Codeforces
Codeforces is a global competitive programming platform founded in 2010 that hosts algorithmic contests, ranks users via an Elo-style system, and serves competitive programmers, university CS students preparing for ICPC, and professional engineers seeking interview preparation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersAlpharetta, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Codeforces does
Codeforces is a global competitive programming platform founded in 2010 by Mike Mirzayanov, hosting regular algorithmic programming contests with a sophisticated Elo-style rating system, automated code judging, and a public API. The platform serves competitive programmers ranging from beginners to elite Legendary Grandmasters (top user jiangly rated 3728), computer science students preparing for ICPC and technical interviews at firms such as Google and Meta, and software engineers seeking to maintain problem-solving skills. Major rounds routinely attract 29,000-35,000 registrants, and the platform operates in English and Russian with a global, distributed user base.
Codeforces firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Codeforces
- Legal name
- Codeforces
- Website
- https://codeforces.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Codeforces is a global competitive programming platform founded in 2010 that hosts algorithmic contests, ranks users via an Elo-style system, and serves competitive programmers, university CS students preparing for ICPC, and professional engineers seeking interview preparation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Codeforces industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Competitive Programming Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Competitive Programming & Algorithms (DSA, Olympiad-Style) (EDAMACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Coding & Programming Learning Platforms (EDAFANAA)
Keywords
Where Codeforces is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Alpharetta
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Codeforces business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Sponsored Contests: Companies and organizations sponsor Codeforces rounds, providing prize money and visibility to the competitive programming community. Examples include Order Capital, TON (sponsored contests), and educational institutions
- Advertising and Sponsorship: Platform displays sponsor logos and messaging during contests. TON is listed as a primary sponsor. Sponsors receive prominent placement and access to highly engaged technical audience
- API Access and Developer Services: Public API for accessing platform data, potentially with premium tiers for extensive programmatic access
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free access for all users |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Codeforces product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Codeforces operates a web-based competitive programming platform that hosts regular algorithmic contests with divisions for different skill levels (Div. 1, Div. 2, Div. 3, Educational and Global rounds), tracks user performance with an Elo-style rating system, and provides a problemset, editorial content, blogs, and community features for competitive programmers worldwide. The offering is bundled with the Polygon problem-preparation platform for authoring and validating contest problems and a public API for programmatic access to platform data.
Product overview
Codeforces is a competitive programming platform offering algorithmic contests and a problemset. It consists of the main Codeforces Platform for contests, user profiles, and ratings; the Polygon problem preparation system for authoring and testing problems; and a public Codeforces API for programmatic access to platform data. The platform is sponsored by TON (The Open Network) and supported by ITMO University.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Polygon: A contest preparation system developed by Mike Mirzayanov for creating and preparing programming contests
Products and services
- Codeforces Platform The main Codeforces competitive programming platform offering algorithmic contests (Div. 1, Div. 2, Div. 3, Educational and Global rounds), a problemset, user ratings, blogs, and community features for competitive programmers worldwide.
- Polygon A problem preparation platform used by problem setters to create, test, validate, and manage competitive programming problems, integrated with Codeforces for contest delivery and supporting testlib validation.
- Codeforces API A public API providing programmatic access to Codeforces platform data including contest information, user profiles, ratings, problem statements, and submissions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 84% accuracy in predicting code performance changes using Codeforces datasets for machine learning models
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Codeforces
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Codeforces technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Codeforces partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- TON (Telegram Open Network)flagshipPrimary platform sponsor. TON blockchain ecosystem partners with Codeforces to reach the competitive programming community and support platform development. Visible as main sponsor on the platform website.
- ITMO University (ИТМО)coreRussian technology university supporting Codeforces platform as shown in footer sponsorship. ITMO is a leading computer science institution in Russia that supports competitive programming education.
- Neapolis University PafoscoreCyprus-based university sponsoring Educational Codeforces Rounds as part of their Computer Science and AI program marketing. Supports ongoing series of Educational Rounds (e.g., Round 191, Round 189) with scholarships.
- Order CapitalcoreQuantitative trading and software development company that sponsors branded Codeforces rounds. Ran Order Capital Round 1 and Round 2 (Codeforces Round 1104) with prize money in USDT and merchandise for top performers.
- City University of Hong KongminorHost venue for OCPC (Osijek Competitive Programming Camp) Summer 2026 edition. Provides onsite facilities for the training camp for university students preparing for ICPC.
- Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of IașiminorRomanian university hosting OCPC (Osijek Competitive Programming Camp) 2026 edition for European teams preparing for ICPC competitions.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Codeforces competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- HackerRank: HackerRank is a broader incumbent in technical assessments and coding practice, serving enterprise hiring teams and individual learners. Overlaps with Codeforces on the competitive coding practice side, but extends well beyond into enterprise recruiting, certifications, and skill assessments.
- Kaggle: Kaggle is the dominant platform for data science competitions and hosts large, sponsor-funded machine learning contests. Comparable in the sponsored-contest and community-driven competitive format, but focused on ML/data science rather than algorithms.
Direct peers
- Topcoder: Topcoder is one of the original competitive programming and algorithmic contest platforms with a global community, rating system, and sponsor-funded prize rounds. Directly comparable to Codeforces in product (single elimination and SRM-style contests), audience (competitive programmers), and sponsor-driven GTM.
- CodeChef: CodeChef is an India-based competitive programming platform hosting long and short contests with rating ladders, serving students preparing for ICPC and technical interviews. Directly comparable product offering, community structure, and target user base to Codeforces.
- AtCoder: AtCoder is a leading Japan-based competitive programming platform with regular rated contests, a similar Elo-style rating system, and a strong Japanese/Asian community. Directly comparable in contest structure, rating system, and target user (competitive programmers and ICPC aspirants).
- LeetCode: LeetCode is the largest direct competitor in algorithmic coding practice and contests, serving the same programmer/SWE-candidate audience with contests, ratings, and a paid subscription tier. Closely comparable product, user base, and use case (technical interview prep) to Codeforces.
- Sphere Online Judge (SPOJ): SPOJ is a long-running online judge and competitive programming platform with a large archive of algorithmic problems and an active community. Directly comparable to Codeforces on the algorithmic problem archive and judging infrastructure, though less active on live contests.
Emerging players
- CodinGame: CodinGame combines competitive coding with gamified, visual puzzles and sponsors coding contests for developer recruiting. Overlaps with Codeforces on contest-driven, sponsor-funded skill assessment but differentiates through gamification and corporate recruiting tooling.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Codeforces social profiles
Digital presenceCodeforces financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Codeforces leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Codeforces funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Codeforces M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Codeforces
What does Codeforces do?
Codeforces operates a web-based competitive programming platform that hosts regular algorithmic contests with divisions for different skill levels (Div. 1, Div. 2, Div. 3, Educational and Global rounds), tracks user performance with an Elo-style rating system, and provides a problemset, editorial content, blogs, and community features for competitive programmers worldwide. The offering is bundled with the Polygon problem-preparation platform for authoring and validating contest problems and a public API for programmatic access to platform data.
Is Codeforces a public or private company?
Codeforces is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Codeforces founded?
Codeforces was founded in 2010. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Codeforces based?
Codeforces is headquartered in Alpharetta, United States, in the North America region.
How does Codeforces make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Sponsored Contests are the primary driver. The others are advertising and Sponsorship and API Access and Developer Services.
Who are Codeforces's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are HackerRank and Kaggle. Direct peers are Topcoder, CodeChef, AtCoder, LeetCode and Sphere Online Judge (SPOJ). CodinGame is listed as an emerging player.
Does Codeforces have an API?
Yes. Codeforces provides a public API accessible at /apiHelp, enabling developers to build applications that interact with Codeforces data. The API allows programmatic access to contest information, user profiles, ratings, problem sets, and other platform data. Developer documentation is at codeforces.com/apiHelp.
What industry is Codeforces in?
Codeforces's product category is Competitive Programming Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMACAI, Competitive Programming & Algorithms (DSA, Olympiad-Style), with a secondary code of EDAFANAA, Coding & Programming Learning Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.