First it’s important to say that our answer is not fully unbiased here since we offer professional hackathon organization services. We’ll try to do our best to give you the comprehensive answer here. Deciding whether to organize a hackathon yourself or hire a professional company will depend on various factors such as your resources, expertise, goals, the size and complexity of the hackathon, and most of all your ability to reach and attract a target group. It may be relatively easy to organize all hackathon logistics. It’s more difficult to attract a bigger crowd. Organizing a hackathon yourself can be a good option if: you have access to your target group, you have some prior experience with hackathon event planning, there's a team at your disposal with the necessary skills to handle the technical aspects of the hackathon. It can also be a more cost-effective option if you have a limited budget. However, organizing a hackathon can be a complex and time-consuming process, and there are many logistical and technical challenges that need to be addressed, such as venue selection, marketing, registration, sponsorships, and technical support. If you don't have the expertise or resources to handle these aspects, it can be challenging to organize a successful hackathon - especially if you’re doing it for the first time. In some cases it may also be a reasonable solution to do some work yourself (i.e. onsite organization) while still relying on platforms like ChallengeRocket to manage the process and/or leverage our talent network to reach more specialists. It’s always good to consider all of your options carefully, and choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.