osem
Event management tailored to free Software conferences.
osem vs pretalx
Two self-hosted Conference Management apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| osem | pretalx | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Event management tailored to free Software conferences. | Web-based event management, including running a Call for Papers, reviewing submissions, and scheduling talks. Exports and imports for various related tools. |
| GitHub stars | 930 | 958 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 173 | 1.4k |
| Last activity | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-04 |
| Latest release | v1.0 (2016-05-24) | v2026.2.1 (2026-07-08) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language / platform | Ruby, Docker | Python |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | Conference Management | Conference Management |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- osem and pretalx have a similar number of GitHub stars (930 vs 958).
- pretalx had more commits in the last 12 months (1,425 vs 173).
- pretalx published a release more recently (v2026.2.1 on 2026-07-08; osem's latest is v1.0 on 2016-05-24).
- osem is licensed under MIT, pretalx under Apache-2.0.
- osem is written in Ruby; pretalx in Python.
- Deployment options listed upstream: osem: Docker; pretalx: none listed.
Summary: pretalx leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is osem or pretalx more popular?
They are close: osem has 930 GitHub stars and pretalx has 958 (as of 2026-11-05).
Which is more actively maintained, osem or pretalx?
pretalx had more commits over the last 12 months (1,425 vs 173). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-02 for osem and 2026-11-04 for pretalx. Our health labels: osem is “Active”, pretalx is “Active”.
What licenses do osem and pretalx use?
osem: MIT. pretalx: Apache-2.0.
Can I run osem and pretalx with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for osem. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
pretalx
Web-based event management, including running a Call for Papers, reviewing submissions, and scheduling talks. Exports and imports for various related tools.
Browse all self-hosted Conference Management apps.