- Grades4 to 12
- CostFree
Free competitions for teenagers
Competitions with no entry fee for the student. Some of the most respected competitions in the world are on this list, including USACO, the Congressional App Challenge and the Department of Energy Science Bowl, which even funds travel to its national finals. Be aware that a free entry fee does not always mean a free competition: team events can carry materials and travel costs, which each listing states.
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Coding
NASEF Scholastic Esports
School-based esports leagues paired with a curriculum in production, broadcasting, analysis and game design.
Writing
NYT Student Podcast Contest
Make a five-minute podcast on any subject, free, judged by New York Times editors.
Civics and social science
National Civics Bee
Write a short essay about a problem in your community, then defend it in a live civics quiz.
Writing
Patriot's Pen
A short patriotic essay contest for middle school students, free, with national awards.
Engineering
The Paradigm Challenge
Solve a real social problem however you like, from age four upward, with a large prize pool.
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
146 days left
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
52 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Art and design
Vans Custom Culture
Design and paint shoes as a school art team, competing for a large grant for your school's art programme.
Civics and social science
Voice of Democracy
Record a three-minute audio essay on a patriotic theme and compete for scholarships from local post to national level.
Writing
Write the World
Free monthly writing prompts with peer review and expert feedback built into the process.
Business
Blue Ocean Competition
A fully online entrepreneurship pitch competition with no written business plan required.
Civics and social science
C-SPAN StudentCam
Make a short documentary on a national policy question, free, with a large cash prize pool.
234 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
52 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Coding
Congressional App Challenge
Build an app, compete only against students in your own congressional district, and win a display in the U.S. Capitol.
Art and design
Congressional Art Competition
One winner per congressional district, with the winning artwork hung in the United States Capitol for a year.
Coding
CyberStart America
A free, game-based cybersecurity challenge with scholarships attached, open to US high school students.
Art and design
Doodle for Google
Redesign the Google logo around an annual theme, with a scholarship and a day on the homepage at stake.
133 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
47 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Engineering
ExploraVision
Pick a technology, project it twenty years forward, and write the paper explaining how it gets there.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Academic
NACLO
Solve puzzles in languages you have never seen, with no prior linguistics knowledge required.
Business
National Personal Finance Challenge
A team competition on earning, spending, saving, investing and managing credit, free to enter.
Writing
New York Times Student Editorial Contest
Write a 450-word evidence-based opinion piece on anything you care about, judged by Times editors.
Writing
Ocean Awareness Contest
A free international contest accepting art, writing, film, music and interactive media on a yearly ocean and climate theme.
140 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatEither
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Art and design
Poetry Out Loud
Memorise and perform published poems, from a classroom contest all the way to a national final in Washington.
Math
Purple Comet! Math Meet
A free, online, team-based maths contest open to any school or club in the world.
Check site
- Grades8 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereIn person
179 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Coding
Technovation Girls
A free global season where girls aged 8 to 18 build an app or AI project and pitch it as a venture.
187 days left
- Grades3 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Environment
The Earth Prize
A global environmental sustainability competition for teenagers, free to enter, with a substantial prize pool.
Engineering
eCYBERMISSION
Solve a problem in your own community using science or engineering, entirely online, for free.
Coding
picoCTF
A free capture-the-flag cybersecurity competition designed specifically for students with no security background.
Check site
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 9
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
168 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationComfort with a command line and basic scripting
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Coding
Battlecode
Write an AI that commands a team of virtual units against other students' AIs, with a high school bracket.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationConfident independent programming, and about a month of sustained work
FormatEither
WhereOnline
Writing
Bennington Young Writers Awards
A three-category writing prize from a college known for its writing programme, with scholarship money attached.
Science
Breakthrough Junior Challenge
Explain a hard scientific idea in a three-minute video, for a $250,000 scholarship package.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
53 days left
- Grades8 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationDeep understanding of one concept in physics, life sciences or mathematics
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Coding
Codeforces
Free short-format algorithmic contests several times a month, open to anyone with a rating attached.
6 days left
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationImplementing algorithms under time pressure in C++, Java or Python
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Business
Diamond Challenge
Pitch a business or social venture concept against teams from more than a hundred countries, for a prize pool above $100,000.
Writing
Foyle Young Poets
A free international poetry award for 11 to 17 year olds, with a hundred winners chosen each year.
Business
Harrington Foundation Accelerator
A free eight-week virtual accelerator ending in a live pitch, with real investment for the winner.
Math
IM²C
A team modelling challenge with national rounds worldwide feeding an international judging round.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
325 days left
- Grades7 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationA strong result in COMAP's HiMCM or MidMCM
FormatTeam
WhereOnline
Science
Junior Innovators Challenge
The premier middle school science research competition, entered by nomination from an affiliated science fair.
Math
MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge
Fourteen hours, one open-ended real-world problem, and a written mathematical model. Free, with six figures in scholarships.
Math
Modeling the Future Challenge
Analyse a real dataset, quantify a risk, and make a recommendation, mentored by a working actuary.
Coding
NASA App Development Challenge
Build software against a real NASA mission problem, free, with winning teams meeting NASA engineers.
Business
National Economics Challenge
The only national economics competition for United States high school students, run in two divisions.
Check site
- Grades6 to 8
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
Check site
- Grades11 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades11 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereBoth
Writing
Profile in Courage Essay Contest
Write about an elected official who took a politically courageous stand, for a $10,000 first prize.
Scholarships and challenges
Prudential Emerging Visionaries
Awards for young people using financial or social innovation to solve a problem in their community.
Coding
USACO
Free, worldwide algorithmic contests on a four-division ladder, and the route to Team USA at the IOI.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
124 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades6 to 12
- CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Business
Wharton Investment Competition
Manage a virtual portfolio for a fictional client and defend your strategy to Wharton judges.
Engineering
Zero Robotics
Write code that controls a real satellite aboard the International Space Station.
Scholarships and challenges
Coca-Cola Scholars Program
A $20,000 achievement-based scholarship for graduating seniors, awarded to 150 students a year.
Music
From the Top Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award
A scholarship award for outstanding young classical musicians with financial need, including a national radio appearance.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereBoth
2 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatTeam
- WhereOnline
Check site
- Grades12 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
21 days left
- Grades3 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationRepertoire ready for broadcast performance, plus demonstrated financial need
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth
Science
JSHS
Present original research to a live audience of scientists at a regional symposium, with scholarships attached.
61 days left
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationOriginal independent research, usually with a mentor
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Scholarships and challenges
Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program
A five-year, individually advised scholarship for high-achieving students with financial need, applied for in grade 7.
Math
Math Prize for Girls
The largest cash prize in pre-college mathematics, open to girls and non-binary students.
Check site
- Grades7 to 7
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereOnline
218 days left
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationAn AMC 10 or AMC 12 score above the year's cutoff
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person
Environment
Stockholm Junior Water Prize
An international water research prize with national competitions in over thirty countries.
Check site
- Grades9 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationA completed water-related research paper
FormatEither
WhereIn person
Scholarships and challenges
Davidson Fellows Scholarship
Scholarships of up to $50,000 for a significant piece of work in science, technology, mathematics, literature, music or philosophy.
Check site
- Grades1 to 12
- CostFree
PreparationA completed piece of work at or close to college graduate level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline
Science
Regeneron Science Talent Search
The oldest and most prestigious science research competition for United States high school seniors.
Check site
- Grades12 to 12
- CostFree
- FormatIndividual
- WhereBoth
57 days left
Questions people ask about this
Are free competitions less prestigious?
No. Several of the most selective competitions in this directory are free, including USACO, the Regeneron Science Talent Search and the Davidson Fellows Scholarship. Entry fees correlate with how a competition is funded, not with how hard it is.
What hidden costs should I watch for?
Travel and materials. Robotics leagues in particular have modest registration and substantial equipment costs. Each listing separates the entry fee from the notes on what else you will actually spend.