ConfTool vs SimplyConf

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.

SimplyConf is a WordPress platform for managing academic conferences, workshops, and symposiums, from submissions and peer review through registration, payments, email, and scheduling. Its free core plugin supports unlimited events, submissions, users, and authors, with tracks, custom statuses and fields, file attachments, and a frontend submission portal. Add-ons cover reviewer assignment, single- and double-blind review, scoring criteria, conflict detection, and track chair oversight. Other tools provide automated email triggers and bulk messaging, Stripe registration payments with pricing tiers and discount codes, multi-track schedules, and exports. Organizers can publish interactive schedules on their conference website and download submission data as CSV or create PDF abstract books and programs. SimplyConf offers self-hosted and managed hosting. Self-hosted use requires WordPress 6.0 or higher, PHP 7.4 or higher, and MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+; HTTPS is recommended. The core plugin supports 12+ languages. The core is free; annual add-ons start at $29 a year, while listed monthly plans cost $19 a month for Starter and $29 a month for Pro.