Codeforces

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.

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

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

• Competitive programming platform
• Algorithmic contests
• Online judge
• Programming rating system
• Code execution engine

Headquarters

HQ city

Alpharetta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. 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
2. 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
3. API Access and Developer Services: Public API for accessing platform data, potentially with premium tiers for extensive programmatic access

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core 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

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• TON (Telegram Open Network)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2026Primary 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRussian 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 PafoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCyprus-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 CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQuantitative 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 KongminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHost 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 IașiminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerRomanian 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

Broad 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

• Xx.com/codeforces
• Facebookfacebook.com/hackercup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/codeforces01

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Codeforces