# OpenWater Software Pricing, Alternatives & More 2026 | Capterra > With the help of Capterra, learn about OpenWater Software - reviews, pricing plans, popular comparisons to other Grant Management products and more. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/140294/OpenWater-Awards/ --- # OpenWater Software Review 2026: Features, Integrations, Pros & Cons Last updated on July 23, 2026 Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Description](#description)[Use cases](#use-cases)[Alternatives](#alternatives)[FAQs](#faqs)[Features](#features)[Pricing](#pricing)[Integrations](#integrations)[Support](#support)[Reviews](#reviews) OpenWater ## What is OpenWater? Create the impact you want with streamlined grants applications, a user friendly reviewer portal, and powerful features for program administrators such as funds tracking. Integrate with GuideStar, Salesforce and many other popular AMSs. ## What is OpenWater used for? [Contest](https://www.capterra.com/contest-software/)[Grant Management](https://www.capterra.com/grant-management-software/)[Scholarship Management](https://www.capterra.com/scholarship-management-software/) Recognitions Shortlist Overall rating Based on 73 user reviews Reviews sentiment Positive 97% Neutral 1% Negative 1% Starting price $5100 Per Year Free trial not available Free version not included Capterra Shortlist charts the highest-rated and most popular products... - Grant Management / 2026 Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... Our "Best of" badge program showcases products with the highest ratings... ## OpenWater alternatives Highest Rated [4.8 (398)](https://www.capterra.com/p/158382/Submittable/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Award Force](https://www.capterra.com/p/148148/Award-Force/) [4.8 (193)](https://www.capterra.com/p/148148/Award-Force/reviews/) Starting price $2625.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 99% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/148148/Award-Force/) [Awardify](https://www.capterra.com/p/252478/Awardify/) [4.6 (25)](https://www.capterra.com/p/252478/Awardify/reviews/) Starting price $1979.00 Per User, Per Month Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 88% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/252478/Awardify/) [Zealous](https://www.capterra.com/p/203404/Zealous/) [4.7 (57)](https://www.capterra.com/p/203404/Zealous/reviews/) Starting price Contact vendor for pricing Pricing Options Free Trial Free Version User Rating 98% of reviewers rated it above 4 stars [Learn More](https://www.capterra.com/p/203404/Zealous/) [View all alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/140294/OpenWater-Awards/alternatives/) ## FAQs about OpenWater Overview ### What problems does OpenWater solve? OpenWater solves fragmented submission, review, and judging workflows by centralizing applications, abstract collection, scoring, payments, scheduling, reporting, and archives in one system. It reduces spreadsheet tracking, paper forms, manual scoring errors, and database re-entry. Conference planners, awards teams, membership staff, and grant administrators benefit most from its configurable workflows and responsive support. Answer based on 53 reviews Overview ### Which roles and teams benefit most from OpenWater? OpenWater is most used by program managers, association and event teams, and directors overseeing awards, scholarships, and conferences. Executive leaders use it to monitor submissions and workflows, while communications and content teams streamline application intake, reviews, approvals, and participant management for complex member- or program-driven processes. Answer based on 70 reviews Overview ### What company size and industries is OpenWater built for? OpenWater serves small organizations in nonprofit-focused sectors, with 73% of reviewers from small businesses and 33% from Non-Profit Organization Management. It is built for associations, societies, foundations, higher education, and nonprofits, with additional use in Education Management at 12% and Higher Education at 5%, especially for contests. Answer based on 73 reviews Features and Usability ### What are the key features of OpenWater? OpenWater includes core application management tools like customizable forms, applicant portals, and status tracking, plus differentiators such as blind judging, scoring, award process management, and configurable review rounds. Reviewers also highlight reporting, role-based permissions, email notifications, and program duplication for recurring awards, grants, abstracts, and conference submissions. Answer based on 53 reviews Limitations ### Does OpenWater have a lot of bugs or technical issues? OpenWater runs reliably for many awards, submission, and review programs, with technical problems usually limited and quickly addressed. Many administrators say the platform stays stable during busy cycles, though some teams run into setup friction, email workflow limitations, or design constraints that often require support help to resolve. Answer based on 24 reviews Integrations ### Which third-party tools and platforms does OpenWater integrate with? OpenWater integrates with over 20 third-party tools and platforms, including payment, CRM, and association systems such as authorize.net, iMIS, Salesforce Sales Cloud, HubSpot CRM, Mailchimp, Stripe, PayPal, Airtable, and Microsoft Entra ID. Answer based on 8 reviews Getting Started and Support ### How easy is it to onboard and train a team on OpenWater? OpenWater offers in-person training, live online sessions, webinars, documentation, and videos to help teams get started. Basic users can often learn core tasks fairly quickly, but admins and new team members usually need more time. Reviewers describe a clear learning curve, especially around navigation, reporting, and advanced setup. Answer based on 10 reviews Getting Started and Support ### What customer support options does OpenWater offer, and how do users rate the experience? OpenWater offers email/help desk, FAQ/forum, a knowledge base, phone support, and chat. Users generally describe support as fast, helpful, and knowledgeable, often noting quick replies, useful self-service articles, and consistent guidance from dedicated representatives. Some mention a learning curve, occasional point-person changes, and phone calls requiring scheduling. Answer based on 53 reviews Features and Usability ### Is OpenWater easy to use and navigate? OpenWater feels intuitive for many administrators, entrants, and judges once the setup is familiar. Many teams find day-to-day navigation straightforward and appreciate the self-help resources, but some nontechnical users describe the interface, reporting tools, and customization menus as clunky at first and harder to train new staff on. Answer based on 25 reviews ## Features AI summary Based on 718 Grant Management reviews Capterra reviewers point to these as the top priorities when choosing grant management software: - **Customizable Forms** (**71%** of reviewers rated this feature as critical) - **Grant Application Management** (**70%**) - **Customizable Questions** (**63%**) OpenWater supports all three features reviewers value most: **Customizable Forms**, **Grant Application Management**, and **Customizable Questions**. Together, these capabilities help organizations collect the right applicant information, manage submissions more efficiently, and tailor application workflows to fit specific program requirements, allowing teams to run grant programs with greater consistency and control. Customizable Forms 4.3 (24) 104.17% of 24 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Customize contracts and forms to collect specific information Grant Application Management 4.7 (3) 33.33% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track and manage the status of grant applications Customizable Questions 4.3 (23) 104.35% of 23 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Tailored or customizable questions for more targeted and relevant data collection Due Date Tracking 4.0 (1) 0.00% of 1 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Ability to identify, sort on and alert participating parties about the approaching date by which action has to be taken Grant Award Tracking 4.0 (3) 66.67% of 3 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Track grant submission requirements, deadlines, and financial documentation for awarded grants Customizable Fields 4.3 (18) 100.00% of 18 reviewers that rated this feature as important or highly important Customize data fields to support various needs and use cases OpenWater 64 features Define levels of authorization for access to specific files or systems Dashboard to view the status of ongoing processes, identify current incidents and track past activities Track and document all activities across devices, networks, and other systems Alerts or notifications of various types such as pop-up messages, sounds, banners, or badges Application programming interface that allows for integration with other systems/databases Gateway through which end users can update personal information, track their applications, and more Find and manage potential candidates and their applications and resumes through the recruiting life cycle Track, manage and store the applications of potential future members, customers or candidates Manage the process of evaluating documents or requests submitted for approval Distribute awards to winners via prizes, coupons, giveaways, items, redemption codes, etc. Manage and monitor spending to align with the financial constraints or goals Organize and group data or items based on various criteria Provides a channel for team members to share AI models, media files, communicate, and work together Leave comments and notes on documents for others to view Track and manage adherence to policies for any service, product, process, or supplier Configure existing workflows to meet your organization's needs Manage, organize, and store contact information Built-in customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities or integration with a third-party CRM system Add customized logos and colors to align with company branding Customize data fields to support various needs and use cases Customize contracts and forms to collect specific information Tailored or customizable questions for more targeted and relevant data collection Alter the layout and content of reports Pre-designed layouts that can be customized to match preferences and requirements Import and export data to and from software applications Specify or track the date/time a project, task, etc., is due for completion Store, manage, and track all electronic documents in a centralized location Review and analyze existing information across documents Ability to identify, sort on and alert participating parties about the approaching date by which action has to be taken Electronically collect payments for goods or services Reminders sent via email Pre-made examples and templates for emails Manage entry processes via custom forms Generate reports to assess the financial performance of an organization Software designed for grantmakers Store, manage and track all forms in a centralized location Identify and prevent suspicious activity Track and manage the status of grant applications Track grant submission requirements, deadlines, and financial documentation for awarded grants Monitor application statuses, proposals and award funds Collect data to measure/track the positive impact an organization, nonprofit, or program has on social, environmental, or other groups. Create and track interviews with a reminder system Choose winners for contests, promotional events, games, or sweepstakes via voting, polls, random selection, etc. Observe and track the demand, usage, progress or quality of a system, product, or user Track sent and received payments, invoices, and bills. Enable custom polls/voting to facilitate decision-making or increase engagement Reporting on how each user, task or process has advanced since its initiation Design, communicate, and distribute incentives to perform a specific action Algorithmically generated suggestions based on user behaviors, preferences, or data patterns to enhance UX, productivity, or engagement Timed notification for any upcoming task, deadline, appointment, or activity Collection, analysis, and representation of numerical data and generation of reports to understand various patterns Ability that helps reviewers analyze applications, add comments/notes, and more Set & manage permission levels based on user roles and restrict access to only authorized individuals Automatically calculate score after the assessment Search and filter data across systems to locate required information by entering keywords or certain criteria Allow users to access multiple services after entering their login credentials once Integrate with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Market event via social media tools Security protocol that ensures secure, encrypted communication over the internet, safeguarding sensitive data from unauthorized access Track the status over time for a request, process, asset, or transaction Set up connections to third-party platforms to improve business processes Web form that allows users to enter data that is sent and processed for different reasons Ability that lets users rebrand the software to make it look like their own Create, design and manage workflows for repetitive tasks Get Advice We can help you find the software with the features you need. Features 4.2 (73) 4.2 Based on 73 reviews ## Pricing Value for money 4.3 (64) Basic $5,100 Per Year Value for money 4.3 (64) 4.3 Based on 64 reviews ## Integrations [ PayPal](https://www.capterra.com/p/207944/PayPal/)[ Salesforce Sales Cloud](https://www.capterra.com/p/61368/Salesforce/)[ Mailchimp](https://www.capterra.com/p/110228/MailChimp/)[ Google Analytics 360](https://www.capterra.com/p/177042/Google-Analytics/)[ HubSpot CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/152373/HubSpot-CRM/)[ Stripe](https://www.capterra.com/p/123889/Stripe/)[ Xero](https://www.capterra.com/p/120109/Xero/)[ Airtable](https://www.capterra.com/p/146652/Airtable/) Connect with a Capterra advisor for a free 15-minute consultation Get a personalized software list aligned to your business needs with guidance from our expert advisors. Our team has helped 1 million+ businesses like yours find options that fit their needs. ## Support, customer service and training options Customer Service 4.9 (70) Support - Email/Help Desk - FAQs/Forum - Knowledge Base - Phone Support - 24/7 (Live rep) - Chat Training - In Person - Live Online - Webinars - Documentation - Videos Deployment - Web - Android - iPhone/iPad Typical users - Freelancers - Small businesses - Mid size businesses - Enterprises Customer Service 4.9 (70) 4.9 Based on 70 reviews ## User reviews Overall rating 4.6 Based on 73 reviews Filter by rating 5(47) 4(24) 3(1) 2(0) 1(1) Mentioned topic Sorted by most recent JK Jenna K. Education Systems Manager Non-Profit Organization Management ### "OpenWater Platform Review: Experience, Support, and Functionality" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 June 15, 2026 Overall, our experience with OpenWater has been positive. Their customer support is strong and responsive, and they are generally able to help us configure the system to meet a wide range of needs. This level of support and flexibility has been especially valuable in adapting the platform to our conference workflows and requirements. Pros What I like most about OpenWater is the strong customer support and the flexibility to customize the system to fit our specific conference needs. Their support team is responsive and helpful when questions or issues arise, which is especially important during high-volume submission and review periods. Cons One current limitation is that we are not able to fully manage all of our data within OpenWater because programs cannot be linked together in a fully connected way. For example, we collect initial session information from a session organizer, including speaker details, but then we must create a separate program for individual speakers to submit their own required information. As a result, we rely on a separate system to manage these connected data points, which creates a duplicative and time-consuming workflow. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Response from Vendor June 26, 2026 Thank you for sharing your experience, Jenna! We're delighted to hear that our support team and the flexibility of OpenWater have helped you tailor the platform to your conference workflows. We also appreciate your feedback on connected program management and will continue working to enhance the platform while delivering the responsive support you can count on. AN Anonymous User Manager Management Consulting ### "Great Awards Platform " 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 April 20, 2026 Overall experience has been great. The support team is always available to help when needed and super responsive. Pros The value for the money and judging process. We have a very robust award judging process and it has always fulfilled our needs. Cons The learning curve is quite significant. It is a very robust system, so takes some time to adapt to the system. Review source Vendor Referred: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review. Response from Vendor April 22, 2026 Thank you for your review! We’re glad OpenWater is meeting your needs for a robust judging process and delivering strong value. We also appreciate your feedback on the learning curve; we're always working to make onboarding easier. It’s great to hear our support team has been helpful along the way. Thanks for sharing your experience! LM Luis M. RightsCon Senior Program Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management ### "Organizing a conference? OpenWater is your answer!" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 April 15, 2026 I have been using OpenWater for more than 5 years and I always recommend it when I have a chance. During these 5 years, I have never felt it has under performed, even when our program keeps growing. Its vast arsenal of tools also lets you enhance your program each year or build-in new features. I like this because open water can support you in doing your job better. I also want to highlight their customer support. It is super reliable. They are always there when you need them. Pros There are several elements I like about OpenWater. First of all, the judging process. We have over 80 experts reviewing the more than 1800 proposals we receive. You can divide the experts by categories, which is helpful. You can also decide the number of proposals you assign to each judge. The evaluation form for judges to use is easy to build also. Even though we don't use it for scholarship management, we use it for a conference focused on human rights and technology. This means that you can use OpenWater for any conference that has a Call for Proposals process. It really does fit your needs. As for the value for money, I believe that OpenWater is great. It doesnt have limits per applicants and you can decide the number of programs you can use. This means it is flexible and allows you confront challenges despite initial budget calculations. For example, you dont have to worry about ever receiving too many proposals. Ease of use is also guaranteed thanks to its incredible library of resources. This also means that it fosters your learning curve because of the resources but also because of the great customer support they provide. Cons If OpenWater could improve an aspect, it would be their dashboard. It tends to be difficult to capture an overview of where you stand regarding number of submissions, complete, incomplete, and other information you can find useful. Nevertheless, their reports feature is great. Whether you want the general raw data or the custom reports with pre-selected filters. Their report feature eventually lets you build your own dashboard when exporting it to google sheets or excel. You just have to download a report and use your formula skills. Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) Google forms did no longer serve the number of proposals and the judging process that we needed. Review source Vendor Referred: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review. Response from Vendor April 22, 2026 Thank you for your review, Luis! We’re glad OpenWater is helping you manage large-scale submissions and judging with flexibility, and that our resources and support have been valuable over the years. We also appreciate your feedback on the dashboard and understand the need for clearer at-a-glance insights. Thanks for your continued recommendation and for sharing your experience! AN Anonymous User AVP Financial Services ### "Huge Timesaver! " 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 October 28, 2025 Our overall experience with OpenWater has been great. They're very responsive to questions and helping get things figured out quickly. Pros OpenWater has been a huge timesaver for our team! We used to have manual spreadsheets and scanning of documents, and now everything is in one place! Another pro is the ease of use for judges! Judges are now able to enter all of their scores and we can use OpenWater to calculate and weight things as needed versus having to do all of this manually before! Cons One of the cons of OpenWater is the UI. There have been several times where my team has needed to set something up and it isn't in a place that we would think it would be in. Thankfully their team is quick to respond when we have questions! Another downfall has been the number of programs and what is considered "active" versus "Inactive". I'd love to be able to work on a future program without it being "active" and counting against our program numbers, but find myself having to activate and deactivate programs to make quick changes that I want to remember for the following year, but needing to keep the other one as our active one to continue collecting information from winners, etc. Alternatives considered [Blackbaud Award Management](https://www.capterra.com/p/140271/AcademicWorks/) Reasons for choosing OpenWater I can't remember what the exact reasons were that we chose OpenWater over others. Review source Vendor Referred: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review. Response from Vendor October 29, 2025 Thank you for taking the time to share your experience! We’re so glad to hear OpenWater has saved your team time and simplified the judging process - that’s exactly what we aim for. We appreciate your feedback on the user interface and program management options; insights like yours help us continue improving the platform. It’s great to know our support team has been responsive and able to assist quickly. Thanks again for being a valued OpenWater customer! CL Chantelle L. Internship and Work Study Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management ### "Thank you, OpenWater, for streamlining our very inefficient processes!" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 10/10 September 18, 2025 Our organization desperately needed help organizing and streamlining our application and job board processes. OpenWater hosts almost all of our programs on it's platforms. It allows us to receive applications, build the job board, send emails, organize participant information, and even lets us pull reports that we use for metrics/data needs. Pros There are many things I like about OpenWater. Before using OpenWater, our organization did everything via email. When you have 400 or more students and businesses applying via email, that gets very overwhelming and becomes inefficient. OpenWater has allowed our organization to streamline every one of our programs and application processes. Not only that, but creating the applications and procedures on OpenWater is clear, straightforward, and efficient. On the user side, we've been told that the software is easy to navigate. Lastly, the customer support has been stellar! Once we began using OpenWater, we've worked exclusively with the \[sensitive content hidden\] , and she's been amazing! She answers every question or concern I have. It's felt very much like a collaborative process as my coworkers and I learn to use the platform. OpenWater has gone above and beyond for our organization. Cons I have yet to find a downside of using OpenWater. They have met our needs and continue to collaborate with our team to ensure program delivery and success. Review source Non-incentivized review: any software user can leave a review for any product listed on our site. All submitted reviews are subject to our verification process prior to publication. Response from Vendor September 26, 2025 Chantelle, thank you so much for sharing such a thoughtful and detailed review! We’re thrilled to hear how OpenWater has helped streamline your programs and simplify application management for your team and applicants. It’s especially rewarding to know our customer support has been such a valuable resource as you’ve adopted the platform. We truly appreciate your kind words and are honored to help your organization deliver its programs more efficiently! EH Emma H. Account Manager Entertainment ### "Open Water Experience" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 August 26, 2025 again, \[sensitive content hidden\] is amazing. I like how I can easily pull reports and there are very minimal customer feedback issues. Pros the customer service \[sensitive content hidden\] is AMAZING!! She answers all my questions within like 5 minutes, it is impressive Cons The platform is a little clunky to navigate, so it took me a moment to get familiar with it. Now I am able to solve 85% of my questions through trial and error. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Response from Vendor August 27, 2025 Thank you so much for sharing your feedback, Emma! We’re thrilled to hear that our customer support team has been able to help you quickly and effectively and that reporting has been a valuable tool for you. We understand your point about navigation and are always working on ways to make the platform more seamless. We truly appreciate your continued partnership and your thoughtful review; it helps us keep improving! BA Branden A. Professional Development Specialist Information Technology and Services ### "Excellent Customer Service..." 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 August 26, 2025 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. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Response from Vendor August 28, 2025 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! AR Amanda R. Education Administrator Education Management ### "Great for Organizing Large Conferences" 4.0 Overall Rating 4.0 4.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 21, 2025 My overall experience with open water is very positive. Though some processes could be a bit more streamlined, I am overall very pleased with what it allows us to do. The customer service is fantastic. Pros We use Open Water to plan and organize a very large conference. We love that we can do almost everything we need to prepare for the conference using Open Water. We use it to collect, score, and approve/reject potential conference sessions, schedule conference sessions, and collect session presentations and resources. The customer service is top-notch. Open Water representatives help us build presentation applications and help us come up with solutions when any issues arise. They also help us build our conference website and app. They are always friendly, fast, and efficient. Cons The email wizard could use some work. It is nice to be able to send out emails in bulk, but it would be nicer if there were an easier way to send bulk emails to new groups of people without the email also going to groups that had already received it. It would also be great if a bulk email could be sent to one person. To keep emails from being sent to the same people multiple times, we have to go in and individually mark that each presenter has already received the email--the process is very tedious and time-consuming. I wish they had an interface with a conference web app other than Guidebook. The Guidebook app is too difficult for attendees to download to their phones and log in to. It causes problems every year. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Response from Vendor August 25, 2025 Hi Amanda, thank you for sharing your detailed review! We’re delighted to hear that OpenWater has helped streamline so much of your conference planning, from collecting and reviewing sessions to building your website and app, and that our customer service team has been a strong support along the way. We also appreciate your thoughtful feedback on the email wizard and app integration, which helps us identify ways to keep improving. We’re so glad OpenWater has been a positive part of your process and we look forward to continuing to support your events! JM Jenni M. Executive Director Entertainment ### "ACE has been using Open Water since 2021 and going strong" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 4.0 4.0 Features 4.0 4.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 8/10 August 19, 2025 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. 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. Switched from [Award Force](https://www.capterra.com/p/148148/Award-Force/) Awards Force was not easy to customize and we needed to brand our event. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Response from Vendor August 21, 2025 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! LH Lawrence H. Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management ### "Great service to manage a variety of different programs" 5.0 Overall Rating 5.0 5.0 Ease of Use 5.0 5.0 Features 5.0 5.0 Customer Service 5.0 5.0 Likelihood to Recommend 9/10 August 19, 2025 Great management tool for a wide variety of applications that's easy to use as the administrator and as a user. Pros Getting started is intuitive and after some playing around in the system I was able to start creating programs in no time. I use this to manage two programs and the system it easy to use throughout the process. Checking statuses and judging are well designed. Cons While the system provides a great tool to manage these programs, the price increase for the service isn't matching additional benefits that are being released for my purposes. Review source Vendor Referred - Incentive Offered: This reviewer was invited by the software vendor to submit an honest review and offered a nominal incentive as a thank you. Response from Vendor August 20, 2025 Lawrence, thank you for your thoughtful review! It’s great to hear that the status tracking and judging features have worked well for you. We also appreciate your perspective on pricing. We’re grateful for your trust and are glad the platform has been a reliable tool for both administrators and users! [View all Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/140294/OpenWater-Awards/reviews/) ## Top-rated software of 2026 ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. 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