Overview

HotCRP connects submission intake, reviewer assignment, review rounds, and program committee decisions in one workflow. Blind review, mixed submission types, multiple stages, and a schedule builder make it more than a basic paper-collection form, while its emphasis remains conference review rather than broad event management.

Organizers can use the open-source software on their own server or choose HotCRP.com. Self-hosting requires Nginx, PHP 7.3 or higher, MariaDB, and several PHP packages, making it a sensible route for teams able to maintain that environment. Hosted service removes that operational burden, but privacy and support terms matter: submission and review artifacts may be retained indefinitely, and independent conference support is limited to bug fixes.

Key features

Submissions and assignments

Customizable forms, optional registration, program committee conflict collection, and configurable PDF checks let chairs shape the submission process. Papers can be assigned by hand, in bulk, or automatically, including with globally optimal assignment. The range gives chairs useful control over intake and workload distribution, provided the committee supplies suitable conflict and review information.

Review and committee decisions

Custom review forms, LaTeX math, multiple rounds, offline reviewing, delegation, and external reviewer invitations support committees with different review practices. Meeting tools cover rebuttals, votes, rankings, a live meeting tracker, custom decision types, and mailing users, keeping discussion and decisions connected to the paper workflow.

Search, integrations, and access

Search and sorting by criteria, bulk downloads, arbitrary formulas, and paper tags help chairs work across large submissions sets. The REST API uses bearer tokens, which can be restricted to read-only access or a subset of papers, a useful safeguard when connecting other tools. HotCRP.com integrates with ACM publication services for copyright forms, final versions, PDF checks, proceedings construction, and Digital Library file export; USENIX uses HotCRP for all its conferences and workshops.

HotCRP.com says site managers control access to submission and review artifacts, which may be stored indefinitely. Browsing data is generally kept for up to two years; evidence tied to potential misbehavior may be preserved indefinitely and shared with legitimate investigations. Organizers should decide whether those retention terms suit their participants and policies.

Pricing

The free routes are tied to particular uses rather than being a general free tier. ACM-sponsored conferences, journals, and workshops and USENIX-sponsored conferences, journals, and workshops can use their respective plans at 0.00 USD per free; the USENIX site must be created by USENIX. The Classroom plan is 0.00 USD per free for teachers at educational institutions, requires evidence of actual classroom use for approval, and has no support. A Free test site costs 0.00 USD per free, with email restrictions and a limited lifetime, so it is for trying the service rather than running an ongoing conference.

The Independent plan costs 7.50 USD per once: payment of $7.50 per submission is due after the submission deadline. It serves independent conferences, journals, and workshops, but support is limited to bug fixes. That model avoids a server to operate, yet the charge scales with submissions and does not buy broad support. IEEE-sponsored conferences, journals, and workshops have custom pricing, with payment due after the submission deadline.

For teams outside the sponsored and classroom categories, the practical choice is between the independent per-submission payment and the engineering responsibility of self-hosting the open-source version. The free test site is constrained by email restrictions and lifetime, while classroom access is both purpose-limited and unsupported.

Platforms

HotCRP supports web use, Linux, self-hosting, and an API. The self-hosted route gives technically equipped organizers control over deployment, while the hosted service is the alternative for teams that do not want to provision the stated server stack.

Who it's for

HotCRP is best suited to academic conference chairs and committees that need configurable intake, several review rounds, assignment options, and structured meeting decisions. Sponsored ACM or USENIX organizers have dedicated free plans, and educators may qualify for the classroom plan if they can document actual classroom use. Independent organizers should choose it when the review workflow merits the per-submission cost or they can operate the software themselves. It is a weaker fit for events chiefly seeking general registration and event-management tools, or for classroom users who need support.

Pros and cons

Pro: Submission, assignment, review, rebuttal, voting, and decision tools cover the central conference paper lifecycle in a connected workflow.
Pro: Scoped API tokens can limit access to read-only operations or selected papers, useful when granting integrations narrower access.
Pro: ACM publication-service integration handles several steps from copyright forms through proceedings and Digital Library export.
Con: Self-hosting requires a web server and a stack including Nginx, PHP 7.3 or higher, and MariaDB, which is a real operational commitment.
Con: The independent plan charges $7.50 per submission after the deadline and limits support to bug fixes.
Con: Classroom use has no support, and hosted artifact retention may be indefinite, considerations for educators and privacy-conscious committees.

Alternatives

For adjacent conference and event workflows, see Call for Papers Software and Event Abstract Management Software.

ConfTool is worth considering for smaller non-commercial events: its free license is available on request for up to 150 participants and local installation only, with no support.
Fourwaves may suit organizers prioritizing abstracts and registrations: its free Starter plan allows 25 abstract submissions a year, unlimited registrations and events, and charges a 3% service fee.
Sessionize is an option for free community events, with a free plan restricted to that use rather than internal, private, promotional, marketing, profit, or commercial events.
AbstractWiz offers a small-event starting point: its free plan allows up to 20 submissions and has no import feature, while its Standard plan is 270.00 USD per once for unlimited submissions and all features.
Airballoon is another conference option.
EasyChair may appeal to smaller conferences seeking a capped entry plan: Free allows up to 20 submissions with no technical support, while Professional is 3.90 USD per once per submission for up to 60 submissions.
Fireside is a free, open-source alternative under the Apache-2.0 license.
MeetingHand Abstract Management is another option for abstract and registration management, with a free plan capped at 25 registrations or abstracts.

Verdict

Choose HotCRP if your conference needs a capable, configurable paper-review process and you can qualify for a sponsored plan, pay per submission, or maintain your own server. Its strongest reason to choose it is the depth of its submission-to-committee workflow; look elsewhere if you need wider independent-site support, do not want server responsibilities or per-submission costs, or require different artifact-retention terms.

	Brownbag	HotCRP
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	Free
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Submission types	papers	—
Scoring tools	Yes	—
Publishing tools	Yes	—
Blind review	—	Yes

Brownbag vs HotCRP

Brownbag

HotCRP