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How much does it cost to host a hackathon: a budget without rose-colored glasses
We break down the real expenses of offline and online hackathons in tenge and show where the budget leaks unnoticed.
When asked how much it costs to host a hackathon, the honest answer is: from almost zero to several million tenge, and the difference is almost entirely in food and venue. An online hackathon for a hundred people can be pulled off on enthusiasm and a prize pool. An offline one for the same hundred people with an overnight stay is already a serious budget. Let's break it down by items.
Offline: where the money goes
- Venue. Renting a loft or coworking space for the weekend, often the largest line item.
- Food. Three to four meals per person plus water, coffee, snacks. Count by the number of participants, not teams.
- Prizes. Cash fund or devices, subscriptions, internships.
- Merch and printing. Badges, stickers, banners, t-shirts.
- Equipment. Extension cords, screens, microphone, sometimes router rental.
- Little things. First aid kit, cleaning, taxi for mentors, gifts for the jury.
A rule that saves nerves: food and water are almost always more expensive than they seem at the start. People at a hackathon eat and drink more than usual because they don't sleep. Budget with a margin.
Online: cheaper, but not free
In online, the venue and food disappear, leaving prizes, promotion, and tools. The main expense is advertising, because without an offline party you need something to hook people, and the prize pool. Plus small subscriptions to streaming and communication services.
New line item: API credits
In the era of vibe coding, a line item appeared that didn't exist before. If participants build on paid models, someone pays for tokens, and on an active hackathon, this is a noticeable amount. The good news is that this line is almost always covered by an AI provider sponsor in exchange for having their tool tried live. You can distribute access to participants centrally, rather than collecting cards in chat: on Stavleak, sponsor API keys are issued directly in the participant's dashboard.
Where the budget leaks unnoticed
- Overpaying for an "all-inclusive" venue where you don't need half of the options.
- Merch printed with a margin and then thrown away. Print based on actual registrations.
- Developing a website and registration system for the event. This is an extra line item: the page, application form, tracks, schedule, jury evaluation, and publication of results are covered by a ready-made platform like Stavleak, and there is no need to pay for separate development.
- Scattered tools. Website separately, Google Forms separately, spreadsheets with scores separately, newsletters separately. Every integration is coordinator's time, and time also costs money.
- Lack of reserve. Without a 15-20% margin, any surprise breaks the budget.
How to host it cheaply and without shame
Barter instead of money where possible: venue and food from partners, and tokens from an AI provider. Prizes should be meaningful, not just loud: an internship or mentorship costs you little but is highly valued. Registration, evaluation, and communication should be in one place, not separately, so you don't pay with money or time to glue services together. With this approach, a decent student hackathon for 60-80 people can be held for an amount that will surprise anyone who calculated using an event agency's price list.
Calculate the budget before you invite sponsors. How to find sponsors, we discussed separately, and you can see what the entire event looks like on a single platform on the Stavleak demo.