EasyChair vs Airballoon

EasyChair8.5Visit Airballoon8.2Visit

Higher score EasyChair #2 in Call for Papers Software 8.5/10 Free plan · paid from $4 Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit EasyChair

vs

Airballoon #3 in Call for Papers Software 8.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Airballoon

• EasyChair fits best

  Established academic conferences on a budget

• Airballoon fits best

  End-to-end conferences with attendee operations

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Side by side

Feature	EasyChair 8.5/10 Visit ↗	Airballoon 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.5	8.2
Ranking	#2 in Call for Papers Software	#3 in Call for Papers Software
Best for	Established academic conferences on a budget	End-to-end conferences with attendee operations
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs	Email, Docs
Compliance	GDPR	SSO/SAML, PCI DSS
Integrations	4 integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features EasyChair 2/2 · Airballoon 2/2
Blind review	✓	✓
Schedule builder	✓	✓
Specs
Submission types	Mixed	Mixed
Review stages	Custom	Custom
Submission limit	20 submissions	Not published
Reviewer limit	200 reviewers	Not published
Our review
Pros	Free tier covers submissions, reviewing, blind review, hosting, and backups Supports rebuttals, scheduling, proceedings, registration, and Smart CFP Professional and Executive add program, analytics, export, and integration features	Supports paper, abstract, poster, and proposal submissions Combines blind review, committee management, and custom review stages Extends into websites, schedules, registration, networking, and payments
Cons	Free is sized for up to 20 submissions and 200 reviewers Paid tiers charge per submission rather than through annual pricing Access is web-based, with advanced needs split across multiple tiers	Registration can incur transaction fees Presentation storage can incur storage fees Its broad event scope may exceed the needs of CFP-only teams
Our verdict	EasyChair is a web-based conference management system for chairs, program committees, reviewers, authors, and organizers. It covers the academic event workflow from call-for-papers publishing and abstract or paper submission through… Read the review →	Airballoon is a web-based conference-management platform from Lumvex Labs LLC for academic conferences and workshops. It covers the conference lifecycle from CFP publication and paper, abstract, poster, and proposal submissions through… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• EasyChair — where it wins

  • Free tier covers submissions, reviewing, blind review, hosting, and backups
  • Supports rebuttals, scheduling, proceedings, registration, and Smart CFP
  • Professional and Executive add program, analytics, export, and integration features

  Where it doesn't

  • Free is sized for up to 20 submissions and 200 reviewers
  • Paid tiers charge per submission rather than through annual pricing
  • Access is web-based, with advanced needs split across multiple tiers

• Airballoon — where it wins

  • Supports paper, abstract, poster, and proposal submissions
  • Combines blind review, committee management, and custom review stages
  • Extends into websites, schedules, registration, networking, and payments

  Where it doesn't

  • Registration can incur transaction fees
  • Presentation storage can incur storage fees
  • Its broad event scope may exceed the needs of CFP-only teams

• EasyChair8.5/10 · Free plan · paid from $4

  A broad academic conference workflow with a useful free tier and usage-based upgrades.

  Visit EasyChairFull verdict →
• Airballoon8.2/10 · Free plan

  A broad web-based conference system covering CFPs, review, event operations, and attendee engagement.

  Visit AirballoonFull verdict →