Accelerators & incubators to join an accelerator
Accelerators, incubators and investor-run startup programmes. Everything below helps you join an accelerator, ranked by editor score.
Updated October 2026 · 26 listings
How to choose accelerators & incubators to join an accelerator
Compare accelerators on the deal (cash in exchange for what percentage of equity), the strength of the alumni and investor network, the stage and sectors they back, whether the programme is remote or in person, and their batch dates. A good accelerator is a fundraising shortcut; a weak one costs you equity for a coworking desk.
Y Combinator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$500K for 7% plus an MFN SAFE, a three-month batch in San Francisco and the best-known demo day.
a16z speedrun 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$500K for 10% on a SAFE, $500K more in your next round, plus over $10M in partner credits.
Techstars Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$220K (5% plus an uncapped MFN SAFE) for a three-month, mentor-driven programme in cities worldwide.
YC Startup School 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Y Combinator's free, self-paced online course with weekly progress updates and co-founder matching.
Entrepreneur First 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Co-founder matching for individuals, an equity-free living grant, then up to $250K (8% SAFE + MFN SAFE).
PearX 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Pear VC's 12-week Bay Area programme: $500K to $2M, targeting 7% ownership, applications year-round.
South Park Commons Founder Fellowship 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$400K for 7% on a SAFE plus $600K guaranteed in your next round, for founders still finding their idea.
Berkeley SkyDeck Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Six-month UC Berkeley accelerator: about 20 startups a batch each get $210K from the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund.
Accel Atoms 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Accel's pre-seed programme for Indian and Indian-origin founders: up to $1M (Atoms X) or $2M (Atoms AI).
Antler 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Inception-stage investor in about 26 locations; in Europe EUR 100K for 8.5% plus EUR 100K on an MFN convertible.
Seedcamp 🚀 AcceleratorFree
European pre-seed and seed fund with a first cheque of $350K to $1.25M and a two-week decision process.
SOSV (HAX, SOSV NY, SOSV SF) 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Deep tech pre-seed investor: up to $550K per company through HAX (hard tech) and its NY and SF programmes.
Thiel Fellowship 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$250,000 grant over two years, no equity, for builders aged 22 or under who skip or leave college.
Google for Startups Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Equity-free accelerator for technical Seed to Series A startups, with Google mentors and product credits.
AI Grant 🚀 AcceleratorFree
$250K uncapped MFN SAFE for AI-native pre-seed and seed startups, plus a large credits bundle and SF demo day.
Sequoia Arc 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Sequoia's twice-yearly open call for pre-seed and seed founders, with a four-day Arc Intensive.
Emergent Ventures 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Fast grants and fellowships from the Mercatus Center for people with scalable "zero to one" ideas.
Z Fellows 🚀 AcceleratorFree
One-week fellowship with an optional $10,000 investment at a $1B cap; rolling applications.
Berkeley SkyDeck Pad-13 🚀 AcceleratorFree
SkyDeck's incubator track for idea-stage teams with a University of California-affiliated founder.
500 Global Flagship (500 Fellowship) 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
Four-month San Francisco programme: up to $50K right away and up to $1M more as you progress; note the $35K Phase 1 fee.
STATION F Fighters Program 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Free STATION F programme in Paris for founders from atypical or underprivileged backgrounds.
STATION F Founders Program 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
STATION F's own early-stage programme in Paris: desks from EUR 259 a month for 3 to 18 months, rolling applications.
Alchemist Accelerator 🚀 AcceleratorFree
Six-month accelerator for enterprise AI-SaaS and deeptech; most companies grant about 5% equity.
ODF Founder Fellowship (formerly On Deck) 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
One-week, in-person founder sprint in San Francisco; non-dilutive, pay-what-you-can (suggested $1,000).
Founder Institute 🚀 AcceleratorPaid
Part-time pre-accelerator in 200+ cities: paid entrance fee plus a 2.5% equity warrant, no investment.
MassChallenge 🚀 AcceleratorFreemium
Global nonprofit accelerator network connecting founders in healthcare, climate, security, food systems and finance with corporate partners.
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