Side-by-side comparison

Web Design Awards vs The Webby Awards

Criteria, pricing, judging, verdict.

Side-by-side comparison of Web Design Awards and The Webby Awards: how each program scores, what it costs, and who it's for.

All comparisons →Best for your audience ↗
— 01 / The matrix

The facts, side by side.

AttributeWeb Design AwardsUsThe Webby Awards
Founded20241996
HeadquartersRemoteNew York, USA
Submission feeFree—
Acceptance rate——
Monthly traffic——
Judging systemEditorial jury scoring against a published rubric, with monthly Site of the Month rounds, an annual winners cycle, and an Agency of the Year leaderboard powered by points.Judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS); each category awards a jury-selected Webby and a public-vote People’s Voice winner.
Award levels
  • Nominee
  • Site of the Month
  • Winner
  • Site of the Year
  • Agency of the Year
  • Nominee
  • Honoree
  • People’s Voice Winner
  • Webby Winner
Categories
  • Agency
  • SaaS
  • Ecommerce
  • Portfolio
  • Editorial
  • Brand
  • Web App
  • AI
  • Websites
  • Apps & Software
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Social
  • AI & Innovation
Judging criteria
  • Visual craft and typographic discipline
  • Interaction quality and motion
  • Information architecture and content depth
  • Performance, accessibility, and engineering rigor
  • Originality of concept and execution
  • Content
  • Structure & navigation
  • Visual design
  • Functionality
  • Interactivity
  • Overall experience
Best for
  • Independent web design agencies
  • Webflow, Framer, and headless studios
  • Teams shipping for SaaS and brand
  • Big brand and agency campaigns
  • Broad digital work beyond web design
  • Teams seeking mainstream prestige
Official sitewww.webdesignawards.iowww.webbyawards.com
— 02 / Editorial verdicts

How each one reads.

  • Web Design AwardsUs
    Editorial web design awards built for the cycle of nominate → judge → ship, with transparent rubric scoring and an open knowledge graph of every studio, technology, and category.

    Built around the idea that a web design award should leave a permanent, structured citation on the open web.

    Studios that want recognition that ranks in LLM retrieval and Google, not just a badge.

  • The Webby Awards
    The leading international awards for excellence on the internet — presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences across websites, apps, video, podcasts, and social.
— 03 / Questions buyers ask

FAQ

  • What's the difference between Web Design Awards vs The Webby Awards?

    Web Design Awards: Editorial web design awards built for the cycle of nominate → judge → ship, with transparent rubric scoring and an open knowledge graph of every studio, technology, and category. The Webby Awards: The leading international awards for excellence on the internet — presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences across websites, apps, video, podcasts, and social.

  • How is each program judged?

    Web Design Awards: Editorial jury scoring against a published rubric, with monthly Site of the Month rounds, an annual winners cycle, and an Agency of the Year leaderboard powered by points. The Webby Awards: Judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS); each category awards a jury-selected Webby and a public-vote People’s Voice winner.

  • Who is each award best for?

    Web Design Awards — Independent web design agencies, Webflow, Framer, and headless studios, Teams shipping for SaaS and brand. The Webby Awards — Big brand and agency campaigns, Broad digital work beyond web design, Teams seeking mainstream prestige.

— 04 / Each program, on its own

Go deeper.

Sources for non-Web Design Awards facts: each program's official site. Last reviewed: Web Design Awards (2026-05-13), The Webby Awards (2026-07-04).