1. Introduction
Reading time: 8 minutes
Let me cut straight to the chase. If you’re running a festival and looking at Appmiral, you’re about to spend €7,188 per year for their Advanced tier. That’s what most mid-sized festivals need – the Basic tier at €4,068 rarely cuts it.
We charge €1,188 per year for comparable features. That’s an 85% price difference.
Price is just part of it. After talking to dozens of festival organizers who’ve used both platforms, here’s what actually matters when choosing a festival app.
The Problem Nobody Talks About
Festival apps have become a weird status symbol. I’ve watched organizers spend months debating logo placement and custom fonts while their attendees just want to know when their favorite artist plays and where the toilets are.
What really happens is festivals goers download these expensive white-labeled apps, use them for three days, then delete them. The average festival app gets uninstalled within 30 days by 73% of users. That’s not a technology problem – it’s a philosophy problem.
Appmiral lets you create your own branded app. New name, custom everything. Sounds great until you realize your attendees now need to download “SunsetVibes Festival 2025” this weekend, then “Mountain Echo Fest” next month, then “Coastal Grooves” after that. Three festivals, three apps, three times learning where everything is.
We took a different approach. Festivawl stays Festivawl. Your colors, your fonts, your logo – but one consistent app that attendees already know how to use. Like how every festival uses Google Maps for directions, not “CustomFestivalMaps 2025.”
What You Actually Get: Appmiral vs Festivawl
The Pricing Reality
Appmiral offers three tiers, but the reality is about what festivals actually need:
Appmiral Basic (€339/month, €4,068/year) gets you the bare minimum. Lineup, timetable, push notifications. No media uploads, no sponsor sections, no automation. I haven’t met a single festival that can survive on just this.
Appmiral Advanced (€599/month, €7,188/year) is what you’ll probably buy. This adds sponsor embeds, media handling, and workflow automation. It’s their most popular tier for a reason – festivals need these features.
Appmiral Pro (Custom pricing, usually €10,000+/year) adds interactive maps and API access. Unless you’re running Coachella, you probably don’t need this.
Now here’s what Festivawl offers:
Starter (Free) gives you more than Appmiral Basic. Full lineup, timetable, unlimited notifications, admin panel. We lose money on this tier, but we believe every festival deserves decent tools.
Epic (€99/month, €1,188/year) is where most of our festivals land. Everything in Starter plus notification history with images, festival analytics, sponsor sections, custom colors and fonts, and actual phone support. Not a chat bot – my phone number.
Legendary (€399/month, €4,788/year) adds 24/7 support during your festival, unlimited team members, and (coming soon) 3D maps and enhanced branding options.
The User Experience Gap
I’m going to share something that might hurt Appmiral’s feelings. Their apps average 3.5 stars on the App Store. Ours average 4.6 stars.
Why the difference? It’s not about features. Appmiral probably has more features than us. The difference is that we built for the person holding the phone, not the person signing the check.
Here’s the brutal comparison:
| Metric | Appmiral Advanced (€7,188) | Festivawl Epic (€1,188) |
|---|---|---|
| App Store Rating | 3.5 stars average | 4.5+ stars |
| Annual Cost | €7,188 | €1,188 |
| Setup Time | 2-3 weeks | 3 hours |
| Custom Colors | Unlimited | Your brand colors |
| Custom Fonts | Yes | Yes |
| White-label App Name | Yes | No (intentionally) |
| Sponsor Sections | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Mode | Partial | Full |
| User Learning Curve | New app each time | Same familiar interface |
Our calendar looks like Google Calendar because that’s what people understand. When you favorite an artist, they automatically move to the first column so you can see your personalized schedule at a glance. When you’re offline (and you will be – festival WiFi is a myth), everything still works perfectly.
Appmiral built what festival organizers asked for. We built what festival attendees actually use.
The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions
When you budget for Appmiral, the €7,188 is just the beginning. Here’s what they don’t put on their pricing page:
| Hidden Cost | Appmiral | Festivawl |
|---|---|---|
| iOS Developer Account | €99/year (you pay) | Included |
| Android Developer Account | €25 (you pay) | Included |
| Push Notification Service | €50-500/month | Included |
| App Store Optimization | Your time/agency | We handle it |
| Bug Fixes Between Festivals | Extra charges | Included |
| Server Scaling During Peak | Your problem | Our problem |
| ACTUAL TOTAL | €8,000-12,000 | €1,188 |
That’s right – the real cost of Appmiral can be almost double the sticker price. Meanwhile, with Festivawl, the price you see is what you pay. Setup takes about three hours, not three weeks. And if something breaks during your festival, we fix it – no invoice required.
Who Actually Chooses What?
After two years in this business, I’ve noticed patterns.
Festivals that choose Appmiral usually care about:
- Having “their own” app (even if nobody keeps it)
- Maximum customization options
- Being able to say “we have a custom app”
- Integration with complex ticketing systems
- Following what the big festivals do
Festivals that choose Festivawl typically want:
- Attendees to actually use the app
- To save €6,000 per year
- Setup in hours, not weeks
- Better app store ratings
- To focus on the festival, not the technology
Look, some festivals genuinely need that level of customization. But most don’t.
Real Math from Real Festivals
Let’s say you run a 15,000-person festival. Pretty standard size – not tiny, not massive.
Here’s something most people don’t realize: if you hired us directly to build you a custom festival app – me as designer and our CTO as developer – we’d charge €100,000 for development plus €20,000 per year for maintenance. That’s what professional app development actually costs. We’ve built apps for major brands. We know what we’re worth.
But with Festivawl, you get that same expertise for €1,188 per year.
Why? Because you’re sharing the platform with other festivals. You get the €100k app for 1% of the price. It’s not cheap because we’re desperate – it’s affordable because we’re smart about scale.
With Appmiral Advanced at €7,188 per year, you’re paying €0.48 per attendee just for the app platform. Add in the hidden costs and you’re probably at €0.80 per person.
With Festivawl Epic at €1,188 per year, you’re at €0.08 per attendee. All-in.
That €6,000 difference? That’s what you’d make selling 60 tickets at €100 each. Or what you’d spend on an emerging headliner. Or just margin that keeps your festival sustainable.
Over three years, the difference is €18,000. That’s real money that could go into production, artist fees, or just keeping ticket prices reasonable.
The Migration Question
“But we already have Appmiral.”
I hear this a lot. Switching feels risky. What about our data? What about our sponsors? What about next year’s festival that’s only four months away?
Here’s the truth: switching is easier than setting up Appmiral in the first place. We’ve moved dozens of festivals over. It usually takes:
- One call to understand your needs (30 minutes)
- Importing your data (one day)
- Setting up your branding (one hour)
- Training your team (two hours)
- Testing everything (one week)
Total time investment: less than you spent in meetings choosing your Appmiral package.
What We're Building vs What They're Selling
Appmiral is building what festival organizers think they want: infinite customization, white-labeling, complex integrations. They’re selling the dream of owning your own app.
We’re building what festival attendees actually want: an app that works, that they already understand, that they don’t delete after your festival. We’re selling the reality of happy users and sustainable costs.
The difference in thinking shows. When Appmiral adds a feature, they ask “will festivals pay for this?” When we add a feature, we ask “will this make someone’s festival experience better?”
The Decision Framework
Choosing a festival app platform isn’t really about features. Both platforms can send push notifications. Both can show your lineup. Both can display a schedule.
The real questions are:
- Do you want to pay €7,188 or €1,188 per year?
- Do you want 3.5-star reviews or 4.6-star reviews?
- Do you want setup to take three weeks or three hours?
- Do you want attendees to keep your app or delete it?
- Do you want to own an app or own a great experience?
If you prioritize brand control over everything else, choose Appmiral. They’re good at what they do, and some festivals genuinely need that level of customization.
If you prioritize user experience and sustainable costs, we’d love to talk.
What Happens Next?
If you’re currently using Appmiral, I have an offer. Show me your invoice and I’ll give you three months free when you switch. That’s €297 off, plus you’re already saving €6,000 per year.
If you’re evaluating both platforms, start with our free tier. Build your festival, see how it feels. No credit card, no pressure. If you like it, upgrade. If you don’t, at least you learned what you’re looking for.
And if you just want to chat about festival apps – whether you use ours or not feel free to book a call using the window below
OR
Leave your email and I'll do the rest
The festival industry is hard enough without overpaying for technology. Whatever you choose, make sure it serves your attendees, not just your ego.
Disclaimer: Appmiral pricing based on public information as of August 2025. Comparisons based on publicly available app store data and customer feedback.
Founder & CEO at Festivawl
