Best Software for 2025 is now live!
Show rating breakdown
Save to My Lists
Claimed
Claimed

Top Rated Zealous Alternatives

Zealous Reviews & Product Details

Zealous Overview

What is Zealous?

Zealous is the UK’s leading cloud-based submission management platform. Collect, manage, and review creative submissions all in one place. Save days on admin and grow your impact for competitions, grants, awards, residencies, exhibitions and more! Delight applicants and judges with beautiful experiences. Zealous automates your process, keeps everyone up to date, and gives you real-time insights into your applications as they come in. Our platform can be easily accessed from any device; laptop, tablet and phone. Visit our website to try for free.

Zealous Details
Show LessShow More
Product Description

Collect, manage, and review creative submissions all in one place. Save days on admin and grow your impact competitions, awards, residencies, exhibitions... Delight applicants and judges with beautiful experiences. Zealous automates your process, keeps everyone up to date, and gives you real-time insights into your applications as they come in.


Seller Details
Year Founded
2011
HQ Location
London
LinkedIn® Page
www.linkedin.com
17 employees on LinkedIn®

DJ
Overview Provided by:

Recent Zealous Reviews

SC
Simon C.Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
5.0 out of 5
"Outstanding customer service"
Customer service is by far the standout element of our experience with the Zealous platform. The platform is great but the personal, always on cust...
MM
Marieke M.Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
5.0 out of 5
"Zealous: fantastic customer service"
It has everything in one place: your competition page, competition entries, and scoring.
MJ
Marie J.Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)
3.5 out of 5
"Good system"
Recently used for submissions to an exhibition. Much better than receiving 100s of emails in my inbox. Scoring for judges is great and the Zealous ...
Security Badge
This seller hasn't added their security information yet. Let them know that you'd like them to add it.
1 person requested security information

Zealous Media

Zealous Demo - Real-time insights
Ditch cluttered inboxes, online forms and hours of your time compiling presentations and reports. Streamline submissions, judging & selection; all from one place.
Zealous Demo - Choose the best submissions effortlessly
Whether you’re selecting candidates in a single round or across many; Zealous makes selecting the right candidate(s) quick and painless. Use powerful filters and the ability to sort candidates by judges score, number of votes and more.
Zealous Demo - Get other’s input seamlessly
Zealous was built to delight judges and remove the complexities of managing people and gathering their valuable input.
Answer a few questions to help the Zealous community
Have you used Zealous before?
Yes

16 Zealous Reviews

4.7 out of 5
The next elements are filters and will change the displayed results once they are selected.
Search reviews
Popular Mentions
The next elements are radio elements and sort the displayed results by the item selected and will update the results displayed.
Hide FiltersMore Filters
The next elements are filters and will change the displayed results once they are selected.
The next elements are filters and will change the displayed results once they are selected.
16 Zealous Reviews
4.7 out of 5
16 Zealous Reviews
4.7 out of 5

Overall Review Sentiment for ZealousQuestion

Time to Implement
<1 day
>12 months
Return on Investment
<6 months
48+ months
Ease of Setup
0 (Difficult)
10 (Easy)
Log In
Want to see more insights from verified reviewers?
Log in to view review sentiment.
G2 reviews are authentic and verified.
SC
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

Customer service is by far the standout element of our experience with the Zealous platform. The platform is great but the personal, always on customer service is the element that makes the Zealous experience. This is the second year we have used Zealous as our awards platform and we saw a 50% increase in submissions this year which has far exceeded any expectations we had. Updates in UX and search functions have also aided to the usability of the platform. Both for artists submitting entries and also us using the platform to compile and judge entries. Five star service on a five star platform. Would highly recommend. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

We genuinely don't have any dislikes. As a returning customer, there's a reason we came back. And that was the usability and pricing of the platform and the personal customer service from the team at Zealous. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

We had hundreds of entries for our Awards this year. Without the platform managing that level of submissions would have been very time consuming. Zealous enables us to manage our awards within a framework that gives us structure and timing ensuring all entries are properly processed and judged. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

MM
Senior Executive
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic Review from User Profile
What do you like best about Zealous?

It has everything in one place: your competition page, competition entries, and scoring. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

It can be a bit daunting when you get started, but the help desk has a lot of articles that are easy to navigate, complemented by strong customer service. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

It's a one-size-fits-all platform for running smaller / less complex competitions with clear steps and notifications throughout to keep me on track. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Non-Profit Organization Management
AN
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

The Zealous back-end is incredibly simple and user-friendly. There's lots of brilliant advice and articles on the Zealous website - both with support for building a brilliant call-out but also for running an Awards project full stop.

The customer service and support from the team were excellent. Diana, my account manager, was a huge support, and when she wasn't available, there was always someone equally as lovely on hand to provide advice. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

The main issue we ran into was during the first round of judging. We needed to split scoring between several Judges, and the process became complicated due to the sorting functions. However, the team are incredibly responsive to feedback, and I have a feeling Zealous will rectify the issue soon :) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Zealous:

Make full use of the additional support offered - whether that's sessions with your account manager or reading their support articles. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

This project was our first time using a platform like Zealous, so from our perspective, it solved a lot of possible problems! Because the platform is user-friendly (both front and back end), we became very confident using it very quickly - meaning there was more time to focus on building the best possible call-out and ensuring it looked really exciting.

Another benefit to the user-friendly interface is that we spent very little time dealing with applicant queries and questions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

MJ
Artist
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

Recently used for submissions to an exhibition. Much better than receiving 100s of emails in my inbox. Scoring for judges is great and the Zealous team are always SO helpful with any questions I or my team have had. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

I wish I could select what information (using a sort of tick box) I want to download in a spreadsheet and be able to arrange the table myself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

Having a platform gave the project a more professional feel. It was great that all of the team and judges could log in independently to do their own work on the project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

MF
Deputy Director
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

Zealous has few competitors for our usage--accepting, managing submissions, shortlisting and judging for our Writer's Award. In terms of flexibility, price and accomodating us, they win hands down. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

The Zealous team is trying to accommodate our last sticking points--collecting optional donations--so we're hopeful this will work this year. The other portal we were considering offers the option of fee-free submissions, with no subscription fee, charging us only a percentage of donations made (which would likely beat Zealous on price). However, there's a basic question format they can't accommodate, so we're sticking with Zealous! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

Our Writer's Award has grown and grown in submissions annually, and collecting, reviewing and scoring them through Zealous has saved literally thousands of pounds in staff time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

James W.
JW
Managing Director
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

The platform is easy to use, gets updated frequently and it enables me to run two competitions without having to build the structure myself. Diana and Vasena are also extremely helpful in onboarding and managing the process too. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

Not really sure what the downsides are because it provides something that has proved really useful. There might be some comparative differences to similar platforms. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Zealous:

Start smaller with submissions limits and creep it up as needed, it takes seconds to change it so you don't need to worry. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

The platform helps us run the comps smoothly and centrally which saves my time but also means that the entrants know the deal and timeline plus the judges have a central place to judge from. This is way more important than it sounds when you find yourself with hundreds of entries. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Daphne S.
DS
Founder
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

Zealous has by far the best prices and allows monthly subscription which for us is a game changer. The customer service is also unparalleled! Website has a very easy-to-use muti functional backend! I cannot speak highly enough of this platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

Honestly there is nothing I dislike, but I wish they had the ability to create waiver codes for our members. I believe they are working on this! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

Zealous has completely streamlined our application process! This year we van allocate specific entries to judges, and upgrade our subscription as we go. These are huge benefifs! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

RG
Policy and Events Coordinator
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

The support from our Account Manager and from the rest of the support team was professional and quick - all issues were solved within a couple hours of logging it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

A few features were lacking, specific to our Awards programme, but with the support of the Zealous staff we found workarounds quickly. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

We have found a quick and easy Awards judging platform which is great value for money. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Dr. Maggie M.
DM
Curator (Studios & Residencies)
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

The judging and selection process is super easy to use, collaborative and saves so much time during recruitment! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

The only thing that didn't work so well for us is that you can't edit the template email that goes out to unsuccessful applicants - it would be good to have greater control over this part of the process. We found ways around it though. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

This year we managed one of our first major awards, and underwent a large recruitment drive. As a small team, Zealous has made this a total breeze. It makes it so much easier to collate and review applications all in one place, have numerous colleagues judge and score applications and manage the feedback process! We are now using the platform for all our recruitment and other oppertunities, as it makes life so much easier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Media Production
AM
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
More Options
Validated Reviewer
Verified Current User
Review source: Organic
What do you like best about Zealous?

The dedicated account manager Diana who has guided me from Step 1 and continues to in every aspect of the submission process, I really couldn't ask for a better service! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Zealous?

There are a couple of functions that could improve, for example, an auto-save on the guideline page and bespoke templates to send to the unselected/selected submissions. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Zealous solving and how is that benefiting you?

Zealous is helping with mass communication by marketing the open call and then organizing and contacting the submissions through spreadsheets and auto-email! The benefits are never-ending. Everything about Zealous is a benefit! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.