A meme contest is one of the easiest ways to bring a friend group to life: everyone knows how to take part, it takes two minutes and the trash talk is guaranteed. But without rules, the usual happens: three people post memes, nobody votes and a week later it’s forgotten.

This guide covers what actually makes a meme contest last longer than a week.

What you need before you start

A group of 4 to 10 people. Fewer than three and there’s little competition; too many and voting becomes a chore.
An organizer, or an app that plays that role: someone has to open the round, collect the memes and count the votes.
A meme editor. Any phone app will do.
Written rules. Two lines pinned in the chat prevent arguments later.

Step 1: pick a format

Three formats work well:

Format	Pace	Upside	Risk
Daily round	One meme a day	Builds a habit: the group talks every day	Burns out the organizer if done by hand
Weekly round	One meme a week	Low effort, more polished memes	Easy to forget
Themed contest	One-off event	Great for birthdays, trips or the end of a school year	No continuity

If you want a group that stays alive, the daily round works best: it’s short, it builds a routine and there’s always something to talk about.

Step 2: set clear rules

The rules that prevent the most drama:

One meme per person per round. Otherwise whoever spams the most wins.
A fixed deadline, for example 6:00 PM. Late entries don’t count.
The same templates or prompt for everyone. That way you compare wit, not who found the weirdest template. A fun twist: deal everyone three random templates.
Nobody votes on their own meme.
No memes that genuinely hurt someone in the group. The point is to laugh together.

Step 3: make voting anonymous

This is the most important rule, and the one almost nobody follows. If people know who made each meme, they vote for their friends, not for the best meme. With anonymous voting, you vote for the meme, not the person.

To do it by hand:

The organizer gets the memes privately and posts them numbered, without names.
Everyone votes privately to the organizer or through an anonymous poll.
Authors are revealed when voting closes. That moment is half the fun.

The catch: the organizer can’t vote (they know who made what) and every round is a fair bit of work for them.

Step 4: choose a fair scoring system

The most common system, “everyone votes for their favorite”, has a flaw: with few voters you get constant ties. It works better to rate each meme from 1 to 5 stars and keep the average:

meme score = total stars ÷ number of votes

The average is fairer than the total because it doesn’t reward the meme the most people saw, but the one rated highest by the people who saw it.

A great extra is a special vote each round for the meme that made you laugh the most, worth bonus points. In MemeCoop it’s called “Absolute Cinema” and it adds 3 points.

Step 5: prizes and seasons

No prize, no rivalry. Ideas that cost nothing:

A monthly leaderboard. Add up the points from every round and reset each month. A short season keeps it exciting: whoever is last can bounce back next month.
Title of the month. The winner picks the group photo, the group name or where you meet up next.
Meme of the week. On Sunday, a special vote among the week’s best.
A symbolic forfeit for last place, agreed on before you start.

20 prompts for your first rounds

Me on Monday morning
Our group ten years from now
What I said I’d do this weekend vs. what I did
When someone suggests meeting up and nobody replies
Each person in the group as a type of voice message
Tomorrow’s exam (or meeting)
Our last night out, summarized
The last week before payday
The perfect Sunday
Me explaining something I don’t understand
The first time I cooked for myself
Vacation: expectations vs. reality
The upstairs neighbor
My parents vs. technology
When the teacher or boss says “just one more thing”
My relationship with my alarm clock
The group trying to plan a dinner
Me trying to work out
The song of the summer
My last text at 3 AM

By hand or with an app?

	By hand (WhatsApp, Discord…)	With an app like MemeCoop
Templates	Everyone finds their own	Three random ones per person, every day
Anonymous voting	Needs an organizer who doesn’t play	Automatic: authors are revealed when voting closes
Scoring	Counted by hand	Automatic average plus the “Absolute Cinema” bonus
Leaderboard & seasons	A spreadsheet	Monthly leaderboard with a podium and history archive
Consistency	Depends on someone keeping it going	A new round every day, with optional reminders

By hand works for a one-off event. For a daily contest that lasts for months, the organizer usually burns out, which is why there are apps that automate the boring part and leave you the fun one.

Frequently asked questions

How many people do you need for a meme contest?

Three is enough for a competition, but four to ten is ideal. With more people, split into groups or have everyone vote only for their top three.

Should voting be anonymous?

Yes. If the author is visible, people vote for the person. Anonymous voting rewards the meme, and revealing the authors at the end is a highlight.

What if someone misses a day?

They don’t score that day. To keep people motivated, some groups allow one free pass a month that forgives a missed round.