ConfTool vs PragmaPlanner

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.

PragmaPlanner is web-based event-organisation software for building multi-track schedules for conferences, interview days and summits. Its solver searches scheduling combinations while considering attendee satisfaction and organiser constraints. You can assign speakers, record participant preferences, set room capacities and blocked times, and lock rooms or time slots. The software flags speaker overlaps, capacity problems and invalid placements. Attendee records can include descriptions, email addresses, availability and preferences, with assignments tracked in the project. CSV and ICS support data exchange, while customizable PDF exports create agendas. ICS import and export work with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook and other digital calendar systems. Roomless sessions can run concurrently without room collisions, and hybrid schedules can combine physical and Roomless sessions. Projects are encrypted on the user's device before syncing or sharing, using AES-256-GCM, ECIES-based key exchange and HKDF-SHA-256. The maker says its servers cannot see schedules or participant data. The free plan costs nothing for up to 30 participants and 50 projects. Pro costs what you agree with the maker, billed plus taxes, with higher limits and priority support.