AwardStage vs Zealous

AwardStage helps organizers run awards programmes, from collecting entries or nominations to judging and assessment. Organizers can build an awards landing page or full website with a drag-and-drop builder, then make forms with different field types and category-specific information. Entrants can save drafts and upload documents, video, or audio. Judging tools support rounds, juries, entry allocation, multi-criteria scoring, and anonymous judging. Stripe integration handles online entry fees and event ticket sales; a ticketing module is also offered on every tier as a paid add-on. Standard costs $2,835 a year and supports up to 249 submissions, 30 categories, 50 judges, five administrators, and 10GB of file capacity. Pro costs $4,221 a year and supports 250–999 submissions, up to 100 categories, unlimited judges, administrators, and file capacity. Both listed prices reflect a 10% discount through 31 October 2026. Enterprise pricing is by contact. A 14-day trial provides full access without payment details. AwardStage runs on Android, iOS, and web.

Zealous is a web-based visual submissions management platform for open calls, awards, grants, residencies, fairs, and commissions. Organizers can set scoring criteria, use anonymous judging, manage multiple evaluation rounds, and track judge progress in real time. Entrants can submit images, video, 3D models, audio, documents, and embedded media, with individual files up to 4GB. Entry payments are processed through Stripe and go to the organizer’s account; Zealous charges commission on paid submissions but not free ones. Listed integrations include Stripe payments and embedded content from Vimeo, YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify, Sketchfab, and Slideshare. The Free plan costs nothing and allows 20 entries in one program without requiring a credit card. Paid submission allowances are counted across the year and reset on the subscription anniversary. Zealous says data is stored on Google Cloud in the UK with an EU twin data center, and describes encryption at rest and TLS 1.2 encryption in transit. It reports 99.98% uptime. All plans include unlimited support, with live chat during UK business hours.