The International Olympics
of Vibe Coding

Get a score, feedback and visibility for your project. Use it to land a job. Compete for prizes.

Prize of up to $50,000 for first place

Marble statue of a seated Greek philosopher typing on a marble laptop with a gold laurel wreath on its lid, in a hall of pale marble columns. — The Philosopher of Vibe Coding · marble on marble, MMXXVI

Registration closes: October 31, 2026
Project due: November 1, 2026
Results and prizes: December 25, 2026
Top prize: Up to $50,000
People paid, per competition: Up to 500
Registration: University $30 · Open $60

The Prizes

The prizes grow with the number of registrations

Open and University are two separate competitions, each with its own prize, its own podium and its own count of registrations. Every registration takes a competition to the next tier of the ladder and, with it, raises the value of each prize. The University pays exactly half of the Open, tier by tier.

First place prize
Gold. Up to $50,000 in the Open competition and up to $25,000 in the University, for the best project of the edition, according to the tier reached.
Second place prize
Silver. Up to $25,000 in the Open competition and up to $12,500 in the University, for the second best project.
Third place prize
Bronze. Up to $10,000 in the Open competition and up to $5,000 in the University, for third place.

Prize of up to $50,000 for first place · up to 500 people paid per competition

The Prize Ladder

The ladder shows the value of each prize in each tier of registrations. What counts is the tier a competition is in when registration closes, on October 31, 2026. The University pays, in every tier, half of the Open.

See the full ladder, tier by tier

The Open Competition

Registration US$ 60 per project

The Open Competition — prize ladder by number of registrations
Registrations	First	Second	Third	Mentions
1–99	$500	$250	$100	—
100–249	$1,000	$500	$200	—
250–499	$2,000	$1,000	$400	—
500–749	$3,000	$1,500	$600	—
750–999	$4,000	$2,000	$800	—
1,000–1,999	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$100 for 4th–30th
2,000–2,999	$10,000	$5,000	$2,000	$100 for 4th–60th
3,000–3,999	$15,000	$7,500	$3,000	$100 for 4th–90th
4,000–4,999	$20,000	$10,000	$4,000	$100 for 4th–120th
5,000–5,999	$25,000	$12,500	$5,000	$100 for 4th–150th
6,000–6,999	$30,000	$15,000	$6,000	$100 for 4th–180th
7,000–7,999	$35,000	$17,500	$7,000	$100 for 4th–210th
8,000–8,999	$40,000	$20,000	$8,000	$100 for 4th–240th
9,000–9,999	$45,000	$22,500	$9,000	$100 for 4th–270th
10,000+	$50,000	$25,000	$10,000	$100 for 4th–500th

The University Competition

Registration US$ 30 per project — every prize exactly half of the Open, tier by tier

The University Competition — prize ladder by number of registrations
Registrations	First	Second	Third	Mentions
1–99	$250	$125	$50	—
100–249	$500	$250	$100	—
250–499	$1,000	$500	$200	—
500–749	$1,500	$750	$300	—
750–999	$2,000	$1,000	$400	—
1,000–1,999	$2,500	$1,250	$500	$50 for 4th–30th
2,000–2,999	$5,000	$2,500	$1,000	$50 for 4th–60th
3,000–3,999	$7,500	$3,750	$1,500	$50 for 4th–90th
4,000–4,999	$10,000	$5,000	$2,000	$50 for 4th–120th
5,000–5,999	$12,500	$6,250	$2,500	$50 for 4th–150th
6,000–6,999	$15,000	$7,500	$3,000	$50 for 4th–180th
7,000–7,999	$17,500	$8,750	$3,500	$50 for 4th–210th
8,000–8,999	$20,000	$10,000	$4,000	$50 for 4th–240th
9,000–9,999	$22,500	$11,250	$4,500	$50 for 4th–270th
10,000+	$25,000	$12,500	$5,000	$50 for 4th–500th

And the mentions: from 1,000 registrations in a competition onward, everyone from 4th to 500th place gets their share, according to the tier. The winners and the podium amounts are announced on December 25, 2026.

An Extra Prize

Featured for 2 years

Besides the prize money, the winners get the spotlight: the projects and their makers stay in the past-editions gallery on ioovc.org for 2 years. It is a public showcase that keeps working for your portfolio after the competition is over.

Choose your category

Registration is per project and is paid securely through Stripe. You can enter as many projects as you want, each one a separate registration.

For enrolled students

University Category

US$30per registration

Get ahead of your classmates
Use your ranking to land internships

Reserved for students enrolled at an educational institution, anywhere in the world
Proof of enrollment can come with your registration, though it is not required at that point
It is, however, required for your project to be judged: anyone who cannot present it is disqualified, with no score and no refund
Competes only for the University podium, with first place up to $25,000

For the whole world

Open Category

US$60per registration

Build a portfolio with independent assessment
Showcase your projects and monetize them

Open to anyone, anywhere, with no proof or affiliation required
Professionals, hobbyists and one-person companies: everyone is welcome
Competes only for the Open podium, with first place up to $50,000
The same committee, the same criteria, and double every step of the prize ladder

The Timeline

The steps, from start to finish

Five steps, from the first registration to the prizes being paid.

Until October 31, 2026
Registration & payment
You pick a category, enter a project and pay the registration securely through Stripe. Each registration raises the prize a little.
Until November 1, 2026
Project submission
Projects are submitted in their final form on the platform. Note: the interface has to be in English, and test credentials must come in the project description.
November 1 — December 24, 2026
The judging
The committee scores every project on the four official criteria; at the end, each project gets a score from 0 to 100.
December 25, 2026
Winners announced
The winners and their full scores are announced on this same page.
Until January 25, 2027
Prizes paid
Winners are contacted by email and phone to receive the prize, by January 25, 2027 at the latest.

Scoring

How the committee gives the score

Every project gets a final score from 0 to 100, made of four criteria with different weights, applied by the official committee.

C1 ×4

The Idea

Value proposition, edge and originality: what weighs most in the score.

C2 ×3

Clarity

Whether the idea, its value and its edge came across. A good idea explained badly is scored as it was explained.

C3 ×2

How It Works

Whether what you promised actually works, with attention to UI/UX, smoothness and usability.

C4 ×1

Polish

Bugs, instability, accessibility and security problems. The fewer the issues, the higher the score.

Who Judges

The judging committee

There are four of us, and we are the same from start to finish: the people who run the Olympics are the ones who read, test and score every project.

IME · 11 years of code

Brunelli Cupello

Graduated from IME, with 11 years of programming and stints at Brazilian and American companies — Stone, Track&Field and Harrow.

16 years of code

Yan Pessoa Correia

Sixteen years of programming at Brazilian companies — Stone, Zoop and inChurch.

Estácio · starting out

Theo Guerra

Graduated from Estácio, at the start of a programming career. Brings the committee the eye of someone coming in right now.

QA and Product · 2 years

Rafaela Menezes Aguiar

Two years in QA and Product — the side that insists the thing works and makes sense to whoever uses it.

Why we built this

The idea started simple: a programming competition for people who have already figured out that agentic programming is here to stay — people who like to build, to have ideas, to get things off the ground.

We are a Brazilian team, and we want a strong programming community and entrepreneurship on the move — at home and anywhere else people are building. The IOOVC is that invitation, open to the world.

The Details

The conditions

Six things we ask of every participant. Read them before you register.

Interface in English

Your project has to work with its interface in English. Other languages are welcome, but English is required.

Credentials for the committee

Include a test login and password in your project description, so the committee can review the whole experience.

Sign in without passwords

The platform never asks for a password: a one-time code (OTP) arrives by email when you sign in, and each session lasts seven days.

Consent

Registering means accepting the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy (GDPR/LGPD), plus confirming you are 18+ or have parental authorization.

Proof of enrollment (University)

If you compete in the University, you need valid proof of enrollment for your project to be judged. It is optional at registration, but required for judging: without it, you are disqualified, with no score and no refund.

One registration per project

You can submit as many projects as you want. Each project is a separate registration, paid separately and judged on its own.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Who can take part?

Anyone, anywhere, since it all happens online. The Open category asks for nothing beyond the fee; the University is only for students with active enrollment. Before registering you have to accept the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy (GDPR/LGPD) and confirm you are 18+ or have parental authorization.

Can I submit more than one project?

You can. Each project is a separate registration, with its own fee. Submit as many as you want, in either category, as long as each one meets that category's requirements.

How much is the prize?

It depends on the number of registrations, and it is all published, tier by tier. Open and University are two separate competitions, each with its own podium and its own count of registrations, and the prizes follow the prize ladder published on this page: the more registrations by the time registration closes, on October 31, 2026, the higher the tier that applies to the whole podium. At the top tier, first place in the Open takes $50,000, with mentions from 4th to 500th place; the University pays half of the Open in every tier. Winners and amounts are announced on December 25, 2026. Note: the ladder amounts are the official ones for each tier; any projected figure on this page is always labeled as a simulation.

What about the mentions?

From 1,000 registrations in a competition onward, there are mentions besides the podium: $100 per person in the Open and $50 in the University. From 4th to 500th place, everyone gets their share, according to the tier; at the top of the ladder, 10,000 registrations or more, each competition pays up to 500 people.

What does the University ask you to prove?

Valid proof of enrollment at an educational institution. It is optional at registration; it is required for your project to be judged. Anyone who cannot present it is disqualified, with no score and no refund.

What must my submission include?

Three things: a project that works, an interface in English and, in the description, a test login and password for the committee to sign in. Other languages can come along with English; without the English interface or the credentials, the project loses ground in the judging.

How do I sign in to the platform?

No password. When you sign in, a one-time code (OTP) is sent to your email; each session lasts seven days.

How and when are winners paid?

The winners and their full scores are announced on December 25, 2026, on this page. After that, the organization contacts each winner by email and phone to pay the prize, by January 25, 2027 at the latest.

Before, during and after

Join the Vibe Coders Community

It is where the olympics happens outside this page: questions answered by the organisers, deadline notices, people showing what they are building and looking for ideas. Joining is free and does not require being registered.

Same Discord server as the OBVC's — Brazilians and everyone else in one place.

Join the community

The sister olympics

There is a Brazilian edition too

The OBVC — Olimpíada Brasileira de Vibe Coding — is the same competition in Portuguese, for Brazil: up to R$ 100,000 for first place, registration of R$ 60 in the University and R$ 120 in the Open, and the same deadline, October 31, 2026.

You can enter both. Each registration is separate, and the same project can compete in Brazil as long as it has a Portuguese interface.

Visit the OBVC at obvc.com.br

Take your place among the first

Registration is open until October 31, 2026. Every registration raises the prize, and there is only one first edition.

The International Olympicsof Vibe Coding