Does Code4rena require making my code public?

Yes. Code4rena contests require public codebase access during the contest period. Use private audits or AI auditing for confidential code.

SmartContractAuditor.ai

AI-Powered Smart Contract Verification

Audit Model Comparison

Competitive Audit vs AI Audit: Two Different Security Models

Code4rena and CodeHawks run competitive audits — dozens of independent researchers race to find bugs in your code. AI auditing scans for vulnerabilities in seconds. Both have distinct roles in a security strategy.

Code4rena has paid out $50M+ to security researchers and discovered critical bugs in Uniswap, Blur, and OpenSea contracts. Competitive audits surface novel attack vectors — but they're slow, public, and expensive.

Code4rena / Competitive Audits vs SmartContractAuditor.ai — At a Glance

Feature	Code4rena / Competitive Audits	SmartContractAuditor.ai
Code confidentiality	Public during contest	Private
Turnaround	3–6 weeks	< 60 seconds
Researcher diversity	✓ 50–200 researchers	AI + tooling
Novel attack vectors	✓ High discovery rate	Known patterns only
Starting cost	$20,000 min prize pool	Free
Iterative re-scans	New contest = new cost	Unlimited
Pre-launch use	Code disclosure required	✓ Private
Guaranteed coverage	Depends on participation	✓ Always runs

What Code4rena / Competitive Audits Does Well

Dozens of independent researchers with different specializations review simultaneously
Novel attack vectors surface that a single auditor might miss — diverse perspectives
Pay-for-performance model: you only pay significant amounts when real bugs are found

Key Limitations

Code must be made public during the contest — unsuitable for pre-launch or proprietary logic
3–5 week contest window makes competitive audits incompatible with tight launch timelines
Variable researcher participation — low-prize contests attract fewer top researchers

Code4rena / Competitive Audits Cost

$20,000 – $200,000 (prize pool)

Code4rena / Competitive Audits Timeline

3 – 6 weeks

AI Audit Cost

Free – $100/mo

AI Audit Timeline

< 60 seconds

How Code4rena Competitive Audits Work

Code4rena operates "audit contests." You submit your codebase with a defined scope and a prize pool (minimum $20,000, major protocols often $100,000–$500,000). The contest runs for 2–4 weeks, during which any registered security researcher can submit findings.

Findings are judged by a panel of wardens (experienced researchers). Rewards are distributed based on finding severity and uniqueness — researchers who find the same bug split the reward. The protocol receives a comprehensive report at the end.

The key variable: researcher participation scales with prize pool size. A $500k contest attracts 200+ researchers including top-tier talent. A $20k contest might get 15. Your security coverage is partially determined by how much money you put in.

Where AI Auditing Fits in the Competitive Audit Workflow

Competitive audits and AI auditing are complementary, not competing:

AI audit during development — Catch and fix common vulnerability patterns before your codebase is finalized.
Pre-contest AI scan — Clean up the obvious findings so contest researchers can focus on novel attack vectors. Fewer low-hanging fruit = higher-quality contest submissions.
Run the Code4rena contest — Expose your clean codebase to 50–200 researchers for novel attack discovery.
Post-contest AI scan — Verify all reported vulnerabilities are fixed and no regressions introduced.