Overview

ConfTool covers the work from collecting submissions and managing reviews to building a program, registering participants and invoicing them. Organizers can configure open or blind reviews, schedule accepted work, check presenter conflicts and let attendees build personal agendas. That breadth makes it a practical fit for events with a formal academic program; it is not a substitute for email marketing, which ConfTool does not provide.

Pro also supports linking sessions and presentations to external virtual-event resources, a useful bridge for online or hybrid programs. Its payment options include bank transfer, PayPal, Stripe and connections to more than 45 online credit-card payment systems. Data exports in Excel, Word, CSV, JSON and XML give organizers ways to work with event records outside the system.

Key features

Submission and review: Configurable review processes, open or blind reviewing, and an optional multi-track feature suit conferences with different evaluation needs. The optional status of multi-track matters for budgets: it may add fees.
Program scheduling: Session and submission scheduling, room scheduling, presenter-conflict checks and participant agendas address the coordination problems of multi-session events.
Registration: Pro can handle participant groups, time-based discounts, event and item choices, conditional options and admission limits. That makes it better suited to structured registration than a simple attendee list.
Security and privacy: ConfTool lists HTTPS access, automatic backups and role-based access control. Its servers are in Germany, each conference has a separate database, and project data is deleted when the project ends.
Support: Pro includes professional help with configuration and use. Standard comes without support, a meaningful constraint for organizers who need assistance setting up an event.

Pricing

ConfTool Standard costs 0.00 USD per free. It is a free license on request for smaller non-commercial events, capped at 150 participants and restricted to local installation. With no support, it suits technically capable organizers whose event fits those limits; it is not the free route to a hosted service.

ConfTool Pro has custom pricing and is billed per conference as a hosted service. The fee depends on event requirements and size, and the optional multi-track feature and other modules may incur extra fees. Pro is the more suitable choice for organizers who need hosted operation, registration and configuration support, but the per-event price and possible module charges make the total cost important to establish before committing.

Platforms

ConfTool supports Android, iOS, web and self-hosted use. Standard is local-installation only; Pro is hosted. The listed attendee mobile app complements the personal-agenda feature, while the platform range supports organizers and participants using different access modes.

Who it's for

ConfTool is strongest for academic and professional event teams managing submissions, peer review, tracks, rooms and registrations together. Its support for on-site, virtual and hybrid events broadens that fit. Small non-commercial events can consider Standard if they stay within 150 participants and can manage a local installation without support. Organizers who chiefly need marketing campaigns, or who require a free hosted service with assistance, should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pro: Submission, review, scheduling and registration sit in one event workflow, reducing the need to assemble separate tools for core conference administration.
Pro: Payment choices, registration rules and multiple export formats give organizers useful control over attendee administration and downstream data handling.
Pro: Separate conference databases, Germany-based servers and end-of-project data deletion are concrete privacy measures.
Con: Standard's 150-person cap, local-only installation and lack of support rule it out for many organizers seeking a straightforward hosted free plan.
Con: Pro's custom per-conference fee and possible module charges make cost harder to predict, especially when multi-track functionality is needed.
Con: There is no email marketing service, so teams needing campaign tools must handle that work separately.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison of event abstract management software, call for papers software, speaker management software and event scheduling software, the right category depends on which part of conference administration matters most.

Fourwaves is worth considering for teams comparing event and abstract workflows with a free annual tier: its Starter plan is 0.00 USD per year, includes 25 abstract submissions per year and unlimited registrations and events, but charges a 3% service fee.
HotCRP may suit conferences or journals sponsored by ACM or USENIX, with free sponsored plans and self-hosted and Linux platform options.
Congressio is an option for a small event team wanting a defined free allowance: its Free plan covers one active event, 100 submissions and three team seats.
EasyChair may fit a modest submission workflow: its free plan caps submissions at 20 and provides no technical support.
Oxford Abstracts is an alternative when unlimited submissions and abstract collection, review and decisions are the priority; its Basic plan also includes event ticketing and reviewer-progress tracking.
Sciencesconf may suit scientific events whose organizers want a free service, with event-creation requests subject to validation.
SimplyConf offers a free self-hosted Core plan with unlimited events, submissions and users, making it a contrasting option for teams prepared to self-host.
Indico is another free option for teams considering a self-hosted event platform.

Verdict

Choose ConfTool if an academic or professional event needs a connected system for reviewing, scheduling and participant registration, and the organizer can budget for a hosted Pro conference. Its central advantage is the breadth of the event workflow, backed by flexible registration and payment handling. Look elsewhere if a free hosted plan, predictable published pricing or email marketing is essential; Standard's local-installation and participant limits are substantial constraints.

	ConfTool	HotCRP
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	Free
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, self-hosted, Web	api, Linux, self-hosted, Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Blind review	—	Yes

ConfTool vs HotCRP

ConfTool

HotCRP