BoothBuddy
Comparison

The Captello alternative for booth reps who hate kiosks.

Captello (formerly Lead Liaison) is a big event platform built around branded kiosks, badge-scanner integrations, and gamified surveys. BoothBuddy is the opposite of all that: tap your phone, talk to the visitor, save the lead. Pick the workflow you actually want at the booth.

At a glance

How BoothBuddy compares to Captello.

No kiosks, no tablets
Capture happens on your phone, mid-conversation. No second device between you and the visitor.
Talk, don't type
Name, email, company, notes — say them naturally. AI structures everything for you.
No engagement-suite bloat
Just capture. No gamification module, no kiosk builder, no email-cadence editor.
Pay per event, not per year
Captello sells annual subscriptions. BoothBuddy charges $49 for a single event or $99/month.
Feature comparison

Captello vs BoothBuddy, feature by feature.

Captello
BoothBuddy
Capture method
Kiosks, branded scanners, business card OCR
Voice-first — speak the lead naturally
Hardware footprint
iPad kiosks, branded scanner devices
Your phone — nothing else
Onboarding
Sales call + custom kiosk build
Self-serve, ~60 seconds
Free tier
Demo only
25 leads, 1 event, no card
Pricing model
Annual subscription, custom quote
$49/event or $99/month, no contract
Extra modules
Gamification, surveys, badge printing, email
Just capture. CSV export.
Best for
Event marketing teams running activations
Booth reps who want fewer screens
Honest take

Which one is right for you?

We are biased — but here is when each tool is the better fit. If we’re not right for you, we’d rather you know now.

Pick Captello if…

  • You're running branded booth experiences with leaderboards, prizes, and gamified surveys.
  • You need a custom branded kiosk with a multi-step lead capture flow.
  • You want one platform that handles capture + email follow-up + post-event reporting.
  • You have an ops team to configure and manage the platform between shows.

Pick BoothBuddy if…

  • You're a booth rep or a small team and you just need to capture leads as fast as you can talk.
  • You'd rather have a conversation than direct visitors to a kiosk.
  • You don't need a gamification module — you need fewer steps between "hi" and "saved."
  • You want to pay for what you actually use: one event, or one month at a time.
In their own words

What people are saying about Captello.

Verbatim, public, source-attributed. Not testimonials about BoothBuddy — just people describing their actual experience.

The app required us to enter a typed note before we could scan the badge of the next potential lead at the trade show. This was somewhat time consuming especially when there are multiple people waiting to be scanned.
Verified user, VP of Sales & Marketing · Plastics — the exact friction voice capture removes
Capterra Captello review · Feb 2023
During high-traffic events, the mobile app can occasionally feel a bit slow or laggy, especially when capturing a large number of leads in quick succession.
Verified user
G2 Captello review · Jan 2026
The customization tools are sometimes clunky in terms of color selections and knowing which part of the game corresponds to what button.
Verified user, Mission Engagement Manager · Non-Profit
Capterra Captello review · Sep 2021
We love the flexibility of the lead capture app and platform, which allows us to capture leads at all our events without retraining staff. It is also event agnostic, able to scan badges with or without a QR code, and enriches our lead data with valuable info including phone numbers and affinity info.
Verified user, CEO · Electrical Manufacturing — what Captello does well
Capterra Captello review · Jun 2025
FAQ

Common questions about Captello alternatives.

Is BoothBuddy a free Captello alternative?

BoothBuddy is free for your first event with 25 leads. After that, plans start at $49 per event with no annual contract — much closer to pay-as-you-go than Captello's enterprise subscription model.

Can I use BoothBuddy without a kiosk or tablet?

That's the entire premise. BoothBuddy runs on the phone in your pocket. No kiosk, no tablet stand, no extra device on the booth — just you and the visitor.

Does BoothBuddy do gamification or surveys like Captello?

No. BoothBuddy is intentionally focused on one thing: capturing leads by voice and exporting them cleanly. If you need gamification, branded activations, or in-booth surveys, Captello is purpose-built for that.

What happens to my Captello data if I switch?

Captello can export your leads to CSV. BoothBuddy starts fresh per event — you're not migrating a historical database, you're replacing the capture workflow. Your past data stays where it lives now.

Try BoothBuddy at your next event.

25 leads, no credit card. Compare it to Captello on a real booth shift — decide afterward.

Captello Alternative: BoothBuddy — Voice-First Trade Show Lead Capture