Airballoon vs ConfTool
Airballoon
airballoon.aiConfTool
conftool.netSide by side
| Figure | Airballoon | ConfTool |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 7 | 2 |
| Spec score · Call for Papers Software | 7.9 (#9) | 8.2 (#5) |
| Purpose | AirBalloon is a conference-management platform for academic conferences, covering submission, peer review, registration, and presentation. | ConfTool supports conference organizers with submissions and reviews, program scheduling, participant registration, administration, and invoicing. |
| Registration | AirReg supports ticket types, add-ons, invite codes, fee exemptions, Stripe checkout, receipts, invoices, and refunds. | The Pro registration module supports participant groups, time discounts, events and items, conditional options, and admission limits. |
| Security | The maker says it uses encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, least-privilege IAM, audit logging, vulnerability scans, dependency monitoring, backups, and disaster-recovery procedures. | The features page lists HTTPS access, regular automatic backups, role-based access control, and extensive security features. |
| Submission and review | AirReview supports custom submission forms, anonymity checks, expertise matching, bidding, conflict detection, AI review assistance, decisions, and camera-ready collection. | ConfTool Pro supports configurable submission and review processes, including open or blind reviewing and an optional multi-track feature. |
| Support | The contact page says pricing, partnership, Custom-tier, and other inquiries receive a response within 1–2 business days; existing users can report bugs or request features through Report Issues in the sidebar. | ConfTool Pro includes professional support for configuration and use; ConfTool Standard is offered without support. |
Plans
Airballoon
- AirCore, full conference (Shared participant identity and data)Free
- AirMaster (Conference management)Free
- AirReview (Submission & Review)Free
- BalloonUp (Event app)Free
- AirReg, full conference (Registration)Price not published
- AirReg, standalone (Registration)Price not published
- AirUp (Presentation system)Price not published
In their own words
Airballoon
AirBalloon is a conference-management platform for academic events, covering submissions, peer review, registration, presentations, publishing, and attendee networking. AirMaster provides committee roles, programs and tracks, a website builder, announcements, and webmail. AirReview handles custom submission forms, anonymity checks, expertise matching, bidding, conflict detection, AI review assistance, decisions, and camera-ready collection. AirReg manages ticket types, add-ons, invite codes, fee exemptions, checkout, receipts, invoices, and refunds. AirUp supports session planning, schedules, rooms, chairs, and speaker uploads for onsite or hybrid events. AirExplore handles DOI and citation metadata and proceedings with ISBNs or ISSNs for recurring series. Attendees can use agendas, notifications, connections, QR contact exchange, chat, and a community feed. The platform runs on web and API. The full AirCore conference plan is free on or before December 31, 2026, then 3.0%. Other listed fees include AirReg transaction charges and AirUp presentation and storage charges.
ConfTool
ConfTool is conference management software for academic conferences, congresses, workshops, and seminars, including on-site and virtual events. It supports submissions and reviews, program scheduling, participant registration, administration, and invoicing. With ConfTool Pro, organizers can configure open or blind reviews, optionally use multiple tracks, schedule accepted submissions, and check presenter conflicts. Participants can create personal agendas. Pro registration supports participant groups, time discounts, event options, and admission limits; payments can be handled by bank transfer, PayPal, Stripe, or connections to more than 45 online credit card payment systems. Pro can link sessions and presentations to external virtual-event resources and export data in Excel, Word, CSV, JSON, and XML. ConfTool Standard is free on request for smaller non-commercial events, for up to 150 participants, and requires local installation. Pro is hosted and billed per conference; its fee depends on event requirements and size, and optional modules may cost extra. The maker lists HTTPS access, automatic backups, and role-based access control. Standard comes without support, while Pro includes professional support.