---
title: Best conference registration software for academics
description: "Compare Ex Ordo, Fourwaves, Cvent, Whova, RegFox and Eventbrite for academic conference registration: authors, member rates and payments."
---

[Blog](https://www.exordo.com/blog)

# [Best conference registration software for academics](https://www.exordo.com/blog/best-conference-registration-software)

 Written by [Brian Campbell](https://www.exordo.com/blog/author/brian-campbell) | Oct 15, 2026, 3:09:56 PM

## The short answer

The best conference registration software for an academic conference connects registration to abstract submission, so authors submit, register and pay in one account, and members, non-members and students each pay the right rate. Ex Ordo Register is built for societies, universities and all organisers of academic or research conferences, and it is the option here that combines author registration, validated member pricing and invoice tracking. Fourwaves is also built for academic events. Cvent, Whova, RegFox and Eventbrite are general event platforms: they suit organisers whose priority is ticketing, an event app or enterprise integrations.

Everything below was checked on each vendor's own website on 15 October 2026. Where we say a page does not describe a feature, we mean exactly that: it is not listed on the page we checked, so ask the vendor about it in a demo.

## How do the six options compare?

Checked against each vendor's own pages on 15 October 2026.

| What an academic conference needs | [Ex Ordo Register](https://www.exordo.com/product/conference-registration) | [Fourwaves](https://fourwaves.com/event-registration/) | [Cvent](https://www.cvent.com/en/event-marketing-management/event-registration-software) | [Whova](https://whova.com/event-registration-software/) | [RegFox](https://www.regfox.com/pricing) | [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/l/conferences/) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Built for academic and research events** | Yes | Yes | General | General | General | General |
| **Abstracts and peer review in the same system** | Yes, one account | Included on plans | Separate product | Separate product | Not described | Not described |
| **Member rates** | Checked against your member list or system | Same form, verification on request | Not described | Member-only tickets | Not described | Not described |
| **Invoices and bank transfer** | Yes, with tracking and reminders | Invoice on request | Not described | Offline payments only | Offline payments on higher plans | Not described |
| **See which presenters have paid** | Yes | Not described | Not described | Not described | Not described | Not described |
| **Where it is strongest** | Registration joined to review and programme | Tax rules by country, refunds | Scale and integrations | Event app, discount codes | Flexible forms, published fees | Public ticketing and marketing |

## What does Ex Ordo Register do for academic and research conferences?

Our registration page puts it plainly: we designed our registration system for research conferences, not rock concerts. It is one part of a connected system that also covers [abstract management and peer review](https://www.exordo.com/product/peer-review-software), the [conference programme](https://www.exordo.com/product/conference-programme), a [mobile app](https://www.exordo.com/product/mobile-conference-app), a [book of proceedings](https://www.exordo.com/product/book-of-proceedings) and a [virtual platform](https://www.exordo.com/product/virtual-conference-platform), so you can use it end to end or alongside other tools.

### One account for submitting, registering and paying

Authors and delegates use a single account to submit, register and pay. Delegates can edit their own registrations, and delegates or admins can register other people. Because registration sits in the same system as peer review and the programme, you can see which presenters have paid, and which have not, without a spreadsheet.

### Forms, fees and tickets

Organisers build the form to suit the event, with custom delegate questions, early and late fees, a choice of currency, and workshop and social tickets with limits and requirements. Test registrations let you check the flow before going live, and reminders or discount codes can go to people who have not yet registered.

### Card payments, purchase orders and bank transfers

Delegates can pay by Visa, Mastercard and AMEX through Stripe and PayPal, with PCI compliant payment and built-in fraud detection with Stripe. They can also pay by purchase order, wire payment or bank transfer. You can track who has not paid, send reminders and record payments as they arrive, so invoices do not become bad debts. Receipts go out automatically.

### Member pricing that checks membership

Member rates are only useful if you can trust them. Organisers create tags in the People Hub and assign them manually, by import or through an integration. A fee can require one or more tags, so a delegate can only buy a ticket they qualify for, and the same applies to workshop and social tickets. Organisers can upload a members list or connect their membership system, and membership is validated before the member rate applies (a membership system integration has to be validated first). Our post on [member-specific pricing](https://www.exordo.com/blog/member-specific-pricing) explains how our Naylor AMS integration assigns the tag that matches each delegate's membership type in Naylor. Our Novi AMS and Your Membership integration does the same with member type and status, and also brings in each member's organisation and country when they sign in.

## How do the alternatives compare in detail?

### Fourwaves

Fourwaves is the closest to Ex Ordo in who it serves. Its registration page describes a flexible form builder, early-bird and late pricing, promo codes, waitlists, tax rules by country, refunds, and invoices for bank transfer, with payments through a gateway the organiser owns. Member and non-member rates can sit in one form. Two things the page does not describe: automatic membership verification beyond an integration it says is 'possible on request', and how registration links to abstracts and peer review. In Ex Ordo, membership is validated against the member list or system, and registration lives in the same account as submission and review.

### Cvent

Cvent is a large platform for events across industries, with registration in 130 or more currencies, native integrations including Salesforce, HubSpot and Marketo, and 24/7 support. Its registration page covers attendee registration. Abstract Management is a separate product it links to, and the page does not describe author registration, peer review, member rates or invoicing. For an academic conference, that means assembling the author journey from more than one product.

### Whova

Whova offers member and invite-only tickets, discount codes, card payments through Stripe, and offline payments by check, cash or wire. Its abstract management is a separate product, and the registration page does not describe author registration or invoicing beyond optional receipts. Ex Ordo covers purchase orders, bank transfers and payment tracking in the same place as registration.

### RegFox

[RegFox](https://www.regfox.com/pricing) is a flexible ticketing tool with a page builder, conditional logic, badge printing and an attendee app, and it publishes its per-registration fees openly. Its pricing page does not mention abstract submission, peer review, member rates or invoicing, and offline payments and single sign-on sit on its higher plans.

### Eventbrite

[Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/l/conferences/) is built for public ticketed events: event pages with agendas, flexible ticket types, check-in, built-in payment processing and the option to be paid before the event. Its conference page does not mention abstract submission, peer review, member pricing or invoicing, and it charges a service fee per ticket that is usually paid by the buyer. It is a sensible choice for an open public event with simple ticketing, but it does not describe an academic workflow.

We have left pricing out of this comparison because it changes. Ask each vendor for the total cost of one full event, including payment processing.

## How can registration software help increase conference revenue?

Registration is where a conference earns its income. Early and late fees reward people who commit sooner, workshop and social tickets add revenue beyond the main fee, and member rates checked against your membership data protect the value of membership. Reminders and discount codes bring in people who have not registered, and payment tracking helps you collect what you are owed, including from presenters who have not paid.

## Which organisers use Ex Ordo Register?

Ex Ordo has supported research conferences for 19 years and is used by organisers in more than 60 countries. These three customer stories describe registration in practice:

- **Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists.** Registration let non-members and last-minute attendees sign up and pay at the virtual door: at least 100 of roughly 600 virtual attendees did. Its president, Meredith L. McGill of Rutgers University, said: 'I really felt that you were our partners in this conference, and not just selling us a product.' See the [Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists case study](https://www.exordo.com/case-study/society-of-nineteenth-century-americanists).
- **Society of Engineering Science.** Online and on-site registration and payments for more than 900 delegates, with discount codes for group rates and receipts sent in about 10 seconds. See the [Society of Engineering Science case study](https://www.exordo.com/case-study/society-of-engineering-science).
- **Wildlife Disease Association.** A customer since 2016, with 643 registered delegates at its annual conference. See the [Wildlife Disease Association case study](https://www.exordo.com/case-study/wildlife-disease-association).

More organisations describe their experience on our [customer stories](https://www.exordo.com/customer-stories) page.

## Questions organisers ask before choosing

### Does the price of registration depend on the number of abstracts?

No. The price of registration does not depend on the number of abstracts you receive.

## Talk to us about your registration

If you organise an academic or research conference, [see how Ex Ordo Register works](https://www.exordo.com/product/conference-registration) with your own fees and member rules, or [get a price](https://www.exordo.com/pricing) for your event. If you are comparing whole platforms rather than registration alone, read our comparison of the [best conference management software tools](https://www.exordo.com/blog/8-best-conference-management-tools-for-academics).

[View full post](https://www.exordo.com/blog/best-conference-registration-software)

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