Comparison

Why editorial offices are moving off spreadsheets and email

Spreadsheets and email are not a journal management system. They have no audit trail, no reviewer database, no status visibility, and no way to scale. Here is what changes with a dedicated platform.

About Spreadsheets + Email

Most editorial offices start here. Reviewer lists in a spreadsheet, decisions in email threads, manuscript versions on shared drives. It works — until it doesn't.

Feature
Alkademy Press
Spreadsheets + Email
Complete audit trail of every decision
Structured reviewer database with expertise tags
Automated reviewer invitation and reminders
Conflict-of-interest recording
Author status visibility (no chasing emails)
Submission version history
AI submission screening
Journal public website
APC payment handling
No setup cost to start
Full flexibility (no workflow constraints)

Choose Alkademy Press if…

  • You need a traceable record of every editorial decision
  • Reviewer management by email is consuming editorial time
  • Authors are chasing you for status updates
  • You want a public journal website without a separate system
  • You need to collect APCs from authors

Stick with Spreadsheets + Email if…

  • Your journal has fewer than 5 submissions per year (spreadsheets are fine at this scale)
  • You have no budget and no growth plans

Starting fresh or migrating from a manual workflow? Alkademy Press offers onboarding support.

Migration guide

See Alkademy Press in 20 minutes

We'll walk through submissions, peer review, your journal website, and pricing — with your specific context in mind.

Start free