# Conferences in the USA, Asia and online: is it worth submitting outside Europe?

Author: Marin Niehues, Stage Starter · Published: 2025-10-28
Topic: Finding Conferences (https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/topic/finding-conferences/)
Source: https://www.stage-starter.de/en/blog/call-for-papers-outside-europe/

Submitting outside Europe is worth it when your future clients sit in the audience there, and the choice is wide: of 1,533 open calls in our database, 183 are for conferences in the USA. A call for papers is the public announcement through which a conference collects talk proposals, and open here means that the deadline had not yet passed on the reference date of our analysis. For a conference in the USA, in Asia or online the submission works as it does in Europe, while the travel effort and entry requirements change, and the question remains whether your future client is in the room. This article puts the figures from our conference database in context and shows what an agency takes off your hands for conferences outside Europe.

**Outside Europe, the USA leads by number, joined by a large group of online conferences and calls without a fixed location. A submission there pays off as soon as your future clients sit in the room or in front of the screen.**

## How many conferences in the USA are looking for speakers?

On the reference date of our analysis, 183 calls for papers were open for conferences in the USA, more than in any other country. That is almost twelve per cent of all 1,533 open calls in our conference database and a good two and a half times the 69 calls in Germany. The 15 entries with the most open calls look like this:

- online or no fixed location: 377
- USA: 183
- China: 121
- United Kingdom: 72
- Germany: 69
- Spain: 62
- India: 62
- Italy: 59
- Netherlands: 41
- Canada: 36
- France: 30
- Japan: 28
- Australia: 24
- Singapore: 24
- South Korea: 19

Together these 15 entries account for 1,207 of the 1,533 open calls, around 79 per cent, and the remaining 326 are spread across smaller countries. The USA and Canada together reach 219 open calls, the six European countries in the table 333. Europe is therefore larger overall and divided into many markets, while North America accounts for a considerable share with just two countries. How the European calls are distributed across individual countries is shown in [The European countries where conferences look for the most speakers](/en/blog/conference-call-for-papers-europe-by-country/).

Well-known examples of US conferences with a public call are the RSA Conference in IT security, KubeCon in the cloud world and SXSW, which collects proposals for panels and talks through a public selection process. If you advise in mechanical engineering or logistics, we research the conferences of your field separately, through open calls and, where there is no call, by approaching the programme leads directly.

## Can I speak at conferences in Asia as a speaker from Germany?

Yes, conferences in Asia accept talk proposals from Europe, provided the programme runs in a language you speak. Five Asian countries appear in the table above, with 254 open calls between them, almost 17 per cent of 1,533. China alone has 121 and ranks third in the whole list, ahead of Germany. For experts from Europe, what counts besides the number is the language in which a conference runs its programme and who sits in the audience, and both are stated in the announcement.

These two details decide how good the prospects of an abstract are, the short description of a planned talk that the programme committee reads. If you write for an English-language programme, you need a separate English version of the abstract, and the article on [international conferences with English-language calls](/en/blog/speaking-at-international-conferences-in-english/) shows what to look for. How a call runs from announcement to acceptance is described in the [call for papers guide](/en/blog/call-for-papers-guide/).

**Open calls outside Europe**
- 183 calls | conferences in the USA, almost twelve per cent of all open calls
- 254 calls | the five Asian countries in the table together
- 377 calls | online or without a fixed location, almost a quarter

## Are online conferences worth it for speakers?

Online conferences are worth it when their audience consists of decision-makers in your field, because they save travel and overnight stays. Our database holds 377 open calls for online formats or for conferences without a fixed location, almost a quarter of all open calls. A live session for an audience in another time zone can fall in the evening or early in the morning, and that belongs in your diary before you accept.

The conversations around the talk also work differently. In the room you speak to listeners during the break, online the exchange runs through chat and the contact functions of the platform, and the article on [virtual and hybrid conferences](/en/blog/virtual-and-hybrid-conferences/) describes what this changes for speakers. More important than the format is the question of who is watching: an online conference for decision-makers in your field brings more than an in-person conference whose visitors would never buy from you.

## What travel, visas and the price of a stage change in the calculation

For appearances in Europe, we count two travel days for a one-day talk in another city, and three with a long journey or an evening before. A trip to the USA or to Asia costs more days and more money, and the article [What a conference appearance costs](/en/blog/what-a-conference-appearance-costs/) itemises what the costs of an appearance are made up of. Whether a conference covers travel and accommodation for speakers is stated in the announcement. Many specialist conferences give their speakers a free ticket, and travel costs are covered mainly by developer conferences and by organisers with a large sponsorship budget.

Speakers with a German passport enter the USA for stays of up to 90 days under the Visa Waiver Program with the electronic travel authorisation ESTA. The US State Department lists attending a professional or business conference as a permitted purpose under this programme, as long as no money from a US source goes beyond reimbursed incidental expenses such as travel and accommodation. For a speaking fee, the department's flier on business travel sets narrow conditions: no more than nine days at a single institution, a paying institution of the type defined by law, such as a university or a non-profit research organisation, and no more than five such payments in six months. An ESTA authorisation is also no promise of entry, because the border officer decides on arrival. Anyone travelling for a paid appearance should clarify entry in advance with the US embassy or an immigration law firm. This article provides an overview and does not constitute legal advice.

Then there is the question of who pays for the slot. With pay to speak, the speaker buys a speaking slot from the organiser, and that quickly costs €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot, at large conferences a multiple of that. This applies outside Europe as much as inside, and sponsored sessions are often not marked as such in the programme. For every conference, reading the announcement therefore shows whether a programme committee decides or the organiser sells a slot.

**Four routes outside Europe compared**
Criterion | In person in the USA or Asia | Online conference | Bought slot | Stage Starter
Effort for you | travel, entry, time zone, often several days | low, session in another time zone | payment and a date | contribute your expertise and approve the talk once
Cost | travel, accommodation, time | usually no travel costs | quickly €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot | from €990 net per month for the whole operation
Who selects the talk | programme committee | programme committee | the organiser, against payment | programme committee, with research and submission in your name
Suits you if | clients sit in the target market | time is short and the audience fits | a single date matters more than the budget | your time is short, the order value is high and you want to reach a professional audience worldwide

## When does submitting outside Europe pay off for winning B2B clients?

Submitting outside Europe pays off when the audience includes people who have a problem in your field and can have it solved. If you already have clients in the USA or in Singapore, conferences there are an obvious place to find more, because the listeners know your industry. If you have none there yet, the first conference is a test that costs more than a submission in Europe. If your offer is tied to German standards or to the German language, you will find your audience faster in Europe.

Another reason for conferences outside Europe is choice. For a topic that only a few conferences in Europe cover, 219 open calls in North America multiply the number of suitable stages.

Stage Starter takes this work off your hands: [we find the right calls, write the submission and submit it](/en/), across borders and in the language versions a conference asks for. Afterwards we follow up and accompany you to the stage. You contribute your expertise and approve the talk and abstracts once before the start, and the individual submissions then go out without further approval. Collaboration starts from €990 net per month for the whole operation, and you hold the conversations after the talk yourself.

## What works differently when you submit to conferences outside Europe

The procedure resembles the European one: a conference announces, you submit a title and an abstract with a bio, and the programme committee decides. For conferences abroad, each announcement answers its own questions, for example in which language the programme runs and in which time zone the deadline ends. Many calls close on US Pacific time, nine hours behind Germany, or on "Anywhere on Earth", the last time zone on the planet, so a deadline that already seems to have passed in Germany is still running there. For online conferences, technology and recording have to be agreed with the organiser.

Each of these questions takes time, and across many submissions they grow into an operation that an expert rarely maintains alongside day-to-day business. Looking beyond Europe pays off most for experts with a tight diary and a high order value, because every hour of research saved counts there, and 183 open calls in the USA put a large professional audience within reach.

**Conferences outside Europe account for a large share of the 1,533 open calls, led by the USA with 183. Submitting is worth it where the listeners are future clients and travel, entry and payment are settled before you accept.**

**Sources**
Stage Starter analysis: open calls for papers in our conference database by country, on the reference date of the analysis. Entry: US State Department information on permitted purposes of travel under the Visa Waiver Program and its flier "Business Travel to the United States" on fees for speakers, plus US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) information on ESTA.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many open calls are there for conferences in the USA?

On the reference date, 183 calls for conferences in the USA were open in our conference database. That is almost twelve per cent of all 1,533 open calls and more than in any other country in the list.

### Do I need a visa to speak at a conference in the USA?

For an unpaid specialist talk, speakers with a German passport generally need only the ESTA travel authorisation, which you apply for online before travelling. According to the US State Department, attending a conference is a permitted purpose of travel as long as only incidental expenses such as travel and accommodation are reimbursed. Narrow conditions apply to a fee, so clarify a paid appearance in advance with the US embassy or an immigration law firm.

### Which major conferences in the USA have a call for papers?

Well-known US conferences with a public call include the RSA Conference in IT security, KubeCon in the cloud world and SXSW with its public selection process for panels and talks. Most fields also have many smaller conferences whose audience matches a particular offer more closely. Research establishes which ones fit your topic.

### Can I speak at conferences in Asia as a speaker from Germany?

Yes, provided the call is open and the programme runs in a language you speak. In the five Asian countries in the table, 254 calls are open together. The trip pays off when your future audience sits there, and whether the conference covers travel costs is stated in the announcement.

### Are online conferences worth it for speakers?

They are worth it when the audience consists of decision-makers in your field. Online formats and conferences without a fixed location make up 377 of the 1,533 open calls, and they cost neither travel nor overnight stays. You hold the conversations after the talk yourself, for online formats through the contact functions of the platform.

### Do conferences in the USA cover travel and hotel costs for speakers?

Many US specialist conferences give their speakers a free ticket, and travel and hotel are covered mainly by developer conferences and by organisers with a large sponsorship budget. What applies is stated in the announcement or in the speaker agreement. What matters most for the calculation is the client you win there, because a single contract exceeds the travel costs many times over.

### How do I deal with time zones for deadlines and live sessions?

Convert every deadline into German time, because many calls close on US Pacific time or on "Anywhere on Earth" and then run longer than it seems in Germany. Live sessions for an audience in the USA often fall in the evening by German time. Both belong in your diary before you accept.

### What does it cost to submit to conferences outside Europe?

A submission to an open call usually costs nothing, while the appearance costs time and, for in-person conferences, travel. Paid slots quickly cost €10,000 or more for a single speaking slot. Collaboration with Stage Starter starts from €990 net per month, and the Speaker Audit beforehand costs from €2,000 net and is credited when you book the agency.

If you would like to know which conferences in the USA, in Asia or online suit your topic, we can work that out in an [initial consultation](/en/erstgespraech/).