BoothBuddy
Event lead capture for small teams

A trade show tool for founders, not Fortune 500s.

Most event lead capture software is built for enterprise marketing ops teams: branded kiosks, annual contracts, implementation calls, custom CRM workflows. BoothBuddy is the opposite. Self-serve in 60 seconds, $49 per event, $0 hardware, and built so the founder working the booth can capture leads one-handed by voice.

25 free leads. No credit card. No demo call.
Built around how small teams actually work

Four things small teams don’t need an event platform for.

No annual contract

You exhibit 2–4 times a year, not every month. Pay $49 per event, or $99/month when you're in season. No annual commitment, no implementation phase.

No marketing-ops team required

No kiosk configuration, no CRM field mapping, no integration project. Sign up, capture leads, export CSV. The whole product fits in your phone.

No badge scanner rental

Skip the $300–$700 per-event device rental. BoothBuddy runs on the phone the founder already carries to the booth.

The founder works the booth

For small teams, the person capturing leads is often the same person who'll follow up. BoothBuddy is designed for that — voice notes preserve the conversation context you'd otherwise have to recall from memory.

In their own words

Small teams already say the cost is the problem.

Verbatim quotes from public reviews and forums — small teams describing what they actually want from event lead capture.

Prior to bringing Captello into our marketing team we felt limited by the costs associated with lead capture device rentals and license fees offered by show organizers.
Verified user, Trade Show & Event Manager · Mid-Market
G2 Captello review · Aug 2025
License fees limit our widespread use of the tool for all shows, so we use for the major trade shows.
Verified user, Director of Customer Experiences & Events · Telecommunications
Capterra iCapture review · Feb 2020
The issue that I've seen is the lead retrieval at these shows is not great.
u/Live_Fee_5188
Reddit r/marketing · 2025
Last year we attended Pack Expo in Chicago, bringing in 1000+ leads as a result of our booth. That's not easy to sift through and ensure proper follow up.
Verified user, SVP · Even a successful show overwhelms small teams without a process
Quora · 2018
Side by side

Enterprise event platform vs BoothBuddy.

Both are valid choices. They’re just built for different team sizes.

Enterprise platform
BoothBuddy
Annual contract
Required
No — pay per event or month
Setup time
1–3 weeks (sales + implementation)
60 seconds, self-serve
Hardware cost
$300–$700 device rental per event
$0 — your phone
Minimum team size
Often 3–5+ users
Solo founder works fine
Free trial
Demo call only
25 leads, 1 event, no card
Per-event pricing
Not typically offered
$49/event Event Pass
Designed for booth reps
Designed for marketing ops
Yes — built around the rep
FAQ

Small-team lead capture, answered.

What is the best event lead capture app for small teams?

The best choice depends on your event volume. If you exhibit at 1–5 events per year and don't have a marketing-ops team, a self-serve voice capture app like BoothBuddy is the most cost-effective — pay per event, no setup project. If you exhibit at 20+ events with custom kiosks and complex CRM workflows, an enterprise platform like iCapture or Captello may fit better.

Can a solo founder use BoothBuddy?

Yes — BoothBuddy is designed for one-handed mobile use. The founder works the booth, taps record, says the lead, and saves. No team configuration required. The Free Trial covers 25 leads at your first event; the Event Pass at $49 covers a single event with up to 500 leads.

How much does event lead capture cost for a small business?

BoothBuddy is free for your first event (25 leads, no credit card). After that: $49 per event (500 leads), or $99/month for the Team plan (1,500 leads/month, 3 seats, 3 events). No annual contract. Compare this to badge scanner rentals which run $300–$700 per event with no software included.

What happens to my leads if I skip an event?

Nothing — your leads stay in your workspace and remain exportable. If you're on the Event Pass plan, you only pay when you actually run an event. If you're on the Team plan, you can pause or downgrade between busy seasons.

Do I need a CRM to use BoothBuddy?

No. BoothBuddy exports a clean CSV. You can import it into Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Notion, Google Sheets, Airtable, or whatever you already use. Many small teams just keep the CSV and email it to themselves — that's a complete workflow on its own.

Built for the booth you’re actually working.

25 free leads, no credit card, no annual contract. Try BoothBuddy at one show.

Event Lead Capture for Small Teams — BoothBuddy