TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Disrupt by the numbers

Every figure links to where it came from. Attendance for an event that has not happened is a projection, and each row says so rather than presenting it as a count.

• Dates13 to 15 Oct

  Official TechCrunch event pages. Moscone West, San Francisco. TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

• Attendees, stated10,000+

  Repeated on TechCrunch's own ticket posts as founders, VCs and operators. Organiser figure. TechCrunch ticket post

• Battlefield prize$100,000

  Startup Battlefield 200, equity-free, on TechCrunch's own pages. Application, not a ticket add-on. TechCrunch Disrupt

What is Disrupt?

TechCrunch Disrupt is the publication's annual startup conference in San Francisco. The 2026 dates are 13 to 15 October at Moscone West. It is built around Startup Battlefield, an expo of a few hundred startups, and a press-heavy stage. It is not Web Summit and it is not Slush. The room is smaller, more US, and more media.

Who goes to Disrupt?

Early-stage founders who want press and investor density, and the VCs who work that stage. Operators from later-stage companies show up for the stages. If you need 70,000 people and a matchmaking engine, that is Web Summit in November. If you need Battlefield and the TechCrunch audience, this is the week.

Disrupt side events

TechCrunch has cited 80-plus side events across the Bay Area around Disrupt. They sit on Luma, on company pages and in investor calendars, not on one official sheet. The Deal Flow Café and curated matchmaking are inside the paid conference. Aspire does not run those nights.

Disrupt tickets and costs

Register on the TechCrunch Disrupt event page. An Attendee pass was listed at 849 dollars on the registration flow when last checked, with Expo-only at 249 dollars and Founder at 899 dollars. Earlier discount windows closed in August 2026. Confirm the live tier. Stay in SoMa or around Moscone. October in San Francisco is the cold, foggy one. A jacket beats optimism.

• Attendee$849

  Listed on the 2026 registration flow when last checked. Stages, expo and networking. Earlier discount windows had already closed. TechCrunch Disrupt registration

• Expo+$249

  Expo floor only, same registration flow. The cheap way to walk the hall without the stages. TechCrunch Disrupt registration

• Founder$899

  Founder pass on the same flow. Matchmaking and founder programming sit here, not on Expo+. TechCrunch Disrupt registration

Getting to Moscone West

Moscone West is on Howard Street, walkable from Powell Street BART and from most SoMa hotels. SFO to Powell is the BART ride. Oakland is possible and slower. Do not rent a car for three days in SoMa.

Where to stay for Disrupt

SoMa, between Moscone and the Twitter-era mid-Market hotels. Union Square works. A Marina or Sunset hotel looks charming and costs you 40 minutes each way. Book early. Dreamforce is mid-September in the same city and soaks inventory.

What to know before booking Disrupt

Battlefield is an application, not a ticket. Paying for Attendee does not put you on that stage. Expo-only is the cheap way to walk the floor and miss the stages. Founder and Investor passes are the ones with the matchmaking TechCrunch actually sells.

What runs alongside Disrupt

Named events on their own dates, and in several cases their own tickets. Booking the main days only is how people miss them.

• Startup Battlefield 200During Disrupt, 13 to 15 October 2026

  Pre-Series A pitch competition. 100,000 dollars equity-free. Application, not a ticket.

Disrupt: common questions