fielddrive vs Cvent OnArrival: Which event check-in software is better for large European events?

Both fielddrive and Cvent OnArrival support onsite check-in, badge printing, attendee management, and multi-station event operations. However, the two platforms are designed around different event technology models.

Cvent OnArrival is a natural choice for organizations that already manage registration, attendee data, and reporting within the wider Cvent ecosystem.

At fielddrive, we provide a dedicated onsite event technology platform that connects with different registration systems and brings together attendee check-in, live badge printing, verification, hardware, integrations, and onsite support.

fielddrive also integrates with Cvent. This allows organizers to continue using Cvent for registration while using fielddrive to manage the onsite check-in and badging experience.

This guide compares both options through the requirements that matter most at large European events, including arrival throughput, badge printing, offline performance, integrations, support, GDPR considerations, and total onsite cost.

TL;DR

• Choose Cvent OnArrival when registration and attendee management already operate within Cvent and keeping the onsite experience inside the same ecosystem is the main priority.
• Choose fielddrive when you need a specialized onsite platform that works with different registration systems and combines check-in, badging, hardware, verification, integrations, and onsite support.
• Use Cvent and fielddrive together when you want to retain Cvent for registration while using fielddrive for the onsite attendee experience.
• For large events, the final decision should be based on peak arrival volume, badge complexity, exception handling, offline requirements, venue layout, and onsite support rather than feature lists alone.

fielddrive vs Cvent OnArrival at a glance

Published benchmarks should always be treated as planning references rather than guaranteed results. Actual performance depends on attendee behaviour, badge design, verification requirements, staffing, hardware allocation, and venue layout.

What large events should evaluate before choosing a platform

A check-in platform that works comfortably for a few hundred attendees may behave very differently when several thousand people arrive within the same hour.

Large conferences, exhibitions, association events, and corporate gatherings should account for:

• Peak arrivals during the busiest 15-, 30-, and 60-minute periods
• The number of attendees using QR codes, manual lookup, or other verification methods
• Walk-ins, substitutions, spelling corrections, and badge reprints
• Separate arrival flows for attendees, exhibitors, speakers, staff, press, and VIPs
• Multiple venue entrances
• Badge complexity and printing time
• Wi-Fi congestion or internet failure
• Hardware redundancy
• Staff training and escalation procedures
• Attendee data and privacy requirements

The real comparison is therefore not simply whether both platforms can scan a QR code. It is how well the complete onsite setup handles peak pressure, exceptions, connectivity failures, and last-minute changes.

Check-in throughput and attendee flow

How fielddrive handles large-event check-in

Our event check-in solution supports QR code scanning, manual name lookup, optional facial recognition, and configurable ID or document verification.

Offering multiple check-in methods helps prevent attendees from reaching a dead end when they cannot find their QR code, their registration information has changed, or additional verification is required.

Our published benchmark is approximately 200 attendees per hour per kiosk, depending on the event configuration and attendee flow.

For larger events, kiosks and printers can be distributed across multiple registration areas or venue entrances. Routine arrivals can move through self-service lanes, while staff manage walk-ins, substitutions, corrections, and other exceptions separately.

This separation matters because one complicated attendee record should not bring an entire queue to a standstill.

How Cvent OnArrival handles large-event check-in

Cvent OnArrival supports attendee check-in, attendee search, self-service kiosks, walk-in registration, attendee-detail updates, attendance tracking, reporting, and onsite payments.

Its main advantage is continuity for organizations already operating within Cvent. Registration information, attendee records, onsite attendance, and reporting can remain within the same event management environment.

Cvent does not publish a directly comparable per-kiosk throughput figure on its main OnArrival page. Organizers should therefore ask both providers for measured performance from events with similar attendance levels, arrival windows, badge requirements, and exception rates.

What organizers should measure

A single check-in speed statistic does not describe the complete arrival journey.

For a useful comparison, ask each provider to calculate capacity using:

• Scan or lookup time
• Verification time
• Badge-printing time
• Badge collection time
• Expected exception rate
• Number of venue entrances
• Peak arrivals per hour
• Target maximum queue length
• Spare capacity

The result should be a recommended kiosk, printer, lane, and staffing configuration rather than one floating throughput number.

On-demand badge printing

Pre-printing thousands of badges can create operational problems before the event even begins.

Teams must sort them, transport them, locate individual names at the registration desk, discard badges belonging to no-shows, and manually handle late changes.

On-demand printing creates the badge only after an attendee has checked in or been verified.

Badge printing with fielddrive

Our onsite badge-printing solution supports:

• Custom badge templates
• Different designs for attendees, exhibitors, speakers, and staff
• Attendee names and registration details
• QR codes
• Sponsor branding
• Walk-ins
• Last-minute corrections
• Badge reprints
• Sustainable badge materials

Our kiosks take approximately six seconds on average to print a badge, although the exact speed depends on the badge material, design, printer, and onsite configuration.

We also offer recyclable, biodegradable, and zero-plastic badge options that do not require traditional plastic holders. These formats can help organizers reduce waste from pre-printed badges and support event sustainability goals.

Badge printing with Cvent OnArrival

Cvent OnArrival also supports on-demand badge printing and attendee-detail editing before a badge is produced.

Different deployment models are available, including self-service hardware packages and managed services that may include kiosks, printers, scanners, badge stock, setup, and onsite support.

What to verify before selecting a badging setup

Ask both providers:

1. How long does the complete scan-to-badge-collection journey take?
2. Is each kiosk connected to its own printer?
3. Can several devices share a printer?
4. What happens if a printer fails?
5. How quickly can staff edit and reprint a badge?
6. Can different attendee groups receive different badge designs?
7. Which badge materials and consumables are included?
8. How much spare hardware is provided?
9. What continues working when internet access is interrupted?

Badge-printing speed matters, but only when the full workflow remains reliable during the busiest arrival period.

Offline check-in and venue connectivity

Large venues often have congested Wi-Fi, signal dead zones, firewall restrictions, or temporary network failures.

For that reason, “offline capability” should never be treated as a single checkbox.

fielddrive offline capabilities

Our onsite badging platform supports offline badge printing.

fielddrive Leads also allows exhibitors to continue scanning and qualifying leads offline after they have logged in while connected to the internet. Captured information can synchronize when connectivity returns.

The offline behaviour of check-in, integrations, verification, attendee changes, and cross-device synchronization depends on the agreed event configuration. These requirements should be documented and tested before the event.

Cvent OnArrival offline capabilities

Cvent states that OnArrival can continue checking in attendees, editing attendee details, scanning, and printing badges offline when the event has already been synchronized to the device.

Changes are synchronized once connectivity returns.

For either platform, organizers should ask what happens when:

• Two offline devices edit the same attendee
• The same attendee attempts to check in at different entrances
• A walk-in is added while other devices remain offline
• Badge information changes before synchronization
• Devices reconnect in a different order

A proper offline test should be part of the pre-event rehearsal. The event entrance is not the ideal laboratory for discovering how synchronization rules behave.

Integrations and event technology ecosystems

Integrations are one of the clearest differences between fielddrive and Cvent OnArrival.

When Cvent OnArrival makes sense

OnArrival is designed to operate within the Cvent ecosystem.

For organizations already using Cvent for registration, attendee management, reporting, CRM workflows, and multiple annual events, keeping check-in inside the same platform can reduce the number of systems and vendors involved.

This can also simplify internal governance, training, procurement, and reporting.

When fielddrive makes sense

Our event technology integrations are designed to connect fielddrive with different registration systems, CRMs, and event platforms.

We are not tied to one registration ecosystem. This makes our platform suitable for:

• Agencies working with different technology stacks across clients
• Associations using an association management system
• Event portfolios operating across several countries
• Organizers using regional or specialist registration platforms
• Teams that want to change registration providers without replacing their onsite setup
• Organizations that need a dedicated onsite technology partner

We also integrate with Cvent.

This means organizers can continue using Cvent for registration while using fielddrive for onsite check-in, attendee verification, and badge printing.

Before choosing a platform, ask for a documented integration flow showing:

• Which system owns the attendee record
• Which data fields are synchronized
• Whether information moves in one or both directions
• How frequently records update
• How check-in status is returned
• How walk-ins and corrections are handled
• What happens when connectivity is interrupted

“Integrated” can describe anything from a live two-way connection to a spreadsheet wearing a digital trench coat. The exact data flow should always be clear.

Exhibitor lead capture

For exhibitions and sponsor-led events, lead capture is another important part of the onsite technology decision.

Exhibitors typically need to know:

• How quickly badges can be scanned
• Whether qualification questions can be customized
• Whether the app works offline
• How leads are categorized
• When data becomes available
• How leads are exported or sent to CRM systems

fielddrive Leads

fielddrive Leads allows exhibitors to:

• Scan attendee badges
• Add notes
• Use custom qualification questions
• Categorize leads
• Work offline
• Review lead information
• Export captured data
• Access reporting

Lead retrieval licences and onsite sponsorship opportunities can also create additional revenue streams for organizers.

Cvent LeadCapture

Cvent provides lead retrieval through Cvent LeadCapture, a separate product within the wider Cvent platform.

It supports badge and business card scanning, notes, qualification questions, lead ratings, exports, and integrations with CRM and marketing systems.

When comparing the two, evaluate:

• Licence pricing
• Exhibitor ordering
• User onboarding
• Custom qualification options
• Offline behaviour
• Lead ownership
• Organizer reporting
• CRM exports
• Retention rules
• Revenue-sharing or resale models
• Event-day exhibitor support

Lead retrieval should be tested under the same venue connectivity conditions as attendee check-in.

GDPR, facial recognition, and attendee data

Using a European provider does not automatically make an event GDPR-compliant. Equally, using a provider headquartered outside Europe does not automatically make an event non-compliant.

Compliance depends on how attendee information is collected, processed, transferred, secured, retained, and deleted.

Organizers should evaluate the actual data-processing model rather than relying on the location of a company’s headquarters.

Facial recognition

Under the GDPR, biometric data used to uniquely identify an individual is treated as sensitive personal data and requires additional safeguards.

Our facial recognition check-in is optional and consent-driven.

Our approach includes:

• Explicit attendee opt-in
• Alternative non-biometric check-in methods
• Pseudonymised biometric data
• Encryption at rest and in transit
• Separation of biometric information from personally identifiable attendee data
• Restricted access controls

For ID-verification workflows, organizers choose which information must be checked. Document scans and biometric matches are not stored as part of the verification process.

Organizations considering facial recognition or ID verification should still involve their legal or data-protection teams and assess whether the proposed use is necessary and proportionate.

Data processing and retention

Our privacy policy explains how we process personal data and our role when handling attendee information on behalf of an organizer.

Regardless of provider, organizers should confirm:

• Controller and processor responsibilities
• Data-processing locations
• Hosting arrangements
• Subprocessors
• International transfer mechanisms
• Data-processing agreements
• Encryption
• Access controls
• Retention periods
• Deletion procedures
• Data-subject request processes
• Incident-response procedures
• Whether a data protection impact assessment is required

Where information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, organizers should confirm the transfer mechanism and safeguards used for that deployment.

This section provides a practical evaluation framework and should not be treated as legal advice.

Onsite support and implementation

Large-event failures are not always caused by missing software features.

Problems are often more physical:

• Hardware arrives late
• The wrong badge stock is supplied
• A printer fails
• The venue network behaves differently from the test environment
• One entrance receives more attendees than expected
• Staff have not been trained
• Spare equipment is stored too far away
• Escalation responsibilities are unclear

Our onsite delivery model

We combine event technology with hardware logistics, implementation planning, integrations, onsite setup, and event-day support.

Our team can help plan:

• Kiosk quantities
• Printer allocation
• Registration area layouts
• Multiple entrances
• Attendee flows
• Exception desks
• Badge materials
• Network requirements
• Spare equipment
• Onsite staffing

This is designed for organizers that want an onsite technology partner rather than software alone.

Cvent’s support models

Cvent provides different OnArrival deployment models.

Its Event-in-a-Box offering is positioned as a more self-service option. OnArrival 360 provides a managed service that can include project management, hardware, kiosks, printers, scanners, badge supplies, setup, training, troubleshooting, and teardown.

For both providers, clarify:

• Who owns the implementation plan
• Who configures the hardware
• When the equipment will arrive
• Who tests integrations
• Whether onsite installation is included
• How staff will be trained
• How many support personnel will attend
• Which areas they will cover
• What spare equipment will be available
• How issues will be escalated
• Who handles teardown and returns

The support model should match the operational risk of the event.

Pricing and total onsite cost

Neither platform can be compared fairly using a software licence alone.

The total cost of a large-event deployment may include:

• Software
• Kiosks
• Tablets
• Scanners
• Printers
• Badge materials
• Consumables
• Freight
• Customs
• Integration work
• Configuration
• Onsite support
• Travel and accommodation
• Setup and teardown
• Spare equipment
• Lead retrieval licences
• Additional entrances
• Additional event days

Cvent pricing may depend on the organization’s wider platform agreement and whether the event uses a self-service or managed OnArrival deployment.

Our pricing depends on the kiosk model, number of stations, badge format, integrations, verification methods, logistics, and onsite support requirements.

To compare proposals properly, give both providers the same information:

• Total registrations
• Expected attendance
• Peak arrival forecast
• Venue entrances
• Registration desk hours
• Badge specifications
• Check-in methods
• Integration requirements
• Support expectations
• Event duration

Without a shared scope, two quotes may look comparable while describing completely different onsite operations.

Which platform should you choose?

Choose fielddrive when:

• You need a dedicated onsite event technology partner
• You use different registration platforms across events
• You want a vendor-agnostic onsite layer
• You want to retain Cvent or another platform for registration
• You need multiple check-in and verification methods
• Optional facial recognition or ID verification is required
• You need flexible live badge printing
• Sustainable badge formats are important
• Offline badging or lead capture is a priority
• You need support planning kiosks, printers, staffing, and attendee flow

Choose Cvent OnArrival when:

• Your registration and attendee records already live in Cvent
• You want onsite activity to remain inside the same ecosystem
• Enterprise standardization is a priority
• Your team already understands Cvent workflows
• You want native access to Cvent reporting and related products
• You prefer an Event-in-a-Box deployment
• You want to use Cvent’s managed OnArrival 360 service
• Reducing the number of vendors is more important than maintaining a platform-independent onsite layer

The practical verdict

There is no universal winner.

Cvent OnArrival is a strong option for organizations already committed to the wider Cvent ecosystem.

We are built for organizers that need a specialized onsite platform capable of connecting with different registration systems while combining check-in, badge printing, verification, hardware, integrations, and onsite support.

The two platforms can also work together. Organizers can retain Cvent for registration and use fielddrive to deliver the onsite attendee experience.

The right decision should be based on a live workflow test using your actual attendee data, badge design, venue layout, arrival forecast, exception scenarios, and network conditions.

Questions to ask during vendor demonstrations

1. How many attendees can one complete check-in lane process per hour using our proposed workflow?
2. How many kiosks, printers, and staffed exception points do you recommend?
3. Which functions continue operating offline?
4. How are duplicate check-ins prevented across entrances?
5. What happens when several devices operate offline simultaneously?
6. How are walk-ins, substitutions, corrections, and reprints handled?
7. How quickly do onsite changes synchronize with the registration platform?
8. Who is responsible for setup, testing, training, and troubleshooting?
9. How much spare equipment will be available onsite?
10. Where is attendee information processed and stored?
11. How long is attendee data retained?
12. What alternative is available to attendees who do not use biometric check-in?
13. Which costs are excluded from the initial proposal?
14. Can you provide a reference event with similar attendance and badge requirements?

Build the right onsite plan for your event

The best way to compare event check-in platforms is to test them against the realities of your event.

Share your expected attendance, peak arrival window, venue entrances, badge format, registration platform, verification requirements, and onsite constraints with our team.

Request a fielddrive demo to receive a recommended check-in, kiosk, printer, integration, and onsite-support plan for your event.

Frequently asked questions

Is fielddrive a direct alternative to Cvent OnArrival?

Yes. We provide attendee check-in, onsite badge printing, hardware, integrations, verification options, and onsite support.

However, the two platforms use different models. Cvent OnArrival operates within the wider Cvent ecosystem, while fielddrive works as a specialized onsite platform that can connect with different registration systems.

Can fielddrive work with Cvent registration?

Yes. We integrate with Cvent, allowing organizers to retain Cvent as their registration platform while using fielddrive for onsite check-in, attendee verification, and badge printing.

Learn more about our event technology integrations.

Does Cvent OnArrival work offline?

Cvent states that OnArrival can continue performing core functions such as attendee check-in, editing, scanning, and badge printing after event information has been synchronized to the device.

Organizers should confirm the exact offline limits and synchronization behaviour for their proposed setup.

Does fielddrive work offline?

Our onsite badging solution supports offline badge printing, and fielddrive Leads supports offline lead capture.

The offline behaviour of check-in, integrations, verification, and cross-device synchronization should be confirmed for the individual event configuration.

Which platform is better for events with more than 5,000 attendees?

Either platform may support events of this size when correctly planned and configured.

The more important factors are peak arrival volume, number of entrances, badge complexity, exception rates, printer allocation, integration requirements, offline behaviour, and onsite support.

Total registration numbers alone are not enough to calculate the required setup.

Which option is better for a mixed event technology stack?

fielddrive is designed for this type of environment.

Our platform connects with different registration systems, CRMs, and event tools, allowing organizers to maintain a consistent onsite experience even when the wider technology stack changes.

Which option is better for an organization already using Cvent?

Cvent OnArrival may provide the simplest native workflow when registration, attendee management, and reporting already operate inside Cvent.

Organizations can also retain Cvent for registration while using fielddrive for the onsite attendee experience.

Can facial recognition be used for event check-in under GDPR?

Potentially, but biometric identification involves sensitive personal data and requires additional legal, security, and transparency measures.

Our facial recognition option requires explicit opt-in and provides alternative check-in methods for attendees who do not consent.

Organizers should involve their legal or data-protection teams before implementing biometric check-in.

Which platform provides better onsite support?

Both provide managed support options.

The better fit depends on the proposed staffing level, implementation ownership, hardware plan, venue coverage, escalation process, and commercial package.

The support comparison should therefore focus on exactly who will be onsite, what they will manage, and how quickly problems will be resolved.