SeatPlan.io

SeatPlan.io is a web-based seating planner for weddings, classrooms, and events, with tools that extend from arranging tables to checking guests in. It suits planners, venues, and event teams that need shared layouts or repeatable event work. The key decision is whether its plan-specific saving, export, collaboration, and import allowances match your workflow.

Overview

The core designer uses drag-and-drop placement around round or rectangular tables. That makes it suitable for anything from a simple reception chart to a classroom arrangement, while the wider Event Manager workspace is aimed at professionals handling several events. Guest lists come in through CSV, and Event Manager can export a guest list to Excel.

Floor-plan import is unusually broad: photos, screenshots, PDFs, and CAD DXF files are accepted, with DXF blueprints brought in at exact scale. That is valuable when a seating plan must conform to a real venue drawing rather than an abstract grid. CSV and Excel guest-list files are limited to 5MB per file, so very large rosters may need preparation before import.

Key features

Collaboration and check-in

Event Manager supports client links with view-only, editing, or check-in-only permissions and keeps changes current in real time. This lets a planner give a couple, venue, or door team an appropriately narrow role instead of handing everyone full editing access. Door staff can check guests in from a phone using a link and do not need an account, which is practical for temporary event workers.

Guest-facing tools

Eligible plans add QR seat finding plus Apple and Google Wallet seat passes. Those features can move guests from an assigned name to a seat without staff intervention, but they are not part of the basic free or Pro offering.

Event Temple connection

The Event Temple integration imports booking guests and refreshes the roster when an event is reopened. It is deliberately one-way: seating assignments do not return to Event Temple. Eligible Event Temple accounts receive a 14-day SeatPlan.io trial without a card; anyone who has already used a trial cannot start another.

Privacy

People who do not sign up have their chart kept in browser local storage, removed at midnight, and not sent to SeatPlan.io servers. The privacy policy says personal information is not sold or rented, and optional analytics and advertising cookies remain off until accepted in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland.

Pricing

SeatPlan.io uses a freemium model, with paid plans from £8. The Free plan costs £0 forever and includes full design, guest-list import, and one AI floor-plan import to try. It does not save work or export PDFs, so it is best for experimenting or completing a chart in one sitting.

Pro costs £8 once, not as a subscription. It saves work for 90 days, adds version history and restore, PDF export, and three AI floor-plan imports per month. It fits an individual who needs a durable, printable plan but not shared editing. The 90-day save window is the important limitation for long-running projects.

Collaborate costs £14 once and retains 90-day saved work, adding up to two collaborators, real-time editing, share links, QR seat finding, and Apple and Google Wallet passes. It is the sensible one-off choice for a small planning group; teams needing more than two collaborators should look at Event Manager.

Classroom costs £29 per school year when billed annually. It provides unlimited saved classes, rule-based shuffling, PDF export, and one AI floor-plan import to try. Its focus is recurring classroom organization rather than event-team sharing.

Event Manager costs £35 per month when billed annually. It includes unlimited events and templates, unlimited collaborators, 10 AI floor-plan imports per month, free CAD/DXF import, an event workspace, priority email support, and CSV or Excel guest-list import. There is no stated guest or table limit, but each import file remains capped at 5MB. This is the strongest fit for planners and venues managing multiple events; its recurring cost is difficult to justify for a single private function.

Platforms

SeatPlan.io runs on the web. Phone access is especially relevant to Event Manager's account-free check-in link, while the planner itself remains browser-based.

Who it's for

Choose SeatPlan.io if you need accurate venue-based layouts, guest-list movement, controlled collaboration, or phone check-in in one workflow. Event professionals get the most from Event Manager's unlimited events and collaborators. A one-off user wanting only a saved PDF should budget for Pro, while teachers who repeatedly reshuffle classes have a clearer fit in Classroom.

Pros and cons

Pros: exact-scale DXF import helps align seating with venue plans; role-specific links and account-free check-in separate planning from event-day access; one-time Pro and Collaborate pricing avoids a subscription for occasional users.

Cons: the free plan cannot save or export, the 90-day retention on Pro and Collaborate limits archival use, imports are capped at 5MB, and Event Temple receives no seating assignments back.

Alternatives

For a wider comparison, see the Event Diagramming Software list.

EventReception is a better fit when you need Android or iOS support, or a one-event package capped at 150 guests and two tablets.

OnePlan suits teams wanting web-based plans with a free tier limited to one event and 25 objects, or a monthly team plan.

Table-Plan.com is preferable for a small desktop/web project: its free tier allows up to 30 guests and one project.

3D Event Designer is the alternative when Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, or 2D-to-3D conversion matters.

Cvent is a broader paid event platform with web, iOS, and Android support.

Event Floor Planner is a no-signup free web/mobile option with PDF export.

EventDiagram is a web/API choice with a free plan and no trial clock.

SeatChart.io is another web freemium seating tool with free templates, guest import, export, sharing, QR, and three AI floor-plan imports.

Verdict

SeatPlan.io is a strong choice for planners, venues, and small event teams that value exact floor plans, permissioned collaboration, and guest check-in. Its one-time Pro and Collaborate plans make occasional work affordable, while Event Manager covers recurring multi-event operations. Look elsewhere if you need permanent free storage, larger-than-5MB roster imports, native desktop or mobile apps, or two-way Event Temple synchronization.