TechCrunch opened a five-day buy-one-get-one promotion for Disrupt 2026 passes on May 4, cutting 50% off a second ticket of the same type through May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT. The deepest discount lands on the investor tier at $499 off, with founder passes saving $399 and general attendee passes up to $444. The conference itself runs October 13–15 in San Francisco.
The pricing structure rewards bringing a second person from the same organization. Founder passes save $399 on the second seat, attendee passes up to $444, non-profit passes $214, and Expo+ passes $149. The discount applies only when both passes are the same type, which steers buyers toward team pairs rather than mixed bundles.
TechCrunch is projecting 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders across the three-day event, with 300+ startups in the showcase area and 250+ sessions on the agenda. That headcount puts Disrupt back in the range of its pre-pandemic peak years and makes it one of the larger US startup gatherings on the 2026 calendar.
Key facts
- 01TechCrunch is offering 50% off a second pass to Disrupt 2026 when buying two of the same ticket type, valid through May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
- 02Savings range from $149 on Expo+ passes to $499 on investor passes, with founder ($399), attendee ($444), and non-profit ($214) tiers in between.
- 03Disrupt 2026 runs October 13–15 in San Francisco with 300+ showcasing startups and 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders expected.
- 04The agenda lists 250+ sessions across three days, plus the Startup Battlefield 200 competition with a $100,000 equity-free prize.
- 05TechCrunch's next event, StrictlyVC Athens, follows on May 27.
The pitch competition remains the marquee draw. Startup Battlefield 200 finalists compete for a $100,000 equity-free prize, alongside TechCrunch editorial coverage and direct VC exposure. For early-stage founders, that combination has historically been worth more than the prize itself.
“The discount runs only 5 days and tops out at $499 off a second investor pass, with founder, attendee, non-profit, and Expo+ tiers shaving $399, $444, $214, and $149 respectively.”— Jaeden Schafer
The BOGO framing is unusual for a tech conference at this scale. Most major industry events — RSA, Web Summit, Money20/20 — use early-bird tiers and group rates rather than time-boxed pair discounts. TechCrunch's structure assumes attendees get materially more value when they arrive with a partner who can split sessions, which is a defensible claim at an event with 250+ concurrent tracks.
"No one person can cover Disrupt on their own," the company wrote in its announcement, framing the deal less as a markdown and more as an attendance-pattern nudge. The argument: two people can "split up and cover more ground," "compare what you're hearing on the spot," and "leave knowing what you're going to do next."
Pricing for solo passes saves up to $410 off door rates if registered now, separate from the BOGO promo. Stacking the two — early registration plus a paired second ticket — is where the math gets aggressive, particularly for VC firms sending multiple partners or founding teams sending co-founders.
The non-profit tier at $214 in second-pass savings is the smallest absolute discount but reflects an already-reduced base price. Expo+ passes, aimed at the show-floor crowd scouting talent or demoing emerging tech, save $149 on the second seat — the entry point for anyone wanting on-site access without the full session schedule.
Whether the offer materially lifts attendance is the open question. Conference economics depend heavily on corporate-card budget cycles, and a five-day window in early May may catch some buyers before Q3 travel budgets are locked. TechCrunch has not disclosed registration numbers to date, so the lift will be visible only in the October headcount.
For TechCrunch, Disrupt remains the franchise event anchoring its broader programming, which includes StrictlyVC Athens on May 27. Bundling discounts across both could expand the funnel, though the current promo is Disrupt-only. The deadline is firm: May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT, after which prices reset upward.
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