Guide · 6 min read

What actually counts as a hackathon

Not every event calling itself a hackathon is one. Here is the line we draw before a listing reaches the index.

01

A real prize, confirmed

A hackathon puts real money or a real opportunity on the table, and the organiser can confirm it. If a prize is vague, unfunded, or listed as an amount nobody will actually pay, it is marketing, not a competition.

We check the number with the source. If it cannot be confirmed, it does not go up.

02

A hard deadline

Builds ship against a clock. A live, dated deadline is what separates a hackathon from an open-ended call for projects. We track the deadline and remove listings the moment they close.

03

Something you build

You leave with a working thing, not a pitch deck. A hackathon rewards a demo. If the ask is a proposal or a form with no build, it belongs on a different kind of list.

< read by a human · updated as things change >

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