10 edtech software awards, and who keeps winning them
Ten awards for education software, from CODiE to Bett: what each costs, how entries work, and how Cambium, Discovery Education and IXL pile up wins.
Nearly every award in education software charges the maker to enter, and the companies that win the most are the ones that enter the most. This list covers ten programs for edtech tools, what each one costs, and the pattern behind the winners' press releases. Fees and dates were read from the organisers' pages and winners' releases in November 2026; some pages would not load, and those figures are marked. A companion list covers awards for children's learning products.
1. SIIA CODiE Awards. The oldest of the group; its 2026 launch release marked 40 years. The 2026 round had 228 finalists in 75 categories. Rules say two expert judges review each entry, with a live demo for product categories, then a public vote. A search summary of SIIA's FAQ listed $595 for members, but we could not confirm it, and found no non-member price.
2. EdTech Breakthrough Awards. The 2026 program was the eighth. Entries are online only, and the same product can go in several categories. We could not find the fee or the judging rules on pages we could read.
3. EdTech Awards (EdTech Digest). In its 16th year in 2026, with three tracks: Cool Tool, Leadership and Trendsetter. Judging for 2027 runs November to February. Fee and judges were not stated on pages we could read.
4. Bett Awards (London). The 2027 ceremony is on 20 January 2027. Judges are described as "EdTech industry leaders, advisors and professionals". We found no fee.
5. Tech & Learning Awards. The magazine's Best of Show at ISTELive 2026 cost $625 per entry, with a form and a fee for each product, and entrants needed a presence at ISTE. That favours companies with a booth.
6. SmartBrief EdTech Readers' Choice. Also $625 per product in the version we found, and readers vote, so a company with a large email list has an edge.
7. ETIH Innovation Awards. The clearest price list: for 2027, early entries are £105 for one and £380 for five, rising to £125 and £450 at the standard rate. It says paying does not guarantee a finalist place.
8. WorldWiDE EdTech Awards. Free to enter. The 2026 winners were announced on 9 February, including Lumio from SMART Technologies and Bedrock Learning. Its judging panel was criticised as undisclosed, and free entry means the badge is cheap to win.
9. Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence. In 2026 the early-bird fee was $520 per entry, per category, and one entry can win in several categories. The education-institution category is free but isn't for software.
10. Top EdTech Products of the Year (FETC and District Administration). Winners get a badge and a marketing kit. Older posts list $149 to $199 to enter; we could not confirm the current fee.
Who keeps winning
- Cambium Learning Group (Lexia, Voyager Sopris, Learning A-Z, ExploreLearning). A four-time CODiE winner in 2026 across three brands, named a 2026 EdTech Breakthrough company of the year, and a Tech & Learning winner through Voyager Sopris.
- Discovery Education. Five solutions were named CODiE finalists in 2026, and its Digital Citizenship Initiative won.
- Carnegie Learning. CODiE wins for MATHia and Patterns in October 2025.
- IXL. Claims 13 awards in 2025, the most of any edtech product. That is the company's own count.
- MobyMax and PowerSchool. Two CODiE awards and an EdTech Breakthrough LMS win in 2026.
We found no 2026 wins for Khan Academy, Duolingo, Brainly, Newsela, Amplify or Boclips. That is a limit of what we could read, not proof they never won; large consumer brands may simply not enter.
How they win
- Volume and category-shopping. Several programs allow many products, or one product in many categories, so a big company can enter dozens of times.
- A press release for every step. A finalist release and a winner release are separate news events, sent through wire services.
- Pay for the entry, announce the win. We found no evidence about acceptance rates, so we can't say how selective any of them is. We also have no evidence that fees decide outcomes, so "bought" would be too strong.
What a school buyer should do
- Ask what the award measured. A live demo is a different test from a reader vote.
- Count the entries. If a company has eight badges, ask how many programs it paid to enter.
- Prefer evidence from classrooms over a badge.
What this means for Peabody
Peabody (try the stories) is free through the end of 2026, with no ads and no sign-up, and has won none of these. The pattern above is the lesson: copy the winners' habit of making every result easy to share and check, then go further by publishing how Peabody works and what a child's page can and can't collect. Our plan is to start with the free program and apply to the ones where a live demo is judged. Look at the library and tell us what we missed.
Sources
- SIIA CODiE launch release and winners' releases, 2026; Business Wire, 3BL and GlobeNewswire winner releases for Cambium, Discovery Education, Carnegie Learning, MobyMax and PowerSchool.
- EdTech Breakthrough, EdTech Digest, Bett, Tech & Learning, SmartBrief, ETIH, WorldWiDE, Stevie and FETC organiser pages, read November 2026.
Checked against how Peabody works on 8 November 2026. Written with help from AI. Peabody is a reading app, not a reading assessment: if you're worried about your child's reading, talk to their teacher. Questions, or something wrong? Write to hello@peabody.kids.