# OpenWater Software Reviews, Demo & Pricing - 2026 > Review of OpenWater Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs. Source: https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/openwater-profile/vs --- [Home](https://www.softwareadvice.com/) / [Grant Management Software](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/grant-management-comparison/) / OpenWater Software Advice offers objective insights based on verified user reviews and independent product and market research. When our advisors match you to a software provider, we may earn a referral fee. Overview [Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/reviews/)[Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/alternatives/) # OpenWater 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing Wondering if OpenWater is right for your organization? Our Grant Management Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less. On this page - Overview - User Interface - Popular Alternatives - Pricing and Plans - Features - Integrations - User Reviews - Popular Comparisons ## Overview OpenWater 4.6 [(73)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/reviews/) FrontRunner 2026 Pricing Starting at $5,100.00 per year ### About OpenWater OpenWater streamlines program management with its end-to-end solution for accepting and reviewing applications, awards, grants, scholarships, proposals, and abstracts. OpenWater’s secure, all-in-one platform makes navigating the review process easy with its user-friendly features. Empower your program administrators by automating time consuming administrative tasks, collecting high volume submissions, and driving data-proven decisions through custom reporting and analytics. Easily collect, judge, and award an infinite number of applications and submissions for various use cases including: • Awards • Fellowships • Scholarships • Grants • Virtual Conferences • Peer Review • Speaker Management • Accreditation Management Wondering if OpenWater is right for your organization? Our Grant Management Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less. ## OpenWater User Interface ## Popular OpenWater Alternatives Main Product OpenWater 4.6 [(73)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.16Ease of use - 4.33Value for money - 4.90Customer support - 4.22Functionality Pricing Starting at $5100.00 per year Get Price Alternative Product [Awardify](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/504486-Awardify/) 4.6 [(25)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/504486-Awardify/#reviews) Ratings Breakdown - 4.40Ease of use - 4.54Value for money - 4.76Customer support - 4.32Functionality Pricing Starting at CA$1979.00 per year Get Price Alternative Product [Award Force](https://www.softwareadvice.com/contest/award-force-profile/) 4.8 [(193)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/contest/award-force-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.46Ease of use - 4.59Value for money - 4.93Customer support - 4.54Functionality Pricing Starting at €2625.00 per year Get Price Alternative Product [Zealous](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accreditation-management/zealous-profile/) 4.7 [(56)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accreditation-management/zealous-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.36Ease of use - 4.67Value for money - 4.96Customer support - 4.36Functionality Pricing Starting at £26.00 per month Get Price Alternative Product [Woorise](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/473758-Woorise/) 4.7 [(58)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/473758-Woorise/#reviews) Ratings Breakdown - 4.47Ease of use - 4.78Value for money - 4.72Customer support - 4.74Functionality Pricing Starting at $29.00 per month Get Price Alternative Product [ShortStack](https://www.softwareadvice.com/marketing/shortstack-profile/) 4.4 [(156)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/marketing/shortstack-profile/reviews/) Ratings Breakdown - 4.03Ease of use - 4.17Value for money - 4.49Customer support - 4.24Functionality Pricing Starting at $49.00 per month Get Price ## OpenWater Pricing and Plans Starting price: $5,100.00 per year Free Trial Free Version Basic $5,100.00 per year No plan information available Confused about pricing? We've got you covered. Get a personalized pricing breakdown tailored to your specific needs—no guesswork, no generic estimates. ## OpenWater Features - Popular features found in Grant Management Applicant Tracking Collaboration Tools Contract/License Management Document Review Due Date Tracking Financial Reporting Grant Discovery Payment Tracking Reporting & Statistics - More features of OpenWater Access Controls/Permissions Activity Dashboard Activity Tracking Administrative Reporting Alerts/Notifications API Applicant Portal Application Management Approval Process Control Awards Management Blind Judging Budget Control Categorization/Grouping Commenting/Notes Compliance Management Configurable Workflow Contact Management CRM Customizable Branding Customizable Fields Customizable Forms Customizable Questions Customizable Reports Customizable Templates Data Import/Export Deadline Management Document Management Electronic Payments Electronic Submission Email Reminders Email Templates Entrant Management Entry Fee Processing Entry Management For Grantmakers Forms Management Fraud Detection Grant Application Management Grant Award Tracking Grant Management Impact Measurement Interview Management Judging Management Labeling Monitoring Polls/Voting Progress Tracking Promotions Management Recommendations Reminders Reviewer Management Role-Based Permissions Scoring Search/Filter Single Sign On Skills Contests (Photo, Essay, Design, etc) Social Media Integration Social Promotion SSL Security Status Tracking Third-Party Integrations Web Forms White Label Workflow Management ## OpenWater Integrations Salesforce Sales Cloud Integration rated undefined from -1 review NetForum Enterprise Integration rated undefined from -1 review authorize.net Integration rated undefined from -1 review iMIS Integration rated undefined from -1 review MemberClicks Integration rated undefined from -1 review Fonteva for Associations Integration rated undefined from -1 review See all 20 integrations ## OpenWater User Reviews Overall Rating 4.6 Ratings Breakdown 5 64% 4 33% 3 1% 2 0% 1 1% Secondary Ratings Ease of Use 4.2 Value for money 4.3 Customer support 4.9 Functionality 4.2 Al B. Verified reviewer Automotive 5001-10000 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed May 2024 OpenWater has no competition 5 Pain-free. They are highly responsive to questions and suggestions. Contest management is an added part of my workload. OpenWater's system keeps it from getting too out of hand. My supervisor deals with the financial aspects. I don't know the details, but she has been able to secure multi-year discounts. Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: OpenWater's system is powerful and elegant. I'm only a daily user fwhen our contest is live, approximately half the year. I'm always pleasantly surprised by the improvements they've made when I open the next year's contest. I suspect that we are not using OpenWater's system to its full potential, but what we do utilize more than works for us. Their self-help guides are useful and when they're not, customer service is available (see caveat below). I have had several different dedicated service advisors; all have been uniformly excellent. Our entrants and judges find the system easy to use. Cons: Communication is mostly by email. If you want a phone call, you need to make an appointment. That said, they are highly responsive when rare problems arise. Reasons for choosing OpenWater N/A. OpenWater and our previous vendor were the only contestants. As indicated, OpenWater proved its superiority. Reasons for switching to OpenWater OpenWater cold-called. I was skeptical at first, but they mentioned that they employed several staff from our then-current provider. They sold me by showing how their system could solve several problems I was having with the current system. Read More JM Jenni M. Verified reviewer Entertainment 2-10 employees Used monthly for more than 2 years Reviewed August 2025 ACE has been using Open Water since 2021 and going strong 5 Our members enjoy all it has to offer and we are so grateful. The submissions are especially easy and most studios thank us for using open water. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 4 Value for money 5 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: The customer service has been wonderful and I really appreciate my personal representative. As I learn more it gets easier. Cons: The platform is a little tricky, but they make updates every day, so I'm hoping while I learn it also gets easier. Reasons for switching to OpenWater Awards Force was not easy to customize and we needed to brand our event. Vendor Response Hi Jenni, thank you for sharing your experience! We’re delighted to hear that OpenWater's customer service has been such a support. It’s wonderful to know your members enjoy the platform and find submissions easy. We’re grateful for your partnership and committed to making your experience with OpenWater the best that it can be! Replied August 2025 Read More DR Douglas R. Verified reviewer Education Management 5001-10000 employees Used monthly for less than 6 months Review source Reviewed March 2024 Useless Split Screen 1 I hated using it. It slowed me down, was cumbersome and had no option to get a printout of the application to review off line. Ratings Breakdown 1 Ease of use 1 Functionality Pros: The split screen for reading the application and answering review questions is nothing short of useless - constant needless scrolling back and forth. Cons: Split screen - lack of options to download the application as a pdf - need to be online to use this. Read More CK Carol K. Verified reviewer Events Services 11-50 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed May 2024 How Open Water Saved the SME Awards and Scholarship Programs! 4 It has been a wonderful relationship working with the Open Water Customer Service and OW IT department. Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: Top Notch Customer Service Representatives. I never had to wait for someone to help when I needed it. Ease of implementation. User satisfaction. Virtually effortless to maintain and copy to the next year award cycle. Cons: I have not found anything to complain about or wish I could have. Our last awards and scholarship was such a horrible software--Open Water has been a dream come true. The obstacle we have had the most problem with is our emails from the Open Water system getting through to our customers/users and not going to their spam accounts. Reasons for choosing OpenWater We we familiar with the product. We used it for abstracts. We saw the value of using it for awards and scholarships. We had a lot of programs that we could manage on one platform which made it more economical for the volume that we do. Reasons for switching to OpenWater Personify was horrible. I had non stop complaints for every cycle! Read More BT Brandi T. Verified reviewer Higher Education 201-500 employees Used weekly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed May 2024 Data Management 5 Overall I have been satisfied with the excellent technical support I received during the height of my event planning and management. I really appreciate having one dedicated support person\[sensitive content hidden\]). She's great!! The platform does a great job of being my central hub for collecting submissions. Ratings Breakdown 2 Ease of use 3 Value for money 5 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: I like having all my symposium submission data in one place and the ability to run reports. Cons: There is a steep learning curve if you are brining new team members on to manage the platform. It is not an intuitive platform. I don't like the website platform. It lacks the ability to have more customizable features. I end up not using the website for my event because aesthetically it is not appealing. I wish the virtual display of submissions. Public view was better. It looks outdated. Reasons for switching to OpenWater Limited data management features and abstract submission collection and scoring. Read More TK Taunie K. Verified reviewer Computer Software 201-500 employees Used other for less than 2 years Review source Reviewed October 2019 A very adaptable solution. 4 Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 4 Value for money 5 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: We weren't actively looking for a contest management solution but a Sales representative reached out to gauge our interest in OpenWater, after hearing about our Construction Intern Awards scholarship program. Up until that point we had been using Wordpress to manage this competition, which included a lot of manual maintenance, popular voting plugins, a bulky media gathering process, entry content display delays, and several other headaches. On top of that, we had to use other solutions to manage the judging portion of the contest, which involved either rigging survey products or creating a mess of spreadsheets but both caused confusion for the judges. What we liked most about OpenWater is that it addressed all of the above problems we were facing and allowed us the freedom to customize almost everything. Every other contest management software that we looked at wouldn't let us use our own CSS/HTML to style the site, relying on some sort of WYSIWIG instead. After the initial setup, OpenWater was a huge timesaver. We have also had outstanding support reps since the beginning of implementation. We've asked for a lot during our time using OpenWater and they definitely come through for us. Cons: Our contest is set up in a pretty unconventional way (weekly popular vote-based contests combined with a separate traditional scholarship application), and OpenWater has done a good job of keeping up with our requests. There are several smaller, nit-picky things about the popular vote functionality that could be improved but it's still better than what we were doing before. Another factor that we've had to work around is the fact that the contest dashboard looks the same for everyone who visits the dashboard, regardless of user type (applicant/judge/voter), which can be confusing for some users. Reasons for choosing OpenWater We decided to choose OpenWater over alternative solutions because of the customization options. We wanted more options than just being able to select our brand colors and upload a logo to a standard form (which is the case with most solutions we came across). OpenWater gave us the freedom to adapt the application portal to match are website CSS as well as other customization options, like SMTP for emailing. Read More CS Carleen S. Verified reviewer Non-Profit Organization Management 11-50 employees Used weekly for more than 2 years Review source Reviewed July 2021 Best of the Best 4 We've been with OpenWater for about 7 years now. We haven't considered looking elsewhere for our Awards needs. The program has the functionality we need, the price is extremely reasonable, and the customer support is above reproach. Ratings Breakdown 4 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Customer support 4 Functionality Pros: OpenWater is very easy to use. The training videos and knowledge base are extensive and easy to use. The support team is superb - always available and willing to help. I have a dedicated support member, so there is excellent consistency. She knows our organization, she knows our program, and she knows our needs. Cons: I would like more user-friendly reports. It would be nice to create my own custom reports a bit more easily. But this is not a deal-breaker. It likely has more to do with the kinds of complex reports I'm looking for than OpenWater's ability to provide good reporting. Reasons for choosing OpenWater The price was right. The sales team didn't harass us (as the others did for years). The implementation and roll-out processes were very easy. Read More SS Shanita S. Verified reviewer Non-Profit Organization Management 2-10 employees Used weekly for less than 6 months Review source Reviewed September 2019 Makes our members happy! 4 OpenWater has been very pleasing for membership. It solved several of our issues: 1. We needed a software that would tie into our database. 2. We wanted to be able to perform membership renewals with pre-filled data so that our members would not have to redo much if anything. 3. Allow members to stop and start without losing data. 4. Allow new data that was entered to flow back into our database. We can now do all of this at a great rate and without a ton of hassle. I love that integration was not a long drawn out process either. The team at OpenWater worked well with our integration team and got us up and running in no time. It was helpful to have a couple of our programs created by OpenWater and then handed over to us after training as well. Ratings Breakdown 3 Ease of use 4 Value for money 5 Customer support 3 Functionality Pros: I like that we CAN integrate this software into our database and have our users log in using their credentials used in our site and have some fields pre-populated. Cons: The multiple ways to access the emails and the judging settings. It would be easier to have a main area on the dashboard of the admin panel and be able to tie the information to a program. Would like to eliminate the number of places to remember to go set up. It also does not tie into our database to update a status as paid. Reasons for choosing OpenWater We received the recommendation from ATS. I trust them when it comes to knowing the best system to work in. Reasons for switching to OpenWater We had too many complaints from members and the emails from their system kept going to spam. Read More HL Hannah L. Verified reviewer Non-Profit Organization Management 11-50 employees Used monthly for less than 2 years Review source Reviewed September 2019 Best application software 5 Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 4 Value for money 5 Customer support 3 Functionality Pros: OpenWater is so intuitive and user-friendly. I also love the customer support that is provided. Cons: Although the software is intuitive, it takes a little bit of training to get used to the functions. Reasons for switching to OpenWater OpenWater provided functions that JotForm didn't, such as Judge Scoring/Review. OpenWater is also much easier to use on a larger scale. Read More BA Branden A. Verified reviewer Information Technology and Services 51-200 employees Used daily for more than 2 years Reviewed August 2025 Excellent Customer Service... 4 Ratings Breakdown 5 Ease of use 5 Value for money 5 Customer support 5 Functionality Pros: Open Waters Customer Service is second to none! They always respond quickly, ensure coverage and communication when a team member is out, and find a comprehensive solution. Cons: The system is quite extensive... It took me too long to learn about the Essential Training for All Admins. Vendor Response Hi Branden! We’re so glad our customer service team has been able to support you quickly and thoroughly. We also appreciate your feedback on training, as it helps us continue improving the experience. Thank you for your kind words! Replied August 2025 Read More Showing 1 - 10 of 73 Reviews [See All Reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/reviews/) ## OpenWater Popular Comparisons [Awardify vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compare/144613-openwater/vs/504486-Awardify/)[Award Force vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/contest/award-force-profile/vs/openwater/)[Zealous vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/vs/zealous/)[Woorise vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/compare/144613-openwater/vs/473758-Woorise/)[SweepWidget vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/vs/sweepwidget/)[RQ Platform vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/vs/rq-awards/)[Evalato vs OpenWater](https://www.softwareadvice.com/contest/evalato-profile/vs/openwater/) [Compare All Alternatives](https://www.softwareadvice.com/virtual-event/openwater-profile/alternatives/) ## Other Top Recommended Grant Management Software [Bloomerang](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/bloomerang-profile/) **4.7** (1287) Recently recommended **72** times [SmartSimple Cloud](https://www.softwareadvice.com/product/57286-SmartSimple-Cloud/) **4.3** (31) Recently recommended **41** times [ExceedFurther](https://www.softwareadvice.com/nonprofit/exceedfurther-profile/) **4.5** (96) Recently recommended **34** times [Sage Intacct](https://www.softwareadvice.com/accounting/intacct-accounting-profile/) **4.3** (712) Recently recommended **24** times Stuck Between Options? 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