Shipaton FAQ.

It usually takes 3 to 5 business days after you register on Devpost. Please allow some time for processing. If you still have not received anything after 7 days, please contact us at shipkit@revenuecat.com or ask in the #shipkit-support channel in Discord.

Possibly. If you are a student, you may be eligible to apply for the Next Gen Awards, which do not require an app store submission or a paid developer account. To qualify, you must provide a verifiable academic email address from a high school, college, university, bootcamp, or another academic program. You can review the eligibility requirements here.

To participate in Shipaton outside of the Next Gen Award, you must be able to integrate the RevenueCat SDK into your project, which includes setting up products in the relevant app stores.

Yes. If you are a student, you may be eligible to participate through the Next Gen Awards.

Please review the eligibility requirements here.

Yes. Participants may qualify for both the Next Gen Awards and another category if they submit both the required code and an app store submission.

For the Next Gen Awards, submitting an app to the store is allowed, but it will not be considered as part of the judging criteria for that category.

No. Though we'll only fly one of you to NY when you win an eligible prize.

Depending on where you reside, United States law or your local laws may prohibit you from participating in a competition or receiving a prize. Because hackathons are considered competitions, Shipaton must follow these requirements.

New this year, individuals residing in Quebec or Brazil ARE allowed to participate in the Shipaton.

Individuals who reside in the following countries and regions may be excluded from participation or prize eligibility:

Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, and Russia.

Shipaton will run from August 1 to September 30, 2026.

The final submission deadline is Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 11:45 PM Pacific Time, so the exact deadline may vary slightly depending on your country or time zone. Please make sure to check the deadline carefully based on your local time.

Winners will be announced on October 22, 2026.

Devpost only shows the prize money we have assigned to specific categories so far. We have secured over $700,000 in cash prizes, but we are still finalizing some prize categories, so Devpost will not show the full amount yet.

By the start of the event on August 1, 2026, you will see the full prize amount reflected on Devpost.

Shipaton submissions may be iOS, macOS, or Android apps.

To qualify, your app must be submitted to one of the supported app stores: Apple's App Store, Google Play Store, or Samsung Galaxy Store.

Yes. All Shipaton submissions must use the RevenueCat SDK for in-app purchases, subscriptions, or ads.

Yes. However, to qualify, your app must be shipped for the first time during the Shipaton window, from August 1 to September 30.

You can start building or even promoting your app before then, but you should not publish it to the app stores before August 1 if you want it to remain eligible.

No. To qualify for Shipaton, the app itself must be shipped for the first time during the Shipaton window. Launching it on a second store does not count if it was already live in another app store.

For example, if your app was live on Google Play before August 1, then submitting the same app to the App Store after August 1 would not qualify.

The exception is web apps. If your project only existed on the web before Shipaton, you may submit a new app-store version as long as its first store release happens during the event window.

No. Your app must be published on the app stores so judges can download and review it.

App review usually takes a few business days, assuming your app is not rejected. We recommend submitting your app to the app stores at least one week before the Shipaton deadline and getting ready to get scored.

No. If you win, the prize money will be sent directly to your bank account. Attending the NYC RAGA event in person is not required. If you would like to attend, we'll help however we can with the visa process so you can receive it quickly.

If you are unable to attend, you may send someone on your behalf. You can also receive the award and prize fully remotely.