Platform Comparison
Conferences.Center vs EasyChair
EasyChair is the long-established workhorse for academic peer review; Conferences.Center adds AI-assisted setup, ticketing, and a live event hub so submission-to-showtime lives in one place.
Comparison as of 2026, based on publicly available information about EasyChair. Product capabilities and pricing change over time — verify current details with each vendor.
The short version
EasyChair is one of the most widely used conference management systems in academia, especially in computer science. It has powered thousands of conferences and is known for its deep, reliable paper-submission and peer-review workflows — bidding, assignment, discussion, rebuttal, and proceedings.
Conferences.Center is an AI-assisted, all-in-one platform. It covers the same submission and peer-review ground, then extends into areas EasyChair does not focus on: AI-assisted setup, built-in ticketing with Stripe payments, and a live/hybrid event hub with Q&A, polls, and networking.
If your only need is academic peer review, EasyChair is a proven choice. If you also sell tickets, run a live or hybrid program, and want a modern interface, an all-in-one platform can replace several tools at once.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Conferences.Center vs EasyChair across the workflows that matter for running a conference.
| Capability | Conferences.Center | EasyChair |
|---|---|---|
| AI-assisted conference setup | Yes — AI-assisted setup helps configure tracks, timelines, and workflows from a short brief. | Limited — configurable but manual setup; no AI-guided configuration as of 2026. |
| Abstract & paper submission | Yes — CFP, abstracts, and full papers with multi-track submission and format checks. | Yes — mature CFP, abstract, and full-paper submission; a core strength. |
| Peer review (blind, COI, rebuttal) | Yes — single- and double-blind review, conflict-of-interest checks, and structured rebuttal periods. | Yes — bidding, assignment, discussion, blind review, and rebuttal; deep and battle-tested. |
| Reviewer matching / suggestions | Yes — reviewer suggestions from roles, tracks, and workload; organizers approve every assignment. | Yes — reviewer bidding plus keyword/topic-based assignment. |
| Ticketing & payments | Yes — built-in ticketing with integrated Stripe payments. | No — not a payments or ticketing platform. |
| Live / hybrid event hub | Yes — live/hybrid hub with streaming, Q&A, and polls for online and in-person attendees. | No — focused on the review pipeline, not live event delivery. |
| Attendee networking | Yes — AI matchmaking, 1:1 meeting scheduling, and networking spaces. | No — not an attendee-engagement tool. |
| Analytics | Yes — real-time dashboards for registration, engagement, and revenue. | Limited — review statistics and reports rather than event dashboards. |
| Data export & portability | Yes — CSV, Excel, and PDF exports across submissions, reviews, and attendees. | Yes — exports of submissions, reviews, and proceedings data. |
| Pricing model | Freemium — free for small events (up to 50 attendees), with transparent per-event paid plans. | Free for many academic conferences; paid tiers for additional features (varies by plan). |
| Best for | Teams that want submission, peer review, ticketing, and the live event in one platform. | Peer-review-heavy academic conferences, especially in computer science. |
Where a cell says “varies by plan”, “add-on”, or “limited”, availability depends on the vendor’s tier or is not a core focus of that product.
Where EasyChair is strong
EasyChair's reputation is earned. For committees whose central task is rigorous peer review, it offers one of the most complete and dependable pipelines available — reviewer bidding, conflict handling, multi-phase discussion, rebuttals, meta-reviews, and proceedings generation that many program chairs already know inside out.
It is also free or low-cost for a great many academic conferences, and its ubiquity in fields like computer science means reviewers and authors often already have accounts and know the workflow. That institutional familiarity is a genuine advantage that no comparison table fully captures.
Why teams choose Conferences.Center
One platform for peer review, ticketing, and the live event — instead of stitching several tools together.
Review, ticketing, and live in one place
Keep submissions, peer review, registration payments, and the live/hybrid program in a single platform instead of bolting EasyChair to separate ticketing and event apps.
AI-assisted setup
Describe your event and let AI-assisted setup scaffold tracks, timelines, and review workflows, cutting the manual configuration a fresh instance usually requires.
A modern, guided interface
Authors, reviewers, and organizers work in a clean, current UI designed for clarity, which lowers the support burden on your committee.
Integrated Stripe payments
Sell tickets and collect registration fees directly, with payments handled by Stripe — no separate checkout tool to reconcile.
Who should choose which
Choose EasyChair if…
your event is purely about academic peer review, your community already lives in EasyChair, and you handle ticketing and the live program with other tools (or don't need them).
Choose Conferences.Center if…
you want one platform for submission, peer review, ticketing, and a live/hybrid event — with AI-assisted setup and a modern interface for authors and reviewers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate from EasyChair to Conferences.Center?
Yes. EasyChair supports data exports of submissions and reviews, and Conferences.Center can import that structured data (papers, authors, tracks, reviewer assignments) so you can move an event or start the next edition without re-entering everything. Our team can help map fields during onboarding.
Is Conferences.Center good for academic conferences?
Yes. It supports CFP and abstract/paper submission, single- and double-blind review, conflict-of-interest checks, rebuttal periods, and reviewer suggestions — the core of an academic program committee's workflow — while also handling ticketing and the live event.
Does EasyChair handle ticketing and payments?
As of 2026, EasyChair is focused on the submission and peer-review pipeline rather than ticketing or payments. Conferences.Center includes built-in ticketing with integrated Stripe payments, so registration revenue lives alongside your program.
How does pricing compare?
EasyChair is free for many academic conferences, with paid tiers for additional capabilities that vary by plan. Conferences.Center is freemium — free for events up to 50 attendees, with transparent per-event paid plans. Compare current details on our pricing page and EasyChair's site before deciding.
Keep exploring
Compare with other platforms
See the all-in-one difference
Run submissions, peer review, ticketing, and your live event from one platform. Free for events up to 50 attendees. No credit card required.