The best Judgify alternative
The data and analysis in this article were created from publicly available information on Judgify’s website, live chat, help centre and other resources, as well as independent software review sites and client reviews.
Are you tired of spending time and resources on managing submissions? Then you will likely benefit from using submission management software.
But when it comes to choosing the right software, it can be tough to know which one is the best fit for your needs. There are so many options on the market, each with their own unique set of features and benefits.
Zealous & Judgify are considered two of the top solutions to help you grow the reach and impact of your opportunities, while saving you time and stress. Judgify and Zealous both offer time-saving forms automation processes, scoring tools for your judges & automated workflows. Each make accepting & reviewing exhibitions, competitions, awards, residencies, and other opportunities more cost-effective and efficient.
They do, however, have significant differences. If you’re considering purchasing Judgify or are already a customer, here are a few reasons why you should consider Zealous as the right platform for you.
Top Reasons To Choose Zealous Over Judgify
Zealous is easier to set up
First, let’s talk about ease of use. Zealous has an intuitive interface that is easy to navigate, making it simple for anyone on your team to start using the software right away. This contrasts with Judgify, which can be a bit more complicated and may require a learning curve to get up and running.
Both companies offer a live chat support with Zealous’s company being based in the UK and Judgify’s based in Singapore, however in order to access anything more than self-serving support with Judgify you would be required to upgrade to a higher tier price package.
Some of the most common feedback we hear from clients who choose Zealous over Judgify is that Zealous’s software is easier to use:
Judgify Reviews
Site looks outdated on the back-end and is cumbersome to navigate and set-up.
Jeanette, Nonprofit Org Manager
Judgify review on Capterra
You really need to understand the forms and functionality, or you could get unstuck easily.
Annika, Marketing Manager
Judgify review on Capterra
Zealous Reviews
our competitions and addressing our feedback. They are quick to respond and clearly value us even as a small customer.
Matt, Deputy Director
Zealous review on Capterra
The support from the Zealous team has been fantastic too – always on hand for questions.
Laura Evans, Digital Manager, UKNA
Zealous review on Capterra
This difference in ease of use between the platforms may be partly due to Judgify’s complex automated workflows. In fairness, some clients are happy with complex workflows. These customers don’t mind investing extra time and energy into learning and implementing a new platform and for them, Judgify might be a great fit.
Zealous outranks Judgify in the Ease-of-Use category on the independent review site, Capterra (4.3) to (3.7).
| Set up & Administration | Zealous | Judgify |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited event hosting opportunities at no extra fee | ||
| Video-based help centre | text based | |
| No additional set-up fee | ||
| No charge for adding extra judges | ||
| Unlimited opportunities on all packages | ||
| Live chat support | UK | Singapore |
Zealous Offers More Flexibility For Your Applicants
Those looking to be able to submit multiple types of work may appreciate that Zealous allows applicants to upload all kinds of formats including video as part of any pricing package.
Judgify users on the other hand will have to pay extra to allow users to upload videos on the lower tier package as well as being limited to a file size of a maximum of 250 MB VS Zealous’s whopping 4 GB video size limit.
Zealous users are also able to embed a greater variety of file types including 3D models. This is something Judgify are unable to offer on any price plan.
| Collecting Applications | Zealous | Judgify |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated Payments | ||
| Option for applicants to embed videos on all price packages. | ||
| Video embed file size limits | 4Gb | 250Mb |
| Branded portals | ||
| Form builder with many question types | ||
| In-form data validation | ||
| Eligibility screening | ||
| Issue refunds within the platform | ||
| Embed multiple file types including 3D models |
Zealous provides incredible customer support
At Zealous, we consider it essential to hire a support team to make sure we can answer all questions quickly. Our clients experience a helpful and responsive process throughout sales conversations, implementation services, ongoing account management, and customer support.
Taking care of our clients is one of our biggest priorities and much of this is reflected in the feedback we get.
Judgify Reviews
The lack of immediate customer support can be frustrating. Given the time difference between Oregon and the customer support of Judgify, it takes until the next day to get responses.
Event Manager in US
Judgify review on Capterra
Zealous Reviews
I cannot express how delighted and thankful I am with the Zealous product and the Zealous team. The platform is extremely easy to use for the administrators, entrants and judges alike.
Kathryn, PTSA in US via Capterra
Zealous review on Capterra
Zealous is easy to use, has wonderful features and flexibility and beyond belief good customer support.
Laura Evans, Digital Manager, UKNA
Zealous review on Capterra
Zealous has earned the highest customer support accolade available on Capterra (5, vs. 4.5 for Judgify). We have also recently won the coveted top performer in our category awards from independent review website Source Forge and have a 5-star customer support rating on their website too.
(Zealous) users love them, as evidenced by the significant amount of outstanding user reviews.
Logan Abbot
President of SourceForge
| Customer support ratings | Zealous | Judgify |
|---|---|---|
| Capterra customer service rating | 5/5 | 4.1/5 |
| SourceForge Support Rating | 5/5 | no reviews |
| SourceForge Awards | Top Performer Winter 2023 |
Zealous provides greater value for money
Understanding the pricing structure for submission management software can be confusing, with many companies appearing to offer a great deal only for hidden fees and charges to appear later.
While both Zealous and Judgify offer free competition judging software options, an upgrade to a paid package would be essential for either platform if you plan to receive more than a small number of submissions.
A quick look at Judgify pricing reveals their minimum paid package is $800 a year ($500 + $300 for their onboarding fee). By contrast, the minimum Zealous package is £348 a year (with no additional fee for set up or onboarding) and would include unlimited event hosting opportunities at no additional fee.
Zealous also offers optional monthly pricing (in case you don’t want to be tied into a longer contract) whereas Judgify does not.
Because Zealous’s pricing is based on the number of submissions, there is no limitation to how many opportunities you can create within the platform. From multiple awards and contests to residencies, exhibitions and more, it’s all included with Zealous.
On the other hand, if you are on a lower pricing tier then Judgify charges you an additional fee to set up a new opportunity.
If you’re looking for a contest manager which allows you to collect payments from multiple currencies from your applicants, Zealous offers you the ability to do that already built into the platform using globally renowned payment software, Stripe. Judgify requires you to manually integrate payment software separately. This isn’t necessarily a problem if your administrators are particularly tech-savvy.
Zealous users also benefit from having the option to issue refunds within the platform itself to any applicants who may have submitted by mistake. This helps to keep your audience base happy.
Zealous users can benefit from promotion across their extensive 70,000+ artist network along with having their opportunities included in their popular monthly newsletter. This is something Judgify is not currently offering, but not every client requires additional online promotion.
On Capterra, customers rate Zealous’s “Value for Money” as a 4.6/5 and Judgify’s as 4/5.
This difference in ease of use between the platforms may be partly due to Judgify’s complex automated workflows. In fairness, some clients are happy with complex workflows. These customers don’t mind investing extra time and energy into learning and implementing a new platform and for them, Judgify might be a great fit.
Zealous outranks Judgify in the Ease-of-Use category on the independent review site, Capterra (4.3) to (3.7).
| Packages and Pricing | Zealous | Judgify |
|---|---|---|
| Optional monthly package options | ||
| Minimum paid package cost | £29/m billed annually | $800 annually |
| No extra cost to set up a new opportunity | ||
| Collect applicant payment fees within the platform | fee per transaction | |
| Free on-boarding support | Pro packages up |
Zealous offers a visually delightful reviewing experience for your judges
When a judge logs in they are presented with a beautiful full screen display of all the entries making judging a visually delightful and time-saving process by allowing you to review multiple works at once. We also offer the option for judges to review submissions individually and in detail by scoring on a single screen if preferred.
Zealous is the best, most intuitive competition scoring platform I’ve used. Couldn’t have been easier.
Andrew Miller
Cultural Consultant, Broadcaster & Disability Champion
By contrast, Judgify submissions must each be clicked on and reviewed individually on a single screen, making the process much more time-consuming.
The judging section of Zealous is considered a visually stunning experience based on regular feedback we receive from the artistic community. This means that both submitting and judging content feels like playing a game.
Zealous allows users to assign unique judges or reviewers to each stage of your submission process meaning you can have short lists and long lists in case you want to narrow down final applicants and save time for your judges. Judgify also offers this option but unlike Zealous it is only available on their most expensive plan.
Zealous software has a strong focus on inclusivity and reducing bias by offering anonymous reviewing.
When it comes to choosing a winning entry from your applicants, many of our clients appreciate Zealous’s ability to automatically pick out a winner based on the judges top scores. For Judgify, winners must be picked manually by pulling out the score reports.
| Set up & Administration | Zealous | Judgify |
|---|---|---|
| Automatically calculate scores | ||
| Uploaded images are fully displayed automatically | ||
| Review multiple works at once | ||
| Assign unique judges to each stage of the process | on the most expensive plan | |
| Comprehensive tools for anonymous reviewing | ||
| Multiple stages of review | ||
| Reminders and notifications | ||
| Automated emails to let judges know a new round is starting | ||
| Automatically pick the winners within the software | ||
| Judges scores can be kept anonymous (from other judges) |
