The Premium Competitions insights
Where to find free competitions worth entering
Find free competitions through directories, forums and original organisers, then check the rules before entering.
A useful competition source helps you discover a prize and reach the original promotion. Start with a few sources you enjoy, then check each competition on the organiser’s own page.
Start with a category, not an endless list
Decide what you would like to win before browsing. A search for a short break, garden equipment or theatre tickets is easier to act on than a feed containing every possible prize. Our prize guides help you work out what each kind of offer should include.
Use a directory for discovery
There is no single competition directory that finds everything. Loquax, The PrizeFinder, Competition Database and Competitions Time all provide places to browse current UK competitions, while Online Competition concentrates on free-entry listings. Checking more than one can turn up promotions that another has missed.
Treat a directory as a way of discovering a promotion rather than as the final source of its rules. Follow through to the organiser before entering and avoid duplicate entries where the promotion limits how many times you can enter.
Read competition forums with context
The MoneySavingExpert Competitions Time forum has a long-running community sharing UK competitions and discussing entry details. Reddit can turn up different conversations: r/UKCompetitions is specifically about UK competitions, while relevant threads sometimes appear in communities such as r/AskUK. Community posts can be useful for discovering a promotion or spotting a problem, but verify important details with the organiser.
A forum answer is still something to verify where it matters. Confirm the current closing date, eligibility and required entry steps on the original promotion rather than relying on a copied summary. If an entry question needs research, check the answer rather than assuming a reply must be right.
Go directly to the organisations you like
Some publishers maintain their own competition pages, which means you can find prizes without using a directory at all. Depending on your interests, try MadeForMums for family prizes, olive for food, 220 Triathlon for sport, The Great Outdoors for outdoor prizes, or Women’s Fitness for health and fitness giveaways. Following publishers and brands you genuinely like on social media can also uncover short-lived competitions that never reach the larger directories.
Choose newsletters because their content interests you as well as for possible prizes. Read the subscription wording and use the unsubscribe route when you no longer want the messages. You do not need to join every mailing list to have a worthwhile comping hobby.
Treat social posts as a route to the rules
Check that an account is the organiser’s genuine account, especially when a post arrives through a share or private message. Follow the linked terms and confirm whether entry takes place in a comment, through a form or elsewhere. Do not assume that a lookalike account contacting you is connected to the original draw.
If you cannot find the full conditions, the organiser’s identity or a clear explanation of how the winner is selected, leave the offer on your “check later” list rather than filling in personal details.
Use the same final checks wherever you discover it
- Is the promotion still open, including any time-of-day deadline?
- Is the entry route free without a purchase, and are there postage costs?
- Do you meet the age, residency and other entry conditions?
- Could you use the prize on its stated dates and terms?
- Are you on the genuine organiser’s page?
For background on promotional practice, the Advertising Standards Authority’s prize draw guidance is a useful official reference. For your own routine, our ten practical comping habits focus on useful choices rather than promises of wins.