Buyer's Guide

Best Trade Show Floor Plan Software in 2026

Nine trade show floor plan platforms compared on floor plan editing, booth sales, the attendee map, and pricing, so you can pick the one that fits your show, your team, and your budget.

How we evaluated

Trade show floor plan software has two jobs. It has to sell the floor before the show and help people navigate it during the show. We scored each tool on six criteria:

Floor plan editing
How you build and update the plan: in a browser editor yourself, from CAD/DWG/Max Fit files, or through a vendor-built map. We also checked how quickly changes go live.
Booth sales and inventory
Real-time availability, holds, reservations, online payments, sponsorships, and booth extras.
Exhibitor workflow
Exhibitor profiles, self-service portals, and approvals.
Attendee experience
Search, filtering, wayfinding, and whether attendees need to download an app to use the map.
Venue complexity
Multiple halls, levels, and buildings, plus outdoor areas.
Buying model and pricing transparency
Self-service vs sales-led setup, and whether prices are published.

All information comes from public product materials and pricing pages as of October 2026. Where a vendor doesn't document something publicly, we say so and suggest you confirm it in a demo.

Comparison at a glance

ToolBest forCategoryKey strengthPricing transparency
ExpoFPSelf-service interactive floor plans with booth salesFloor-plan-first platformMap-first booth sales and no-app wayfindingPublished (DIY $149/mo; team-built from $990 one-time)
Map Your ShowLarge association trade showsTrade show operating systemFloor Builder with Max Fit audit and booth salesQuote-based
EXPOCAD (3e)Complex CAD-heavy halls and GSC workflowsExposition floor plan and sales suite30+ years of floor plan design heritageQuote-based
A2Z EventsAssociation shows that want one vendor for exhibit salesTrade show management suite (Personify)Contracting, financials, and app in one suiteQuote-based
eShowConsolidating registration, housing, and exhibitsModular event management suiteSingle database plus DWG/PDF floor plan importQuote-based
Mapd Events (Map D)Per-event packaged trade show stackTrade show platformMap plus ticketing, app, and lead retrieval bundlesPublished per event ($1,250–$2,499)
MapbootVisitor search analyticsTrade show map softwareSearch-intent and listing analyticsPartly published (per-map upgrades)
ExpoMapSmall shows starting from scratch on an all-in-oneAll-in-one trade show OS2D/3D plans plus badges and check-inPartly published (free first event)
PheedLoopEvents where the floor plan supports a larger programAll-in-one event managementRegistration, app, hybrid, and CE creditsPartly published (from $950/yr)

The tools

  1. ExpoFP

    Our product

    Best for a self-service interactive floor plan with booth sales and wayfinding

    ExpoFP is an interactive floor plan platform for trade shows, expos, conferences, and venues. It is trusted by 1,000+ trade shows and expos in 50+ countries, including Natural Products Expo West, MAGIC Las Vegas, KBIS, AGRITECHNICA, and IFA Berlin. You can build the plan yourself in the drag-and-drop FP Designer, where changes go live instantly. You can also upload your existing floor plan and have the ExpoFP team build it for you. Exhibitors see live availability and can reserve or buy booths by credit card directly on the map. They also fill in their own profiles through a personal auto-login link. Attendees open the map in any browser without downloading an app or signing in. They can search by company, booth, or category, save favorites, and get turn-by-turn routes across floors and buildings. We rank ExpoFP first in this category because the floor plan is the product itself, not a module inside a larger suite.

    Strengths

    • Map-first booth sales: live availability, online reservation and payment, sponsorship packages, featured placements, banner ads, and booth extras.
    • No-app attendee experience with wayfinding across floors, buildings, and the surrounding area map, plus kiosks with offline mode and per-kiosk analytics.
    • Published pricing with a free start: a 7-day trial with no credit card, and DIY at $149/mo with booth reservation and sponsorship included.

    Limitations

    • ExpoFP isn't a registration, badging, or housing system. It integrates with those tools (through integrations and a JSON API) rather than replacing them.
    • Blue-dot indoor positioning is available as a project-level capability, not a standard feature of every plan.
    Pricing
    DIY $149/mo; team-built Light $990, Standard $1,500, and Pro $2,100 one-time. Prices are for ≤100 booths and scale with booth count. Shows with 1,000+ booths are quoted per project.
  2. Map Your Show

    Best for large association trade shows

    Map Your Show (MYS) describes itself as a trade show operating system and is widely used by association-run shows in North America. Its Floor Builder lets organizers create booths without CAD and import a general service contractor's Max Fit file. It can then audit the current layout against that file and export DXF or PDF files back to the GSC. Several users can edit the plan at the same time. Its Booth Sales module handles pricing, space applications with preference and competitor selection, and sponsorship purchases. These sit alongside an exhibitor resource center, an attendee mobile app, and analytics (MYS Insights). For a large annual show with a GSC, MYS is a strong default.

    Strengths

    • Workflows that suit GSCs: Max Fit import, layout audit, and DXF/PDF export.
    • Mature space-application process with priority, preference, and competitor selection.
    • Broad exhibitor and attendee tooling around the floor, including the resource center, mobile app, and revenue analytics.

    Limitations

    • Setup is sales-led, with no public self-service trial that we could find.
    • Some advanced views, such as attendee points-of-interest labels, are tied to its higher suite tier, so confirm what your package includes.
    Pricing
    Quote-based. Check with the vendor.
  3. EXPOCAD (3e)

    Best for complex, CAD-heavy exposition halls

    EXPOCAD, made by A.C.T. Inc., has been in exposition floor planning for more than 30 years and is known for its CAD-based floor plan design. Its cloud platform, 3e by EXPOCAD, covers floor plan design with a non-CAD interface. It also handles combining, dividing, renting, and holding booths, exhibit contracts, sponsorship sales, real-time analytics, and a MARKETPLACE online floor plan viewer. EXPOCAD serves show organizers, general service contractors, and venues. Many large, traditional expositions stay with it because it combines precise floor planning with optional hands-on services.

    Strengths

    • Deep floor plan design heritage, well suited to large and complex halls.
    • Broad workflow covering contracts, sponsorships, and financial tracking alongside the plan.
    • Optional services such as onsite space selection and rebooking.

    Limitations

    • Setup is sales- and service-led rather than self-service.
    • Public documentation is thin on multi-building support, embedding, and payment flow, so confirm these in a demo.
    Pricing
    Quote-based. Check with the vendor.
  4. A2Z Events

    Best for associations that want one vendor for exhibit sales

    A2Z Events by Personify is an established trade show management suite for associations, nonprofits, and show organizers. Floor plan management is one part of a larger system. That system includes booth and sponsorship contracting, online sales and payments, an exhibitor portal, financial management, BI reporting, conference management, badge-scan lead tracking, and a mobile app with AI matchmaking. It works best for organizations that want contracting through to finance under one contract, especially if they already use other Personify products.

    Strengths

    • End-to-end exhibit sales lifecycle: contracts, sponsorships, payments, and financials.
    • Lead retrieval and a mobile event app with matchmaking and scheduling.
    • Fits naturally with Personify's association management ecosystem.

    Limitations

    • The floor plan is one module among many. Map-level search and real-time public availability should be confirmed.
    • Sales-led implementation with no published pricing.
    Pricing
    Quote-based. Check with the vendor.
  5. eShow

    Best for consolidating registration, housing, and exhibits

    eShow (goeshow.com) has served trade show and association organizers since 1996. Its Exhibition & Sponsorship Management module includes a drag-and-drop floor plan editor. The editor supports DWG/PDF import, polygon booths, multi-floor layouts, and DWG/PDF export. The module also includes online booth and sponsorship sales with priority points and an Exhibitor Service Center. Everything runs on one database shared with eShow's registration, badge printing, conference, abstract, housing, website, app, and eConnect lead retrieval modules. It's built for associations and AMCs that want a long-term, service-heavy partner.

    Strengths

    • Capable floor plan editor with DWG/PDF import and export and multi-floor support.
    • Priority-point booth selection plus sponsorship and add-on sales.
    • A single database across registration, housing, exhibits, and onsite operations, with dedicated account and onsite staff.

    Limitations

    • Sales-led RFP and demo process, so you can't trial it yourself.
    • The full attendee experience leans on its mobile app, and embedding on third-party sites should be confirmed.
    Pricing
    Quote-based. Check with the vendor.
  6. Mapd Events (Map D)

    Best for per-event packaged pricing with a branded app

    Map D, operated by Nextech from Toronto, is a trade show platform built around an interactive floor plan. Organizers design layouts in a drag-and-drop editor, sell booths and sponsorships through exhibitor self-service checkout, and embed the live map on their website. Per-event packages add an exhibitor portal, ticketing and registration, a white-label mobile app, lead retrieval, and AI matchmaking. Its materials cite a launch time of 5–15 business days for the full suite. It suits associations and independent organizers who budget per event and want guided onboarding.

    Strengths

    • The floor plan is central to the product, with online booth checkout and website embedding.
    • Bundles registration, a branded app, and lead retrieval with one vendor.
    • Publishes its per-event pricing, which is rare in this category.

    Limitations

    • Add-ons such as the app, ticketing, lead retrieval, and extra maps are quoted separately on top of the tier price.
    • Per-event packaging can cost more for maps that need to stay live year-round.
    Pricing
    Published per event: Starter $1,250, Growth $1,999, Scale $2,499 (as of mid-2026). Add-ons are quoted.
  7. Mapboot

    Best for visitor search analytics

    Mapboot turns a static floor plan into a searchable, browser-based event map. The Mapboot team builds the map graphics from the structure you provide. Exhibitors reserve booths from the map, add extras such as chairs, tables, or sponsorship promotion, and download a generated invoice. Organizers track booth status and payments in a portal. Analytics is where Mapboot stands out. It records what visitors search for, which listings they open, category interest, and searches that return no results. That kind of demand data is valuable for large shows planning their next floor.

    Strengths

    • Detailed search-intent analytics, including zero-result searches.
    • Exhibitors can choose booths and rentable extras together, with invoices generated automatically.
    • Transparent, fixed per-map upgrade pricing.

    Limitations

    • The map is vendor-built rather than edited by the organizer, which slows down last-minute changes.
    • Branding, PathFinding, and Analytics are separate per-map purchases, so the full feature set adds up.
    Pricing
    Map building is free. Per-map upgrades: Branding $900, PathFinding $1,400, Analytics $3,900 (example full stack $6,200).
  8. ExpoMap

    Best for small shows starting from scratch on an all-in-one

    ExpoMap (expomap.io) positions itself as an operating system for trade shows. It combines 2D/3D interactive floor plans with exhibitor management, registration and ticketing, QR badges and check-in, lead capture, networking, a booth-services marketplace, AI tools, and event microsites. Sign-up is self-serve, and the first event is free for up to 10 exhibitors and 100 registrations. It's a low-friction choice for a new show that doesn't have a registration or badging stack yet.

    Strengths

    • Self-serve, with a free tier for a first event.
    • 2D/3D floor plans with Stripe-based booth sales.
    • Covers registration, badges, and leads in one place.

    Limitations

    • Every module competes for the same development focus, so floor plan depth is one priority among many.
    • Adopting it means adopting its approach to registration and badging too, which is harder for shows with an existing stack.
    Pricing
    Partly published. There's a free first-event tier, and paid tiers are priced by exhibitor count. Confirm current figures with the vendor.
  9. PheedLoop

    Best for best when the floor plan supports a larger event program

    PheedLoop is an all-in-one event management platform from Toronto. It reports powering more than 20,000 events since 2015. It covers registration, websites, the PheedLoop Go app, exhibitor and sponsor management, speakers and abstracts, lead retrieval, gamification, CE credits, check-in, and badge printing. It also includes a drag-and-drop floor plan builder and an Interactive Maps module. For conferences where the exhibit hall supports the main program rather than driving revenue, that may be all the floor plan you need.

    Strengths

    • Very broad suite with modular, pay-for-what-you-need pricing.
    • Strong fit for associations, universities, and government events, including hybrid and CE-credit programs.
    • Built-in floor plan builder, so there's no separate vendor for basic maps.

    Limitations

    • The floor plan is one module, not the commercial core of the product.
    • Final pricing depends on modules and attendee counts and requires a quote.
    Pricing
    Partly published: core platform from $950/yr, modules from about $1 per attendee.

How to choose

  • You want the floor plan to sell booths and guide attendees, and you want it live this week. Start with ExpoFP. You can build the plan yourself, take booth payments on the map, and embed it on your site, all on published pricing. If you'd rather not build it, the team-built plans start at $990 one-time.
  • You run a large association show with a GSC, Max Fit files, and a priority-point space draw. Shortlist Map Your Show and EXPOCAD. Both are built around those workflows and offer hands-on vendor support.
  • You want one contract covering registration, housing, contracting, and the show floor. Evaluate eShow and A2Z Events. If hybrid sessions and CE credits matter, add PheedLoop. Budget for a sales-led implementation.
  • You budget per event and want a branded app and lead retrieval bundled in. Compare Mapd Events packages, including add-ons, against an ExpoFP plan plus your existing app and lead tools.
  • Your biggest question is what visitors are looking for. Look at Mapboot's analytics upgrade. ExpoFP also includes search, booth-view, and route analytics on every plan, so compare the depth you need.

Whichever way you lean, open each vendor's live attendee map on your phone and try to find a specific exhibitor. The tool that makes that fast is usually the one your attendees will actually use.

See your show floor as an interactive map

Upload your current floor plan or build it yourself, open booth sales, and publish a map attendees can use in any browser. Start free with a 7-day trial and no credit card.

FAQ

It's software for designing an exhibit hall layout, managing booth inventory, and publishing the plan to exhibitors and attendees. Modern tools add online booth reservations and payments, exhibitor profiles, and an interactive attendee map with search and wayfinding. Some are dedicated floor plan platforms. Others include floor planning as one module of a larger event suite.