Every July and August, I start getting emails from my blog readers, most of them parents, asking the same question: Is Baby of the Year a scam?
I completely understand why people ask. When you see a contest asking parents to enter their babies, collect votes, share links everywhere and compete for prizes, it is easy to wonder whether there is something shady going on behind the scenes.
So I decided to revisit Baby of the Year because I actually entered my toddler a few years ago. And after looking into how the contest works, my conclusion is pretty simple: I would not call Baby of the Year a scam.
But there is another question I think parents should be asking before they enter their child in the 2026 contest.
Is it actually worth it?
And honestly, that answer is a little more complicated.
What Is Baby of the Year?
Baby of the Year is essentially an online baby photo contest hosted by Jessica Alba, powered by Colossal.org and for babies under 24 months.
According to the campaign ”One baby will appear in a national ad campaign with The Honest Company, win $25,000, and be celebrated in the pages of Variety Magazine”
Basically, you submit a cute photo of your baby, the baby gets a profile or contest entry, and then you try to collect as many votes as possible.
The part that parents sometimes underestimate is just how much of the contest revolves around getting those votes.
Once your baby is entered, you can find yourself sharing the contest page with relatives, friends, Facebook groups and pretty much anyone you think might be willing to vote. And if you are competitive, it can quickly become a surprisingly time consuming little project.
So, Is Baby of the Year a Scam?
It’s not really a scam perse, however there have been fraud allegations over the years. Firstly, It’s hosted by Jessica Alba, an American actress whose Honest Company was sued by shareholders for alleged fraud for failing to disclose essential details about sales and the coronavirus.
Secondly, it’s not really a free contest perse. The first round is free, which almost everyone wins. But after that, it involves fierce contesting via paid votes to progress in the competition.
Thirdly, ‘Collosal.org’ (the organization powering the contest) takes 50% of the donations for profit purpose.
They get people to pay money for votes which they claim are donated. Reading the rules page, Only 50% is donated. The “Fundraising Campaign” operator – DTCare – takes LITERALLY 50% of all donations, which they justify as “competition fees” (36.5%) and “variable costs” (13.5%).
Hundreds of thousands may be donated.
Let’s break it down: suppose the contest gathers $100,000 in donations, after deducting 50% for various fees and costs, they would end up with about $50,000. Reflecting on these numbers leads me to ponder the transparency and distribution of these funds. The simple fact that 50% is for-profit for an online contest seems wildly inefficient, as per a peer.
Is It Worth Entering Baby of the Year 2026 contest?
If you are asking me as a mom whether I think you should enter, my answer is: sure, if you can treat it as a bit of fun.
I would not, however, enter expecting to win. That is the mindset I would have going into it.
If you have a beautiful photo of your baby and you think it would be fun to share it with friends and family, there is nothing wrong with giving it a try.
But if you are going to spend hours every day chasing votes, posting repeatedly and stressing about rankings, I honestly don’t think the potential reward is worth that level of effort.
Especially when you have a baby or toddler to look after.
I would rather spend that time actually enjoying my child than constantly refreshing a contest page to see whether we moved up another position.
Should you register your baby for this contest?
As a parent myself, I honestly don’t think it’s worth my time and money. Yeah, money is involved if you want to progress to the last stage of the competition. So while the baby of the year contest is not a scam is not worth it for me as a parent when I know the chances of wining is very slim. Plus the fact that only 50% of the donations paid via voting actually gets used for the right causes.