Free STEM competitions for students

Science, technology, engineering and maths competitions with no entry fee for the student. This matters more than it sounds: entry fees in this directory run from nothing to several hundred dollars, and cost is the most common reason a capable student never enters anything. One caution worth reading before you plan a budget around this page: a free entry fee is not the same as a free competition. Team events can require materials, kits or travel, and a national final may cost more than the entry did. Every listing states those costs separately where the organiser publishes them.

25 competitions · 25 free · 21 online · 7 with preparation guides

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

Check site

Engineering The Paradigm Challenge Solve a real social problem however you like, from age four upward, with a large prize pool.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline

231 days left

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

Engineering ExploraVision Pick a technology, project it twenty years forward, and write the paper explaining how it gets there.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

137 days left

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

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

Check site

Writing Ocean Awareness Contest A free international contest accepting art, writing, film, music and interactive media on a yearly ocean and climate theme.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatEither
WhereOnline

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Math Purple Comet! Math Meet A free, online, team-based maths contest open to any school or club in the world.

Grades6 to 12
CostFree
StructureDivisions by grade or level
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

184 days left

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

Check site

Environment The Earth Prize A global environmental sustainability competition for teenagers, free to enter, with a substantial prize pool.

Grades7 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

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Engineering eCYBERMISSION Solve a problem in your own community using science or engineering, entirely online, for free.

Grades6 to 9
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

165 days left

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

Check site

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

Check site

Science Breakthrough Junior Challenge Explain a hard scientific idea in a three-minute video, for a $250,000 scholarship package.

Grades8 to 12
CostFree
PreparationDeep understanding of one concept in physics, life sciences or mathematics
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

3 days left

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

Check site

Math IM²C A team modelling challenge with national rounds worldwide feeding an international judging round.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
PreparationA strong result in COMAP's HiMCM or MidMCM
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

Check site

Science Junior Innovators Challenge The premier middle school science research competition, entered by nomination from an affiliated science fair.

Grades6 to 8
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

Check site

Math MathWorks Math Modeling Challenge Fourteen hours, one open-ended real-world problem, and a written mathematical model. Free, with six figures in scholarships.

Grades11 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

Check site

Math Modeling the Future Challenge Analyse a real dataset, quantify a risk, and make a recommendation, mentored by a working actuary.

Grades11 to 12
CostFree
FormatTeam
WhereOnline

Check site

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

Science JSHS Present original research to a live audience of scientists at a regional symposium, with scholarships attached.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
PreparationOriginal independent research, usually with a mentor
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

Check site

Math Math Prize for Girls The largest cash prize in pre-college mathematics, open to girls and non-binary students.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree
PreparationAn AMC 10 or AMC 12 score above the year's cutoff
FormatIndividual
WhereIn person

Check site

Environment Stockholm Junior Water Prize An international water research prize with national competitions in over thirty countries.

Grades9 to 12
CostFree
PreparationA completed water-related research paper
FormatEither
WhereIn person

Check site

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.

Grades1 to 12
CostFree
PreparationA completed piece of work at or close to college graduate level
FormatIndividual
WhereOnline

Check site

Science Regeneron Science Talent Search The oldest and most prestigious science research competition for United States high school seniors.

Grades12 to 12
CostFree
FormatIndividual
WhereBoth

54 days left

Questions people ask about this

Are these competitions completely free?

The entry fee is zero for the student in every case here. Additional costs can still apply: robot kits, project materials, or travel to a regional or national round. Each listing records what the organiser publishes about those.

Do free competitions have smaller prizes?

Not reliably. Several free competitions in this directory carry five-figure scholarships, and some paid ones carry no cash prize at all. Entry fee and prize size are not related in the way people assume.

What if my school cannot afford the fee for a paid competition?

Ask. A surprising number of organisers operate fee waivers or hardship funds and mention them only in the small print. Where a listing here records one, it says so in the cost notes.

Free STEM competitions for students

Questions people ask about this

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