Running a Model UN committee used to mean paper lists, a phone timer, and hoping your co-chair was tracking the same numbers. In 2026, there are several software options designed specifically for MUN, and several general-purpose tools that chairs have jury-rigged into committee management systems. Here is an honest breakdown of what works and what does not.
What a Good MUN Tool Needs to Do#
Before comparing tools, it helps to list what a chair actually needs during committee:
- Speakers list management: adding, removing, reordering delegates on the GSL
- Speaker timer: per-speech countdown, and one press of Next seats the next speaker
- Roll call: tracking which delegates are present, present and voting, or absent
- Caucus management: separate caucus queue, caucus timer, total time tracking
- Motions tracking: logging pending motions and their disruptiveness order
- Delegate-facing display: letting delegates see their queue position and the current speaker
- Voting: recording roll call votes with In Favour / Against / Abstain
Gavelling (Free)#
Gavelling is the most complete free MUN committee platform available in 2026. It was built specifically for Model UN chairs and handles the full committee lifecycle: roll call, GSL, moderated and unmoderated caucuses, motions, documents, voting, and delegate-facing views, all in real time via any web browser with no installation required.
Delegates join via a six-character code and can see their queue position, request to speak, and receive documents from the chair. Multiple co-chairs can manage the same session simultaneously. The chair view runs on any device: tablet, laptop, or phone.
Google Sheets (Free, Manual)#
Many chairs build custom Google Sheets for committee management. The advantage: total flexibility. You can design exactly the layout you want. The disadvantages are significant in practice: no built-in timer, no delegate-facing view, manual data entry during high-stakes moments, and no real-time sync if you have co-chairs on different devices without careful coordination.
Google Sheets works for prepared chairs with reliable co-chairs. It falls apart in large committees with fast motion turnover or when co-chair coordination breaks down.
Phone Timers and Stopwatches#
Every chair has a phone timer. Most use it as a backup, not a primary tool, because it tracks only one thing at a time. A phone timer cannot simultaneously track speaker time, caucus total time, and per-caucus-speaker time. For simple committees with slow debate, it is sufficient. For anything above twenty delegates or with active caucus cycles, it is a liability.
PowerPoint / Keynote Displays#
Some large conferences use custom PowerPoint presentations displayed on a projector to show the current speaker, queue, and timer. These require someone dedicated to updating slides in real time, effectively a third dais member whose sole job is clicking through slides. Functional at scale, impractical for smaller committees.
openMUN and Other Open-Source Tools#
Several open-source MUN tools exist, but most are unmaintained or require technical setup (running a local server, installing dependencies). For a school MUN club or an advisor without technical resources, these are not practical options.
What We Recommend#
For the vast majority of conferences (school MUN, regional conferences, even large university conferences), Gavelling covers everything needed without cost, setup, or technical expertise. The only scenario where a custom solution makes sense is a very large conference (300+ delegates) with extremely specific technical requirements and a dedicated IT team.
For chairs who want to run a tight, professional committee session without spending hours on logistics: start at gavelling.com, create a committee, and share the join code. You will be running roll call in under three minutes.
