Question 1

How does judging work?

Accepted Answer

Pick a scoring method per competition: weighted rubric scoring (custom criteria with 0 to 5 or 0 to 10 scales), Top Picks ranked voting (judges pick their favorites and Borda Count handles the math), or audience voting for community choice awards. You can mix methods across tracks. Add judges by email, share a unique link, and they're ready. No accounts, no passwords, no app to install: every judge scores from their phone or laptop. Organizers see real-time progress per criterion, who has voted, who has not, and which submissions still need scoring. For large events, run parallel judging rooms with separate panels per room. When judging closes, weighted averages are calculated automatically and the leaderboard is final. One-click winner assignment handles overall awards, track winners, honorable mentions, and custom prizes. Export results as CSV for stakeholder reports.

Question 2

What if I already use Luma or Eventbrite for registration?

Accepted Answer

Keep using them. HackHQ focuses on submissions, judging, and results. Share your HackHQ submission link so teams can submit projects directly, or import existing submissions from a CSV if you want to jump straight to judging. No accounts needed for participants or judges.

Question 3

How do live results work?

Accepted Answer

As judges submit scores, the leaderboard updates in real time. Every score is weighted automatically, no formulas to maintain. When voting closes, organizers get a final ranking that is already calculated: no manual tallying, no spreadsheet exports, no math at midnight. Assign winners in one click: overall winners, track winners, shared prizes, honorable mentions, custom awards. The Live Results page can be projected on stage during the ceremony for full transparency, so participants see where they ranked the moment voting closes. Tie-breaking is built in (highest individual criterion wins, then judge count). For large events, results split cleanly by track, by judging room, or by sponsor. Export to CSV for executive reports. Live results is the feature most organizers cite as the reason they trusted HackHQ for their next event.

Question 4

What voting methods do you support?

Accepted Answer

Rubric scoring with custom weighted criteria, top picks for quick judge voting, and audience voting for community choice awards. Mix and match methods across tracks and challenges. All scores are private and visible only to organizers.

Question 5

How quickly can I get set up?

Accepted Answer

Most organizers launch the same day they sign up, and many go live in under 30 minutes. Create an event page (name, dates, prizes, theme), set up your submission form (custom questions, URL fields with auto-embeds, deadlines), configure judging criteria (rubric, top picks, or audience voting), and share two links: one for participants to submit, one for judges to score. That is it. Participants and judges join instantly without creating accounts. If you are switching from another platform mid-event, import existing submissions from CSV and skip straight to judging. The free tier requires no credit card, so you can build your full event end to end before deciding to upgrade. Paid plans start at $199 with a 14-day money-back guarantee, and pricing is based on submission count, not seats or judges.

Question 6

Why not just use spreadsheets?

Accepted Answer

Spreadsheets work until they do not. The most common failure is during the live results ceremony: a broken VLOOKUP, a mistyped cell reference, or 60+ minutes of manual tallying while the room waits. Beyond the ceremony, judges end up scoring on different sheet versions, scores get overwritten, and at least one judge always emails their scores instead of entering them. HackHQ removes every one of those failure modes. Each judge gets a personalized link, scores save in real time, and weighted averages calculate automatically as votes arrive. When judging closes, the leaderboard is already final. No formulas to debug, no tabs to merge, no last-minute scramble while 100 participants watch. Organizers tell us they save 20+ hours per event and never lose sleep before the ceremony again. If you only run one hackathon a year, the spreadsheet trauma compounds; if you run several, it never stops.

Question 7

What if I am running an awards program instead of a hackathon?

Accepted Answer

HackHQ is purpose-built for hackathons, pitch competitions, and innovation challenges with short timelines and live results ceremonies. If you are running an annual awards program (industry awards, "Best of" lists, "40 Under 40", design competitions) with entry fees, multi-round judging over weeks or months, and the need to clone the program year over year, take a look at AwardKit (https://awardkit.io), our sister platform built specifically for award programs. AwardKit adapts the same proven submissions and judging engine for the awards market, with entry fee collection via Stripe Connect (zero commission), configurable scoring criteria, and annual program management.

Question 8

Can we start with one event?

Accepted Answer

Try the full platform free - no credit card required. When you're ready to run your event, paid plans start at $199 with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Run Hackathons,
Not Spreadsheets.

Running Hackathons & Competitions

The Difference Everyone Notices

How It Works

Collect Submissions

Judge Your Way

Announce Winners

Built for Hackathons & Competitions

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Scale When You're Ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Organizers Switch

Next Hackathon, Skip the Spreadsheet Panic

Run Hackathons,Not Spreadsheets.