite suits larger social media campaigns, while Asana helps teams manage tasks and deadlines.
You can also combine tools. For example, you could use Canva for designs and Eventbrite for ticketing, or Mailchimp for emails and Asana to manage the campaign.
Tips for choosing an event marketing tool
- Start with what you need most: Don’t pay for features you won’t use.
- Check the free plan: It may be enough for a smaller event.
- Think about your team: Collaboration features matter more when several people are involved.
- Look at the total cost: Contact limits, ticketing fees and per-user pricing can add up.
FAQs
Q. What is the best event marketing tool for a small business?
A. It depends on your needs. PosterMyWall covers several marketing tasks, while Canva, Mailchimp and Eventbrite are more focused on design, email and ticketing.
Q. Do I need to pay for event marketing tools?
A. Not always. Several platforms offer free plans. Paid plans are more useful when you need higher limits or advanced features.
Q. Can I use more than one event marketing tool?
A. Yes. Combining tools can work well when you need different features, but try not to use more platforms than you actually need.
Which event marketing tool is right for you?
There isn’t one tool that works best for every event. A small workshop, a ticketed public event and a large conference will have different marketing needs.
Start with the parts of your campaign that matter most and compare the cost of getting those features. The right option is the one that gives you what you need without making your event harder or more expensive to manage.
