Seating Chart Software Compared: Desktop, Web, and Mobile
Seating chart software splits into three tiers: enterprise venue platforms, free web tools, and mobile apps. The right one depends on a single question: are you running a venue, or running an event?
If seating charts are your business (venues, caterers, full-time planners), enterprise floor-plan software earns its price. If you are seating one wedding, banquet, or classroom, it is overkill, and the lightweight tiers do the job.
How to do it in Seat Maker
- Step 1
Name your real job
One event or an events business? That decides the tier before features do.
- Step 2
Test the export first
Whatever tier you pick, produce a venue-ready PDF with test data before committing hours.
- Step 3
Match device to workflow
Desk-bound with collaborators: web. On your feet at venues: a phone-first app like Seat Maker.
The three tiers
Enterprise (Cvent Social Tables, Prismm, formerly AllSeated): to-scale floor plans, 3D walkthroughs, vendor collaboration, priced for organizations that seat events weekly. Free web tools (Canva templates and browser-based chart makers): fine for a quick chart, with the account walls and offline limits covered elsewhere on this site. Mobile apps (Seat Maker): guest import, drag-and-drop tables, shuffle, locks, and export, sized and priced for one event at a time.
How to choose in 30 seconds
Venue or planner business: pick enterprise, you need to-scale drawings and client collaboration. One event, on desktop, with collaborators: a web tool. One event, on your phone or iPad, with venue-day changes likely: a mobile app. The failure mode is buying up a tier: enterprise tools take onboarding time that a single event never pays back.
What the comparison table looks like
Across price, guest limits, floor-plan accuracy, collaboration, offline use, and learning curve, the pattern holds: enterprise wins accuracy and collaboration, apps win speed, offline reliability, and cost, web tools sit between. Seat Maker specifically: free download, no account, offline planning, touch drag and drop, subscription only for full arrangements.
Frequently asked questions
What software do event planners use for seating charts?
Full-time planners at scale use Cvent Social Tables or Prismm. Planners handling a single event increasingly use mobile apps like Seat Maker, which cover guest import, arrangement, and export without enterprise pricing.
Is there free seating chart software?
Web tools have free account tiers, and Seat Maker is a free download with no account required. Test export quality before investing time in any of them.
Learn moreWhat is the best seating chart program for a Mac or iPad?
On iPad, a native touch app beats browser tools for drag and drop. Seat Maker is built for iPad and iPhone with offline support.
Do I need special software to make a seating chart?
No. For one event, a free app does the whole job: guests in, drag onto tables, export for the venue. Enterprise software only pays off when seating is your business.
What is the difference between Social Tables and a seating chart app?
Social Tables is enterprise venue software: to-scale floor plans, vendor workflows, organizational pricing. A seating chart app handles one event's guests and tables on your phone, free or nearly free.
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