Free tool · for organisers and judges
Hackathon judging rubric generator
A hackathon judging rubric lists what judges score, how much each criterion weighs and the scale they score on. Build one here in a minute: start from a preset (a college hackathon, an SIH internal round, an AI or vibe-coding event, or a pitch round), adjust the weights, share the link with your co-judges and download a score sheet that adds itself up. Made by Zaid Sayyed, Smart India Hackathon 2025 National Winner and hackathon judge.
Start from
24 to 36 hour builds judged on a live demo. The rubric Zaid Sayyed starts from when he judges.
Criteria
Weights total 100%
Try a team
Weighted total 60 / 100
Judging rubric
| Criterion | What judges look for | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Problem fit | Solves the stated problem for the people who actually have it | 25% |
| Technical depth | A sound, feasible approach that is more than a wrapper | 25% |
| Working demo | How much really runs, end to end, in front of the jury | 30% |
| Pitch and answers | Clear explanation, honest limits, good answers to questions | 20% |
Score 1 to 5
- 1
- Missing or not shown
- 2
- Attempted, with major gaps
- 3
- Meets the bar
- 4
- Strong, minor gaps
- 5
- Exceptional, nothing to add
The sheet opens in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice with the weights filled in and a total out of 100 that calculates as each judge types. Nothing is uploaded: the rubric lives in the link.
How to judge a hackathon fairly
- 01
Agree the rubric before the event
Send every judge the same link and show the criteria to teams at the start. Teams build better when they know what is scored.
- 02
Calibrate on the first team
Score the first team together and talk through any gap of two points or more. After that, judges score alone.
- 03
Average, then compare ranks
Average each team's total across judges. If one judge is much harsher or kinder than the rest, compare each judge's ranking instead of raw totals.
- 04
Break ties on the heaviest criterion
Decide the tie-break before judging starts, usually the criterion with the largest weight, then a jury vote.
- 05
Give every team one line
One honest sentence of feedback per team. It is what teams remember long after the score.
Questions organisers ask
What are good hackathon judging criteria?
Most hackathons score four to six criteria: how well the solution fits the problem, technical depth, how much of the demo works, design and user experience, and the pitch. Weight what the event exists to reward; a build hackathon usually gives the working demo the largest share.
How do you score a hackathon fairly?
Agree the rubric before the event, calibrate on the first team together, then have each judge score alone and average the totals. If one judge is consistently harsher or kinder, compare each judge's ranking instead of raw totals, and settle ties on a criterion chosen in advance.
What are the SIH evaluation criteria?
Smart India Hackathon guidelines list novelty, complexity, clarity and detail, feasibility, practicability, sustainability, scale of impact, user experience and potential for future work. Colleges use them for internal rounds and set their own weights; the SIH preset here starts them at equal weight.
How many judges does a hackathon need?
At least three per round, so no single score decides a result, and an odd number helps break ties. Large events split teams across panels that use the same rubric and calibrate on one shared team first.
Is this rubric generator free?
Yes, with no signup. Nothing is uploaded: the rubric is stored in the link itself, and the score sheet is a CSV file that opens in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice with each team's total out of 100 calculated as judges type.