HackEval review

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

HackEval brings hackathon organizers, judges, and participants into a web-based system that can be self-hosted. Organizers create events, configure judging criteria and weights, manage members, and invite judges. Participants maintain profiles, join events, and submit projects with files. Its clearest fit is for self-hosters who want configurable project evaluation, including an optional AI component, rather than a tool selected primarily for team formation or event formats.

Evaluation is the product’s defining capability. Judges score submissions with sliders, while organizers can combine weighted human scores with AI evaluation using OpenAI GPT-4o or AWS Bedrock Claude; fallback scoring is also available. Configurable leaderboards display the combined results. This offers a way to incorporate AI alongside human judgment rather than replacing the judging workflow. The platform also supports project submissions with up to 50 files per project and signed file storage. Buyers should consider this evaluation depth if scoring is central to their event; those seeking specified team-formation tools should compare alternatives.

For organizers running more than one event, multi-tenant management, an admin approval workflow, and append-only, filterable audit logs add structure around event operations and review. Integrations include OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, Amazon S3, and Google Cloud Storage. HackEval is described as free and open source, with web and self-hosted deployment options; its published offering does not describe paid tiers. That combination may appeal to teams comfortable operating self-hosted software and managing connected services. Choose it for configurable human-and-AI evaluation with event administration; look elsewhere if a hosted deployment or a broader, specified event format is a priority.

HackEval pros and cons

• Where it wins
  • Blend weighted human scores with AI evaluation or fallback scoring.
  • Set judging criteria and weights, then assign judges for slider-based scoring.
  • Manage multiple hackathons with project file submissions and append-only audit logs.
• Where it doesn't
  • Requires self-hosting rather than offering a hosted deployment option.
  • Its focus is evaluation and event management; team formation is not specified.
  • AI evaluation depends on configured OpenAI or AWS Bedrock services for those models.

HackEval fact sheet, pricing and score →

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Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update