When the spreadsheet stops scaling
Almost every organizer starts in Sheets, and for a first 30-person event it works. BuilderBase is what you move to when the tabs, the forms, and the volunteer keeping them in sync stop holding.
The gaps organizers hit with Google Sheets
Nothing here is impossible in a spreadsheet. It is just that somebody has to build it, and then keep it alive through the event.
One system instead of nine tabs
Applications, teams, submissions, judging, and comms in one place, so nothing needs re-keying between a form, a sheet, and a Discord channel.
Screening that is not a weekend
AI-assisted screening ranks applicants against your criteria. In Sheets, someone reads every row by hand.
A sponsor report that writes itself
Sponsors get a live dashboard. A spreadsheet gives you a tab of numbers and an evening spent turning it into slides.
BuilderBase vs Google Sheets.
Everything below is checkable. Where a platform only partly covers something, we say so.
| Feature | BuilderBase | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-End Event Management | Included | Not availableTabs you wire together |
| Branded Event Page | Included | Not available |
| Registration & Check-In | Included | PartialGoogle Forms |
| AI Application Screening | Included | Not available |
| Team Formation | Included | Not availableManual |
| Project Submissions | Included | PartialGoogle Forms |
| Judging & Scoring | Included | PartialBuild the rubric yourself |
| Multi-Track Events | Included | Not available |
| Sponsor ROI Report | Included | Not available |
| Sponsor Marketplace | Included | Not available |
| Works With No Setup | Included | Not availableYou build it each time |
| Fully Custom Data Model | Partial | IncludedAnything you can type |
| Free at Any Scale | Partial | IncludedFree tier available on BuilderBase |
included partial not available.Based on publicly available information at the time of writing.
What it actually costs.
Google Sheets is free, universally understood, and endlessly flexible, and for a first event with 30 people it is genuinely the right answer. Every organizer we know started there, including us. It only stops working when the event outgrows the person maintaining it.
BuilderBase or Google Sheets?
Your event has enough applicants that screening by hand hurts, you need judging that holds up across tracks, or a sponsor is paying and expects a report.
You are running something small and informal, you already have a spreadsheet that works, and nobody is paying you to prove what came of it.
BuilderBase vs Google Sheets: common questions.
Switching from Google Sheets? Talk to us.
Can I run a hackathon on Google Sheets?
What does BuilderBase do that a spreadsheet cannot?
Can I import my existing spreadsheet?
Is BuilderBase free like Sheets?
We already built a Sheets system that works. Why change?
Other BuilderBase comparisons.
Run your next event on BuilderBase
Free to start. €999 for a flagship event, published up front. Live in days.