Pay as you go
$0/mo
Run a complete call with no subscription: publish for $0 and pay per completed application
US$1.00 per completed application · 4% sales commission
Sourced vendor comparison
Compare the Workflow, Not Just the Intake Form
These products overlap, but they are built around different operating models. Start with your call volume, jury structure, applicant reach, post-acceptance work, and required exports.
Pricing verified July 19, 2026. Confirm current terms with each vendor before buying.
9 platforms at a glance
A blank public price is not a zero price. It means the vendor does not publish that amount in a form we can verify.
| Platform | Pricing model | Published amounts | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crafted Call | $0 Pay as you go plan plus flat monthly plans; nothing to publish a call on any plan. | $19–$99/mo paid plans; $1.00 USD per completed application on Pay as you go, down to $0.25 USD on Premier. | Full Pricing |
| Submittable | Quote-based platform subscription; paid forms add a published per-transaction charge. | $0.99/sub; 5% published payment charge | Full Comparison |
| CaFÉ | Organization onboarding plus Pro or Plus per-call pricing, annual renewal, application tokens, and payment processing. | $120/yr; $250-$475/call; $2.49/sub; $225 onboarding; 3.25% published payment charge | Full Comparison |
| EntryThingy | Token-based organization pricing with no setup fee or annual contract; one $3 token processes one entry. | $3/sub | Full Comparison |
| ArtCall | Volume-based per-call tiers starting at $79. | $79/call | Full Comparison |
| Zealous | Free and paid subscription tiers based on annual submission volume, plus a commission on paid entries. | 2.2% + £0.20 published payment charge | Full Comparison |
| ShowSubmit | Per-show admin fee plus per-artist pricing; ShowSubmit's fees settle out of collected entry fees after the deadline. | $125/call; 2.9% + $0.30 published payment charge | Full Comparison |
| ZAPP | Per-show licensing tiered by application volume, with setup fees and per-application charges on larger tiers. | $1,100-$2,700/call; $1.99-$6.99/sub; $500-$1,500 onboarding; 2.95% + $0.30 published payment charge | Full Comparison |
| Smarter Entry | A one-time $450 license, then a fee per image submitted, with no monthly fee and no minimum volume. | $0.65-$0.70/image; $450 onboarding; 2.9% + $0.30 published payment charge | Full Comparison |
"Not publicly documented" means the vendor does not publish that capability or number on the pages we cite. It describes their public documentation, not proof of absence. Each full comparison page cites its primary sources and review date.
New to the category? Start with what call-for-entry software does or the juried art show walkthrough.
Crafted Call Plans
Plans run from Pay as you go through Premier. Publishing a call is $0 on every plan; what each plan includes, its charge per completed application, and its usage limits vary by tier.
Core
$19/mo
Run your member organization: memberships and newsletters included, plus a lower platform charge per application and more jury capacity
US$0.65 per completed application · 3% sales commission
Studio
$39/mo
Run programs: catalog, events, volunteers and rentals included, with a lower charge per application
US$0.50 per completed application · 2% sales commission
Gallery
$59/mo
Automate operations: Financial Tools, Marketing Hub, API access and lower commissions
US$0.50 per completed application · 1.5% sales commission
Premier
$99/mo
Operate at volume: the lowest charge per application, unlimited jury capacity and white-label options
US$0.25 per completed application · 1% sales commission
Capabilities That Change the Decision
Crafted Call
- Redaction hides the artist fields you choose, per round, and juror preview shows staff exactly what jurors will see.
- Jurors and rounds scale by plan: 3 jurors and 1 round per call on Pay as you go, up to unlimited jurors and unlimited rounds on Premier.
- Accepted pieces publish to hosted exhibition pages and online galleries, with artwork detail pages and inquiry capture. Sales, labels, and payouts stay tied to each piece.
Submittable
- Review administrators can hide sensitive or personally identifying information from reviewers.
- Submittable documents configurable multi-stage review with assignment, scoring, and reviewer permissions.
CaFÉ
- CaFÉ includes an online jury module used for scored review of applications and artwork.
- Both CaFÉ Pro and Plus include unlimited jurors and unlimited jury rounds.
EntryThingy
- EntryThingy documents blind judging with customizable scoring and juror access control.
- EntryThingy supports multiple voting rounds, voting by entry or image, and waitlist management.
ArtCall
- ArtCall allows administrators to hide selected application fields from jurors.
- ArtCall documents both single-round and two-round jury configurations with unlimited jurors.
Zealous
- Zealous hides personal-detail fields from judges and warns entrants when a program uses anonymous judging.
- Zealous Pro and Scale publish unlimited evaluation rounds; Free and Starter include one round.
ShowSubmit
- Entry fees are collected through the platform with 2.9% + 30¢ processing (plus 1.5% for international payments); ShowSubmit's fees settle from collected entry fees after the deadline.
- Each exhibition gets a hosted online gallery with search, medium filters, award badges, and sold marks, plus shareable artwork pages.
ZAPP
- Every published ZAPP tier lists unlimited juror accounts and unlimited jury rounds per show, with up to 13 images per submission.
- Application payments carry a published 2.95% + $0.30 credit card processing charge across tiers.
Smarter Entry
- Jurors can review work without seeing the artist's name.
- Single or multiple jurors, an optional pre-jury, elimination passes that narrow the field, filtering by category, and ranking on a weighted scale.
Already on One of These Platforms?
Most switches happen at a call boundary, not mid-season. Crafted Call reads ArtCall CSV exports directly through a self-serve importer, and the team helps scope exports from other platforms.
Call-for-Entry Software: Common Questions
What does call-for-entry software cost in 2026?
The pricing shapes differ more than the prices. Submittable is quote-based with a published $0.99/sub + 5% charge on paid forms. CaFÉ publishes $225 onboarding plus $250-$475/call. ArtCall sells volume tiers from $79/call. EntryThingy sells $3/sub entry tokens. Zealous sells volume subscriptions with a commission on paid entries. ShowSubmit charges a $125/call show admin fee plus per-artist pricing. ZAPP licenses festival shows by application volume. Smarter Entry pairs a one-time $450 license with $0.65-$0.70/image fees. Crafted Call runs a $0 Pay as you go plan plus flat plans from $19 to $99/mo, and publishing a call is $0 on every one of them.
Which call-for-entry platforms include jurying?
Every platform on this page documents review tooling. The real differences are round counts, blind-review controls, juror limits, and whether decisions then flow into exhibitions, sales, and artist relationships without leaving the system.
Is there free call-for-entry software?
Crafted Call's Pay as you go plan is $0 monthly and $0 to publish, with a flat $1.00 USD platform charge per completed application. Zealous publishes a free tier for small programs, and EntryThingy skips the subscription in favor of per-entry tokens. "Free" usually means the fees moved somewhere else, so compare using your real call and entry volumes.
Can we switch platforms mid-season?
Most organizations switch at a call boundary: finish the active call, export what your records retention requires, and open the next call on the new platform. Crafted Call also reads ArtCall CSV exports directly through a self-serve importer.
Use a Requirements Worksheet Before a Demo
Write down the workflows you must support, the evidence you need to retain, and which data has to leave the system. Then ask every vendor to demonstrate the same scenarios.
Open the Vendor-Neutral Selection Guide