Straight answers about what Applicantly does, what it costs, and how programs like yours set it up.
Pitch competitions, robotics leagues, hackathons, science fairs, scholarships, grants, fellowships, accelerators, and summer programs. Rename the terms, stages, and forms to fit yours.
They can choose. Everyone can sign in with a secure one-time link by email or text, set a password from their account page, or use Google sign-in where it is turned on.
Yes. Build a judging form, then share a link where judges pick the team by number, or give judges accounts with assigned teams. Scores total, average, and rank automatically.
For programs that run in stages, yes. Google Forms collects responses; Applicantly also creates team accounts, sends the next form automatically, books time slots with capacity, and ranks judges' scores. Import your Google Forms by link to start.
Yes. Paste a Google Form link or upload a Forminator or Gravity Forms export, and it converts directly without AI credits. For anything else, describe the form and AI builds a draft for you to review.
Yes. Install the Applicantly forwarder on your site and submissions flow into your portal through the intake API, with duplicates ignored.
You choose which school levels count as adults. In-person minors are asked for a guardian, who signs first; the student signs second and a PDF is generated.
Look up teams, forms, and responses, build and edit forms with pages and conditional questions, add time slots, send forms, and move teams between stages. It asks before changing anything, and emails always need your click.
On Pro and above, point a hostname such as apply.yourprogram.org at Applicantly and HTTPS is issued automatically.
Your card is charged when the 14-day trial ends. You can change plans or cancel any time from the billing page.
Every record is scoped to your portal, sign-in sessions only work on your portal, and credentials you add are encrypted at rest.
Plans are $79, $119, and $249 a month, or 25% less billed yearly. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial.
Operator and AI form import use AI credits. A typical Operator message uses about 0.3 credits; long multi-step tasks use more, and an AI import uses about 1 to 3. Credits reset on the first of each month.
Operator and AI import pause until the next month or until you upgrade. Everything else, including Google Forms, Forminator, and Gravity Forms imports, keeps working.
Yes. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial, with your card charged when it ends. Cancel any time before then.
No. Every plan is paid after the 14-day free trial.
Yes. Yearly billing is 25% off twelve months of monthly billing.
Yes. Forms, sign-up sheets, judging forms, stages, and automation rules are unlimited on every plan.
Any number through the shareable judge link. Judge accounts with assigned teams are limited to 5 on Starter, 25 on Pro, and unlimited on Enterprise.
5 GB on Starter, 50 GB on Pro, and 250 GB on Enterprise, for uploads on applications and forms. Deleting a response frees its files.
Yes, from your billing page at any time.
No, but they can. Everyone can sign in with a one-time link by email, or by text if you turn on SMS, and anyone can set a password from their account page.
Yes. Add file upload fields for pitch decks, photos, transcripts, or anything else, up to 25 MB per file.
Yes. A small forwarder plugin sends Forminator submissions into your portal through the intake API, and duplicates are ignored.
Yes. Paste the link you share with respondents. Questions, sections, and choices convert directly, without using AI credits, and the result opens as a draft for you to review.
Yes. Turn on multi-step and each section becomes a page with Next and Back buttons and a progress bar.
Yes. Set a question to show only when another answer matches, such as asking for a school name only from students. Hidden questions are never required.
Yes. Add an e-signature field and applicants type their name and agree, with the time recorded.
As many as you need on every plan.
Yes. Any question can show only when another question has certain answers, on applications, follow-up forms, and judging forms alike.
Yes. Answer rules send a form, move the team to a stage, or both, when a response matches the answers you pick.
Yes. Paste the link you share with respondents. The form must be open to anyone with the link. Questions, sections, and choices convert directly. Go-to-section branching does not carry over, so add conditional questions in the builder after importing.
If you allow it. Each form has a setting to let people edit their answers while the form is open.
AI import uses AI credits from your plan's monthly allowance. Google Forms, Forminator, and Gravity Forms imports do not use any credits.
For application programs, yes. Every form is tied to a team and its stage, so forms send themselves at the right step and responses sit on the team record. For standalone surveys or payment forms, a general form tool fits better.
Yes, while the form is open and edits are allowed. Their old slot is released when they pick a new one.
They are told it just filled up and asked to pick another. If they picked several slots, none of that change is saved, so nothing is left half booked.
Yes. Set the form to send when a team moves to a stage, for example when they become finalists.
Create a form, add a time slot field, and generate slots by picking a day, a time range, a slot length, and how many people fit in each. Open the form and send it, or share it in the portal.
Not on its own. Google Forms has no built-in capacity per choice, so organizers add add-ons or check a spreadsheet. In Applicantly every slot has a capacity and a full slot cannot be booked.
Yes. Set how many slots each person or team may hold, from one pitch time to several volunteer shifts.
For programs that already take applications, yes. Sign-ups live in the same portal as the application, go only to the teams in a stage, and fill per team. For a one-off public sign-up such as a potluck, a dedicated sign-up tool is simpler.
Sign-up sheets are included on every plan with no limit on how many you create. Plans start with a 14-day free trial.
No. Turn modules off and their stages are no longer required. A scholarship can run on Submitted, Under Review, Awarded, and Declined.
Yes. Renaming keeps every team where it is.
Every stage change is recorded with the time, who made it, and why.
Yes. Answer rules move the team, send another form, or both, when a response matches the answers you choose. They work on judging forms too.
Yes. A form set to a stage is emailed to each team when it enters that stage, and the form also appears in the team portal.
A judging rubric is a scoring guide that rates every entry on the same criteria, each on a fixed scale such as 1 to 5, so different judges score consistently.
There is no single standard. Pitch and science competitions often score the problem, the solution or innovation, feasibility, and presentation. Applicantly's sample judging form starts with those four on a 1 to 5 scale, and you can rename, add, or remove criteria.
Each judge's scored answers are added into a total. A team's result is the average of its judges' totals, and teams are ranked by that average, with an average shown for each criterion.
No. The shareable link works for any number of judges with no account. Judge accounts are for judges who should read applications before scoring, and plans include 5, 25, or unlimited judge accounts.
The shareable link is. With team numbers on, link judges pick and see each team only by its number. Judges with accounts do a full review: they see the application, team and member names, and files, but never emails, phone numbers, birthdates, or guardian details.
Yes. Paste the Google Form link when you create a judging form. Questions convert directly, and any name or team-number questions are dropped because the judging link already asks for them.
Directors and the account owner. A director can also turn it on for staff, who then get only what their role allows: looking things up, sending forms, moving teams, and broadcasting.
No. Sending forms, broadcasts, and stage changes that trigger automatic emails always wait for your approval, even with auto approve on.
Operator conversations are kept for 90 days.
Yes. Ask for a multi-step form, questions that show only for certain answers, or answer rules that send another form, and it proposes the change for you to allow.
A typical Operator message uses about 0.3 credits. Long, multi-step requests use more, and the Operator panel shows what has been used this month.
Yes. Start a new chat with the plus button, and earlier chats stay in the list until you delete them or they reach 90 days.
No. Each person sees only their own team. Sign-in links work only on your portal.
Yes. Every page, including sign-up sheets and forms, is designed for phones first.
Yes. When team numbers are on, the number appears in the team portal, on its forms, and in team emails.
Their current stage and next step, every form sent to them with what is done and waiting, their team members, and one conversation with your staff.
Yes. Connect SendGrid or Resend with your own sender, or use Applicantly's sending.
Yes, on Pro and above, for members who opt in.
Yes. A broadcast posts to each team in the stage you pick and notifies its members by email.
Yes. The delivery log lists every email and text that was sent, queued, or failed.
No. They get a personal link by email.
You choose which school levels count as adults, and a birthdate or explicit question can override it.
Collect a guardian email for each minor on the application. Then send a consent form with guardian as the audience, or use the in-person packet, and each guardian gets a personal link to review and sign.
A description of the event, the guardian's phone number, medical information, a photo release, and an e-signature. Edit any of it or add your own questions.
Yes. A guardian consent form works as a digital permission slip: one per minor, signed online, with the signed responses kept in your portal and exportable to CSV.
Yes. Each consent form lists which minors are still waiting on a guardian, and you can resend the link.
Pro and Enterprise.
Yes. Turn off finals RSVP, compliance, guardian packets, SMS, and integrations independently.
Yes. Upload a PNG, JPG, WebP, or GIF up to 2 MB in Branding and Labels, or link to a logo you already host.
Yes. Rename Team, Member, Captain, School, Finals, and more, and the new words appear across the portal and emails.
No. It is a reporting copy. Changes are made in Applicantly.
Pro and Enterprise.
Teams, members, applications, form responses, judging results, and logs.
Yes. The intake API accepts applications with an API key, and duplicates are ignored. A WordPress forwarder does this for Forminator forms.
Yes. Build a judging form, then either share a link (judges pick the team by number) or give judges accounts with assigned teams. Scores total and rank automatically, and you can export them.
Yes. School level is collected on the application, minors are detected from it, and stages or forms can differ by answer.
No. Judges with accounts see the application and member names, not emails, phone numbers, birthdates, or guardian details. Judges on the shareable link see only team numbers.
A pitch competition is an event where teams or founders present an idea or business to a panel of judges, who score each pitch on set criteria to pick winners, often for prizes, funding, or mentorship.
Judges score each pitch on the same rubric, such as problem, solution, feasibility, and presentation. In Applicantly each judge's scores are totaled, averaged across judges, and ranked by team.
Yes. Minors are detected from school level, guardians sign consent by link with no account, and in-person paperwork goes only to students attending in person.
Yes. Add coach or advisor fields to the application. They are kept as answers and do not create student accounts.
Yes. Each slot has a capacity you set, and a full slot cannot be booked.
Yes. Build a judging form for each award or rubric, and judges score by link or from an account with assigned teams.
Yes. Ask for the division on the registration form, then use stages or answer rules to send each division its own forms.
Yes. Leave the member rows optional and a solo applicant is a team of one.
Yes. Show a question only when another answer matches, such as asking for a portfolio link only from designers.
Common criteria are technical difficulty, originality, usefulness, design, and the demo itself. Put them on a judging form with a 1 to 5 scale and results total and rank automatically.
Yes. Share the judging link, and judges pick each team by its number from their phones as demos happen.
Yes. A project can be one student or a group.
Yes. Start from the sample judging form and rename the criteria to fit your fair, such as scientific thought, creativity, thoroughness, and presentation, each on a 1 to 5 scale.
Turn on project numbers and every entry gets one automatically. Judges pick the project by number on the judging link.
No. Parents get a personal link to sign.
No. Rename Team to Applicant and leave member rows off, and each application is one person.
Yes. Reviewers with accounts see the application answers without emails, phone numbers, birthdates, or guardian details.
Every applicant sits in a stage you define, such as Submitted, Under Review, Finalist, and Awarded, with a full history of each change and every response in one place.
Yes. Reviewers fill out a judging form for each applicant, and scores are totaled, averaged across reviewers, and ranked.
No. Applicantly runs applications, review, and notifications. Award payments are handled outside it.
Applicantly is not free. Plans start at $79 a month, and every plan includes a 14-day free trial.
Yes. Rename the terms so a team is an organization and its members are contacts.
Yes. A judging form with your criteria totals and ranks every proposal.
Grantmakers. It runs your application cycle: intake, review, scoring, follow-up requests, and award decisions. It does not track grants your organization applies for.
Applicantly plans start at $79 a month, or 25% less billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial. Every plan includes unlimited forms and review stages.
Not as a ledger. Collect budgets as file uploads or answers on the application, and handle payments in your accounting system.
Yes. Each cycle keeps its own applications, and staff can switch between them.
Yes. Each candidate sees their current stage and next step in their portal.
Moving a candidate to the interview stage sends a time slot sign-up. Each slot has a capacity, so two candidates cannot take the same time.
Yes. Give interviewers judge accounts with their assigned candidates, and their scores rank the pool.
Yes. Each company sees its current stage and next step in its portal.
Yes. Share a judging link and partners pick the company by number, or give them accounts with assigned companies.
Yes. Add a file upload field for decks up to 25 MB, and reviewers open it alongside the application.
Yes. Each cycle keeps its own applications and teams, and staff switch between cycles.
No. Parents get a personal link to sign.
Yes. Waitlisted is a stage, and moving a student from it can send the same acceptance forms.
Not today. Applicantly handles registration, consent, and forms. Collect fees with your existing payment tool.
Yes. Start the registration form from a template, then add the parent consent, dietary and accessibility, and in-person RSVP forms that come built in.
Yes. The parent consent template includes a medical information question, and you can add any others you need.
OpenWater's pricing page builds an estimate. The default is $6,650 a year for one program and $2,400 a year for one admin, $9,050 in total, plus $205 an hour for full setup, as of October 2026.
Applicantly plans are $79, $119, and $249 a month, or 25% less billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial. Forms, stages, and judging forms are unlimited on every plan.
We could not find team or group applications on OpenWater's site. In Applicantly, one application creates the team and every member gets their own sign-in.
Partly. Judges on the shareable link see each team only by its number. Judges with accounts review the full application with team and member names, but never contact details. OpenWater advertises double-blind judging.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
Reviewr is quote only. Its pricing page says it quotes one annual figure, without per-user, per-program, or per-feature pricing, as of October 2026.
Applicantly. Applicantly plans are $79, $119, and $249 a month, or 25% less billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial.
Reviewr lists interviews as a program phase, but we could not find time slot booking on its site. Applicantly sends a sign-up sheet where each slot has a capacity and cannot be double booked.
No. Applicants can upload a letter as a file, but Applicantly does not email recommenders. Reviewr sends recommender requests.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
Submittable is quote only. Its pricing page lists three tiers that each lead to a sales meeting, and its FAQ says cost depends on the size and scope of the program, as of October 2026.
Submittable acquired WizeHive in August 2024, and wizehive.com now redirects to submittable.com. Zengine customers comparing options can use this page.
Applicantly is built for programs that run in rounds: team applications, judging forms with ranked results, time slot sign-ups for pitches, and guardian consent for minors.
No. Applicantly runs applications, review, and award decisions. Submittable offers funds distribution on its Enterprise tier.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
SurveyMonkey Apply does not publish prices. Its Pro, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus plans all say "Contact us for pricing," as of October 2026.
We could not find one on its site, and Capterra lists its free trial as not available. Applicantly includes a 14-day free trial on every plan.
We could not find interview or time slot scheduling on its site. Applicantly sends a sign-up sheet where each slot has a capacity.
No. Applicantly syncs to Google Sheets, accepts applications through an intake API, and exports CSV. SurveyMonkey Apply lists Salesforce and SIS integrations.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
SmarterSelect asks you to contact it for pricing. Plans are billed yearly by user count, including applicants, as of October 2026. Capterra lists $2,000 per year, a third-party figure.
Yes. Its pricing page says admins, evaluators, and applicants all count toward the plan's user total. Applicantly limits applications per cycle by plan, and judges with the shareable link are unlimited.
We could not find team or group applications on its site. Applicantly creates one team per application with a sign-in for every member.
Applicants can upload a letter, but Applicantly does not send requests to recommenders. SmarterSelect offers online recommendations on Enhance and up.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
AwardSpring does not publish prices. Its service description says pricing depends on how many scholarship opportunities you offer each year. Capterra lists a $99 monthly plan and a $4,500 yearly plan, as third-party figures.
Its site is built around community colleges, universities, and scholarship foundations, with SIS integrations such as Banner and Workday. Applicantly fits competitions, fellowships, and youth programs as well as scholarships.
No. Each Applicantly cycle runs one application through your stages. AwardSpring matches one application across eligible funds.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
Award Force lists Growth at $3,250 a year and Pro at $6,500 a year, with Premier by quote and $2,300 for onboarding, as of October 2026.
Applicantly plans are $79, $119, and $249 a month, or 25% less billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial. There is no onboarding fee.
No. Award Force collects entry fees through 15 payment gateways. Applicantly is built for programs that are free to enter.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
Good Grants lists Intro at $3,950 a year and Premium at $7,900 a year, with Enterprise by quote and a 14-day free trial, as of October 2026.
Yes. Good Grants is made by Creative Force, the company behind Award Force.
No. Applicantly runs the application cycle through award decisions and acceptance. Good Grants includes grant agreements and disbursement tracking.
Yes. Start from a template, paste a Google Form link, or describe your application and AI drafts it for you to review. Then set your stages and judging form. There is no setup fee.
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