Best vendor management software for events, festivals and markets

How this list is ranked

• Weighted across the whole vendor lifecycle for festivals, fairs and markets: applications, review or jurying, documents such as insurance and permits, fee collection, space assignment and vendor messages, and how much of that runs in one tool.
• Selling spaces from a map that vendors and shoppers share counts next. A weekly farmers market or a juried art fair would rank these differently, and the section below names the better tool for each.
• Map D publishes this list, which is a conflict of interest. On this weighting Eventeny ranks above Map D, because it documents jury scoring and vendor messaging alongside applications and a vendor map, and Map D's help documentation does not describe jury scoring.
• Whether a vendor publishes its rates is noted, because it decides whether you can budget before a sales call. No competitor figures are quoted.

1. 1

   Eventeny

   Festivals, fairs and markets that want the whole vendor lifecycle, from application to jury to booth, in one platform

   Strengths

   • Unlimited custom applications for artists, vendors and exhibitors on every plan, with conditional logic, attachments, pricing fields and e-signatures.
   • Jurying by invited jurors with solo or group scoring against custom criteria, and bulk approve, reject and waitlist, on the Plus plan and above.
   • Payments collected automatically or invoiced, by card or ACH, with installment plans on Pro. COI insurance verification (evCover) is listed on the free Basic plan, and its FAQ says organizers can collect specific permits.
   • Group and one-to-one messages, including messages by application status, and on Pro a map where approved vendors are linked to booths or choose their own.

   Limitations

   • Jurying starts on the Plus plan and mapping on Pro, so the full lifecycle is a higher-tier purchase than the free Basic plan suggests.
   • Its pricing page lists a percentage transaction fee on application payments on every plan, plus card and ACH processing, so cost grows with the fees you collect.
2. 2

   Map D

   Vendor events whose income comes from spaces sold on a live map, with approve-first sales and paperwork in the same record

   Strengths

   • Vendors pick a space on an interactive map, add services such as electricity and tables with limited inventory, answer your custom questions (which can include a file upload) and pay online or offline.
   • With Manager approval, each order becomes a request: the space stays reserved while you review the vendor, and they pay once you approve. Booth assignment can also be manual, and booth codes keep spaces for returning vendors.
   • With Insurance on your show, vendors buy cover through Vertical Insure or upload a certificate they already have, the COI Compliance tab shows who is covered, and onboarding tasks collect signed agreements and rule acknowledgements.
   • Card payments run through Stripe, Authorize.Net, PayPal, Payflow Pro, NMI, BluePay or QuickBooks Payments, with ACH through Authorize.Net and check, wire or invoice offline, and no Map D transaction fee on booth sales.

   See what Map D does with a floor plan

   Limitations

   • Map D's help documentation describes approving orders for spaces, not application forms scored by a jury panel, so a juried craft or art fair needs another tool for scoring.
   • The published plans are priced per event, from $1,500, with online space sales from Growth at $2,500 per event. A market that runs every week of a season should ask Map D how a season is quoted before comparing it with a subscription.
   • Building one event's map in the editor is free, but publishing it and selling spaces are paid, so there is no free plan for taking vendor bookings.
3. 3

   Marketspread

   Recurring farmers, flea, craft and art markets that book vendors by the day, week or month

   Strengths

   • Online applications with application fees, document collection and digital signatures, and questions that auto-tag vendors and fill in their record.
   • Collects insurance, certifications and reports with expiration tracking and notifications, plus single or multi-signature contracts.
   • Booth bookings by day, week, month or full event, with payments online or in person, vendor credits, and a mobile point-of-sale app.
   • Bulk and scheduled messaging by tag, with message view tracking and a dedicated texting number.

   Limitations

   • Its booth management page describes the organizer assigning spaces; vendors choosing their own booth on the map is not described.
   • Jury review is described as teammates collaborating to jury vendors and curate products, not as scoring against set criteria.
4. 4

   ZAPP

   Juried art fairs and festivals whose vendors are artists applying for a place

   Strengths

   • Custom application forms with five question types and conditional logic, reviewed by organizers or by juror accounts that score them.
   • Mass invitations to artists based on aggregated jury scores, and mass communication to applicants.
   • Collects application, jury, deposit and booth fees, and says it is PCI compliant.

   Limitations

   • Booth management is a separately priced add-on, and plans carry a one-time setup fee plus licensing or per-application fees.
   • Built around art events; its organizer page does not describe vendor document collection or a public vendor map.
5. 5

   FestivalPro

   Festivals whose vendor operation includes pitches, utilities, vehicle permits and a large crew

   Strengths

   • Vendor applications submitted, reviewed and approved in one place, with contracts sent individually or in bulk.
   • Insurance documents and safety certifications uploaded through a vendor portal link and exported as a live zip file, with reminder emails to chase compliance.
   • Fixed or variable site fees, vendor-chosen pitch size and location, and services such as power and sanitation linked to the site plan, plus vehicle and parking permits.
   • Invoices paid into your own payment account, with a dashboard for chasing unpaid amounts.

   Limitations

   • A percentage transaction fee applies to invoices created through the system, such as vendor income, on top of payment processor fees.
   • Jury scoring is not described on its vendors page, and its public site plan is shared as a PDF rather than an interactive map.
6. 6

   Manage My Market

   Farmers markets that need applications, licenses, invoices and vendor email in one simple tool

   Strengths

   • Vendor profiles, custom answers, market dates, products and uploaded documents in one place, with email alerts when vendors apply.
   • Approve, decline or wait-list applicants and email them their status, with license tools that flag missing, expired or current licenses.
   • Invoices and receipts by email, and transactions recorded automatically from PayPal, Square and Stripe.
   • Email to targeted vendor groups with viewed, unopened or bounced status, and an interactive market-day map for your website.

   Limitations

   • Rates are not published; its home page says registration is free and gives no plan details.
   • Its home page describes farmers markets only, and neither jury scoring nor vendors choosing their own stall is described.

Frequently asked questions