Submittable Reviews

Pros
Making the decision to shift our application process to online, I was concerned that it would meet the needs of the artists and writers applying and also ease transition for a middle to senior aged office team with varying degrees of electronic saavy. Needless to say we continue to remark on an almost daily basis how we LOVE Submittable. Ease of use was foremost and the Submittable staff are always right there with customer support. Any concerns or suggestions were addressed and often appeared as Submittable staff tweaked and updated the software. Likewise input from customers is often solicited. This open process continues to make the software better and better as new features are added and functionality is streamlined. Over the years Submittable continues to be software service and customer oriented. From staff and applicant feedback, I understand that Submittable greets anyone from neophyte to expert electronic guru users with the same degree of respect, patience, expertise and professional service. I especially appreciate the ease in navigating the software features. Ease in accessing and reviewing all areas of our applications, accessing correspondence with applicants and reviewers, sending out requests for character statements automatically, controlling access to all areas of the application and processes as needed have streamlined the time and task of handling actual materials. No more incomplete applications. Electronic deadlines hold fast.

Cons
Do I miss having USPS delivering stacks of applications for weeks on end around deadlines, when apps just pop up on the list in Submittable? Do I miss the file prep for each application as materials dribbled in little by little and were sometimes incomplete even after the deadline due to weather etc. when that is all tracked by the software? Do I miss handling over and over sections of the application and loosing track when interrupted in the process when a click of a mouse brings me right back? Do I miss being stuck at my desk surrounded by stacks of applications when I now access the applications anywhere there is wifi...even 12 time zones away which is what I did for the last batch of applications? Do I miss being burdened by attempts to streamline or simplify a labor intensive process only to discover all the benefits of using Submittable? Do I realize how staff are freed up to manage more productive tasks in the office than pushing files and paper? Do I realize that the staff team are excited to see applications appearing on their screens, versus groaning when the USPS truck drove into the parking lot? Do I realize how much more economical Submittable is versus staff time and energy factored in with hand processed applications? Do I realize how much more fun it is to problem solve around tailoring the software with Submittable staff to address a need? Do I wish our staff team had transitioned to Submittable sooner? Yes, no regrets we are HUGE Submittable fan

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Submittable is easy to use and intuitive. With drag-and-drop options, creating an application takes minutes. Logic branching also helps when you want to gather more info based on an applicant's response. The file upload features are also very helpful. Once your application is live, you can track and label applications as they come in. This is helpful since a quick perusal of an application can determine eligibility. One quick label and you can filter it out during the full review process. The reviewer portal is equally intuitive. With side-by-side views, your reviewers can read and answer questions or rate the application without having to switch screens. You can also set certain application fields (such as name, gender, etc.) to blind so that there is no bias based on these questions. Overall, Submittable is a great application portal and get your money's worth.

Cons
Recommendation letter request emails don't get sent out until AFTER the applicant submit their application. This is fine in most cases but you do have to offer a small grace period to recommenders. It would be great if applicants can enter a recommender and hit a button "Request Letter." The forms can also become rather long if you have a lot of questions. It could affect completion rates. Finally, just as you are able to remind reference letter writers through the portal, it would be great to be able to remind those with incomplete application about the upcoming deadline. Right now, you can request a list of incomplete applications but you only get name and email addresses. It would be good to see some of the data that the applicants have completed so far.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
What we like most about Submittable is that it allows us to manage submissions more efficiently. I'm not a fan of documents and tasks "living in email." Having a robust product like Submittable saves us time in reading and replying, as well as offering a way to capture and analyze submission data. I cannot imagine handling hundreds of submissions at a time via email, especially with a large reading panel. The built-in tools, such as sorting, labels, varying permission levels, templates, etc. allow us to customize it for our needs. I should add that any time we had a question, customer service responded right away, sometimes within minutes. Even over holidays. What did we do before Submittable? Seriously! What. Did. We. Do?

Cons
There aren't any major cons with Submittable. I'd love some more robust reporting and sorting features and maybe custom permission levels, as there are a few things I'd like to do, but cannot. For example, I'd love to see team member data by specific category, not just by a duration of time. But these are more feature ideas, nothing that I'd consider negative about the existing product. If I had to say one thing, since our reading panel (the ones who use the software) has a varying level of comfort with tech tools that maybe some of the icons could be more intuitive.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I am able to manage my submissions quite easily with Submittable. It has many sorting options, and several tools to make reading a large amount of work manageable. Working collaboratively with other editors is possible and efficient because of the filtering functions (such as the use of labels, storing submissions, ordering them by date, alphabetically, etc.) and team management tools (such as the assigning of certain tasks to certain individuals, easy messaging, dissemination of work, etc.) I like the basic look/visuals of Submittable, as it is relatively intuitive to use. Furthermore, when I encountered troubles or had questions, I was given friendly and quick help over the telephone, as well as through their chatlines. Editing our site is also very easy.

Cons
I don't like that some services are offered to certain levels of subscriptions and not to others. I'd rather have a good, fair price for the use of Submittable's full functions. It's not always clear to me what I have in my subscription, even though not too hard to check, I suppose. Also, to "test" how forms will look to submitters seems a little complicated, but not too bad once going through it. I feel a little "blind" when sending out ACCEPT/DECLINE. Not sure what the solution is, however, and really does not present any real trouble for me.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Submittable is convenient. As a submitter, it provides efficient mechanisms for making submissions and efficient tracking of those submissions. As an editor, it provides me with notices and updates to allow me to process submissions quickly and efficiently. Submittable is practical. As a submitter, a single page allows me to keep track of active submissions to several publications. As an editor, the features for reaction and response to submitters makes my job much easier. Submittable is uncomplicated, easily used, and easy to understand. As a submitter, these qualities make submissions tracking manageable. Submittable is used widely enough to be familiar to virtually all writers and artists who submit work for publication.

Cons
Our current package allows only 5 of our team members to have access to submissions. I could wish for more relaxed limits in that regard.

Rating breakdown

Pros
It works VERY well for receiving, tracking, reviewing literary submissions. So organized. Helps our statewide editorial team stay connected for working and communicating. Tutorial and articles are helpful tools when setting this up.

Cons
"Up ad running in 15 minutes"? Not likely. Big down side, is that it is EXPENSIVE for non profits, despite the discount. Monthly plans ding you bigtime for signer and submission allotments. We use Premium plan, the next step up is a GIANT leap up in price but also benefits. But we cannot afford that. I would like to see a product for bonafide all-volunteer non-profits with small budgets. Arts organziations are struggling these days.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
As an editor, it keeps the entire process of submissions very organized. The ability to archive and track all the submissions that come through here, along with all the automatic data in graph form that Submittable contributes in regards to either our regular day to day submissions or our annual competition, is everything we want it to be. Not to mention that there are numerous places which one can tuck notes about this or that author whose work is on track to be published by us. In addition, allowing the person whose work we're considering to leave notes for us about their submission should parts of it be accepted elsewhere, is a huge bonus for any editor.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Clean interface, flexible ways to sort submissions and tag them, and all actions and communications are logged by the system. Being able to customize the messages for various interactions with submitters is helpful. As our competition expands I expect to use the team functionality more. The Gallery function is an appealing way to display photos and allow the public to vote.

Cons
My primary difficulty is that entries cannot be sorted or tagged individually; i.e., when you tag a photo, the tag applies to the entire submission, not just a single photo. Since my competition allows up to 8 photos per submission, I have to sort in other ways after downloading the entries, which is a bit time-consuming but not a deal-breaker. The login requirement for voting in the Gallery view has a dampening effect; also, there's no instruction telling viewers to click on a photo to enlarge the view. Gallery sorting tools would be a welcome function as well. Gallery View has a lot of potential and I'm curious to see how Submittable's developers change it in the future.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Easy to use, and can be used very broadly. Great customer service. Great design. Feature rich.

Cons
Managing other users and exporting info can be better.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Submittable can handle so many different document types that we never could ourselves. They listen when we have suggestions/requests. Everything can be tracked - no more lost manuscripts! They've made it possible for us to offer books at the same time someone makes a submission, a great option for us. And they can issue refunds with ease.

Cons
Searches (especially across a lot of categories) sometimes are a bit slow, but we do have a LOT of categories and a LOT of submissions for the software to sort through. We're so glad to have Submittable, a respectable and caring group that has the ability to keep up with technology challenges so we can do the work we love doing.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Submittable offered the layout and tools needed to improve our submission process. Creating submission forms & portals is super easy and takes very little software experience to understand.

Cons
While it is easy to use and offers a great layout, the software is still in development changes and can be a bit limited to how creative a user can be. Submittable currently has a gallery view setting but only works with pictures- would love to view PPTX and PDF files as well.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The best thing I like about this software is how it serves multiple functions for our organization. I can easily create categories for submissions, receive submissions, the submissions can be commented on by the review team, and then I can correspond with the submitter all from within the same software. Each step of the process is easy to use.

Cons
Because of how many ways you can use the software, it takes a bit of time to get used to how to navigate between different parts of the program but once learned it's very user-friendly.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Ease of use on many levels. It streamlines an administrative process that could take endless hours. The software is not automated (and it shouldn't be), but there are enough templates and options to make the process of managing submissions very efficient.

Cons
The navigation menus are not intuitive. It takes too long to figure out where things are hidden. Having sub-menus would help. Also, inactive team members still show up when assigning. The editorial team of this journal changes every year and there are too many names. We don't want to delete past editors, but archiving them when they are inactive would be an improvement.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Its ease of use makes it a joy to work with: it's a clearinghouse, a reply tool, and an organizational tool all in one.

Cons
As it has in the past two years, I'm sure it will continue to improve it's functionality in a few of its features. For example, I'd like our readers/editors to be able to receive submissions immediately instead of me having to assign everything, but remain on a blind level, and also not be able to decline the work, just leave notes as they currently can.

Rating breakdown

Pros
The software is intuitive and saves us tons of time. Customer support is always there quickly when we need something or have a question. We literally could not run our journal without it. It allows me to manage a large and complex team and hundreds of submissions at a time in pretty simple form.

Cons
Trying to view and work with the submission on the iPad is a little more clunky than I would like, but not a show stopper. I mostly use the desktop.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It's ease of use. Straightforward layout. Very user friendly. I like the app. Allows me to organize my submissions to literary journals and keep track of when I need to submit them before deadlines.

Cons
The navigation within the new "Following" area. I feel like there should just be a direct submit button rather than a "save" button. Right now I find myself having to go to a drop down menu up top to get to the submissions page. This is an easy fix though.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It's the standard and most familiar for writers, which was the initial reason I chose it. But what sold me was the truly outstanding customer support. From talking me through the set-up to dealing with submitters who get confused with all technology, with any aspect of using the software, they are prompt, polite, and efficient problem solvers. No other company I deal with in any aspect of my life has customer service this good.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Tracking the progress of my submissions is amazing. Everything is there and I don't have to chart it on a separate document.

Cons
The existential angst of a submission "in progress."

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I have many hundreds of ideas to make literature a better place, but before Submittable I was always bogged down by logistics. Not only was the world not ready for me--I also wasn't ready for the world. As multi-point to one point organizational tool it is indispensable to me. I have hours more in my day to dream, and now with two interns, everyone better watch out.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Submittable saves money and trees and time. It's easy to track submissions (and track exactly how much you're spending on submission fees.) It's fairly customizable -- you can choose whether or not you want to be emailed when the status of your submission changes, which, for a sensitive artist type who tries to stay even-keeled during her 9-5, is key. Uploading documents is very easy.

Cons
I wish they had an option for users to save a cover letter template -- a letter that would auto-fill and then you could tweak as necessary. It would also be great if you could add a permanent​ bio to your account for prospective publishers -- they generally ask for this in the cover letter so it would save time.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
We found it very easy to adapt/program Submittable to fit our specific needs. With the extensive online help library and a quick-response technical support team, answers to our questions were never more than a few minutes away. Additionally, neither those high school students who submitted entries to our business pitch contest nor our panel of judges who used an online rubric to evaluate submissions reported any difficulties. Outstanding attentiveness to our contest timeline... When a couple students figured out that an email verification flaw existed with the Gallery View/Public Voting feature, they were able to submit hundreds of phony votes for their entry. As soon as the good folks at Submittable were alerted to the problem, they worked quickly (during the peak Christmas holiday season) to create a validation protocol that got voting for our Peoples' Choice Award back on track. We applaud the Submittable team for their effort on our behalf.

Cons

Rating breakdown

Pros
Their customer service department is outstanding. Their innovation team seems to be open to feedback from those of us who use the software. I will say, Submittable gives us virtual space to complete our work from all over the world. This keeps our organization and our entire field growing, and our talented team together.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Relative to other grant management software solutions we looked at Submittable was the most modern and professional in terms of look/feel and the easiest to use both from an administrator perspective and grantee perspective. Plus, Submittable was by far the most affordable solution and offered the best value for money in our opinion.

Cons
The only real downside was in terms of features/functionality; Submittable does not offer automated initial screening of applications. With that said, however, we were able to meet our specific business requirements with branching and Submittable was always willing to help us find workable solutions.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
Helps us organizationally and is a fundamental part of our business. Easy to use and intuitive, we also have a lot of people on our team using it as well.

Cons
Sometimes the speed lags from page to page or it updates slowly. Usually it works really well but occasionally it slows down and slows the word day down.

Rating breakdown

Pros
As a freelance writer, I use Submittable on a weekly (and sometimes daily) basis, and I am so grateful that it's become so common in publishing circles. Its ease of use sure beats licking stamps and endless trips to the printer, and I love that I can track all my submissions in one place.

Cons
The one caveat I have about Submittable is that, unlike some of its predecessors, it does not provide a place for applicants to enter an alternate name, as in a nom de plume. I use a pen name myself, and the absence of this feature has caused me some trouble. (I was once awarded a prize and the site listed my legal name instead of my nom de plume--which was fixable, but also avoidable.)

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I appreciate the back-end tools that allow so much flexibility for reviews, judging, and organizing. Not only can I easily sort entries and entrants, I can download all their data for reporting and further contact. And the pricing structure allows me to use the software only when I need it, but still have access to all the archived data and photos.

Cons
I used the Gallery View feature for the first time last year and would like to see continued improvement in its user interface. Opening a new account is a barrier to lots of users, and I'd like to see it simplified so more people will participate in voting.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Clean, efficient interface. Great customer service. Excellent outreach to the customer base. I have used Submittable for years now and almost no problems. The once or twice that I did have a problem, I reached out and they solved it within half-a-day.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Really user friendly on both ends. Easy to make new categories, add team members, etc. And whenever I have questions, Submittable customer service is SO helpful.

Cons
There are a few features it would be great to have that aren't there yet, but they are always making improvements!

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Easy to build custom submission pages and link them on main sites or landing pages. Assignment is also very simple, as is setting up new users.

Cons
I'd love it if there were the option to pay per added user over the minimum. We're on a grandfathered plan, which is AWESOME, and I very much appreciate the kindness offered to online literary magazines, but to get up to the 10 user plan we would more than double what we're paying.

Rating breakdown

Pros
This was our first effort at an online application and it went off without a hitch. It is intuitive to both readers/reviewers and applicants. We were able to learn how to manage the application and review process in a few calls to the fabulous Gold Level Support folks. After using paper applications, it was amazing to have all of the information ready to go to readers by the next day. It is also very reasonably priced compared to other solutions so it fit our budget.

Cons
It would be great if reviewers could highlight or tag parts of the application as they read. We had to do some tweaking to be able to close the application at 5:00pm instead of midnight but Submittable has since added this feature. It takes a few steps to generate reports but it is manageable.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
When submitting queries or manuscripts to publishers, this is a relatively fast and easy method. Because the publisher sets up the fields they want, it's easy to know what you need to include, and where to put it.

Cons
The text windows are small, so when you paste in large blocks of text, you have to scroll to double check or change things.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 5/10

Pros
It's very intuitive, widely used in our industry (manuscript submissions), and the customer support team is very responsive.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The organisational aspect is a life saver. All our subs in one place, easily seen and a very easy interface. Using submittable gives you an edge. Creatives know that Submittable is used by the very best who will pay a bit extra for a superb, efficient, friendly and professional service. Customer Service is exemplary. Always get back to you quickly and nothing is ever too much for them. Thank you!

Cons
Not really a con but a nitpick. Trying to find the 'send to kindle' button was a bit of a challenge but really good service when used.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It's easy to use with a minimal learning curve, and has good customization. It allows you to tailor auto responses, email the submitter, and comment all in one place. everything you need to make a decision is there, and you can archive for easy retrieval.

Cons
Tags could be expanded to include all book genres to enhance the calls for submissions when setting up a category (form). Wish they left forms named as categories, it made more sense, the terminology change from category to forms is confusing.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It keeps submissions ordered by date, time, etc. and allows for easy decision-making. It has helped in every facet of the submission process and works are easily retrieved and archived.

Rating breakdown

Pros
It's easy to use, easy to train my team on, and seems to offer great collaborative features I haven't even tried yet.

Cons
Only very rarely, it seems to get overloaded and become slightly slow. Other than that, it's very reliable and has few faults.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Ability to do complex tagging, selections and sorting. Gathers all the information I need together in just the way I need it. Ease of viewing and downloading submissions. Handles the collection of fees transparently, across currencies. Timely, reliable payments by month. Easy to correspond with submitters and team. Team support is excellent too, with different levels of access. Blind reading (keeping entrants anonymous) is indispensible.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
As a writer, I absolutely love how easy Submittable makes the submission process to me. I simply on the name of a publication, review what they're looking for, whether they have fees or not, their deadlines, and choose to submit my writing or not, all in an easy to use interface. Also, I can easily review all of the work I've submitted under the submission tab, so I can what was accepted or denied, and keep track of all the publications I've submitted my writing to.

Cons
I honestly can't think of anything, because before I found Submittable, I did had to research publications, deadlines and all of the information has at just a click away, by myself.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It makes it easy to deal with and keep track of submissions and easy to respond to them and deal with authors. I like that we can keep old submissions (but see below).

Cons
There is no way to do a bulk delete of old submissions I no longer want on file. It is extremely time consuming and tedious to delete old submissions, and I imagine how hard it is for those who receive many more submissions if they even want to delete them. Searches that used to be easy and logical are now awkward to do.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Using it is very straightforward and it is thoroughly reliable. We never have to worry if the system is "up" because it always is.

Rating breakdown

Pros
One place to submit ALL your applications, and once your account is set up, there is no need to keep re-entering your basic details.

Cons
The format and layout of the applications could be better, as often I have to go back to check details where they should appear on the second screen. The status of application should be more informative too, as often they are not updated with more meaningful information on the status of submitted applications. Equally, it would be great if applications are categorised into active by deadline date, with those that have passed.

Rating breakdown

Pros
What I really appreciate the most about Submittable is that the platform allows users to create and customize comprehensive forms that aid in capturing vital information provided by applicants. I like how the system organizes submissions and its respective media attachments in a manner that is easy to view, access and compile for future organizational reports. Furthermore, I find that the platform's email automation feature is beneficial for adminstrator-applicant communications.

Cons
I wish that the platform was slightly more intuitive for first-time account administrators such as myself (especially with the many tools and features that come with the system), however, the Submittable FAQ page and great service provided by the Submittable Support Team addresses and makes up for this.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Ease of navigation and simplicity of venue overall for users writers, editors, administrators, etc.

Cons
Its fine. I don't see any problems with it.

Rating breakdown

Pros
It's ease of use. Submittable makes the entire process of reviewing and corresponding with writers simple.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Submittable seems to have anticipated just about all the issues that I might have encountered in designing and running a contest. The software is very easy to figure out and runs without a hitch. And the customer service team, which helped me get started using the Gallery function, is beyond compare -- incredibly friendly and helpful. This team is a total pleasure to work with.

Cons
There's really nothing that I don't like about using Submittable. I am 100% satisfied.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
As an artist, I am constantly applying to various opportunities. I have used Submittable for several years and it is the most streamlined software of this kind. The design is clean, it is very easy to use, it saves progress in your applications so you can return back, and it has the option to pay the organization directly via secure checkout.

Cons
After all these years of using Submittable, I do not have any issues with it.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It allows you to make revisions without having to call for support. It also allows you to navigate through the system easily. IT Support is also easily assessable and helpful and for me very patience. Once you have created one application the rest are simple to follow, just as simple to make a duplication of the existing application.

Cons
I have no complaints about the software. I only fear is when requesting assistance and I receive a auto reply email stating it will take about 1 or 2 days for a response turn around that is entirely too long so I call for service. I would highly recommend this software to other organizations.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Cloud storage makes all the difference in collaboration and keeps everything organized. Sure beats email.

Cons
The inability to do copy and paste from the preview window makes it necessary to download files and open them with another program.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Ease of use and the style of the of the site is easy on the eyes. I know where to go to find what I need as both a submitter and administrator for my organization and that simplicity is a key factor in always wanting to use this site.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Submittable is simple to use and understand, and has a great knowledge base for any questions that come up.

Cons
The only thing that could make Submittable more appealing as a customer is if it were free. The limited/basic package for a small non-profit literary magazine is reasonable, however, and payment plans are available.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Comprehensive database of literary journal/magazine venues. One login and master view page of all submissions received/sent through software. Friendly weekly notifications of new opportunities. Ability to link login to other logins (i.e. Facebook).

Cons
Not all journals/magazines update your submission status from "received" to "in progress," which can confuse your understanding of the progress of your submission.

Rating breakdown

Pros
My favorite thing about Submittable is how it compiles all the information I need to pitch a book in one place. It makes it so much easier to stay organized and do my job.

Cons
I wish I could edit some of the fields in the submission form to require a certain type of answer. For example, "N/A" or even a blank space is a common response to questions I need to be answered.

Rating breakdown

Pros
It is easy for us to set up and our submitters to use. We only use it once a year and our submitters are one time users so we need something that works as easily as possible. Submittable does that. Customer service is quick and easy. They are a great site and a great team.

Cons
Nothing. The is site and team are excellent. It has a lot of capabilities and we only use the most basic but it does what we need it to.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Makes my job so much easier. All our evaluators can see all the applicants' materials at the same time and the evaluators can all see each others' questions in real time. It enables our meetings to be more focused to have this central platform. The applicants like it too and find Submittable very responsive as well.

Cons
There are limitations about how to set up the application and reporting. Also I'd love to add an Exel template but that is an additional fee monthly which is too pricey for my organization (and seems rather pricey in general).

Rating breakdown

Pros
I like the notifications when decisions by editors have made... especially when it's good news! The "mazel tov" always cheers me.

Cons
It is NOT easy to filter accepted/declined/in progress information in the app, like it is on the desktop version. I could wish for that to work a little better.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
The ease of using the program and the ability to see at a glance the status of each entry are great features of this program. With the clear instructions, it's easy to administer the status of team members.

Cons
Per the assistant who prints out the entries, there is a little bit of a learning curve when using the software.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Customer service is exceptional. Quick to respond and willing to work with client on particular needs.

Cons
I would prefer that there were larger field limits on forms for my tier of membership. Six fields is a bit small for any competition entry form.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It organizes our submissions effectively, allows us to share them with staff, and takes the headache out of collecting submission fees.

Cons
It's a little pricey...but worth it in the long run. New staffers sometimes have a little trouble getting started with it.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Ease of team reviewers and user-friendliness to applicants makes this a winning tool for our program needs. Ease of application fees is also a bonus feature.

Cons
Sadly, the full functionality of a relational database. I would love to see a partnership with FileMaker Pro

Rating breakdown

Pros
The versatility of Submitable matches any production schedule or style. Before using Submitable we often lost submissions, mis-categorized them and generally acted as if we were completely lost. It's been a godsend.

Cons
I can't really say I don't like anything. If I could change one thing I'd like to be able to mark all accepted stories and download them as one big zip document OR stack the submissions up for automatic download. It's a want not a need.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
It is now the industry standard for literary magazines. It's simplicity, service and kind support.

Cons
Automatic renewal. I'm not sure, but I don't remember getting a renewal notice before being charged...and now writing this review joins this con.

Rating breakdown

Pros
As someone who submits work, I love the simplicity of the platform and the way it tracks my submissions for me.

Cons
I've also used Submittable to create a platform for submissions. Finding one's way through the layout isn't quite as intuitive as one might hope, but the customer service staff is excellent and answered any of my questions right away.

Rating breakdown

Pros
Moved our scholarship applications completely online. Able to have reference letters uploaded directly to the system. Almost all elements (uploaded transcripts, etc.) are available to view within the system -- no additional software needed. Really like the "design your own review" option.

Cons
Letters of reference require a .pdf or .doc software to open/read, where other files are view-able from within the system. *I have seen that they are hoping to incorporate the within system view for the letters at some future point. There are a few things that I wish were easier. A couple of the fields are hard to view as you create an application, and don't offer as much word processing options as I would like--but that's being a little picky.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10