Guest Management Software Comparison
GuestlistOnline vs AirLST
Enterprise participant management for corporate events vs a self-serve guest list platform.
Free up to 50 guests · Free plan: no credit card · Free events: no fees
Short answer
AirLST is a German corporate participant-management suite with ISO 27001 and TISAX, hotel and transfer logistics and CRM sync, from €89 a month or €219 per event, plus 4% + VAT on paid tickets on top of your payment provider's fees; white-label starts at €279 a month. GuestlistOnline is self-serve from €0, white-label from €19.99 per event, and charges 5% + €0.25 on paid tickets with processing included and nothing on free events.
Side by side
Feature comparison
An honest look at how the two platforms compare.
| Feature | GuestlistOnline | AirLST |
|---|---|---|
| Costs & payouts | ||
| Free plan | Free: 1 event, 50 guests, guest list, RSVP page and manual check-in, no credit card | None. There is a 30-day trial capped at 50 guests, and after that the smallest purchase is a plan |
| Entry price | €0 free, €19.99 for a single event, €29/month or €249/year on Pro | Basic €89/month excl. VAT (€1,068 a year with the 17% annual discount) or €219 for a single event on a nine-month term |
| Guest limits and overages | 50 guests on the free plan, unlimited guests on Per Event and Pro, no per-guest charge | 500 guests on Basic, 3,000 on Advanced, 5,000 on Professional; guests beyond the plan cost €0.44 to €0.70 each |
| Selling tickets | Built in: no fees on free events; paid tickets 5% + €0.25 per ticket, payment processing included | 4% of the gross cart plus VAT on paid events, with Stripe, Mollie or PayPal fees charged separately by the provider; free events are fee-free |
| Who holds the money | Neither of us: payouts run through your own Stripe Connect account, iDEAL included | Neither: the money goes straight to the organiser's own payment provider, Stripe, Mollie or PayPal |
| Guest list & RSVP | ||
| Guest import | CSV import with names, email addresses and mapped columns | Excel and CSV import with de-duplication against the existing invitee database |
| CRM sync | Not offered, CSV import and export, plus a REST API and webhooks on Enterprise | Two-way sync with Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics, and an event CRM for recurring invitee lists |
| Tags, custom fields and filters | Tags, custom registration questions and filters on the guest list | Custom fields, tags, quotas and complex filters over the invitee database |
| Plus-ones | Plus-ones with names and your own wording on the registration page | Companions on multi-step registration forms, with dietary and preference fields per person |
| Waitlist | Capacity limit that closes registration when full, plus guest approval | Automated waitlist plus approval workflows on the registration form |
| Promoter tracking | Promoter links with commissions and per-promoter reporting | Not published |
| Check-in & door | ||
| Offline check-in | PWA scanner on iOS and Android, installed without an app store, scans with no signal and syncs afterwards | AirLST Suite Check-in for iOS and Android scans offline and syncs when the connection returns, with live multi-device monitoring |
| Walk-ins at the door | Add a guest on the spot from the scanner and check them in | Walk-ins and companions can be added in the check-in app |
| Badge printing | Not offered | Badge printing on Brother printers at the door |
| Hotel, transfer and catering logistics | Not offered, the guest list, tickets and the door only | Hotel contingents, transfers, catering and seating are part of the corporate stack |
| Branding & communication | ||
| White-label and custom domain | Custom branding from Per Event (€19.99); full white-label on Enterprise | AirLST branding on Basic; white-label from Advanced (€279/month); a custom domain and sender address only on Professional (€549/month) |
| SMS, WhatsApp and push | Email invitations, reminders and templates, no SMS blasts | Email is the core channel; SMS is mentioned only for VIP alerts through a third party, push notifications need the separate Event App from €669/month, and WhatsApp is not published |
| Platform | ||
| Languages | 7 languages across the dashboard, emails and registration pages | 12 guest-facing languages are claimed; the admin is German and English, and the check-in app is English |
| Data location and certifications | Hosted in the EU, GDPR-compliant; no ISO or TISAX certification | Hosted in Germany, GDPR-compliant, ISO 27001 and TISAX certified, with an external data protection officer |
| Team access | 6 roles, up to 5 team members on Per Event and 50 on Pro | Roles are available, but the seats are capped by plan: 1 user on Basic, 3 on Advanced, 5 on Professional |
| API & webhooks | REST API and webhooks on Enterprise | REST API documented at docs.api.airlst.com, on the Professional plan only; integrations with Teams, Slack, Zoom, Slido and SpotMe |
| Export | CSV export of guests, RSVPs, answers and check-in status | Filtered custom exports; the file format is not published |
| Best for | Organisers, venues, clubs and small teams who need a guest list, tickets and a door without a procurement process | Corporate event departments and agencies in the DACH region with compliance requirements and budgets from about €1,000 to €7,000 a year |
Facts verified on 2026-09-17. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
Pricing
What each one costs
GuestlistOnline
- Free €0
1 event, 50 guests, guest list, RSVP page, manual check-in
- Per Event €19.99 one-off
Unlimited guests for one event, QR check-in, templates, branding, gift fund, 5 team members
- Pro €29/month or €249/year
Unlimited events and guests, analytics, organisation settings, 50 team members, 7-day trial
- Enterprise Custom
White-label, API and webhooks, dedicated support and SLA
Free events: no fees. Paid tickets: 5% + 0.25 per ticket in the ticket currency, payment processing included.
AirLST
- Basic €89/month or €219 per event
500 guests, 1 user, AirLST branding
- Advanced €279/month
3,000 guests, 3 users, white-label, unlimited events
- Professional €549/month
5,000 guests, 5 users, custom domain, API
Excl. VAT, from airlst.com/en-us/preisliste, 17 Sep 2026. 30-day trial with 50 guests; no free plan.
What you pay on 200 × €25 tickets (€5,000 gross)
4% is charged on the gross cart plus VAT; Stripe, Mollie or PayPal fees are added by the provider.
Assumes one ticket per order and no VAT differences. Both platforms charge nothing on free tickets.
Key differences
What sets them apart
The details that matter when choosing between the two.
Where the price starts
AirLST starts at €89 a month excluding VAT for 500 guests and one user, or €219 for a single event on a nine-month term, and the annual price with the 17% discount is €1,068. There is no free plan, only a 30-day trial capped at 50 guests, and guests beyond the plan cost €0.44 to €0.70 each. GuestlistOnline is free for one event with 50 guests, €19.99 for a single event with unlimited guests, and €29 a month or €249 a year on Pro, bought with a card.
Where AirLST wins: compliance and the corporate stack
AirLST hosts in Germany with ISO 27001 and TISAX certification and an external data protection officer, syncs invitees two ways with Salesforce, HubSpot and Dynamics, and handles hotel contingents, transfers, catering, seating and badge printing on Brother printers alongside the guest list. GuestlistOnline is hosted in the EU and GDPR-compliant, but holds no ISO or TISAX certification, has no CRM sync, no badge printing and no seating or logistics modules. When automotive procurement asks for TISAX, this comparison is already over.
Both of them work offline
AirLST Suite Check-in runs on iOS and Android, scans QR codes with no connection and syncs afterwards, handles companions and walk-ins and shows live multi-device monitoring. GuestlistOnline installs a PWA scanner straight from the browser on any iPhone or Android phone, with no app store involved, caches the list before doors open, scans in a basement with no signal and syncs the results when the connection returns. Whatever else separates these two, the door does not.
Where GuestlistOnline wins: promoters and self-serve
AirLST publishes no promoter tracking, so guests brought in by a promoter or a partner have to be reconstructed from custom fields, and every plan is quoted and sold through the company. GuestlistOnline gives each promoter a link, counts who actually arrives through it and works out the commission, sells tickets at 5% + €0.25 each with processing included and no fees on free events, and lets you sign up, brand the page and open registration the same afternoon without speaking to anyone.
Fair is fair
When AirLST is the better choice
Corporate event departments in the DACH region with automotive-grade compliance requirements are exactly who AirLST is built for.
- TISAX or ISO 27001 is a hard requirement from procurement
- You manage hotel contingents, transfers and catering alongside the guest list
- You need Salesforce, HubSpot or Dynamics sync for recurring invitee databases
- Badge printing on Brother printers and a separate attendee app are in scope
Migration
Switching from AirLST
AirLST offers filtered custom exports of the invitee and participant data, though it does not publish the file format. Export the fields you need, then import the file into GuestlistOnline and map the columns.
- Guest names, email addresses and phone numbers
- RSVP status and the custom field answers you map on import
- Check-in history, as the exported record of who arrived and when
- Salesforce, HubSpot and Dynamics sync, and the event CRM behind it
- Hotel contingents, transfers, catering and seating arrangements
- Badge templates and Brother printer setups, and anything in the separate Event App
Common questions
Frequently asked questions about GuestlistOnline vs AirLST.
How much does AirLST cost?
The suite is €89 a month on Basic (500 guests, one user), €279 on Advanced (3,000 guests, three users, white-label) and €549 on Professional (5,000 guests, five users, custom domain and API), all excluding VAT, with Enterprise on request. Paying annually takes 17% off, so €1,068, €3,348 and €6,588. Per event, on a nine-month term, the same tiers are €219, €659 and €1,349. Guests beyond your plan cost €0.44 to €0.70 each, the separate Event App starts at €669 a month with add-ons of €999 to €1,699 per event, and setup services run from €699 to €4,499. Figures from airlst.com/en-us/preisliste, checked on 17 September 2026.
Does AirLST have a free plan?
No. There is a 30-day trial limited to 50 guests, and after that every tier is a paid plan or a paid per-event licence, the cheapest way in is €89 a month or €219 for one event. GuestlistOnline has a genuine free plan: one event, up to 50 guests, the guest list, an RSVP page and manual check-in, with no credit card. Beyond that it is €19.99 for a single event with unlimited guests, or €29 a month or €249 a year on Pro with a 7-day trial.
What does AirLST charge on paid tickets?
AirLST takes 4% of the gross cart plus VAT on paid events, and your payment provider, Stripe, Mollie or PayPal, charges its own fees on top; free events are fee-free and the money goes straight to your own provider. Take 200 tickets at €25, so €5,000 gross. GuestlistOnline costs €300: 5% is €250, plus 200 × €0.25 is €50, and payment processing is included. AirLST costs €419 on the Basic per-event licence: 4% is €200, plus the €219 licence, and VAT and the payment provider's fees are added to that. Once the licence is counted, AirLST is the dearer of the two on this example; on a monthly plan you are paying the subscription instead, which changes the arithmetic but not the direction.
Does AirLST work offline at the door?
Yes. AirLST Suite Check-in for iOS and Android keeps the list on the device, scans QR codes with no connection and syncs when it comes back, and it handles companions, walk-ins and live monitoring across several devices. The check-in app itself is in English. GuestlistOnline does the same job with a PWA scanner installed from the browser on any phone, without an app store: it caches the list, scans without signal and syncs afterwards. Neither of them is stuck at the door.
What does AirLST do better than GuestlistOnline?
Compliance and corporate logistics. AirLST hosts in Germany, is ISO 27001 and TISAX certified and has an external data protection officer, which is what DACH procurement departments ask for; GuestlistOnline hosts in the EU and is GDPR-compliant but holds neither certification. AirLST also syncs invitees with Salesforce, HubSpot and Dynamics, de-duplicates them into an event CRM, manages hotel contingents, transfers, catering and seating, and prints badges on Brother printers at the door. GuestlistOnline offers none of that, and no waitlist either, a capacity limit closes registration and approval handles the rest.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- airlst.com AirLST price list
- airlst.com AirLST digital guest list
- airlst.com AirLST invitation management
- airlst.com AirLST event check-in app
- airlst.com AirLST event software API
- airlst.com AirLST privacy statement
- apps.apple.com AirLST Suite Check-in on the App Store
Spotted something out of date? Email go@guestlistonline.com and we will correct it.
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