# OpenWater Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is OpenWater the right Scholarship Management solution for you? Explore 73 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/140294/OpenWater-Awards/reviews --- OpenWater 4.6 (73) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/140294/OpenWater-Awards/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated July 2nd, 2026 # Reviews of OpenWater Ease of use 4.2 Customer Service 4.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews JK Jenna K Education Systems ManagerNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Their support team is responsive and helpful when questions or issues arise, which is especially important during high-volume submission and review periods.“ June 15, 2026 JK Jenna K Education Systems ManagerNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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.“ June 15, 2026 LM Luis M RightsCon Senior Program CoordinatorNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Its vast arsenal of tools also lets you enhance your program each year or build-in new features.“ April 15, 2026 AR Amanda R Education AdministratorEducation Management, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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. “ August 21, 2025 LM Luis M RightsCon Senior Program CoordinatorNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “This means that you can use OpenWater for any conference that has a Call for Proposals process.“ April 15, 2026 LH Lawrence H CoordinatorNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “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.“ August 19, 2025 CL Chantelle L Internship and Work Study CoordinatorNon-Profit Organization Management, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “OpenWater has allowed our organization to streamline every one of our programs and application processes.“ September 18, 2025 TB Tammy B Event Program ManagerSemiconductors, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The interface and moving around inside the product is still a bit clunky. Once you know where to look, all the features are there, but it's not super intuitive or easy to train new users as a result.“ August 19, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 73 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Jason B. Director, Membership Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Value, Value, Value" August 19, 2025 5.0 Pros I've truly enjoyed not only the product that OpenWater provides to us, but the ease it presents to our members. Cons It's expensive, but the value provides to our internal and external audiences continue to transcend the cost. Switched from [EmailMeForm](https://www.capterra.com/p/161042/EmailMeForm/) We needed more functionality and API's into our database. Review Source Response from Advanced Solutions International August 20, 2025 Thank you so much for sharing your feedback, Jason! We’re thrilled to hear that OpenWater has been a valuable tool for both your team and your members, and we truly appreciate your trust in us. VR Verified Reviewer AVP Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Huge Timesaver! " October 28, 2025 4.0 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/) Reason for choosing OpenWater I can't remember what the exact reasons were that we chose OpenWater over others. Review Source Response from Advanced Solutions International 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! JK Jenna K. Education Systems Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "OpenWater Platform Review: Experience, Support, and Functionality" June 15, 2026 5.0 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 Response from Advanced Solutions International 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. MB Mariel B. Events and Development Associate Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Needs to be User Friendly" May 9, 2024 3.0 Pros Customer support was responsive when we had any issues Cons I did not like the way it is designed, it is not easy to navigate. Review Source LM Luis M. RightsCon Senior Program Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Organizing a conference? OpenWater is your answer!" April 15, 2026 4.0 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 Response from Advanced Solutions International 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! CG Careesa G. Program Manager Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "OpenWater is a great application platform!" August 19, 2025 5.0 Pros OpenWater is user-friendly and easy to use. The applicants have no issues submitting applications. Also, the judging process is easy to use, and whenever we have questions the support team is easy to access and quick to respond via chat. Cons The only thing I wish OpenWater would have done better would be to edit the home webpage for the applications. It would be nice to be able to customize the homepage more. Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) we wanted something more formal and better to create reports Review Source CL Chantelle L. Internship and Work Study Coordinator Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Thank you, OpenWater, for streamlining our very inefficient processes!" September 18, 2025 5.0 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 Response from Advanced Solutions International 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! AR Amanda R. Education Administrator Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great for Organizing Large Conferences" August 21, 2025 4.0 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 Response from Advanced Solutions International 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! VR Verified Reviewer Manager Management Consulting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Awards Platform " April 20, 2026 5.0 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 Response from Advanced Solutions International 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! VR Verified Reviewer Technical Desktop Support Engineer Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Openwater is excellent" August 19, 2025 5.0 The program setup is very intuitive and once setup very easy to clone for future programs. The support is top notch and my questions/issues are resolved right away. Pros The support is excellent. All of my questions are answered and taken care of right away. \[sensitive content hidden\] is an excellent rep for Openwater and is super responsive. Cons No phone call support, its all via email. It would be nice to be able to call for support but not a deal breaker at all. Review Source TB Tammy B. Event Program Manager Semiconductors Used the software for: 2+ years ### "ADI/Openwater Review" August 19, 2025 4.0 We've had an overall positive experience. Any time we have questions, \[sensitive content hidden\] specifically has been incredibly quick and helpful with finding solutions/workarounds or with connecting us to the right resource to help. Pros OpenWater serves our purposes to administer and manage a large call for submissions program and grading. The flexibility to build out the rounds and approval levels/types is a great feature. Cons The interface and moving around inside the product is still a bit clunky. Once you know where to look, all the features are there, but it's not super intuitive or easy to train new users as a result. Review Source Response from Advanced Solutions International August 20, 2025 Thank you, Tammy! We’re so glad OpenWater has supported your submissions program and that our team has been quick to help with solutions. Your input on the interface is very helpful as we continue working to make the platform more intuitive. We truly appreciate your partnership! HN Holly N. Project Coordinator E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "OpenWater review" May 9, 2024 4.0 Pros I like the ability to edit the submission page and customize it to each of our meetings - we do two per year with the abstract submissions. I like the ease of the review process as well. Cons Sometimes our members have problems logging into OpenWater, even though we use a single sign on that should be tied to our membership database. Review Source MJ Mark J. Web Systems Manager Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent product, people, and support! " September 20, 2017 5.0 Pros Although OpenWater is already very intuitive straight out of the box, I really like how support is just a chat button away. I receive instant, friendly, expert support whenever I have questions or concerns. No waiting on support tickets! They also have an excellent collection of pictorials, videos and docs on their academy site: http://academy.getopenwater.com/v2. Last but not least - OpenWater actually listens to their customers. If we have an idea or would like to see something changed, they submit it into a queue for review and if approved, it's implemented. They have used a couple of my suggestions in the past two years. Cons Some areas could use better means of access. For instance - I think that project-related themes and websites should be available from within their own navigation menu. This is really not even a "CON" for me. It's just a matter of opinion. I'm also not particularly fond of the checklist process that was recently added, but I can see how others could find this useful, especially new users. Review Source Response from Advanced Solutions International September 22, 2017 Thanks for your comments and suggestions. The checklists you reference can be turned off, I'll have a support rep reach out to you with more info regarding that. Also your feedback is noted regarding the menu structure, we understand it can be tricky, especially with the number of websites and programs you manage. VR Verified Reviewer Software Engineer Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Amazing support" July 23, 2018 5.0 Awesome products. Pros This is the most reliable award software I have got till now. The things I like most are the function duplication, custom forms, the internal linking of the form ect. Email notifications and form management features are really helpfull. It gives all possible customizations. On top of all these things, if you are stuck with anything, you can simply contact the support team and my experience with them is just amazing till now. They provide you complete support technically and that too in poliet way. If you want anything that is out of the product customization, they will ask for the flow and will try to implement it. The most friendly customer support I have came across till now. Cons Nothing as such till now. Iiked this software as I have experienced other bad quality award softwares and just fade up with them. Also the website takes more time to llad Review Source MF Michelle F. Associate Advertising Manager Insurance Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good awards management software with great client support" July 22, 2021 4.0 OpenWater offered a solution for my department to easily manage a new sweepstakes program for our members. Pros OpenWater had everything I needed to manage our department's annual sweepstakes. While there aren't a lot of bells and whistles, this no-frills solution is straightforward and wasn't that difficult to use. The best part of OpenWater are the prompt and helpful account reps. If I had a question, they would respond right away. Cons The interface and customization tools can be a little confusing at first. There aren't a lot of opportunities to customize web forms or pages beyond very basic HTML and fields. If you aren't looking to create flashy pages, this software could be a great choice. Review Source CB Cyndie B. Advertising Lecturer Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "American Advertising Awards Competition" May 9, 2024 5.0 Overall, it is a user-friendly platform. There could be changes to uncomplicate the process, but I honestly don't know how to do it. Pros The ability to access previous forms, categories, etc. Cons It can be a little clunky to navigate. It takes a while to figure out the system. I have been managing our competition for the past six or more years. Each year, it takes a bit to remember how to set up the competition. Review Source JS Jennifer S. Project Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best decision to use OpenWater!" October 3, 2016 5.0 More than seven years ago, my company made the decision to improve our awards process, which was still being managed by volunteers with paper form collection. Kunal and his staff at OpenWater took our ideas, worked us through improvements and provided top notch support through the entire conversion. Since then, the support has continued to be highly responsive, and capabilities have been added that have allowed us to make further improvements. The system continues to be easy to use for both our applicants, judges and staff. Because of this, we have managed to save valuable staff time and resources, maintain participation in a declining workforce, and obtain judges that will return year after year. Additionally, we are able to maintain an archive of all past applicants and winners - a function that was never possible without time-consuming staff management. I highly recommend this software, as well as the customer support and service provided by OpenWater. Pros Ease of programming, ability to change and update at any time. Functions such as cloning, email notifications, and form management. Cons There are many capabilities that we do not utilize. I would love to have more time to explore those. Review Source MH Melissa H. Product Marketing Manager, Awards Marketing and Advertising Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Daily User" July 17, 2019 5.0 Pros I like how simple report setup is. In my role, I'm largely concentrated on the analytics behind who is entering, the time it takes them to enter, etc. and the dynamic reporting has helped my effort. We've also recently migrated our public-facing awards pages over to the OpenWater platform and the process has been a dream. Cons The chat between different platforms could be improved. We use specific email software that, if enabled, would be able to talk to OpenWater to allow us to streamline correspondence with entrants Review Source RS Ralph S. Awards Chair Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Used Openwater to administer an awards program" May 6, 2024 4.0 Pros Flexible tool to support award nominations and objectively evaluate nominations Cons For new users there is a bit of a learning curve to learn to use OpenWater Review Source SM Sarah M. Partner Design Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Running Multiple Competitions" July 10, 2019 5.0 Pros OpenWater had pretty much all we needed to run our competitions, but through the years they have continued to update. It is an even better product than before. Customer service is very good. Cons There is a learning curve. You can do so much and as a result it takes some time to understand. So don't expect that you'll be up and running in an afternoon. Sometimes the UI/UX is a little weird (Settings vs Manage? I still don't understand the difference). Eventually, with enough use, you can intuit how the system works. Review Source PB Pavan B. Director Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Happy customer! " September 14, 2017 5.0 Pros Amazing service - lightning quick responses...wow! Super helpful to have the judges watch videos right through the platform. Loving the new premium theme feature :) Review Source LS Linzee S. Communications Project Manager Telecommunications Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Gets the job done" April 30, 2024 4.0 Pros judgment rounds were nice since each entry need to be reviewed by multiple people. Cons I did not like how I could not get the scores to automatically averge. Review Source ML Mel L. Used the software for: ### "Increasing efficiency and streamlining processes for multiple programs" September 30, 2016 5.0 We have used Open Water over the last 3 years, and in that time, they have evolved faster than we can keep up! We began with our most complex programming and customized reporting: Abstract Submissions/Reviews/Notifications, plus a SSO integration with our AMS. Then, we've expanded to other solicitation programs that the Open Water platform can serve: Awards (as they originally intended to be), Volunteer recruitments, and Submissions (a generic catch-all for other types of solicitations --> reviews -- > notifications processes). The technical support team is fantastic in listening and programming what is needed. As the primary user with admin rights for a small staff, I have very limited time with handling the platform, but it is very intuitive and has a checklist and videos for each configuration step (though I haven't watched them to help me since it's quite easy to follow). Bottom-line: Great system for simple (well-thought out) processes that work for the Open Water platform. Review Source MD Molly D. Used the software for: ### "A True Work Horse: OpenWater, Award Program Management Software Application" September 30, 2016 5.0 We have been using OpenWater for the last 2 years to manage our annual marketing awards competition and have been very pleased with the results. It has help streamline the application and evaluation process immensely. Our program is unique in that we allow entrants to enter online and then mail the entries to us. We do this because we still conduct our evaluation process in person and OpenWater is able to facilitate this easily. Feedback from both entrants and jurors has been very positive. This software allows us customize everything from the templates to the reports to fit our needs. Even the customization of the email notifications is extremely helpful. I would highly recommend this product to any organization that is looking to better manage their awards program. Review Source MR Michelle R. Director Commercial Real Estate Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "OpenWater Awards Review" February 27, 2019 5.0 This has helped our Awards process tremendously. We no longer have human error when scoring our candidates. The system has saved countless hours for our staff members. Pros Great functionality for our Awards Program. Ease of use. Cons It was very foreign to me at first. Took awhile to get used to using a software instead of the "old fashion" way we did our scoring. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.