Iron Viz

The 2026 Iron Viz Qualifier results are in.

Three viz-whizzes served up a five-star data experience that won over the judges. Now they're headed to the big stage.

Hundreds of vizzes. Three finalists. One champion.

After pouring over 122 submissions from the global Tableau community, the judges selected the top three contenders who turned Food and Drink data into visual feasts. Get ready to witness them go head-to-head (and marks-to-marks) live during the Iron Viz Championship at Tableau Conference May 5–7, 2026, in San Diego.

Watch the replay of the LinkedIn livestream where the top 10 visualizations and three finalists were revealed, or head to the blog for all the details.

Register for TC26

Meet your 2026 Iron Viz finalists.

Get to know the competitors who whipped up powerful visualizations with the perfect blend of design, analysis, and storytelling.

Fame, glory, and prizes

Every qualifying participant earns a LinkedIn Badge and a spot in the Iron Viz Gallery—plus, feedback and scores are available on request.

The top 10 finishers snag a $200 Tableau Store gift card to deck out your data swag. The top 3 finalists move on to the Iron Viz Championship, where the stakes are sky-high:

  • 1st place: $15,000 cash prize; $15,000 to a nonprofit of choice; and the Iron Viz Champion trophy
  • 2nd place: $6,000 cash prize; and $6,000 to a nonprofit of choice
  • 3rd place: $6,000 cash prize; and $6,000 to a nonprofit of choice

And the prestige of competing on the global Iron Viz stage? Priceless.

Find your 'why.' It’s not just about winning or comparing your viz to others. Build something you love, challenge your skills, and try something new. There are countless reasons to enter—and the community has your back. You won’t regret it.

CJ Mayes
Tableau Visionary and Iron Viz Finalist, London, UK

See the best of Iron Viz.

Explore the Iron Viz Gallery, filled with visualization masterpieces from previous qualifiers.

Visit the gallery

Judging Criteria

Design

  • Visual elements add to the overall understanding of the visualization rather than distract
  • Interactivity and layout are user-friendly, instructed/specified, and purposeful
  • Charts are clearly presenting the data
  • Charts contain a title, summary, and/or caption
  • All charts contribute to the story
  • Accessibility is applied - colorblind/low vision (contrast) friendly palette, limited use of images to convey text, font size 12pt or larger

Analysis

  • Viz topic aligns with contest theme
  • Dataset and calculations appear to be accurate and clean
  • Analysis illustrates profound insights grasped from visualizations
  • Analysis supports the story being told
  • Analysis has been mostly produced within Tableau
  • Analysis highlights a broad range of Tableau capabilities

Storytelling

  • A clear story is being told
  • Story flows through visualizations and guides consumers from question to insight
  • Visualizations and animations support the story being told
  • The story includes a unique idea or perspective
  • The story being told has complexity/nuance that elevates the visualizations.
  • Storytelling captures and maintains interest throughout the entire viz

Qualifier Contest FAQ

Iron Viz is the world’s largest data visualization competition. Taking place at Tableau Conference in San Diego, three worthy contestants take center stage in front of a global audience and have 20 minutes to deliver a compelling and awe-inspiring story using the same data set.

Iron Viz, the world's largest data visualization competition, is held on the keynote stage at Tableau Conference every year. The three finalists are selected from a global qualifier competition, which usually happens towards the second half of the year and is open for one month.

A panel comprised of Tableau ambassadors, previous Iron Viz finalists, data viz experts, and guest judges will evaluate all submissions based on the following criteria:

  1. Design
  2. Storytelling
  3. Analysis

Analysis will be the tiebreaker in case two vizzes have the same overall score. Should the Analysis score also be tied, the panel of judges will make a final decision.

Scores and feedback can be provided upon request by filling out this form after the contest is over.

Iron Viz: Student Edition is a competition open exclusively to students, though we encourage you to participate in both. Iron Viz: Student Edition is intended for college students looking to develop their viz skills in a challenging setting with their peers before jumping into the greater vizzing community with Iron Viz. This competition is a great introduction into the world of viz competitions. Iron Viz: Student Edition winners will have the opportunity to connect with members of the Tableau Community with a funded trip to Tableau Conference. Visit the website to learn more and stay updated on the student competition.