EasyChair

EasyChair remains a practical default for paper-centric academic conferences that need submissions, review assignments, PC management, discussions, decisions, and program publishing. Its interface and licensing model are utilitarian, but the submission workflow is familiar to many academic communities.

Free for up to 20 submissions; Professional from $3.90/submission up to 60 submissions; Executive and VIP per-submission pricing
Visit EasyChair →
Tool Nutrition Label
Founded 2002 on LinkedIn
Headquarters Manchester, United Kingdom on LinkedIn
Company Size 2-10 employees on LinkedIn
Funding Self-owned on LinkedIn; public funding details are not prominent
Pricing Model Conference license pricing by license type, submission volume, and payment plan
Free Trial Free license available for small conferences and workshops
Contract Per-conference license; non-free licenses are purchased after conference creation
Attendee Capacity Submission-volume focused; free license supports up to 20 submissions and Professional up to 60
Mobile App No dedicated mobile event app is positioned in public product documentation
Offline Capability No
Data & Compliance Not clearly disclosed in public license pages; request details if institutional policy requires it
Expertise Level Intermediate
Event Types
Academic ConferencesWorkshopsComputer Science ConferencesResearch SymposiaProceedings-Based Events
Key Integrations
EasyChair Registration (Native) Smart CFP (Native) Smart Program (Native)
Support Channels
DocumentationHelpdesk on Executive licenseDedicated VIP manager on VIP license
Best For
  • + Academic workshops and conferences that primarily manage papers or abstracts
  • + Program chairs who need reviewer assignments, conflicts, discussions, rebuttals, and decisions
  • + Small conferences that can stay within the free submission limit
  • + Research communities whose authors and reviewers already know EasyChair
Not For
  • Event teams that need polished attendee marketing, sponsor, networking, or mobile app experiences
  • Conferences needing modern all-in-one registration, onsite, livestream, and app workflows
  • Organizers who want transparent all-inclusive conference platform pricing
  • Institutions that require detailed public security and hosting documentation before evaluation
Key Capabilities
Create calls for submission or participation through Smart CFP
Collect abstracts and papers with flexible forms and multiple file uploads
Manage program committees, reviewer assignments, conflicts, reviews, discussions, and rebuttals
Send email to reviewers, authors, and attendees and monitor conference activity
Publish programs and support proceedings-related workflows
Honest Limitations

Academic-First UX

EasyChair is functional and familiar, but not a polished event marketing or attendee engagement platform.

Submission Caps

Free and Professional licenses have submission limits, so growth can move a conference into paid tiers quickly.

Support Depends on License

Helpdesk and dedicated manager support are tied to higher licenses.

Limited Public Security Detail

Public license and feature pages do not provide the same compliance detail many universities now request.

Pricing Breakdown
Plan Price Details
Free Free Suitable for workshops and small conferences; maximum 20 submissions
Professional $3.90/submission Pay-as-you-go only; maximum 60 submissions
Executive From $6.10/submission depending on payment plan and volume For larger conferences; includes helpdesk technical support
VIP Setup fee plus per-submission pricing Adds dedicated support by an assigned EasyChair manager

Cost at Common Event Sizes

0
attendees
Submission-priced, not attendee-priced
Model by submission count and license level

Hidden Costs to Watch

  • ! License upgrades when submissions exceed free or Professional caps
  • ! Higher per-submission rates under pay-as-you-go or deposit/final-payment plans
  • ! Administrative time to configure tracks, review forms, conflicts, and decisions
  • ! Separate tools for event websites, mobile apps, virtual sessions, or sponsor workflows

EasyChair is still built around the academic conference job to be done: collect papers, assign reviewers, manage conflicts, discuss reviews, make decisions, and publish a program. That focus is why many research communities know it already.

It is not a modern event experience suite. Use it for submission and review strength, then decide whether registration, websites, virtual sessions, or attendee engagement need separate tooling.

Comparing this with other event tools?

Get a shortlist of the best-fit options for your event workflow.

Compare My Options
Questions to Ask the Vendor
  1. 1
    Which license fits our expected submissions, tracks, reviewers, review stages, and support needs?
  2. 2
    Which payment plan is cheapest if submission volume is uncertain?
  3. 3
    How can chairs export all submissions, reviews, decisions, reviewer assignments, and program data?
  4. 4
    What hosting, security, privacy, backup, and data retention documentation can you provide?
  5. 5
    What happens if submissions exceed the chosen license limit?
How we research tools

We research each tool by reviewing official documentation, pricing pages, and user feedback from Trustpilot, G2, and Capterra. If something's out of date or inaccurate, use the link below to flag it.

Suggest a correction →