Marketspread vs. Hivey: Why Hivey is the Smarter Choice for Market Management Software

Whether you’re an event organizer or a market manager, searching for tools to streamline vendor applications, payment processing, booth assignment, and overall vendor communication, you’ve likely come across Marketspread. In fact, many event planners who discover Hivey tell us they’re either currently using Marketspread or are strongly considering it. 

But once they try Hivey, the feedback is nearly always the same: “I had no idea market management software could be this easy!”.

If you’re wondering whether Hivey is the right market management software for you, you’re in the right place. This post will give you a clear, honest breakdown of the differences, and explain why more and more market managers are making the switch to Hivey.

What is Marketspread?

Marketspread is an event management software built mainly for farmers markets, craft fairs and booth-based events. It offers the basics: vendor application processing, booth layouts, document uploads and communication tools. However, many organizers report that the market management platform feels dated, slow, and challenging to navigate. So, when it comes to modern expectations like automation, streamlined workflows, and fast setup, Marketspread simply hasn’t kept up.

User Experience: Modern vs. Outdated

Marketspread

• The interface has a legacy look and feels bloated with features that are challenging to navigate.
• Many users describe it as slow and unintuitive (but hey, maybe that’s your thing)…
• Tasks like building booth maps, updating vendor information or changing floor plans can take far longer than expected.

Hivey

• Built in 2025 with today’s event management standards in mind.
• Clean, intuitive and designed to cut your market setup time dramatically.
• Every workflow is optimized for speed.
• Hivey is built for how modern markets and fairs run today, not how they ran 10+ years ago.

Booth Layouts: Drag and Drop Simplicity vs. Time-Consuming Setup

Marketspread

• Creating booth layouts and vendor maps in Marketspread often becomes a project itself. The mapping tools feel dated and resizing or rearranging booth assignments can take an excessive amount of time.

Hivey

• Hivey’s interactive booth layout feature is fast, visual, easy to adjust and update. Drag, drop, done! 
• Create a full booth map in minutes, not hours. Hivey turns a task that used to feel painful into something painless and time-efficient.

Pricing: Clear & Unlimited vs. Confusing and Restrictive

Marketspread

• You’ll notice on Marketspread’s website, their pricing structure is not very clear and locks you into a certain number of events, vendors and features. It can be confusing. 
• This can cause organizers to outgrow their plan quickly, meaning you either pay more, or stay restricted.

Hivey

• Hivey offers transparent and predictable subscription pricing with no hidden restrictions or fees.
• You aren’t locked into vendor caps or event limits that make event planning more stressful.
• What you see is what you pay!

Automation: The Future vs. Manual Processes

Marketspread

With Marketspread, these tasks still require you to do them manually:

• Vendor approvals and application processing.
• Sending arrival information.
• Payment collection and tracking.
• Following up after events.
• Keeping track of vendor communication threads.

The platform wasn’t built in an era where event automation was expected. Which has worked in the past.

Hivey

Hivey automates the parts of event planning that are typically chaotic, time-consuming and repetitive:

• Vendor application workflows.
• Payment tracking and reminders.
• Application approval messages and event notifications.
• Post-event surveys.
• Vendor onboarding processes.
• And much more!

Instead of juggling admin work, you get your time back!

Start-up vs. Established

Marketspread

• Marketspread offers a mature product, but that also means updates can be slow and the platform hasn’t evolved much in years. Which is fine, if you don’t require modern software for your events.
• Many users feel that it simply isn’t keeping up with modern standards for market organizer software today.

Hivey

Hivey is a fast-moving start-up, meaning:

• We listen closely to event planners, vendors, and food trucks.
• We ship new features regularly based on user requests.
• We evolve quickly to match the changing landscape of the event industry and its needs.

Your feedback doesn’t disappear into a chain of emails—it becomes the next release.

So… Why Are More Market Managers Choosing Hivey?

✅ Modern, intuitive and efficient market management software.
✅ Automated workflows that save you hours every week.
✅ Transparent pricing with no vendor or event caps.
✅ Start-up-level responsiveness and white-glove customer service.
✅ Built for today’s markets and large-scale events.

If you’re tired of feeling limited by Marketspread’s outdated interface, slow processes or confusing pricing structure, Hivey offers a breath of fresh air.