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September 17, 2026
The main difference between Devpost and Devfolio is that Devpost is a general-purpose, enterprise-trusted hackathon platform built to run public hackathons on any theme, while Devfolio tends to promote primarily Web3 and blockchain hackathons, plus in-person events based in India.
Devpost is the leading choice for organizations running public developer-facing hackathons. Founded in 2009, it's an all-in-one, purpose-built hackathon platform, backed by a 6M+ builder and developer community. Organizers have the option to use the platform on their own (self-serve) or add Devpost's managed services (project management and marketing support) for expert help running hackathons. Because Devpost isn't built around a specific technology or community, organizers use it to run hackathons in any category, from general innovation challenges to focused tracks like machine learning/AI, social good, blockchain, or beginner-friendly competitions.
Devfolio, by contrast, has a well-known, more specific presence in Web3 and blockchain hackathons, hosting branded events like ETHSF and Web3 Hackfest, alongside general student and community hackathons. Devfolio also runs a number of in-person hackathons based in India.
Here's how the two compare across their offerings.
Organizers running a hackathon on Devpost reach one of the largest audiences built specifically around hackathons, a 6M+ community of builders and developers across every theme and industry. The platform has a long track record of running hackathons with some of the world’s largest companies, including Google since 2019, Amazon since 2016, and Microsoft since 2016. Hackathons on Devpost have strong conversions with a 5-33% registration-to-submission rate, compared with under 1% for typical developer marketing like ads, banners, or conference sponsorships. Developers frequently recommend Devpost themselves in hackathon discussions on Reddit and other community forums.
Devfolio's audience is built around its 950,000+ registered builder community, weighted toward two groups in particular: Web3-native developers, drawn by Devfolio's branded blockchain events, and students and campus communities, including a number of in-person hackathons Devfolio runs in India. Organizers running a Devfolio hackathon are reaching that more specific audience, rather than the broader developer community Devpost offers.
Devpost hosts hackathons in virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats.
Devfolio supports in-person ("Offline") and virtual ("Online") hackathons.
Registration, team formation, and project submission all happen directly on Devpost. After registering, participants can list themselves as open to teaming up on the hackathon's Participants page, note what kind of teammate they're looking for, and send a Team-up request when they find a match. The other participant then adds them to the project to finalize the team. Devpost also has a dedicated Discord channel to further connect participants still looking for teammates. Participants submit their projects directly through Devpost. The hackathon page spells out exactly what's required, with detailed rules and resources tabs, and participants use Devpost to document their work, attach media, submit for judging, and showcase their projects in the project gallery.
Devfolio's registration is application-based. For online hackathons, participants can create or join a team any time before submission; for in-person and application-review hackathons, teams are typically assembled during or after individual acceptance. Devfolio doesn't describe a platform tool for browsing or matching with other participants looking for teammates. To submit a project, participants fill in a name, tagline, problem statement, challenges faced, technologies used, links, a video demo, and screenshots.
Every project submitted to a Devpost hackathon permanently stays visible in the public project gallery after the deadline passes, giving participants a lasting showcase of their work and organizers a standing record of what got built. Once results are announced, winning projects carry a winner's badge, and every Devpost user profile lists the projects that person has submitted. Other Devpost users can engage with projects by “liking” and commenting on them. Organizers can export reports throughout the hackathon, covering registration and submission counts, participant demographics, project themes, and any custom questions they added to registration or submission.
Similar to Devpost, Devfolio collates submitted projects on a "Projects" tab on each hackathon's microsite, and each project is added to its builder's public Devfolio profile. Projects support likes and comments as engagement signals. For organizers, Devfolio's dashboard shows submission, acceptance, and rejection counts during the application-review process; its documentation doesn't appear to describe deeper participant-demographic or custom-question reporting comparable to Devpost's exports.
Devpost holds ISO 27001 and SOC 2 certification.
Devfolio's privacy policy states user data is stored on AWS servers in India and is secured "as per industry standards." Its site and organizer documentation don't name a specific security certification.
Devpost organizers choose how much hands-on help they want. Organizers can use the platform to run hackathons completely on their own, or can layer on Devpost's managed services. Devpost’s managed services include project management (Basic, Mid, or Full plans) and marketing support (Basic, Mid, Full, or Max packages) for organizers who would rather work alongside an experienced team to run the hackathon.
Devfolio's platform is self-serve by default. For university organizers, Devfolio provides mentor access from industry partners, prizes for participants, and 1-on-1 office hours and peer learning sessions with Devfolio's community team, aimed at growing student hacker communities, particularly in India. For company-sponsored hackathons, Devfolio adds priority support, applicant profile review, and outreach help.
Through Devpost's managed services, organizers can add submission screening and eligibility checks so only qualifying projects reach judges. Judging happens directly on the platform. Judges rate each submission against the hackathon's criteria on a five-star scale from a dedicated judging dashboard. Organizers can monitor judges' progress from their own dashboard for the full judging period.
Like Devpost, judges on Devfolio will be notified by email that they have been added as a hackathon judge. Devfolio's built-in judging tool scores each project against five fixed categories, Technicality, Originality, Practicality, Aesthetics, and Wow-factor. Similar to Devpost, organizers can view the judges progress as they evaluate projects.
Pricing on Devpost scales to what an organizer needs. Running a hackathon self-serve costs a flat fee, and organizers can add Devpost's managed services, including project management (Basic, Mid, or Full tiers) and marketing support (Basic, Mid, Full, or Max tiers), for broader reach and more hands-on help. Devpost is free for student hackathons where the organizers and participants are all students.
Devfolio is free for student-run hackathons. For company-sponsored hackathons, Devfolio doesn't publish a rate card or plan tiers; organizers contact Devfolio directly to discuss pricing.
Devpost is best for organizations that want to run a public, developer-facing hackathon on any theme and reach a large, engaged builder and developer community, with the flexibility to go self-serve or bring in managed support on a platform built specifically for hackathons.
Devfolio is best for organizers running Web3 or blockchain-focused hackathons, student and campus hackathons, or in-person events based in India, where reaching Devfolio's more specific builder community matters more than broad, theme-agnostic reach.
Ready to run your next hackathon on Devpost? Book a demo to get started with a hackathon consultation and explore our service plans.