OpenRostrum

What OpenRostrum is

OpenRostrum is conference software for managing speakers, submissions, and programs from initial outreach through a public agenda. Organizers can maintain a searchable speaker directory, group contacts into segments, assign them to events, and track prospects through an eight-stage pipeline with scores, notes, and history. Calls for speakers can be built as multi-step forms with reusable fields, conditional questions, deadlines, draft rules, and configurable limits for speakers, chairs, and moderators. Submissions can be routed by track for approve, maybe, or deny decisions; optional AI scoring supplies a rationale for an initial assessment, which reviewers can override.

Speakers use a portal to update bios, headshots, slides, and task forms and check submission status. Accepted sessions can be laid out in a day-and-room grid, with conflicts for speakers or rooms flagged. Published materials can include schedule, speaker, session, gallery, and itinerary views, styled embeds, and filtered HTML, JSON, XML, and iCal feeds. Acceptance and schedule-change emails can carry .ics invitations for Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Calendar. OpenRostrum also lists Airtable sync, CSV exports, and ZIP downloads of uploaded files. It is MIT licensed, available on the web or self-hosted, and its free plan includes all features.

Who it suits

OpenRostrum suits conference organizers who need to coordinate speaker outreach, proposal review, and agenda publication in one system. It also fits teams that want speakers to manage their own materials and submission status, or that need self-hosting and export options.

Getting started

1. Visit https://openrostrum.com/.
2. Use the hosted web edition or choose to self-host OpenRostrum.
3. Start with the free OpenRostrum plan, which includes all features.
4. Set up the speaker directory, CFP forms, and event workflow.

Verdict

Choose OpenRostrum if you need an all-in-one workflow for speaker management, proposal review, and publishing a conference agenda. Its MIT license, self-hosting option, and free plan with all features make it a fit for teams seeking control over hosting and data. Look elsewhere if you need a workflow that does not require setting up forms or hosting a self-managed edition.