No. 17 of 34 ·Event Scheduling Software

ProgramChair

Web · Self-hosted

Visit site Alternatives

Freedom report

One barScore 5.4

Free tierNo free tier on record
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

ProgramChair is ranked #17 of 34 in event scheduling software on Freedom251. It runs on Self-hosted, Web.

ProgramChair plans and pricing

All plans

Self-hosted Not published Per registrant; rate set with each society Runs on your site and domain · Uses your outgoing mail · All features and stages included programchair.io · 5 Oct 2026

Hosted Not published Per registrant; rate set with each society Provider-hosted and maintained · Mail handled on provider infrastructure · All features and stages included programchair.io · 5 Oct 2026

Compared on event scheduling software

Free plan: No
Room scheduling: Yes

Best ProgramChair alternatives

See all 20

Two bars Fourwaves Free tier No. 1$83.25/mo6.6 Two bars Indico Free tier No. 2Free6.6 Two bars Zoho Backstage Free tier No. 3Free6.6 Two bars Agorify Free tier No. 4€119/mo6.5 Two bars ConfTool Free tier No. 5Free6.5 Two bars Sessionize Free tier No. 6Free6.5

The record

Purpose: ProgramChair manages academic conferences from submission and peer review through decisions, the program, and proceedings.
Submission forms: Organizers can configure submission and review forms with session types, topics, word limits, and scoring criteria.
Submissions: Authors can maintain an account across conferences, add co-authors, upload manuscripts, and edit proposals while submissions are open.
Peer review: Reviewers can be matched to proposals by topic or assigned through a proposed balanced allocation, and see anonymised papers.
Review management: Organizers can schedule reviewer reminders and sort submissions by score, score spread, or reviewer disagreement.
Program scheduling: The scheduler groups thematically similar work, distributes sessions across available slots, and flags author scheduling conflicts.
Email audit: Mailings are logged by recipient with delivery status and the message sent, and failed messages can be resent.
Data export: Organizers can download and restore a readable, single-file conference backup containing submissions, reviews, roster, and program.
Pricing: The software is free to use and charges are based on registrants; rates are set with each society, with no setup fee or annual minimum.
Audience: The product is aimed at academic societies, including organizations with volunteer boards, rotating program chairs, and no technical staff.
Support and availability: The site invites prospective societies to contact [email protected] and says it is taking on a small number of societies for 2027.
Product maturity: The maker describes the software as new and says two societies have committed their 2027 conference seasons to it.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Event Scheduling Software in 2026#17 of 34

Is ProgramChair yours?

Claim it for free: prove the domain, then correct facts, plans and screenshots. An editor reviews every change.

Claim it free Promote ProgramChair

Sources

programchair.io· checked 5 Oct 2026