No. 26 of 29 ·Event Abstract Management Software

START Conference Manager

Web · Self-hosted

Freedom report

One barScore 4.9

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

START Conference Manager is ranked #26 of 29 in event abstract management software on Freedom251. It runs on Self-hosted, Web. There is no free plan.

START Conference Manager plans and pricing

All plans

Single-event license Not published Price supplied after contacting developers one year's meeting of a conference or workshop · free support and upgrades during license softconf.com · 1 Oct 2026

Multiple-use license Not published Price supplied after contacting developers several meetings or conferences · progressively discounted per-use pricing · free support and upgrades during license softconf.com · 1 Oct 2026

Compared on event abstract management software

Free plan: No
Submission types: multiple
Review workflow: custom
Scoring tools: Yes
Blind review: Yes
Author revisions: Yes
Poster handling: Yes
Publishing tools: Yes

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The record

Purpose: START V2 is an integrated web-based system for managing peer-reviewed conferences.
Workflow automation: Each step of the conference process is fully automated through a single-panel interface.
Configurable roles: The system provides configurable views and policy controls for authors, reviewers, committee members, track coordinators, and program chairs.
Submission formats: Administrators can allow PDF, Postscript, MS Word, RTF, PowerPoint, and plain-text submissions, with optional document conversion.
Review assignment: START can generate draft reviewer assignments using reviewer bids and quotas, which administrators can manually adjust.
Multi-track management: The system supports multiple tracks and hierarchical reviewing with semi-autonomous track-manager consoles.
Review forms: Administrators can configure review forms with unlimited criteria and custom quantitative or qualitative scoring ranges.
Committee discussions: Optional per-paper and committee-wide message boards can forward postings by email.
Hosting: START can run on a customer server or be hosted remotely at softconf.com or another provider.
Hosted operations: Softconf-hosted installations include installation, maintenance, backups, automatic upgrades, unlimited support, and possible customizations.
Support: Customer support provides step-by-step help, email ticketing through OTRS, request history, and public, customer, and conference-management FAQs.
Author updates: Authors can refine an existing submission up to the deadline without creating a new submission.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Event Abstract Management Software in 2026#26 of 29

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Sources

softconf.com/about/· checked 1 Oct 2026
softconf.com/about/index.php/start/administration-vi· checked 1 Oct 2026
softconf.com/about/index.php/hosting-options· checked 1 Oct 2026
softconf.com/about/index.php/support-at-softconf· checked 1 Oct 2026
softconf.com/about/index.php/start/author-view· checked 1 Oct 2026
softconf.com/about/index.php/ordering· checked 1 Oct 2026