Coding competitions for high school students

Algorithmic contests, app challenges, cybersecurity events and AI competitions open to grades 9 to 12. The algorithmic contests reward months of practice on data structures; the project contests reward a working demo and a clear story.

19 competitions · 11 free · 15 online · 6 with preparation guides

Coding Bebras Challenge A short online computational thinking challenge with no programming required, from age 8 upward.

Grades1 to 12
CostUp to $5
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

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Coding NASEF Scholastic Esports School-based esports leagues paired with a curriculum in production, broadcasting, analysis and game design.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

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Coding ACSL A school-based league of short written and programming contests across four ability divisions.

Grades1 to 12
Cost$125 to $175
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline

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Business Business Professionals of America Competitive events in business, IT, digital media and management, with a strong technical event list.

Grades6 to 12
Cost$20 to $1,500
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereIn person

80 days left

Math CEMC Contests Canada's national contest ladder, from grade 7 puzzles to the Canadian Computing Olympiad.

Grades7 to 12
CostUp to $20
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

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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.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatEither
WhereOnline

44 days left

Coding CyberStart America A free, game-based cybersecurity challenge with scholarships attached, open to US high school students.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

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Academic NACLO Solve puzzles in languages you have never seen, with no prior linguistics knowledge required.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

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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.

Grades3 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

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Coding WAICY A project-based global AI competition with tracks for art and video as well as technical builds.

Grades4 to 12
CostFree to $100
FormatEither
WhereOnline

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Coding picoCTF A free capture-the-flag cybersecurity competition designed specifically for students with no security background.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
PreparationComfort with a command line and basic scripting
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

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Coding Battlecode Write an AI that commands a team of virtual units against other students' AIs, with a high school bracket.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
PreparationConfident independent programming, and about a month of sustained work
FormatEither
WhereOnline

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Robotics Botball Fully autonomous robotics where all the programming is done in advance and nothing is driver-controlled.

Grades6 to 12
Cost$500 to $3,000
FormatTeam
WhereIn person

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Coding Codeforces Free short-format algorithmic contests several times a month, open to anyone with a rating attached.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
PreparationImplementing algorithms under time pressure in C++, Java or Python
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

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Coding CyberPatriot Teams defend deliberately broken computer systems against a clock, from middle school upward.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree to $250
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

Check site

Coding NASA App Development Challenge Build software against a real NASA mission problem, free, with winning teams meeting NASA engineers.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

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Coding USACO Free, worldwide algorithmic contests on a four-division ladder, and the route to Team USA at the IOI.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

Check site

Engineering Zero Robotics Write code that controls a real satellite aboard the International Space Station.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

Check site

Coding International Olympiad in AI The newest international science olympiad, with a scientific round and a practical machine learning round.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree to $500
PreparationProgramming plus an understanding of machine learning fundamentals
FormatTeam
WhereBoth

170 days left

Questions people ask about this

What is the best coding competition for a beginner?

Start with something rated 1 or 2 out of 5 for difficulty on this page. Those assume no prior competition experience and usually publish past problems or past winning entries so you know exactly what you are walking into.

Are there free coding competitions?

11 of the 19 listed here have no entry fee for the student. Note that a free entry fee is not the same as a free competition: team-based events can carry materials and travel costs, which each listing states separately.

Coding competitions for high school students

Questions people ask about this

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