Open competitions
What you can win, when it closes, and where to enter. Everything here is free to enter — if a competition charges a fee, it isn't in the library.
The three big ones
Where a closing date exists I've put it here. Where the organizer hasn't published one, the entry says so rather than inventing a date — always confirm on their page before you plan around it.
XPRIZE Active Competitions
XPRIZE Foundation
XPRIZE runs several huge challenges at once, each in its own field with its own phases. Registration is free; the work is serious and multi-year.
- Prize
- Multi-million-dollar purses, $5M to $119M per challenge
- When
- Each challenge runs on its own multi-year schedule
- Deadline
- No single closing date — registration windows open and close per challenge and per phase, listed on each challenge page below.
- Cost
- Free to register
- Who it's for
- Teams with a working technical solution, not individuals with an idea
World's Biggest Business Competition
World's Biggest Business Competition
A free four-week online competition with live expert sessions, tools and business support alongside the prize money. Worth entering for the coaching even if you don't place.
- Prize
- Over $1 million in prizes
- When
- Four weeks online, starting 24 October 2026
- Deadline
- Enter before the 24 October 2026 start — no separate closing date is published.
- Cost
- Free to enter
- Who it's for
- Anyone starting or running a small business
Westly Prize for Young Innovators
Westly Foundation
A prize for young innovators with community impact rather than a polished startup. No fee, and the application rewards a clear problem you've actually worked on.
- Prize
- Cash awards
- When
- Runs in annual cycles
- Deadline
- No open deadline published right now — the application window is announced each cycle, so check the page before planning around it.
- Cost
- Free — no application fee
- Who it's for
- Young people solving a real problem in their own community
XPRIZE's individual challenges
XPRIZE runs several challenges at once, each on its own multi-year schedule with its own registration phases. These are the currently active ones — the years show the competition window, not an entry deadline, so open the challenge page for the phase dates that apply to you.
| Challenge | Prize purse | Stage | Window | Field |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XPRIZE Water Scarcity | $119 million | Active — semifinals | 2024–2028 | Food, water and waste |
| XPRIZE Healthspan | $101 million | Active — finalists selected | 2023–2030 | Health |
| XPRIZE Quantum Applications | $5 million | Active — finals, with registration open on later tracks | 2024–2027 | Deep tech and exploration |
| XPRIZE Wildfire | $11 million | Finals — closed to new teams | Ends 2026 | Energy, climate and nature |
More open competitions in the library
18 openEverything else still open — challenges, hackathons and capture-the-flag events — soonest closing first. Finished ones drop off this list on their own.
- CTF
SunshineCTF 2026
An 11th-edition online jeopardy-style capture-the-flag competition from the University of Central Florida's Hack@UCF club open to all skill levels.
- Closes
- September 28, 2026
- Run by
- Hack@UCF / BSides Orlando
- Competition
IBM AI Builders Challenge + AI Builders Conference (Sept 16, 2026)
Free monthly AI building challenge from IBM SkillsBuild and BeMyApp: learn the tooling, submit an AI project for judging, and attend the AI Builders Conference on September 16, 2026 with IBM experts and developers. No cost to register or participate.
- Closes
- September 30, 2026
- Run by
- IBM
- Hackathon
RevenueCat Shipaton 2026
A free global hackathon challenging developers to ship a mobile app and start generating in-app revenue. No purchase or payment necessary to enter.
- Closes
- September 30, 2026
- Run by
- Devpost
- Hackathon
GatewayHacks 2026
A beginner-inclusive hackathon open to developers designers and innovators of all experience levels worldwide including those with no prior hackathon experience.
- Closes
- October 1, 2026
- Run by
- Devpost
- Hackathon
ImpactHack 2026
Free online hackathon focused on building technology that addresses real-world community and global challenges, organized by the GIS Engineering Club.
- Closes
- October 7, 2026
- Run by
- Devpost (GIS Engineering Club)
- Hackathon
ForgeHacks Online 2026
Free virtual hackathon open to students worldwide, run through Devpost with a submission deadline in mid-October.
- Closes
- October 10, 2026
- Run by
- Devpost (ForgeHacks)
- CTF
DEADFACE CTF 2026
A free online jeopardy-style capture-the-flag run by Cyber Hacktics with U.S. Air Force veterans for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. 17 October 2026, 14:00 UTC to 19 October 2026, 00:00 UTC.
- Closes
- October 19, 2026
- Run by
- Cyber Hacktics
- CTF
DEADFACE CTF 2026
A community-run jeopardy-style capture-the-flag competition held in support of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month open to all.
- Closes
- October 19, 2026
- Run by
- Cyber Hacktics
- CTF
HKCERT CTF 2026 (Qualifying Round)
Free jeopardy-style capture-the-flag qualifying round from Hong Kong's CERT, with an Open division alongside student categories; top teams advance to an in-person Hong Kong final.
- Closes
- October 20, 2026
- Run by
- HKCERT / Hong Kong Productivity Council
- CTF
UND CyberHawks National CTF Competition 2026
A cybersecurity capture-the-flag competition explicitly welcoming every skill level from complete beginners to professionals.
- Closes
- October 26, 2026
- Run by
- University of North Dakota / IEEE CARS
- CTF
SpookyCTF 2026
A free online jeopardy-style capture-the-flag organised by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. 6 November 2026, 17:00 UTC to 7 November 2026, 17:00 UTC.
- Closes
- November 7, 2026
- Run by
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Hackathon
Hack.coms 2026
Free, beginner-friendly, in-person 24-hour hackathon hosted by RIT's Golisano College of Computing & Information Sciences, part of the MLH collegiate hackathon league.
- Closes
- November 8, 2026
- Run by
- Major League Hacking (MLH)
- Hackathon
HackCamp 2026
Canada's largest beginner-only hackathon, run by nwPlus on November 7-8, 2026, built for first-time hackers with hands-on workshops and no coding experience required.
- Closes
- November 8, 2026
- Run by
- nwPlus
- Hackathon
HackRPI 2026: In the Clouds
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's student hackathon, held in person in Troy, NY, on November 7–8, 2026. Registration via Devpost. Devpost page blocked automated checks; hackathons like this normally have no entry fee.
- Closes
- November 8, 2026
- Run by
- HackRPI
- Hackathon
NASA Space Apps Challenge 2026
Free global hackathon where teams use NASA's open data to tackle real-world challenges, with local in-person and fully virtual participation options.
- Closes
- November 15, 2026
- Run by
- NASA
- CTF
WolvCTF 2026
Free online jeopardy-style CTF hosted by the University of Michigan's WolvSec student club, open to teams worldwide.
- Closes
- November 15, 2026
- Run by
- WolvSec (University of Michigan)
- CTF
EyesOpenCTF 2026 (7th edition)
A free online jeopardy-style capture-the-flag run as part of the 7th EOCON conference. 20 November 2026, 10:00 UTC to 22 November 2026, 10:00 UTC.
- Closes
- November 22, 2026
- Run by
- Eyes Open Security
- CTF
SwampCTF 2026
Free 48-hour online jeopardy-style capture-the-flag competition November 20-22, 2026, run by the University of Florida Student InfoSec Team, with challenges in pwn, reverse engineering, forensics, and cryptography.
- Closes
- November 22, 2026
- Run by
- University of Florida Student InfoSec Team
See these on a calendar on the events page, or search the whole library.