Cvent vs iCapture: What's the Difference? (And Which to Pick)
Cvent owns iCapture. They bought it in August 2022 and still sell both. Cvent LeadCapture is the scanner bundled with Cvent’s event platform. iCapture is a standalone scanner that works at any event, even ones Cvent has nothing to do with.
If your team already pays Cvent for event registration, pick Cvent LeadCapture. If you exhibit at events run by anyone else, pick iCapture. That’s the call.
It’s a bit weird that one company sells two scanners that do almost the same thing. Most parent companies fold an acquisition into the main product within a year. Cvent did not. Four years in, the sales reps still pitch them as separate lines, and most buyers walk into the first call confused about which quote to ask for.
A March 2026 comparison from Blinq, one of their competitors, called Cvent LeadCapture the lowest-rated platform on G2 among the apps they reviewed.
Does Cvent Own iCapture?
Yes. Cvent bought iCapture in August 2022. iCapture still runs under its own brand at icapture.com. Cvent LeadCapture ships inside Cvent’s event suite. The two share a roadmap and some plumbing, but they go to different buyers.
The Core Difference
Cvent LeadCapture is built for exhibitors who already live inside Cvent. If the event runs on Cvent (registration, agenda, attendee app, all of it), LeadCapture plugs in and pulls the registration list. Scan a badge, get the attendee record. Nothing to set up. The event already did it for you.
iCapture is built for exhibitors who do not live inside Cvent. It works at any event, no matter who runs registration. Scan a badge, iCapture reads the printed text, and you get a lead. It syncs to Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRMs the same way Cvent LeadCapture does. The sales pitch is polished. The user rating is not: Cvent iCapture sits at 2.6 stars on Google Play.
That’s the split. Cvent LeadCapture is locked to Cvent events. iCapture goes anywhere.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Cvent LeadCapture | iCapture |
|---|---|---|
| Badge scanning | Yes (Cvent events) | Yes (any event) |
| Business card scanning | Limited | Yes |
| CRM sync | Yes (Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo) | Yes (Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo) |
| Qualification questions | Yes | Yes |
| Works at non-Cvent events | Limited | Yes |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes |
| Voice notes | No | No |
| AI follow-up emails | No | No |
Pricing
Neither product posts a price. Both make you ask for a quote.
Cvent LeadCapture rides on top of a Cvent event management license. If your purchase order already has a line for Cvent, LeadCapture is a smaller line below it. Standalone deals exist but are rare.
iCapture sells as a yearly license on its own. Buyer reports put it around $5,000 a year on the low end and $25,000 or more for bigger teams. See our iCapture pricing breakdown for more.
The math is simple. Look at last year’s spreadsheet. If “Cvent” already has a five or six figure number next to it, LeadCapture is the cheap add. If that cell is empty, iCapture is the cheap door.
When to Pick Cvent LeadCapture
Pick Cvent LeadCapture if:
- Your team already pays Cvent for event registration and agenda management
- Most events you exhibit at run on Cvent
- You want the registration list to fill in lead records for you
- You want one vendor for the whole event stack
When to Pick iCapture
Pick iCapture if:
- You exhibit at many events run by different people on different systems
- You need a scanner that works at events Cvent does not touch
- You do not need Cvent’s full event platform
One note on that “Offline mode: Yes” row. StatusGator has tracked more than 730 Cvent outages, with the most recent acknowledged incident on April 6, 2026. Offline on the booth floor is one thing. The sync has to come back up too.
What Breaks After You Sign
The contract is the easy part. The show floor is where it gets expensive.
A May 2025 Google Play reviewer said Cvent iCapture offered no way to export leads to Excel or a CRM. They had to copy and paste leads one at a time. Another reviewer that same month wrote: “Scanned leads the whole day only to find out the leads never synced.” The conference cost $35,000. The leads were gone.
Support does not soften the landing. A March 2026 Trustpilot reviewer described “fragmented support, multiple people handle different aspects.”
When to Skip Both
Neither one does voice notes, AI follow-up emails, or a Claude/ChatGPT hookup. If you want any of that, or you want to start free, look at BoothIQ or the picks in our best lead retrieval apps roundup.
BoothIQ works at any event, Cvent or not. Talk for thirty seconds and the voice memo turns into typed notes. Walk away from the booth and the follow-up email is already drafted. Contacts sync to HubSpot and Salesforce as you scan. Teams pricing is on the page: $499 a month for unlimited seats, events, and scans.
FAQ
Is iCapture part of Cvent now?
Yes. Cvent bought iCapture in 2022. iCapture still runs under its own brand, but Cvent owns it.
Can I buy iCapture without buying Cvent?
Yes. iCapture sells on its own. You do not need to be a Cvent customer to use it.
Which is cheaper, Cvent LeadCapture or iCapture?
It depends on what you already pay Cvent. If Cvent is on your invoice, LeadCapture as an add-on costs less than buying iCapture on its own. If you do not use Cvent, iCapture is the cheaper way to get a Cvent-owned scanner. Ask for both quotes if you want to compare.
Which has better CRM sync?
Both sync to Salesforce, HubSpot, and Marketo. Setup feels the same. For most teams, there is no real gap.
Does Cvent have a free version?
No. Cvent and iCapture both gate everything behind a quote. If you want to start free, look at BoothIQ or Popl.
Tired of quote requests? Try BoothIQ free. Works at any event, Cvent or not. Public pricing, live CRM sync, AI follow-up included.