Comparisons / Tendro vs Wave Connect
Event lead capture · Head-to-head
Tendro vs Wave Connect
Tendro is event lead capture priced per show: $499 covers every rep, with HubSpot and Salesforce sync and no contract. Wave Connect meters per lead: $10 per enriched badge, bought as credits. Both read the printed badge, so the Wave Connect vs Tendro call turns on the meter: a flat $499 a show, or $10 a badge in credits that expire.
Free desk trial, no card. Your first event switches on live CRM sync.
At a glance Checked 11 Oct 2026
| At a glance | Tendro | Wave Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $499 per event, unlimited scans | $10 per enriched badge |
| 100 badges, one show | $499 | $1,000 at list |
| Team members | Unlimited reps | Teams seats, 3 minimum |
| CRM sync | HubSpot and Salesforce, included | HubSpot and Salesforce, Pro and up |
| Badge codes | Open QR codes parse | Not read |
§ 01 · The pick
Tendro vs Wave Connect: which should you pick?
Pick Tendro for a flat $499 per show with unlimited scans for the whole team. Pick Wave Connect if a show brings under 50 badges at its $10 list rate.
Pick Tendro if
- Your booth scans in volume. The bill is $499 at 50 badges and at 500, with no per-badge meter.
- You don't want credits that expire. One price per show; Wave credits are valid 12 months and non-refundable.
- Your badges carry an open QR code. Tendro parses it into the lead; Wave Connect's scanner reads only the printed text.
Pick Wave Connect if
- Your booth scans under 50 badges. At the $10 list rate in credits, a 49-badge show is $490; bonus packs and credits you already hold move that line.
- Your team already runs Wave cards. The scanner and the card share one app; on Teams, one shared credit pool.
- Your CRM is Dynamics 365 or HighLevel. Native on Wave Connect's list; Tendro connects any CRM with a public API on request.
The meter is the difference. Tendro is $499 a show for every rep and every scan, on the pricing page. Wave Connect lists $10 per enriched badge in credits: 49 badges is $490, and the 50th takes one show past $499.
§ 02 · Side by side
How do Tendro and Wave Connect compare side by side?
Tendro is a flat $499 per show for the whole team, every scan included. Wave Connect is $10 per enriched badge, bought as credits.
Tendro vs Wave Connect, line by line
| Feature | Tendro | Wave Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Tendro $499 per event Unlimited team members, phones and scans; volume rates from 10 events a year. | Wave Connect $10 per enriched badge 4 credits at $2.50; a business card or LinkedIn QR is 1 credit; packs from $50 to $500, most with bonus credits. |
| Team members | Tendro Unlimited reps and scans One price for the whole booth. | Wave Connect Teams seats, 3 minimum, for the pool $5 per user a month billed annually, $7 monthly; the shared credit pool is on Teams and Enterprise. |
| Contract | Tendro None Pay per show. | Wave Connect Credits valid 12 months One-time, non-refundable purchases; Teams seats bill monthly or annually and are locked in for the billing period. |
| How you buy | Tendro Checkout today, no contract Free desk trial first, no card. | Wave Connect Credits in the app The organization's Owner buys packs or a custom amount; volume pricing is quoted by sales. |
| Scanning | Tendro Any printed badge or business card OCR of the printed face, then enrichment; open QR codes parse; works offline. | Wave Connect The printed name and company OCR, then enrichment; "It does not read the QR code or the barcode on a badge"; works offline, enriching on reconnect. |
| CRM sync | Tendro HubSpot and Salesforce, native Included in every event; matched on email, and any question can write to a HubSpot property or Salesforce field. Marketo, Pardot, Pipedrive, Zoho and any CRM with a public API on request. | Wave Connect HubSpot and Salesforce, Pro and up Native HubSpot, Salesforce, Dynamics 365, Zoho, Pipedrive and HighLevel; matched on email, owner by email, fields mapped; Zapier for the rest. |
| After the scan | Tendro Your questions, a voice note, a recap The rep answers your qualifying questions, adds a voice note, and sends a recap with their digital card now, in ten minutes, or never. | Wave Connect A note, a voice note, qualifiers Typed and voice notes and custom qualifiers travel with the lead; an "Email follow-up" from the booth; "Book a meeting" is coming soon. |
| Digital card | Tendro Free for every rep QR code, booking link, and share-backs that land as leads. | Wave Connect Free for individuals, Wave's original product Pro is $7 a month and Teams $5 per user a month, billed annually; NFC cards sold in its store. |
| Good to know | Tendro From the team behind Socio The event platform Cisco acquired as Webex Events. | Wave Connect Cards first, from Montreal Wave Connect Inc., Montreal; its docs now call it "an event lead capture platform first", while the homepage leads with the card. |
On the printed face it's parity. Wave Connect reads the printed name and company, then enriches; Tendro OCRs the printed face, then enriches.
On the code it isn't. Wave Connect's docs say the scanner "does not read the QR code or the barcode on a badge." Tendro parses an open QR code into the lead when it carries contact details.
Badge types: does Tendro read badge QR codes? and which QR code types a universal scanner supports.
§ 03 · The season
What does each cost for a 5-rep team at 8 shows?
Tendro is 8 × $499 = $3,992, every rep included. Wave Connect at 100 badges a show is 800 × $10 = $8,000 in credits at list.
The season at 8 shows, by booth traffic
| Badges a show | Wave Connect, at list | Tendro |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $2,000 | $3,992 at any traffic |
| 49 | $3,920 | |
| 50 | $4,000 | |
| 100 | $8,000 | |
| 200 | $16,000 |
Wave Connect: badges × 8 shows × $10, the 4-credit badge rate at $2.50 a credit, before tax. Failed enrichments and repeat scans of one name and company are not charged, so each figure is a ceiling. Tendro: 8 × $499, every rep and scan included; from 10 shows a year the rate drops, on the pricing page.
Packs bring 800 badges to $6,825. That is 3,200 credits: thirteen $500 packs of 235, one $250 pack of 115 and 30 single credits at $2.50.
Seats sit outside the ladder. Wave's pricing page puts the shared pool on Teams: $5 per user a month billed annually, 3 seats minimum. Five reps is $300 a year; its support center says event capture has "no per-user fees and no platform fee".
Per-event, per-lead and quoted plans in one table: event lead capture software pricing.
§ 04 · Your CRM
What lands in HubSpot or Salesforce from each?
Tendro: a HubSpot Contact or Salesforce Lead by email, with answers and voice note. Wave Connect: HubSpot Contacts; Salesforce Leads or Contacts.
Tendro, for one scan
Jordan Ellis Director of Operations · Northwind Industrial Supply
- jordan.ellis@northwind-industrial.com
- Contact owner
- Dana Ruiz
- Project
- New warehouse
Note On the Contact
Tendro Lead Capture — Metalworks Expo
Project: New warehouse
Go-live: Q1 2027
Notes: Wants pricing on two palletizing cells for the Joliet warehouse. Budget's approved. Send the spec sheet after the show.
Tag: hot
Captured by: dana@arcline-robotics.com
Assigned to: dana@arcline-robotics.com
Wave Connect, per its docs and support center
- A HubSpot Contact, matched on primary email. Outbound only, in real time; notes land as linked HubSpot Notes; the owner is matched to the rep by email.
- A Salesforce Lead or Contact. Lead Source "Wave Connect", the note in Description, owner matched by email; a duplicate flagged by Salesforce's rules is overridden and saved.
- Qualifiers map to your fields. Interest level, product line or follow-up owner, mapped to the field you report on; event tags on Teams and Enterprise.
- Campaigns are a one-time automation. Adding event leads to a named CRM campaign "is a one-time automation on your side", which Wave offers to set up with you.
Test both the same way: scan a contact that already exists in your CRM and watch whether the record merges or forks. Before you pay, a 15-minute demo shows a badge landing in HubSpot or Salesforce with its note.
Now every scan is in the CRM the same day.
Jay · CEO, Udext
Details: HubSpot lead retrieval and Salesforce lead retrieval.
§ 05 · Switching
Can you switch from Wave Connect to Tendro mid-season?
Yes. Tendro is bought one show at a time, so the switch starts with your next one. Wave Connect credits are one-time purchases, valid 12 months.
- Next show
- Buy it at checkout and the team scans on their own phones; every rep gets a free digital card.
- Wave Connect's term
- "Purchased credits are valid for 12 months" and "Credit purchases are non-refundable"; Teams seats "are locked in for the billing period". Spend the balance down at your smallest shows.
- Your data
- "Export all captured leads to CSV anytime", and on cancellation "we do not charge an export fee"; leads already in HubSpot or Salesforce stay there.
Also compared
- Tendro vs Popl Pick Tendro to buy show by show at a public $499, every rep included. Pick Popl for one quoted plan with unlimited users, events and leads.
- Tendro vs Blinq Pick Tendro for one flat $499 a show, whatever the booth scans. Pick Blinq if your team already runs Blinq cards and sees a few dozen leads a show.
- Tendro vs iCapture Pick Tendro for $499 a show, no contract. Pick iCapture for badge-provider registration data at shows that grant it, on a Cvent annual plan.
- Tendro vs Mobly Pick Tendro for $499 a show, no contract, booth recap included. Pick Mobly if you exhibit year-round on an annual agreement and want Pulse sequences.
- Tendro vs Vendelux Pick Tendro for questions on each lead, a matched rep as owner, Salesforce sync. Pick Vendelux if free HubSpot scans with tags and notes are enough.
All six on one page: every Tendro comparison. For the wider field, ranked by booth fit: event lead capture alternatives.
Sources
Sources Checked 11 Oct 2026
- Wave Connect pricing page $2.50 a credit, 4 credits a badge, Teams at $5 per user with a 3-user minimum, the shared pool, the native CRM list and field mapping, Email follow-up and Book a meeting
- Wave Connect docs: credits Packs and bonus credits, "valid for 12 months", the Owner buys, free trial credits, volume pricing by quote
- Wave Connect support: how event lead capture pricing works "no per-user fees and no platform fee"; pack prices; one-time purchases
- Wave Connect support: plans and pricing Teams at $5 per user a month billed annually ($7 monthly), minimum 3 users; seats locked in for the billing period
- Wave Connect docs: scanner Reads the printed name and company; "It does not read the QR code or the barcode on a badge"; 4 credits a badge, no scan-only option
- Wave Connect docs: offline mode Captures work offline; enrichment, credits and CRM sync run on reconnect
- Wave Connect docs: HubSpot Contacts, outbound only, real time, dedupe on primary email, owner by email, Pro and up
- Wave Connect docs: Salesforce Leads or Contacts, Lead Source, Description, owner by email, duplicate rules overridden, Pro and up
- Wave Connect support: duplicate scans Repeat scans of the same name and company, and failed enrichments, are not charged
- Wave Connect support: notes and voice notes Typed notes, voice notes and custom qualifiers travel with the lead
- Wave Connect support: connecting your CRM Booth qualifiers mapped to the field your team reports on; leads tagged to the event
- Wave Connect support: CRM campaigns Adding event leads to a named campaign "is a one-time automation on your side"; Wave offers to set it up
- Wave Connect docs: events Event tagging on Teams and Enterprise
- Wave Connect terms of use Unused credits expire and are forfeited; credit purchases are non-refundable; Wave Connect Inc., Montreal
- Wave Connect support: who owns your data No export fee on cancellation
- Wave Connect event lead capture page "Export all captured leads to CSV anytime"
- Wave Connect docs: what is Wave "an event lead capture platform first"
- Wave Connect homepage The digital business card H1; free for individuals
- Tendro pricing $499 per event, unlimited team members, volume rates, the desk trial
- Tendro HubSpot and Salesforce sync What lands on the Contact or the Lead, matched on email, mapped fields
Last call
Try it on your next show.
$499 per event. Every rep on the booth team.