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IdeaScore
Compared as of October 2026

How IdeaScore Compares

What each platform's own website says, side by side. Where a site is silent, we say so rather than guess.

See the comparisonBook a demo

Compared side by side

As of October 2026

  • IdeaScore
  • Submittable
  • SurveyMonkey Apply
  • OpenWater
  • Evalato
  • Devpost
  • Unstop
  • Google Forms and spreadsheets

Checked on 29 October 2026 against each vendor's own website.

The short version

Where IdeaScore Leads, and Where It Does Not

Ahead where committees feel it most, level on the shared basics, honest about the rest.

Ahead

  1. Rupee prices, GST invoice.
  2. Conflict-aware plans, ready at once.
  3. Blind review that holds, decks included.
  4. Votes, chair, dissent: all recorded.
  5. Application to alumni, one place.

Level with others

  • AI reads applications against the rubric
  • Blind review of identity fields
  • Conflicts of interest handled
  • Review in several rounds
  • Applicant portal and status tracker
  • Certificates
  • Zapier and Make, webhooks
  • Single sign-on

Others lead

  • Independent security certificate (SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001)
  • Choice of data region
  • Published scale
Where others are strong
Side by side

The Full Comparison

From each vendor's own website, checked on 29 October 2026. Tap a number for its source.

  • Yes
  • Partly
  • Paid add-on
  • No
  • Not advertised
  • By hand

Compare IdeaScore with

IdeaScore
Submittable

  • Programme types covered

    18 types, each in its own words
    Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Prices published on the website

    YesIn rupees
    Quote on request. Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Prices in rupees, GST invoice, Indian companyIdeaScore leads

    YesBefore GST, from CMS Group
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Free plan or free trialIdeaScore leads

    YesStarter free; 7-day trial, no card
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Conflicts kept apart before review startsIdeaScore leads

    YesAssignment plan ready when the round opens
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Conflicts of interest handled

    YesKept apart in the assignment plan
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Blind review that reaches decks and documentsIdeaScore leads

    YesDecks masked; pages it cannot check held back
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Blind review of identity fields

    YesCase numbers, names removed from answers
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Review in several rounds

    Yes
    Multi-stage review. Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Ranking or head-to-head judging

    Yes
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • AI reads applications against the rubric

    YesWith the evidence beside each score
    Smart Reviewer. Source: Submittable, How AI makes grant review faster and fairer (video page). Checked 29 October 2026.

  • AI that searches the web and lists its sourcesIdeaScore leads

    YesDeep Research
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • AI privacy promise published

    YesNames and contact details never sent
    General statement. Source: Submittable, AI. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Committee vote, chair confirms, dissent keptIdeaScore leads

    Yes
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Live pitch day: Projector board and Audience linkIdeaScore leads

    Yes
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Public results or winners page

    Yes
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Certificates

    YesTen designs, QR check
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Applicant portal and status tracker

    Yes
    Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Cohorts, mentors, milestones, alumni, portfolioIdeaScore leads

    YesPortfolio on Professional and up
    Financial tracking, lifecycle oversight. Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • CSR utilisation by financial year; scholarship instalmentsIdeaScore leads

    YesRecords releases, never moves money
    CSR giving platform. Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Independent security certificate (SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001)Others lead

    NoTrust badges are self-assessed
    SOC 2 Type 2; blog from 2019/20, current cover not re-checked. Source: Submittable, Blog: SOC 2 Type 2. Checked 29 October 2026.

  • Choice of data regionOthers lead

    NoOne arrangement
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Database stored in IndiaIdeaScore leads

    YesMumbai; IdeaScore AI processes text outside India
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • India's DPDP Act stance publishedIdeaScore leads

    YesSelf-assessed; grievance officer named
    Submittable's website does not mention it; it may still exist. As of October 2026.

  • Published scaleOthers lead

    None published
    Source: Submittable, Pricing. Checked 29 October 2026.

As of October 2026. Tap a mark for its note and source.

Submittable

Grants, CSR and applications 1 of 8

As of October 2026. Tap an answer for its note and source.

In detail

Where the Difference Shows

The rows where IdeaScore leads, shown in the product itself.

Buying

Prices in rupees, with a GST invoice

Every plan in rupees, before GST, and a GST invoice from an Indian company. Starter is free; the 7-day trial needs no card.

On the other websites, as of October 2026

Award Force publishes prices in eight currencies, none of them rupees; Evalato in euros; OpenWater in US, Canadian and Australian dollars and pounds. Submittable, SurveyMonkey Apply, Devpost and Unstop quote on request.12177352124

  • Bank transfer and purchase orders welcome
  • Growth at ₹1,49,999 a year, before GST
  • Starter free, with 150 IdeaScore AI credits
See every plan

IdeaScore plans

In rupees, before GST

Starter
Free
Growth
₹1,49,999
Professional
₹3,99,999
Enterprise
from ₹9,99,999
Campus
₹14,99,999

GST invoice from CMS Group, Dehradun. Pay by bank transfer.

Assignment

Conflicts handled before review starts

Open the round and the plan is drawn: who scores what, with declared conflicts kept apart. Check it, apply it, then scoring starts.

On the other websites, as of October 2026

SurveyMonkey Apply, OpenWater, Award Force and Evalato document conflict handling during review: a reviewer or admin flags it, or the judge recuses or abstains.6101417

  • Matched by expertise or lightest load
  • Open declarations listed beside the plan
  • Nothing saved until you apply it
How evaluation works
The Conflict-Aware Assignment card on Meridian Seed Fund 2026 with its plan drawn: evaluators on the left joined by lines to teams such as CraftEnergy and TrueSense on the right, a lock on a conflict kept apart, 130 assignments with 73 by expertise and 57 by lightest load, open declarations below and an Apply 130 assignments button.
Conflict-aware assignment has its plan ready when the page opens: who would score what, and why, with conflicts kept apart.
Blind review

Blind review that reaches the deck

Case numbers, names removed from answers, and masked decks. Pages IdeaScore cannot check are held back from blind reviewers.

On the other websites, as of October 2026

OpenWater, Award Force and Evalato document hiding identity fields from judges; Award Force says in a blog post that hidden details stay hidden in downloads.111619

  • Mask decks for every round or just one
  • Preview the masked deck first
  • The original deck is always kept
How review works
The Deck Masking window for Meridian Seed Fund 2026 Cohort III in three steps, Choose, Preview and Confirm, with a Mask decks for evaluators switch, a choice of All rounds or Semi-final only and a note that the original deck is always kept.
Choose whether evaluators see decks as uploaded or with names, contact details and photos hidden, for every round or just one, and preview it first.
Decisions

Committee decisions on the record

Members vote, the chair confirms, and any differing vote is kept as dissent.

On the other websites, as of October 2026

The other websites we checked do not describe a committee vote with the chair's confirmation and dissent recorded.

  • A note saved with each vote
  • Outcome confirmed by the chair
  • Dissent kept beside the outcome
How decisions work
The Committee overview: sessions, 26 decisions made and 104 votes cast, with outcomes and votes by session.
Selection meetings with the outcomes and votes they decided.
After selection

From the application form to the alumni list

Selected teams carry on in the same place: cohorts, mentors, milestones, alumni, portfolio and reports.

On the other websites, as of October 2026

Submittable describes financial tracking and full lifecycle oversight; the other websites we checked do not describe cohorts, mentors or alumni.3

  • Portfolio on Professional and up
  • CSR utilisation by financial year
  • IdeaScore records releases, never moves money
See the portfolio
The Cohorts overview: one cohort with 12 members, members by cohort and milestone status.
Members, milestones and upcoming events for every cohort.
A fair note

Where Others Are Strong

Some platforms are further along on certificates, data regions and reach. Weigh these if they decide your choice.

  • If you need an independent security certificate

    Award Force lists ISO/IEC 27001, SOC 2 and ST4S. Submittable reports SOC 2 Type 2 in a blog post.124

    IdeaScore today

    IdeaScore's 16 trust badges are self-assessed; it holds no independent certificate. Trust Centre

  • If you need a choice of data region

    Award Force offers five regions, chosen when the account is created.15

    IdeaScore today

    IdeaScore has one arrangement. Customer data is stored in Mumbai, India (database) and the Asia-Pacific region (files), and processed in Singapore (application) and Tokyo (email). IdeaScore AI processes text outside India. Trust Centre

  • If you need a long, public track record

    Evalato states 7,000+ customers in 80+ countries; Submittable, thousands of organisations.183

    IdeaScore today

    IdeaScore publishes no customer count.

  • If you need participants who come to you

    Devpost states a community of 6M+ developers; Unstop, 32M+ profiles and 50,000+ recruiters.2124

    IdeaScore today

    IdeaScore runs your programme for the applicants you bring; it does not run a participant marketplace.

  • If you need score normalisation, many languages or entry fees

    Evalato publishes score normalisation and takes entry fees; Award Force Pro offers several languages and entry fees in any currency.201712

    IdeaScore today

    These are not among the features IdeaScore publishes today. Ask a product specialist how your programme would run. Talk to us

The usual starting point

Moving From Forms and Spreadsheets

A form collects answers well. Everything after the last answer is where the work begins.

  • Collecting applications

    In a form and a sheet: A form does this well

    In IdeaScore: Multi-stage forms, drafts, a status tracker for every applicant

  • Assigning reviewers

    In a form and a sheet: By hand, in a sheet

    In IdeaScore: A conflict-aware plan, ready when the round opens

  • Hiding names

    In a form and a sheet: Copy columns out by hand

    In IdeaScore: Case numbers, names removed from answers, masked decks

  • Scoring in rounds

    In a form and a sheet: A tab per round, merged by hand

    In IdeaScore: Rubrics, rounds and promotion, IdeaScore AI beside each reviewer

  • Deciding

    In a form and a sheet: Minutes typed up afterwards

    In IdeaScore: Committee votes, the chair's confirmation and dissent, recorded

  • Letters and certificates

    In a form and a sheet: Mail merge, one by one

    In IdeaScore: Letters from templates; certificates anyone can verify

  • Pitch day

    In a form and a sheet: A slide with the scores

    In IdeaScore: A Projector board for the room and an Audience link

  • After selection

    In a form and a sheet: Another sheet

    In IdeaScore: Cohorts, mentors, milestones, alumni and reports

Onboarding and migration are included on Professional, Enterprise and Campus. On other plans, a product specialist helps you set up the first call.

Questions About This Comparison

Because we only know what each vendor's own website says. If a page is silent about a feature, the platform may still offer it, so we say it is not advertised rather than guess. We use No only where the page says a thing is not offered.
They are the established application, awards and grants platforms most often compared (Submittable, SurveyMonkey Apply, OpenWater, Award Force, Evalato), two large hackathon platforms (Devpost, and Unstop from India), and Google Forms with spreadsheets, which many programmes in India start with.
Every competitor answer was checked against the vendor's own website on 29 October 2026, and each links to its page. Websites change; if something is out of date, write to [email protected] and we will correct it.
Yes. Submittable describes an AI reviewer that scores against the rubric, and OpenWater an AI that scores entries, in beta. IdeaScore AI also reads every application against your rubric and shows the evidence beside each score; we do not claim it is more accurate than theirs.
No. IdeaScore's 16 trust badges are self-assessed. Award Force and Submittable state independent certificates. The Trust Centre shows what is in place, the evidence and the limits.
Customer data is stored in Mumbai, India (database) and the Asia-Pacific region (files), and processed in Singapore (application) and Tokyo (email). IdeaScore AI processes text outside India, and names and contact details are never sent to it.
Yes. Start free on Starter, or with a 7-day trial on Professional features, with no card either way. Onboarding and migration are included on Professional, Enterprise and Campus; Growth starts at ₹1,49,999 a year before GST.

Sources

Every competitor answer above links here. Pages accessed 29 October 2026. Marked "secondary" where the page is not the vendor's own.

  1. 1Submittable, How AI makes grant review faster and fairer (video page)
  2. 2Submittable, AI
  3. 3Submittable, Pricing
  4. 4Submittable, Blog: SOC 2 Type 2
  5. 5SurveyMonkey Apply, Plans and pricing
  6. 6SurveyMonkey Apply, Help: manage reviewer conflict of interest
  7. 7OpenWater, Pricing estimator
  8. 8OpenWater, AI for submission management
  9. 10OpenWater, Help: allow judges to recuse themselves
  10. 11OpenWater, Help: judge settings
  11. 12Award Force, Pricing
  12. 13Award Force, Introducing Award Force's AI tools
  13. 14Award Force, Judging suite
  14. 15Award Force, Help: data storage
  15. 16Award Force, Blog: ways to minimise subjectivity in judging
  16. 17Evalato, Pricing
  17. 18Evalato, Home page
  18. 19Evalato, Help: anonymous applications
  19. 20Evalato, Blog: score normalisation
  20. 21Devpost, Devpost for organisers
  21. 22Devpost, MLH guide: using Devpost (secondary)
  22. 24Unstop, Hackathon hosting
  23. 25Google Workspace, Pricing, India
  24. 27OpenWater, G2 Spring 2026 Leader (press release) (secondary)

Answers marked general knowledge were not checked against a page for this comparison.

Something missing or out of date? Write to [email protected] and we will correct it.

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