Microsoft CMT vs Airballoon

MCMicrosoft CMT9.0Visit Airballoon8.2Visit

Higher score MC Microsoft CMT #1 in Call for Papers Software 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 2 features Visit Microsoft CMT

vs

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

• Microsoft CMT fits best

  Free, full-featured academic conferences

• Airballoon fits best

  End-to-end conferences with attendee operations

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Side by side

Feature	MCMicrosoft CMT 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Airballoon 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.2
Ranking	#1 in Call for Papers Software	#3 in Call for Papers Software
Best for	Free, full-featured academic conferences	End-to-end conferences with attendee operations
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Not published	Not published
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Tickets, Docs	Email, Docs
Integrations	1 integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Microsoft CMT 2/2 · Airballoon 2/2
Blind review	✓	✓
Schedule builder	✓	✓
Specs
Submission types	Mixed	Mixed
Review stages	Custom	Custom
Submission limit	Not published	Not published
Reviewer limit	Not published	Not published
Our review
Pros	Supports submissions, revisions, camera-ready papers, and presentations Deep review controls include blind review, conflicts, quotas, and bidding Covers multi-track planning, copyright collection, and session scheduling	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	Web-based delivery limits the platform choice to browser access Reviewer capacity is configured by conference chairs, not fixed product-wide Its focus on academic peer review may not suit general event management	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	Microsoft CMT is a free, cloud-hosted conference management system for academic and scientific peer review. It is designed for conference chairs, reviewers, authors, and proceedings editors managing submissions from abstracts through full… 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

• Microsoft CMT — where it wins

  • Supports submissions, revisions, camera-ready papers, and presentations
  • Deep review controls include blind review, conflicts, quotas, and bidding
  • Covers multi-track planning, copyright collection, and session scheduling

  Where it doesn't

  • Web-based delivery limits the platform choice to browser access
  • Reviewer capacity is configured by conference chairs, not fixed product-wide
  • Its focus on academic peer review may not suit general event management

• 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

• MCMicrosoft CMT9.0/10 · Free plan

  A free, full-featured system for managing academic submissions, reviews, rebuttals, and schedules.

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

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

  Visit AirballoonFull verdict →