Plinth vs SpaceHelm
Both platforms handle facility and venue bookings — but they differ significantly in operational depth. Here's an honest comparison to help you choose the right fit.
Plinth is best for…
- Sports facilities focused on court and pitch bookings
- Venues needing a clean member-facing booking portal
- Organisations already using Plinth's ecosystem
- Facilities with straightforward booking and payment needs
SpaceHelm is best for…
- Sports clubs managing pitches, courts, and function rooms
- Pubs and bars taking private hire bookings with catering
- Function venues running events with staff and parking
- Venues needing meetings, backups, and full data control
Feature Comparison
Pricing Comparison
Plinth's entry pricing starts at around £49/month, making SpaceHelm at £29/month (VAT included) the more affordable option from the outset. SpaceHelm's Professional plan at £79/month adds recurring bookings and payment collection — covering the full operational needs of most UK venues at a price point that remains competitive with Plinth's mid-tier plans.
Interface & Usability
Plinth provides a polished booking interface well-suited to sports facility management. SpaceHelm is purpose-built for the broader venue management market — handling multi-space bookings, event-specific catering orders, staff assignments, and parking allocation in a single mobile-optimised platform that works equally well on a phone or desktop.
Payments & Financial Management
Both platforms support online payments, but SpaceHelm goes further with deposit and balance management — customers pay a deposit at booking and the remaining balance closer to the event. This reduces no-shows and improves cash flow without any manual chasing. Plinth does not offer split deposit/balance payment workflows.
Catering & Staffing
Plinth has no catering or staffing features. SpaceHelm lets customers pre-order food and drinks at the point of booking (pre-order menus at booking), with orders automatically linked to the event. The staff management module lets you assign staff to bookings, manage availability, and ensure the right people are scheduled — all without a separate rota tool.
Meetings Management
Plinth has no dedicated meetings feature. SpaceHelm includes a full meetings module that lets you schedule ad hoc and recurring meetings with suppliers, customers, bar delivery reps, maintenance contractors, and any other stakeholder — all linked to your venue calendar so nothing clashes with live bookings.
Parking Bay Management
Plinth offers no parking management. SpaceHelm lets you define and allocate individual parking bays to bookings, preventing double-allocation and giving customers clear parking instructions at the point of booking — particularly valuable for sports clubs and function venues where parking is limited and in high demand.
Data Backups & Local Export
Plinth does not offer configurable backup controls or local data export. SpaceHelm performs automatic scheduled backups of all your venue data and lets you trigger a manual backup at any time. You can also export and save your data locally — giving you full ownership of your records and peace of mind in the event of any service disruption.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SpaceHelm cheaper than Plinth?
Yes. SpaceHelm starts at £29/month (VAT included) compared to Plinth's entry pricing of around £49/month. SpaceHelm also includes catering management, staff tools, meetings scheduling, parking bay management, and automatic backups that Plinth does not offer — making it better value for venues that need a complete operational platform.
Does Plinth support catering management?
Plinth does not include a catering management module. SpaceHelm lets customers pre-order food and drinks at the point of booking, with orders automatically linked to the event — removing the need for manual follow-up and reducing no-shows on catering.
Can I manage staff with Plinth?
Plinth does not include built-in staff rota or assignment tools. SpaceHelm includes a staff management module that lets you assign staff to bookings, manage availability, and ensure the right people are scheduled for every event.
Does Plinth support meetings scheduling?
Plinth is focused on facility bookings and does not include a meetings module. SpaceHelm includes ad hoc and recurring meetings scheduling for internal stakeholders — suppliers, bar delivery reps, maintenance contractors, and customers — all integrated with your venue calendar.
Can I manage parking with SpaceHelm?
Yes. SpaceHelm includes parking bay management so you can allocate specific bays to bookings, prevent double-allocation, and give customers clear parking instructions — particularly useful for sports clubs and function venues with limited parking.
Does SpaceHelm back up my data automatically?
Yes. SpaceHelm performs automatic scheduled backups of all your venue data. You can also trigger a manual backup at any time and export your data locally — giving you full control and peace of mind in the event of any service disruption.
Ready to switch from Plinth?
Start your free 14-day trial of SpaceHelm — no credit card required. We'll help you migrate your existing bookings.