ConfTool vs Congressio

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.

Congressio brings conference submissions, peer review, decisions, scheduling, and attendee registration into one platform. Its drag-and-drop form builder supports conditional logic, uploads, and co-author invitations, while review tools include automatic reviewer assignment, deadlines, conflict-of-interest detection, and double-blind review. Organizers can publish a public program with attendee agendas and iCal or PDF exports. Ticket sales through Stripe support tiers, discounts, add-ons, VAT invoices, and refunds. QR passes can be stored in Apple and Google Wallet and scanned at check-in, with zones controlled by ticket tier or capacity. Virtual-event tools include live and on-demand streaming, recordings, e-posters, Q&A, and polls. Congressio also describes ORCID, institutional single sign-on, API keys, and webhooks for integrations. It says data is kept in the European Union and card details are handled by Stripe. The free plan allows one active event, 100 submissions, and three team seats. Standard costs $49 a month; a 14-day trial is listed.