Convoke

Overview

Convoke is event-management software for camps, retreats and conferences. It is aimed at organizers who need to coordinate registration, payments and attendee care across one or more events. Its breadth is useful, but the attendee-based pricing and Stripe fees deserve close attention as attendance grows.

Key features

Organizers can build front and event pages from drag-and-drop blocks, preview changes live and add custom pages. Registration forms can collect attendee details, emergency contacts, medical history and digital waivers, with conditional logic for custom questions. That is a better fit for camps and retreats with detailed enrollment requirements than for organizers who only need a simple ticket form.

Payments run through Stripe and support full payment, deposits, installments, promo codes and sibling discounts. Parents must create accounts to manage registrations, view balances, pay and sign up for future events without re-entering information. That works well for returning families, but is less suitable when an account-free registration flow is important.

The health center tracks allergies, conditions, medications, daily schedules, incidents and health notes. Convoke says nurses and admins can access full medical profiles, with access audit-logged; check-in staff see allergy flags only. Tablet-friendly check-in also supports attendee search, authorized-adult pickup and arrival and departure history. Those controls make the system particularly relevant to events where staff need health and pickup information on site without giving every check-in worker full medical access.

Reports can be filtered, sorted, saved and exported to CSV, including reports on custom registration questions. A single account can manage multiple organizations, each with its own site, staff, registration and Stripe payouts. Overlapping events can each have their own page, capacity, pricing, form and roster, which gives organizers room to run concurrent programs without collapsing them into one registration setup.

Pricing

Convoke has a free Starter plan for up to 50 registered attendees across events, with all features; Stripe processing fees apply to paid registrations. That makes it a useful way to run a smaller program with the full feature set, but the attendee cap can become a hard constraint for growing organizations.

Growth costs $3 per registered attendee, billed once, for 51–150 attendees, plus Stripe's standard processing fee. It suits organizers who exceed the free cap but do not need the Scale tier's higher attendee range. Scale costs $5 per registered attendee, billed once, for 151 or more attendees, also plus Stripe's standard processing fee; it adds priority support. No setup fees or contracts are stated, and customers can cancel anytime. The per-attendee charge means the software cost rises with registrations, so organizers should account for it alongside payment processing.

Platforms

Convoke is web-based. The service also describes tablet-friendly check-in, but the stated platform is web rather than a separate native mobile app.

Who it's for

Convoke is strongest for camps, retreats and conferences that need registration, family payments, health information and on-site check-in in one system. Its multiple-organization and concurrent-event support also suits operators running separate programs. It is less compelling for events below 50 attendees that do not need its specialized health and check-in tools, or for organizers who want registration without parent accounts or per-attendee charges above the free tier.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Registration, payment options, health records, check-in and reporting are combined, reducing the need to coordinate those tasks across separate systems.
• Pros: Role-sensitive medical access and audit logging address a key operational concern when handling attendee health information.
• Pros: Multiple organizations and overlapping events can retain separate sites, staff, payment setups and rosters.
• Cons: The free plan ends at 50 registered attendees, after which pricing is per attendee and Stripe fees still apply.
• Cons: Parents need accounts, which may add friction for one-time registrations.

Alternatives

Campzone is worth considering if native Android and iOS availability matters; it has a free participant plan and also runs on the web.

CampStack may suit camps seeking no monthly software subscription: it is included when the camp processes payments with Stackably, though payment processing through Stackably is required and fees apply.

MosesTab Worship Planning is a free-plan alternative with a free trial for worship planning, rather than a direct camp-management choice.

MyVBS is a free option for VBS registration websites, participant and volunteer registration, and event and group management.

Sitelite may be a better fit for free events: it charges no fee when tickets have no price and allows 100 confirmed registrants per event by default.

Camp Network offers free pay-as-you-go registration with online payments and bank transfers; its standard plan is described as typically costing participants about 3.95% plus 30 cents per transaction.

CampOrganizer is another usage-based option, with no fixed monthly subscription and a stated charge of €0.25 per participant per event or €1.00 per participant per day. It also runs on Android, iOS and the web.

CampSite uses pricing by demo or quote, making it an option for buyers who prefer a quoted plan.

For more choices, browse Church Camp Management Software or Church Event Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Convoke if your camp, retreat or conference needs registration, attendee health tools and check-in in the same system, especially across multiple organizations or concurrent events. Its principal trade-off is cost at scale: after 50 registered attendees, per-attendee pricing and Stripe fees both apply.