Set up your event's awards judging easily.
Acanthus takes the spreadsheet chaos out of judging any event — from research conferences, society meetings, and science fairs to art competitions, photography contests, and film festivals. Assign judges, collect scores on a phone, and see winners in real time.
No credit card required. 30 entries & 10 judges on the free tier.
Tested successfully at live judged events with overlapping awards, tight schedules, and last-minute changes.
Everything you need to judge fairly.
Built for real-world judged events — from lab retreats and society meetings to gallery competitions and photography contests.
Coverage planner
Auto-assign judges so every talk, poster, or entry is evaluated by at least two people — with balanced, peer-review-style workloads.
Realtime schedules
For scheduled events, judges see only their assigned sessions for today — by room and time slot — updated live when you add or move talks and posters mid-event.
Rubric grouping & mirroring
When the same rubric applies to multiple awards (e.g., Best Talk and Best Poster), judges score once and results propagate automatically.
Judge activity tracking
See at a glance which reviewers have opened the invite, accepted terms, and started scoring.
Custom rubrics & terminology
Configure preset or custom rubrics per award. Set your own labels — Abstract, Talk, Poster, Artist, Photograph, Film, whatever fits your event.
Phone-first scoring
Judges sign in with a 6-character code from their phone and score between sessions or while walking the poster hall. No app to install.
How to run Acanthus at your event.
A step-by-step guide from data prep to award ceremony.
Prepare your data — preferably at least two weeks ahead of the event
Collect abstracts, poster titles, talk details, presenter metadata (career stages, scheduled times, rooms), and judge or reviewer contact details. Upload everything to the app well before the event so there is time to catch errors.
Set up awards, rubrics, and eligibility
Define each award — Best Talk, Best Poster, Early-Career Researcher, etc. — who is eligible, and the scoring rubric. Start from presets or build custom criteria that match your event's rules.
Assign judges with balanced coverage
Use the coverage planner to make sure every talk, poster, or entry is evaluated by at least two judges, while keeping each judge's workload manageable.
Send invites and confirm acceptance
Email judges their personal link and 6-character access code. Follow up to confirm each reviewer received the invite, accepted the terms, and can sign in.
Meet judges before the event
Run a short pre-event session to walk through the awards, rubrics, and scoring flow. Let judges test-drive the app so questions are answered before the sessions start.
Run judging live
During the event, judges score on any device between sessions or in the poster hall. For scheduled events they see only their daily assignments; for open-catalog events they see the full pool. Leaderboards update in real time.
Export winners and breakdowns
When judging closes, download final rankings, per-criterion breakdowns, and award certificates in a few clicks.
Built for real events
Built for research conferences, society meetings, and science fairs — and just as ready for gallery competitions and photo contests.
Acanthus has been tested successfully at live judged events with overlapping award eligibility, tight scheduling across multiple days, and last-minute changes. Coverage is balanced automatically so every entry gets independent evaluations, and organizers can add a late-arriving talk or poster mid-event without disrupting the existing schedule.
Simple per-event pricing.
Pay only when you run an event. No recurring fees, no seat licenses.
One-time payment per event — no subscription. Free events run on Free-tier limits and can be upgraded at any time.
Frequently asked.
What kinds of events can I use Acanthus for?
Any event where judges score entries and hand out awards: conferences, science fairs, art and photo competitions, film festivals, and more. You choose the event type when you set it up, and the app uses the right words for it (presenter, artist, photograph, film, or project).
What counts as an entry?
One thing being judged — a talk, poster, artwork, photo, film, or project. It only counts once, even if it is up for several awards.
Can I run more than one event?
Yes. Just set up a new event for each one. On the free plan you can have one event running at a time.
Can I add a judge or an entry once the event has started?
Yes, at any time. Schedules and judge workloads update straight away, and judges you already invited keep the same link.
Do judges need to sign up for an account?
No. Each judge gets an email with a personal link and a 6-character code. They open it on any phone, tablet, or laptop and start scoring.
Is my data private?
Yes. Only you and the judges you invite can see your event's data. Read the Privacy Policy for the full details.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. You have 30 days to ask for a full refund, no questions asked. Payments are handled by Paddle, so refunds are requested through paddle.net.
The site won't load for me. Is it down?
Probably not. Acanthus runs on secure, reliable infrastructure and is checked continuously. Some office, school, or home networks block or inspect secure connections, which makes the site look broken even when it isn't. Try mobile data or a different network, and if it still won't load, contact your internet provider or network administrator.
What are you working on next?
Judging in several rounds, hidden entrant names for blind scoring, more detailed reports, and better Excel and Google Sheets support.