Question 1

What pricing plans does HackHQ offer?

Accepted Answer

Three simple plans, all one-time purchases per event. Free ($0): 10 submissions, 3 judges, 50 audience voters. Starter ($199): 50 submissions, 10 judges, 500 audience voters. Pro ($599): 200 submissions, unlimited judges and audience voters. Running an event with more than 200 submissions, email hello@hackhq.io for custom pricing.

Question 2

Do judges or team members pay anything?

Accepted Answer

Never. Judges get personalized links and score from their phone, no accounts or passwords needed. Organizers get unlimited team members at no extra cost. Only the organizer pays, and only per event. There are no per-seat fees, no separate judge licenses, and no annual subscription requirement.

Question 3

What happens if I exceed my submission limit?

Accepted Answer

You can upgrade at any time. Existing submissions are preserved. Just choose a higher plan and keep going. There is no penalty, no data loss, and no service interruption when you upgrade mid-event.

Question 4

What if HackHQ is not the right fit?

Accepted Answer

Every paid plan comes with a 14-day money-back guarantee. If HackHQ is not the right fit for your event, email hello@hackhq.io within 14 days of purchase and we will refund you in full, no questions asked.

Question 5

What support do I get?

Accepted Answer

Email support on every plan, with replies in hours rather than days. Paid plans (Starter and Pro) add direct video calls with the team whenever you need one. Just email hello@hackhq.io and we will set one up. No CSM tier, no support upgrade required.

Question 6

Do you offer discounts for student orgs or nonprofits?

Accepted Answer

Yes, case by case. Student-led hackathons and registered nonprofits running on a tight budget can contact us about the event and we will work out pricing that fits.

Question 7

What if I only need judging and results?

Accepted Answer

Many organizers use HackHQ specifically for submissions, judging, and live results while handling registration through tools like Luma or Eventbrite. Share your HackHQ submission link to collect projects directly, or import existing submissions from a CSV and jump straight to judging. No accounts required for participants or judges.

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Submissions Projects entered for judging	10	50	200
Audience voters Unique voters via the public link	50	500	Unlimited
Judges Reviewers on the judging panel	3	10	Unlimited
Team members & organizers Add your full organizing committee. Never per-seat.	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
14-day money-back guarantee Full refund if HackHQ is not the right fit

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Custom event page with branding Cover image, logo, hosting org, venue, prize sidebar
Schedule, timezone, currency
Rich text description editor
Unlisted, private event link Not indexed by search engines

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Form builder with 6 question types Short Answer, Paragraph, URL, Dropdown, Single, Multiple
Auto embeds (YouTube, Loom, GitHub, X)
Bulk CSV import with column mapping
No participant accounts required
Public share + private manage links
CSV export of all submission data

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Three voting modes Judge only, Judges + audience, Audience only
Score Criteria + Top Picks methods
Weighted criteria with custom weights
Three judge assignment modes All judges, Per judge, Judging Rooms
No judge accounts, mobile-friendly
Bulk judge CSV import (up to 1,000)

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Live leaderboard during the ceremony
Weighted average + Borda Count
One-click winner assignment
CSV export with rankings + voter feedback
Submission insights GitHub commit timeline and pre-event activity
Email announcements to participants Send updates and announcements to everyone

Flat-Rate Pricing. Results You Can Trust.

Free

Starter

Pro

Compare Plans Side by Side

Plans & Limits

Event Setup

Submissions

Voting & Judging

Results & Awards

Gallery & Certificates

Workspace & Support

Switching from Devpost?

Answers Before You Ask

Launch Your First Event in 30 Minutes.

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Auto-published project gallery Search, filter, and winner badges
Per-project public share links
LinkedIn-shareable certificates Auto-generated for every team member
Public verification page per certificate

Feature	Free	Starter	Pro
Multiple events under one workspace
Role-based permissions
Async email support
Priority email + video calls with the team Faster replies on paid plans, and a video call with the team whenever you need one. Just ask, no upgrade tier required.
Student org and nonprofit pricing Case by case for shoestring budgets, get in touch