Hackathons
Upcoming hackathons
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Open now
Oct 22-27, 2026 · Online
open now · ends in 5 days
Six-day online sprint to build agents that do real work across scattered data sources; sponsors include NVIDIA, Zetaris and Meterless.
- Organizer
- GenAI.Works
- Prizes
- Up to $20,000 (cash plus an NVIDIA DGX Spark and API credits)
- Apply by
- Oct 22, 2026
- Hacktoberfest 2026Online
Oct 1-31, 2026 · Online
open now · ends in 9 days
Month-long open-source event in October with 300+ local one-day Fests plus a global online program; the 2026 focus is open-source AI.
- Organizer
- DigitalOcean
- PayPal AI HackathonOnline
Oct 1 - Nov 12, 2026 · Online
open now · ends in 21 days
Six-week online build where any project counts if it makes real use of both PayPal and AI; winners are announced December 21.
- Organizer
- PayPal
- Prizes
- $60,000+ in cash prizes
- Apply by
- Nov 12, 2026
Aug 15 - Nov 15, 2026 · Online
open now · ends in 24 days
90-day open-source build of agentic AI tools for public-health problems in India; open to anyone, and winners are named December 5.
- Organizer
- Code for India
- Prizes
- ₹18 lakh total prize pool
- AMD AI LeagueOnline
Sep 1 - Dec 1, 2026 · Online
open now · ends in 40 days
Season of six build matches on AMD GPUs where courses, matches and community activity all add points to one leaderboard; matches 5 and 6 are still to come.
- Organizer
- AMD, NativelyAI and lablab.ai
- Prizes
- League podium $2,500 / $1,500 / $1,000, plus cash and GPU credits for each match
October 2026
- HackNotts 2026In person
Oct 24-25, 2026 · Nottingham, United Kingdom
starts in 2 days
Overnight 24-hour hackathon for all skill levels in the Computer Science building on Nottingham's Jubilee Campus, with meals and workshops.
- Organizer
- HackNotts (University of Nottingham students)
- HackPSU Fall 2026In person
Oct 24-25, 2026 · University Park, PA, United States
starts in 2 days
Penn State's twice-yearly 24-hour student hackathon, held in the ECoRE Building, with workshops and speakers.
- Organizer
- HackPSU (Penn State students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - AI Yako: Own Your AIHybrid
Oct 24-31, 2026 · Nairobi, Kenya
starts in 2 days
One-week Nairobi hackathon for building local AI apps with Tether's QVAC stack. Kickoff and demo day are on campus; projects are submitted online.
- Organizer
- Tether with Node NBO
- Prizes
- 3,500 USDT
Oct 26 - Nov 9, 2026 · Online
starts in 4 days
Ten-day virtual hackathon building with Meta's Muse models and open weights. It is capped at 20,000 accepted applicants and winners are named Nov 9.
- Organizer
- Meta and Cerebral Valley
- Prizes
- $1,000,000 total across indie and startup tracks
- Apply by
- Oct 25, 2026
- Agents for Impact Hackathon: AtlantaIn person
Oct 27, 2026 · Atlanta, United States
starts in 5 days
One-day sprint building social-impact AI agents with Gemini, ADK and BigQuery; the winning team goes on to a public vote for a Google Cloud Next '27 stage slot.
- Organizer
- Google Cloud
- hackCBS 9.0In person
Oct 31 - Nov 1, 2026 · New Delhi, India
starts in 9 days
24-hour, student-run offline hackathon at SSCBS, University of Delhi, for teams of 2 to 4.
- Organizer
- Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (University of Delhi)
- Who
- students
November 2026
Nov 3-8, 2026 · Salt Lake City, United States
starts in 12 days
Online build week for AI agents that run real work safely inside Vultr sandboxes, then an invite-only demo day on site in Salt Lake City.
- Organizer
- lablab.ai with Vultr
- Prizes
- $9,000 cash + $5,000 in Vultr credits
- ETHGlobal MumbaiIn person
Nov 5-7, 2026 · Mumbai, India
starts in 14 days
In-person Ethereum hackathon at Jio World Convention Centre during Devcon 8 week, for teams of 1 to 5.
- Organizer
- ETHGlobal
- Prizes
- $126,500 in listed sponsor prizes
- Apply by
- Oct 23, 2026
- Since AI Hackathon 2026In person
Nov 6-8, 2026 · Turku, Finland
starts in 15 days
Free 72-hour AI build weekend in Turku where 1,000+ builders take on challenges set by partner companies such as Google for Developers and ElevenLabs.
- Organizer
- Since AI ry
- Prizes
- €50,000 cash prize pool
- Hack the Burgh 2026In person
Nov 7-8, 2026 · Edinburgh, United Kingdom
starts in 16 days
24-hour student hackathon for about 300 people at Edinburgh's Nucleus Building, with sponsor challenge tracks and overnight sleeping space.
- Organizer
- CompSoc, University of Edinburgh
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - HackPrinceton Fall 2026In person
Nov 13-15, 2026 · Princeton, NJ, United States
starts in 22 days
36-hour in-person student hackathon at Princeton with tracks from healthcare to sustainability, plus workshops, mentors and guest speakers.
- Organizer
- HackPrinceton (Princeton University students)
- Prizes
- $15,000+ in prizes
- Who
- students
- HackUMass XIVIn person
Nov 13-15, 2026 · Amherst, MA, United States
starts in 22 days
36-hour hackathon at UMass Amherst's Integrative Learning Center for teams of up to four, with workshops, mentors and a sponsor fair.
- Organizer
- HackUMass (UMass Amherst students)
- Who
- students
- Junction 2026In person
Nov 13-15, 2026 · Espoo, Finland
starts in 22 days
Europe's big 48-hour hackathon for about 2,000 builders at Hype Areena; most 2026 challenges are AI, and Google DeepMind is a partner.
- Organizer
- Junction
- Prizes
- €100,000 in prizes
- Apply by
- Oct 25, 2026
- DurHack 2026In person
Nov 14-15, 2026 · Durham, United Kingdom
starts in 23 days
24-hour project-building competition at Durham University's Teaching and Learning Centre, with sponsor challenges and themed 'guilds'.
- Organizer
- DurHack (Durham University students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - BCH BLAZE 2026Online
Nov 14-22, 2026 · Online
starts in 23 days
Virtual Bitcoin Cash hackathon with a submission window from Nov 14 to Nov 22.
- Organizer
- BCH BLAZE
- Prizes
- $8,000 (25+ BCH)
- Singapore-India Hackathon 2026In person
Nov 15-17, 2026 · Singapore, Singapore
starts in 24 days
About 120 selected students from Singapore and India form mixed teams to solve industry problems in fintech, climate and social innovation.
- Organizer
- SMU Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, TiE Singapore, AICTE
- Who
- students
Nov 17, 2026 · Sunnyvale, United States
starts in 26 days
One-day Google Cloud sprint to build agents on open datasets for problems like food equity and public health; the winner advances to the AI Arena.
- Organizer
- Google Cloud
- FORCE VibeCode Hackathon 2026In person
Nov 18-20, 2026 · Stavanger, Norway
starts in 27 days
Paid two-day vibe-coding hackathon where geoscientists and engineers build apps with LLMs on real Norwegian Continental Shelf data (fee from NOK 500).
- Organizer
- FORCE / Norwegian Offshore Directorate
- Apply by
- Nov 12, 2026
- Hack Western 13In person
Nov 20-22, 2026 · London, ON, Canada
starts in 29 days
Weekend in-person hackathon at Western University for solo hackers or teams of up to four, with workshops and mentorship.
- Organizer
- Hack Western (Western University students)
- Who
- students
Nov 20 - Dec 12, 2026 · Online
starts in 29 days
Global online challenge for teams of 3-5 led by engineering students or young engineers; winners are announced in Rome on 4 Mar 2027.
- Organizer
- World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO)
- Prizes
- €7,000 (€4,000 / €2,000 / €1,000)
- Who
- students and young engineers under 30
- Apply by
- Dec 12, 2026
- LauzHack 2026In person
Nov 21-22, 2026 · Lausanne, Switzerland
starts in 30 days
Free 24-hour student hackathon at EPFL on Lake Geneva, with prizes for the best overall hacks and the best sponsor-challenge entries.
- Organizer
- LauzHack (EPFL students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - CoAfina 2026Online
Nov 27-29, 2026 · Online
starts in 36 days
Virtual open-data hackathon where Latin American university students solve science and education challenges posed by organizations.
- Organizer
- RedCLARA / LA-CoNGA community
- Prizes
- $1,700 total (USD 700 / 500 / 350 / 150)
- Who
- students at Latin American universities
- Apply by
- Nov 14, 2026
- hackaTUM 2026In person
Nov 27-29, 2026 · Munich, Germany
starts in 36 days
Three-day TUM student hackathon with company coding challenges, workshops, and a final pitch and awards ceremony on Sunday.
- Organizer
- hackaTUM (Technical University of Munich students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - RSNA 2026 Vibe Coding HackathonIn person
Nov 29 - Dec 2, 2026 · Chicago, United States
starts in 38 days
First RSNA hackathon, held during the annual meeting: use AI coding tools to turn radiology ideas into prototypes; no advanced coding needed.
- Organizer
- Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
December 2026
Dec 8, 2026 · New York, United States
starts in 47 days
Last stop of Google Cloud's one-day agent sprints, building with Antigravity, ADK v2, Gemini and BigQuery; one team advances toward Next '27.
- Organizer
- Google Cloud
January 2027
- DeltaHacks 13In person
Jan 9-10, 2027 · Hamilton, ON, Canada
starts in 79 days
24-hour, fully in-person hackathon hosted at McMaster University for teams of up to four, with challenge-category prizes.
- Organizer
- DeltaHacks (McMaster University students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - McHacks 14In person
Jan 16-17, 2027 · Montreal, QC, Canada
starts in 86 days
24-hour hackathon on McGill's downtown campus with mentors, workshops, team formation and on-site sleeping areas.
- Organizer
- McHacks (McGill University students)
- Who
- students
- BoilerMake XIVIn person
Jan 22-24, 2027 · West Lafayette, IN, United States
starts in 92 days
Purdue's flagship student hackathon. Past editions ran 36 hours of hacking and awarded over $10,000 in prizes.
- Organizer
- BoilerMake (Purdue University students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 Jan 25 - Feb 11, 2027 · Santa Clara, United States
starts in 95 days
Online build period from Jan 25, with an in-person finale at Santa Clara Convention Center on Feb 10-11.
- Organizer
- DevNetwork
- Prizes
- $12,500 in total value
February 2027
- Hack@Brown 2027In person
Feb 6-7, 2027 · Providence, RI, United States
starts in 107 days
Brown University's annual student hackathon. Hacker applications open soon, and sign-ups for updates are live.
- Organizer
- Hack@Brown (Brown University students)
- Who
- students
- SpartaHack 2027In person
Feb 6-7, 2027 · East Lansing, MI, United States
starts in 107 days
24-hour in-person hackathon in Michigan State's STEM Building, with workshops and mentors. Regular applications open November 30.
- Organizer
- SpartaHack (Michigan State University students)
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - TreeHacks 2027In person
Feb 12-14, 2027 · Stanford, CA, United States
starts in 113 days
Stanford's 36-hour flagship hackathon with eight tracks. Food, lodging and travel are covered for accepted hackers.
- Organizer
- TreeHacks (Stanford University students)
- Prizes
- Over $1M in prizes (as stated by organizers)
- Who
- students
- SF Hacks 2027In person
Feb 19-21, 2027 · San Francisco, CA, United States
starts in 120 days
About 36 hours at SF State to build a project solo or in teams of up to four, with optional tracks and sponsor challenges.
- Organizer
- SF Hacks (San Francisco State University students)
- Who
- students
- Hacklytics 2027In person
Feb 26-28, 2027 · Atlanta, GA, United States
starts in 127 days
Free 36-hour data science and AI hackathon for 1,000+ hackers at Georgia Tech's Klaus building, with tracks including finance and sports analytics.
- Organizer
- Data Science @ GT (Georgia Tech)
- Who
- students
March 2027
- UNIHACK 2027Hybrid
Mar 12-14, 2027 · Melbourne, Australia
starts in 141 days
Australia's biggest student hackathon: a 48-hour hybrid weekend open to university and TAFE students in Australia and New Zealand.
- Organizer
- UNIHACK
- Who
- students
studentschecked 2026-10-20 - START Hack 2027In person
Mar 17-19, 2027 · St. Gallen, Switzerland
starts in 146 days
36-hour student hackathon in St. Gallen for 600+ hackers solving case challenges set by partner companies.
- Organizer
- START Global
- Prizes
- CHF 10,000
- Who
- students
- AI Hackathon Greece 2027In person
Mar 19-21, 2027 · Athens, Greece
starts in 148 days
Third edition of Greece's AI hackathon: 72 hours on challenges from ACE and partners; applications open in December 2026.
- Organizer
- ACE (Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, AUEB)
- Weber State AI Hackathon 2027In person
Mar 20, 2027 · Ogden, United States
starts in 149 days
One-day hands-on AI build event at Weber State, aimed at students and newcomers with no expertise needed; registration details still to come.
- Organizer
- Weber State University
- Who
- students
Hackathons near me, by country
In-person and hybrid events by country and city. Online ones are open wherever you are.
- United States 16
- HackPSU Fall 2026 (University Park, PA) · Agents for Impact Hackathon: Atlanta (Atlanta) · Vultr: Agent Rush Hackathon (Salt Lake City) · HackPrinceton Fall 2026 (Princeton, NJ) · HackUMass XIV (Amherst, MA) · Agents for Impact Hackathon: Sunnyvale (Sunnyvale) · RSNA 2026 Vibe Coding Hackathon (Chicago) · Agents for Impact Hackathon: New York (New York) · BoilerMake XIV (West Lafayette, IN) · DeveloperWeek 2027 Hackathon (Santa Clara) · Hack@Brown 2027 (Providence, RI) · SpartaHack 2027 (East Lansing, MI) · TreeHacks 2027 (Stanford, CA) · SF Hacks 2027 (San Francisco, CA) · Hacklytics 2027 (Atlanta, GA) · Weber State AI Hackathon 2027 (Ogden)
- Canada 3
- Hack Western 13 (London, ON) · DeltaHacks 13 (Hamilton, ON) · McHacks 14 (Montreal, QC)
- United Kingdom 3
- HackNotts 2026 (Nottingham) · Hack the Burgh 2026 (Edinburgh) · DurHack 2026 (Durham)
- Finland 2
- Since AI Hackathon 2026 (Turku) · Junction 2026 (Espoo)
- India 2
- hackCBS 9.0 (New Delhi) · ETHGlobal Mumbai (Mumbai)
- Switzerland 2
- LauzHack 2026 (Lausanne) · START Hack 2027 (St. Gallen)
- Australia 1
- UNIHACK 2027 (Melbourne)
- Germany 1
- hackaTUM 2026 (Munich)
- Greece 1
- AI Hackathon Greece 2027 (Athens)
- Kenya 1
- AI Yako: Own Your AI (Nairobi)
- Norway 1
- FORCE VibeCode Hackathon 2026 (Stavanger)
- Singapore 1
- Singapore-India Hackathon 2026 (Singapore)
How to win a hackathon
1. Before
Read the judging criteria and the sponsor prize list first; pick the tracks you can win, not the biggest one. Set up your stack, API keys and a deploy target (Vercel, Railway, Fly) the day before.
2. Team
Three or four people: one on the backend and integrations, one on the frontend, one on the demo and the pitch. Agree on the idea in the first hour, then stop debating.
3. Scope
Build one flow that works end to end, not five half-features. Mock anything that is not on the demo path, and use sponsor APIs where they genuinely help (that is how many prizes are judged).
4. Demo
Judges see your project for 3 to 5 minutes. Open with the problem in one sentence, show the live product, end with what is next. Record a 2-minute backup video in case the Wi-Fi or the API fails.
5. Submit
Submit early with a README, screenshots, the repo link and the video, then keep improving. Late submissions are usually not accepted, even by a minute.
6. After
Ship it: put the project online, write a short post, and launch it on DevHunt. Many hackathon projects get their first users that week.
Pack: laptop and charger, a power strip, headphones, a phone hotspot as backup Wi-Fi, ID (in-person events check it), and a free LLM key or two from our free LLM API list.
For dev-tool makers
Sponsor a hackathon to get your tool used
A sponsor prize ("best use of your API") puts your tool in the hands of hundreds of builders for a weekend, and the winning projects become demos and case studies. What works: a prize track that needs your product, free credits for every team, a short getting-started guide, and someone from your team on site or in Discord answering questions. Student hackathons are the cheapest way in; AI and web3 events reach builders who already pay for tools.
More places to promote your dev tool · perks and credits programs · advertise on DevHunt
FAQ
What is a hackathon?+
An event where developers, designers and students build a project from scratch in a fixed time, usually 24 to 48 hours (online ones often run for weeks), then demo it to judges for prizes. Most are free and open to beginners.
How do I find hackathons near me?+
Use the "by country" list on this page: every in-person and hybrid event is grouped by country and city. If nothing is close, join an online hackathon: you can take part from anywhere.
What is the next hackathon?+
HackNotts 2026, Oct 24-25, 2026 (Nottingham, United Kingdom). 5 more are open right now.
Are hackathons free?+
Almost always. Student hackathons are free and often cover food, swag and sometimes travel. Online hackathons are free to enter. A few professional events charge a ticket; the official page says so.
Can beginners join a hackathon?+
Yes. Most hackathons welcome first-timers, run workshops and have mentors on hand, and many have a "best beginner hack" prize. Join a team on the event Discord before it starts.
How is this list made?+
By hand: each hackathon was checked on its official page (dates, format, location, prizes) on or before 2026-10-20. Events disappear from the list after their end date. Dates do move, so confirm on the official page before you book travel.
Building something this weekend? Free APIs · free LLM API keys · AI coding agents · free credits and perks.