Sessionboard vs vFairs.
vFairs sells the whole stack in one contract: registration, event website, badge printing, mobile app, virtual venue, and an abstract management module in the bundle. The pitch is hard to argue with in procurement, and that is exactly where to slow down. Registration and badging are solved problems any suite does well. Your call for papers, committee review, speaker operations, and the content your meeting produces are not, and they are where an association's annual meeting is actually won or lost. That layer is what Sessionboard is built for, and it runs beside vFairs or any registration stack you keep.
SIDE BY SIDE
Where each one does its work.
Read from the approved comparison, not from a feature checklist. Where we could not verify a vFairs capability from their own material, the cell says so.
| Capability | Sessionboard | vFairs |
|---|---|---|
| Call for papers and abstracts | Submission forms with logic per track and format; abstracts, disclosures and files on one submission. Returning speakers arrive with their history. | Submission forms, reviewer assignment, and abstract-to-agenda conversion included in the platform bundle. |
| Agenda and attendee app | Agenda builder with speaker and room conflict detection; program site, embeds and the Attend app update as it changes. | Branded attendee apps, floor maps, badge scanning, and QR check-in for in-person and hybrid events. |
| Registration and badging | Stays where it is. Accepted sessions and speakers sync to Cvent, Swoogo, Bizzabo and others. | Registration, event website, email marketing, badge printing, check-in, and lead capture in one contract with a dedicated project manager. |
| Virtual and hybrid venue | Stays with your virtual venue; accepted sessions and speakers sync to it. | 3D/2D environments, booths, webinars, and attendee engagement widgets — still the strongest virtual expo experience in the category. |
| Review rounds and committees | Review plans with rounds, committees, rubrics and conflict-of-interest rules. Your team changes forms and review steps without a services ticket. | varies |
| Speaker materials and portal | Branded speaker portal with task lists, agreements and e-sign; the Coordinator agent reminds whoever is late. | varies |
| Transcription and media library | Live Transcribe in the room or from Zoom, ON24 and Goldcast; transcripts, captions, clips and quote cards in a library searchable across events. | varies |
| Peer sharing with attribution | Share kits with tracked links for speakers, sponsors and attendees; registrations traced back to the share. | varies |
| Exhibitors and sponsors | Exhibitor and sponsor records with portals and results reports; floor plans stay with your floor platform. | varies |
| CRM and AMS | Two-way sync with HubSpot, Salesforce, iMIS, Fonteva and Nimble AMS; public API, webhooks and an MCP server. | varies |
Where vFairs fits best: marketing-led events without formal committee review. What often stays with vFairs for now: registration, ticketing, badge printing, check-in, and the mobile event app; virtual venue and expo booths for hybrid audiences. This page compares workflow and product fit, not a feature checklist.
WHERE IT DIFFERS · THE PROGRAM LAYER
Registration is a solved problem. The committee is not.
Keep vFairs for what it does well. Sessionboard takes the call for papers, review rounds with committees and conflict-of-interest rules, the speaker portal and the agenda, then syncs accepted sessions and speakers back out. Your chairs change a form or a review step this week, without a services ticket.
- Custom forms & logic
- Review plans & rounds
- Speaker portal
- Registration sync
GROWSA program your committee trusts, built faster
WHERE IT DIFFERS · AFTER THE ROOM
Every session you ran on their stage becomes content on ours.
Live Transcribe captures the room, the media library keeps every word, and speakers, sponsors and attendees share their own session with tracked links. The registrations those shares bring in land on the record that started with the abstract.
- Live Transcribe
- Media library
- Share kits
- Registrations traced
GROWSReach and next year’s submissions
Questions, answered
vFairs includes abstract management — why add Sessionboard?
Included is not the same as sufficient. The vFairs module collects submissions, assigns reviewers, and converts acceptances to sessions, which covers a light call for papers. Committee-run meetings need more: multi-round workflows with blind review and conflict of interest rules, chair tooling, rubric scoring at volume, mid-cycle form control, and a speaker record that persists across years. Teams with real committee volume end up running review in spreadsheets beside the module — which is the workflow Sessionboard replaces.
Is Sessionboard a full vFairs replacement?
Usually not, and that is the point. vFairs keeps registration, badging, the mobile app, and the virtual venue. Sessionboard owns the program layer: call for papers through committee review, speaker operations, and the content the meeting produces. The two run side by side, and many associations enter Sessionboard with one meeting or specialty track.
What does the bundle actually save?
One contract and one project manager, which is real value for logistics. The cost shows up in the layers where depth matters: committee review, speaker history, and year-round content are where bundled modules run thinnest, and they are the layers your program committee and members touch most.
Does Sessionboard include transcription and attendee content delivery?
Yes. Live Transcribe, batch transcription, media library, Content Gallery, and poster galleries are native and sit on the session record, so a speaker swap or embargo change updates every surface at once.
Can we export everything later?
Yes. Submissions, scores, speakers, agenda, transcripts and media export by CSV, program book export, the public API and webhooks.