Overview

AirBalloon splits conference work across AirMaster, AirReview, AirReg, AirUp, AirExplore, and AirUpNet. Keeping administration, peer review, registration, schedules, publishing, and attendee networking together can reduce the number of separate services an organizer needs to coordinate. The cost is a modular pricing picture: several components are free, while registration and presentation services have usage-based charges.

The review workflow supports blind review, mixed submission types, and custom stages. Organizers can configure submission forms, anonymity checks, expertise matching, bidding, conflict detection, decisions, and camera-ready collection. AI review assistance is included. AirBalloon's terms say submitted content is not used to train general-purpose models and that AI subprocessors may use it only to return results for the user's request.

Key features

Conference operations: AirMaster brings committee roles and consoles, multiple programs and tracks, a drag-and-drop website builder, channels, announcements, and webmail. That combination suits teams that need to manage a multi-track event and communicate with participants from the same platform.

Registration: AirReg supports ticket types, add-ons, invite codes, fee exemptions, Stripe checkout, receipts, invoices, and refunds. It covers more than basic sign-up, though its transaction charges should be included in the event budget.

Presentations and publishing: AirUp supports session planning, schedules, rooms, session chairs, and speaker uploads for onsite or hybrid conferences. AirExplore handles DOI and citation metadata registration, scholarly indexing, and proceedings with ISBNs or ISSNs for recurring series. Together, these tools make AirBalloon a stronger fit for conferences that need both live presentation logistics and scholarly outputs than for events seeking registration alone.

Attendee networking: AirUpNet provides personal agendas, real-time notifications, attendee connections, QR contact exchange, one-to-one chat, and an event community feed. Organizers seeking a companion event app get these tools without an additional charge under BalloonUp.

Integrations and security: The maker lists Stripe, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, ORCID, institutional SSO, and ICS calendar standards or integrations. Its stated safeguards include encryption in transit and at rest, role-based access controls, least-privilege IAM, audit logging, vulnerability scans, dependency monitoring, backups, and disaster-recovery procedures. Those measures address common organizational concerns, but they do not replace an institution's own security review.

Pricing

AirBalloon uses a freemium model. AirMaster conference setup and management, AirReview submission and review, and the BalloonUp event and networking app each cost 0.00 USD per free, with no paid service tiers stated for those plans. AirReview currently has no per-submission fee, though a fee to unlock or download submissions may be introduced in the future with advance disclosure.

AirCore, the full conference plan with shared participant identity and data, is 0.00 USD per free through December 31, 2026; a 3.0% charge applies after that date. Organizers planning events that extend beyond that cutoff should account for the change rather than treating AirCore as permanently free.

AirReg, full conference has custom pricing, billed at 2.9% + $0.99 once per transaction, with Stripe processing fees additional. The standalone AirReg option also has custom pricing and charges 3.0% + $0.99 per registration, again with Stripe fees additional. The standalone option is for registration without the full conference platform; the full-conference option is priced per transaction, so the distinction matters when estimating costs.

AirUp presentation services have custom pricing: $5 per presentation for documents plus $5 per 200 MB of video, summed across the conference and billed once at its end. The fee covers three years of storage, with an additional fee potentially applying afterward. This model makes the presentation bill depend on both the number of presentations and video volume.

Sandbox conferences are hidden from public listings, do not process real payments, are limited to 10 attendees, and automatically archive after 30 days unless promoted. That makes a sandbox useful for a small trial, not for operating a live event or testing real payment flow.

Platforms

AirBalloon is available through an API and the web. Its listed integrations include major video-meeting services and ICS calendars, which can help teams connect conference workflows to existing event and identity systems.

Who it's for

AirBalloon is aimed at conference organizers as well as authors, reviewers, program committee members, and attendees. It is particularly suitable for academic events with peer review, multiple tracks, presentations, and proceedings. Teams needing only a submission portal or a registration form may not benefit from its broader module set and should compare the fees against the parts they will actually use.

Pros and cons

Pros: Free AirMaster, AirReview, and BalloonUp plans cover administration, review, and attendee networking without a stated service-tier charge.
Pros: The workflow spans review, registration, hybrid presentation logistics, publishing, and attendee engagement, useful for teams trying to keep academic-event operations together.
Pros: The stated AI-content terms limit submitted-content use to returning requested results and rule out training general-purpose models.
Cons: AirReg adds transaction or registration charges, plus Stripe processing fees, so registration is not cost-free even when the core platform is.
Cons: AirUp charges by presentation and video volume, and storage beyond three years may incur another fee.
Cons: AirCore's 3.0% charge begins after December 31, 2026, making its current free status time-bound.

Alternatives

For a wider shortlist, see Call for Papers Software.

Fireside is worth considering if an open-source, self-hosted option under the Apache-2.0 license is a priority.
Fourwaves offers a free Starter plan with 25 abstract submissions per year, unlimited registrations and events, and a 3% service fee; it may suit teams with modest submission volume.
HotCRP offers free plans for ACM-sponsored and USENIX-sponsored conferences, journals, and workshops, so those sponsored events may prefer its focused fit.
MeetingHand Abstract Management has a free plan capped at 25 registrations or abstracts, useful for a small event that fits within that limit.
OpenConf offers a Community Edition for three or fewer events and journals per calendar year, a possible choice for that scale of activity.
SimplyConf provides a free Core plan with unlimited events, submissions, and users, making it an option for teams prioritizing those uncapped quantities.
EasyChair has a free plan capped at 20 submissions and without technical support; its paid Professional plan allows up to 60 submissions for 3.90 USD per once.
Microsoft CMT is a free service for managing academic conferences.

Verdict

Choose AirBalloon if your academic conference needs peer review, registration, presentation logistics, and attendee tools in one platform, and its per-transaction and presentation fees fit the budget. Look elsewhere if you need a permanently free end-to-end service or only a narrow submission or registration tool: AirCore's 3.0% charge begins after December 31, 2026, while AirReg and AirUp add costs based on event activity.

	Airballoon	Smart Abstract
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	Free	—
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	—
Blind review	Yes	—
Submission types	mixed	mixed
Review stages	custom	multi_stage
Schedule builder	Yes	Yes

Airballoon vs Smart Abstract

Airballoon

Smart Abstract