Oxford Abstracts vs SimplyConf

Oxford Abstracts is web software for managing academic conference submissions, reviews, decisions, and events. Organisers can build customized submission forms, assign reviewers by category or group, and track reviewer progress while reviewers’ changes save automatically. Scheduled emails can be tailored for reviewers and submitters. The free Basic plan includes unlimited submissions, review and decisions, event ticketing, reviewer tracking, customizable forms, and emails. The Abstract Management plan costs $890/event and adds custom emails, fully customizable forms, detailed reports, instant abstract books, and optional add-ons. The Conference plan costs $2,290/event and adds a live conference platform, program builder, attendee networking, on-demand and live content, and an interactive poster gallery. Ticketing integrates with Stripe and PayPal. Online programs are accessible from any device. Oxford Abstracts lists onboarding support, free video calls, tutorials, and a knowledge base. It is headquartered in Acharacle, United Kingdom, and hosts data on UK-based Amazon Web Services servers.

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.