Welcome to the RevenueCat Shipaton — the mobile hackathon that's all about shipping… a ton.

At RevenueCat, we're all about supporting developers to build and monetize amazing apps. After the overwhelming success of last year's Shipaton, we're thrilled to announce the return of our global hackathon — and this year, we're going bigger than ever.

This August and September, we're inviting builders from all corners of the globe to ship new apps and compete for over $700,000 in cash prizes and truly unique rewards — over $1 million worth of prizes in total.

The challenge

• Ship a brand-new app to the App Store, Google Play Store, or — new this year — the Samsung Galaxy Store, between August 1st and September 30th, 2026.
• Integrate the RevenueCat SDK to power at least one in-app purchase or serve ads through RevenueCat Ads.

Our goal is to give you that final push to ship that project you've had in the back of your mind but never took the time to get started.

Note: Updates to previously released apps won't qualify - it's all about bringing something new to life! You can brainstorm, build, and post before August 1st, but your app must be released for the first time during the Shipaton window.

Bigger and better

Last year's Shipaton blew us away. Hundreds of new apps launched, thousands of #BuildInPublic posts went out, communities from Tokyo to Seoul to London hosted Shipaton IRL events, and winning teams ended up on stage in New York, accepting their Shippy trophies with their apps lighting up a Times Square billboard.

Inspired by your amazing contributions, we've upped the ante for 2026:

• Over $700,000 in cash prizes — and growing as more sponsors join.
• Winning apps featured on giant billboards in Times Square.
• Flights to New York City for the Shippies red carpet award ceremony and RevenueCat's App Growth Annual conference.
• Press coverage for winners on 9to5Mac and 9to5Google.
• NEW: Investor exposure through the Shipaton Growth Fund.

Categories

• Grand Prize: Goes to the app that gains the most user traction and growth momentum during the event. We want to hear about what you've done post-release to push your app growth to the next level.
• [NEW] Next Gen Award: A student-only category for the best app submitted by active students — high school, university, bootcamp, campus dev club, anyone learning the craft. Judged on a video submission and open-source code, so no paid Apple or Google developer account is required. Learn more on the Next Gen page.
• [NEW] Catvertising Award: Celebrates the most creative and effective use of RevenueCat Ads as a monetization method. We're looking for clever placements, smart integration with the rest of the revenue stack, and an experience users don't hate.
• [NEW] Best Game Award: For the best mobile game shipped during the event. We're looking for great gameplay, art direction, and a monetization fit that suits the genre.
• #BuildInPublic Award: For developers who share the most interesting development journey on social media. We're looking for compelling lessons learned or clever ideas that came from engaging with the community.
• HAMM Award (Help Apps Make Money): RevenueCat exists to "Help Apps Make More Money". This award goes to the project that designs the most robust and creative monetization strategy.
• RevenueCat Design Award: For the app that best represents the craft of app development — regardless of business potential. We're looking for innovative ideas and/or beautiful app design and animations.
• RevenueCat Peace Prize: Awarded to the project that provides the greatest social good. We're looking for apps with big benefits to communities or society at large.
• Conflict of Interest Award: A special category for RevenueCat employees and sponsors who couldn't resist joining the fun. No cash prizes, but a shot at glory.

Our category sponsors will have dedicated award categories too — more details coming soon.

Prize structure

You can find the official details of prizes at the bottom of this page, but here's how it all breaks down:

Grand Prize Winner

• $50,000
• Trip to New York City for the Shippies award ceremony and RevenueCat's App Growth Annual conference
• Custom Shippy trophy (presented live on stage!)
• App featured on a massive Times Square billboard
• Media spotlight on 9to5Mac and 9to5Google

All Other Categories

• 1st Place: $15,000 + trip to New York City + custom Shippy trophy + Times Square billboard feature + media spotlight
• 2nd Place: $10,000
• 3rd Place: $5,000

Supported by the industry

This year, our sponsors have shown up big. Huge thanks to Replit, OneSignal, JetBrains, Layers, Noise, Stripe, and Samsung for coming in as category sponsors for Shipaton 2026. And more sponsors are joining the fun all the time, which means bigger cash prizes and more additions to the ShipKit.

ShipKit is back: Freebies for every Shipaton participant

ShipKit is your bundle of tools, credits, deals, and resources from our sponsors to help you build faster, launch better, and save a lot of money along the way. Some deals are while supplies last, so the sooner you register at the top of this page, the sooner you get access as ShipKit starts to roll out.

The #ShipatonSale

If you have an app, tool, service, course, or template that could help Shipaton builders, run a sale for participants and share it with the #ShipatonSale hashtag. Submit it on the Shipaton website and we'll list community sales for everyone to find. Even if you're not competing, there are ways to support the builders who are.

Shipaton IRL: Events near you

We're excited to take Shipaton directly to developers around the world with Shipaton IRL. Last year, builders gathered in Tokyo, Seoul, London, St. Louis, Barcelona, Delhi, Vancouver, Warsaw, Skopje, and dozens of cities in between. This year, we want even more: kickoff parties, co-working days, weekend build sprints, launch-day meetups, and campus hackathons.

Check out the events page regularly, as new events are being added all the time!

Want to host a Shipaton event yourself? Apply now - we'd love to support you. Approved hosts get a Meetup-in-a-box with Shipaton swag, food vouchers, and organizer resources, and we'll promote your event to the massive Shipaton audience. Perfect for developer communities, hacker clubs, and student organizers planning campus events.

Join the conversation on Discord!

Shipaton isn't just about shipping code - it's about community. Whether you're brainstorming your first idea or prepping for launch day, the official Shipaton Discord is the place to connect, collaborate, and share the journey.

Inside, you'll find fellow builders from around the world debugging code, running paywall experiments, discussing launch strategies, and more. Looking to form a team? Need quick feedback? Want to hang out with other shippers? You'll find it here.

We've also created a dedicated #post-engagement-boost channel where you can share your YouTube videos, posts, and other #BuildInPublic content so other participants can like, comment, or share to help you reach a bigger audience. It's all about creating a positive, encouraging space where we lift each other up - and help each other ship.

And throughout the event, we'll host twice-a-week livestreams with expert guests, practical sessions, and live Q&A — so you're never building alone for two months.

Come say hi 👋 and make the most of Shipaton!

Ready, set, ship!

Submissions open on August 1st and close on September 30th. Be sure to carefully review all submission requirements to ensure your app qualifies.

We're beyond excited to see what the global builder community creates this year. Register today, and we'll keep you updated via the email address you use there.

Let's get shipping!

• Grand Prize
  Honors the apps that gains the most user traction and growth momentum during the event. Judges want to hear about what you've done post-release to push your app growth to the next level. See official rules for full judging criteria.
• Best Game Award
  Open category for the best mobile game shipped during the event. We're looking for great gameplay, art direction, and a monetization fit that suits the genre. See official rules for full judging criteria.
• RevenueCat Peace Prize
  Awarded to the project that provides the greatest social good. We're looking for apps with big benefits to communities or society at large.
• RevenueCat Design Award
  For the app that best represents the craft of app development, separate from viability as a business. We're looking for innovative ideas and/or beautiful app design and animations.
• Catvertising Award
  Celebrates the most creative and effective use of ads as a monetization method. We're looking for clever placements, smart integration with the rest of the revenue stack, and an experience users don't hate.
• Next Gen Award
  A student-only category for the best app submitted by active students with a .edu (or equivalent) email address. Judged on a video submission and open-source code — no App Store or Google Play release required.
• #BuildInPublic Award
  For developers who shared the most interesting development journey on social media. We're looking for the most compelling lessons learned, or ideas incorporated from feedback from the community.
• HAMM Award
  Recognizes the app that makes the smartest use of RevenueCat to drive real revenue.
• Conflict of Interest Award
  Awarded to the best overall app submission from employees of RevenueCat or any Shipaton sponsors.