Whova Alternative for Scientific & Academic Conferences
If your programme already lives in Indico, EasyChair, ConfTool, or Confex, the attendee app should read it from there — not ask you to rebuild it in a spreadsheet. That is what HEPCon does, for a published price, with your data in the EU.
The Short Answer
HEPCon is the attendee app for a research conference whose programme is already managed in Indico, EasyChair, ConfTool, or Confex. It reads that programme from its link, keeps reading it as the committee edits, and gives attendees the whole thing — sessions, papers, abstracts, authors — on their phones, offline.
HEPCon is not a registration or peer-review system, and does not try to be: those stay in the platform your conference already runs on. If you would rather buy one platform that also collects registrations and runs your review, you are shopping in a different category than this page.
Where HEPCon Is Stronger
1. The programme comes from its link, not from a spreadsheet
Whova builds its agenda from its own call for speakers, from a spreadsheet uploaded against Whova's template, or from HotCRP and OpenReview imports. For a conference already running elsewhere, that usually means the spreadsheet: ConfTool's own documentation describes the route to Whova as exporting the data, copying it into the "Whova Agenda Template" Excel file and importing that file — and warns that a speaker whose name is spelled differently in two sessions causes problems on import. We found no Whova import from Indico, EasyChair, or Confex.
HEPCon reads the programme where it already is. Paste your Indico, EasyChair, or public ConfTool link and a private preview is built in about 30 seconds; a Confex meeting link is built within 48 hours. When the timetable changes, HEPCon re-reads the same link and applies only the difference — a moved talk, a new session, a corrected abstract — so nobody re-exports, re-pastes or re-uploads anything.
2. You can try it on your own programme without a sales call
Whova's pricing page offers a quote form and a "20 min 1:1 demo to get a trial". HEPCon's instant preview builds your real programme — sessions, papers, abstracts, authors — for your committee to open on their own phones before anyone talks to us. Evaluate it for as long as you need; the go-live decision is due one week before the event.
3. Prices are published
Whova lists no prices; every event is quoted. HEPCon's are on the pricing page: €500–€900 for workshops and research days, €900–€2,500 for most conferences, fixed before the event from the programme's complexity, with no per-attendee fee. Programmes under 50 contributions are free. The quote page lists the price band for each programme size, before you write to anyone.
4. Your attendees' data stays in the EU
Whova states that its "servers and data centers are physically located in USA", and covers European users through GDPR compliance and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. HEPCon stores event and attendee data in Frankfurt, Germany (Google Cloud, region europe-west3). Both approaches are lawful; the difference matters when a university's data-protection officer, or a funder, asks for storage inside the EU.
What HEPCon Deliberately Leaves Alone
HEPCon is the attendee-facing layer, so a few things stay where they are. Worth knowing before you evaluate it:
- Registration and ticketing stay in your current system. HEPCon never touches your registration data.
- Abstract submission and peer review stay with your programme committee's platform. HEPCon reads the programme once it is accepted and scheduled.
- Attendee matchmaking is not what HEPCon does. Its interaction is built around the science — questions, discussion and ratings on each talk, moderated by your conveners.
What HEPCon Puts in Attendees' Hands
These are HEPCon's capabilities for research programmes. We have not verified Whova's behaviour on each, so they are not claims about Whova — ask any vendor you evaluate the same questions.
- The whole programme on the phone, abstracts included. Once opened, sessions, contributions, abstracts and authors are stored on the device and stay readable with no connection — useful in basement lecture halls and overloaded venue Wi-Fi.
- Formulas that render. LaTeX in titles and abstracts is displayed as mathematics, offline, instead of raw
$...$markup. - Search that reaches the abstracts. Search covers abstract text offline; online, it also finds talks by meaning rather than exact words.
- Changes reach the room. A re-synced timetable updates every installed app, and a room change can go out as a push notification.
HEPCon on Screen
Also in HEPCon
- Clash warnings. When two saved talks overlap, the attendee's schedule says so.
- AI Help Desk (add-on, from €500). Attendees ask in their own words, and every answer shows the passages it relied on.
- Programme book (PDF) (add-on, from €250). A print-ready programme and book of abstracts from the synced programme.
- Reports for the committee. A post-event report with Pro and Enterprise, and a report for each sponsor with Enterprise.
Side by Side
| Whova | HEPCon | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the agenda comes from | Rebuilt in Whova: its own call for speakers, or a spreadsheet on Whova's template | The link to your programme in Indico, EasyChair, ConfTool, or Confex, or an export from your submission system |
| When the programme changes | Re-upload the spreadsheet | Re-read from the same link; only the difference is applied |
| Trying it | A 20-minute demo, then a trial | Self-serve preview of your own programme, in about 30 seconds |
| Pricing | Quote on request; no published prices | Published ranges; free under 50 contributions; no per-attendee fee |
| Data location | USA | Frankfurt, Germany (Google Cloud, region europe-west3) |
Questions Organizers Ask
Is HEPCon a Whova alternative for academic conferences?
For the attendee app, yes — for conferences whose programme is already managed in Indico, EasyChair, ConfTool, or Confex. Registration and peer review stay in the system you run today.
Can we keep registration and review where they are and use HEPCon only for the app?
Yes — that is how HEPCon is designed to be used. Your submission system remains the system of record; HEPCon reads the accepted, scheduled programme from it and keeps the app in step as it changes.
How long does it take to see our own programme?
About 30 seconds from your Indico, EasyChair, or public ConfTool link, on the try-free page. Confex meetings, login-only programmes and exports are built within 48 hours.
How does the cost compare?
Whova does not publish prices, so we cannot compare figures. HEPCon's are public: €900–€2,500 for most conferences, no per-attendee fee, and free under 50 contributions.
Where is our data stored?
HEPCon stores it in Frankfurt, Germany (Google Cloud, region europe-west3). Whova states that its servers are in the USA.
See Your Own Programme in HEPCon
The quickest comparison is your real programme on your own phone. Paste your programme link and open the preview with your committee — then decide.
Comparison based on each vendor's published documentation, September 2026. Whova's pricing page checked again in October 2026.
Comparing Other Platforms?
The same evaluation applies across the generic event-app market — see how HEPCon compares to each, or start from the vendor checklist: