The 57 Best Startup Incubators in the World, Sorted by Country (2026)

A startup incubator is usually a university, city or lab program that helps you before you have much to show. Many take no money and no equity. Many also take only one university's students or one city's founders, and you often find that out only after reading the eligibility page.

This list puts those conditions up front. Each of the 57 entries says who can apply, whether the program takes equity, and what it costs, or says "not published" when the site doesn't say. Programs that invest a fixed check for equity and end in a demo day are in our startup accelerators list.

Last checked on October 1, 2026.

Incubator or accelerator: which one you need

If you have a prototype and no revenue, the incubator column is usually closer to where you are. Y Combinator is an accelerator, and how to get into Y Combinator and Y Combinator alternatives cover that route. If you have no program yet, a pitch competition costs less to enter. For programs with a check and a demo day, see the startup accelerators list.

United States

Eleven incubators. Four take any founder who meets their terms, two need a climate or hardware fit, and five only take one university's people. For a founder with only an idea and no university link, 1871's early-stage track is the one that starts at the idea stage.

1871

1871 offers membership for early-stage startups, from idea to product-market fit, and for growth-stage companies, with Tech Founders cohorts for Black, Latinx and women founders. Members get space, programs, perks, events and 10 Innovation Labs in areas such as AI, climate, fintech and health tech. The early-stage track starts at the idea stage.

Geekdom

Geekdom is for pre-revenue founders and growth-stage companies in San Antonio. Geekdom runs coworking plus an incubator program, and incubator applications were open when we checked.

Tampa Bay Wave

Tampa Bay Wave is for tech startups at any stage, through sector programs called CyberTech|X, HealthTech|X, FinTech|X, DefenseTech|X and Tech|X. Founders get coaching, mentors, investor introductions and a community, and the site says it has run these programs since 2008.

parallel18

parallel18 is for startups under three years old with traction in sales or users, incorporated in Puerto Rico or the US. A C-level founder must relocate to Puerto Rico for the program. It gives grant money (the amount is not on the homepage), and BioLeap runs life sciences incubation, with Gen. 4 applications open. It is built for startups past the idea stage.

Greentown Labs

Greentown Labs is for climate and energy tech startups building hardware, materials, water and industrial decarbonization products. Members get prototyping labs and equipment, office space, customer discovery support, investor and corporate introductions, and help with grants.

mHUB

mHUB is for hardtech and physical product startups. mHUB offers prototyping labs, mentors, corporate partners and sector accelerators in energy tech, medtech and sustainable manufacturing, and membership packages are set on a call with its membership team.

Harvard Innovation Labs

Harvard students get free membership. Launch Lab X is for pre-seed to seed ventures where at least one Harvard alum is a full-time founder, with under $2M in revenue and under $2.5M raised. Student members can apply for equity-free grants from the Allston Venture Fund, and Launch Lab X is an 8-month virtual program.

StartX

StartX is for Stanford students, alumni and faculty, with AI and Med/Biotech tracks. Founders get mentorship, a peer cohort, vetted partners and investors, and the Stanford network. Applications are open, and its innovation hub, The Link, opens in early 2027.

MIT delta v

MIT delta v is for MIT student teams with an early product or prototype and early customer signal. Solo founders can apply if they show they can carry the work. Teams get $75K in equity-free funding plus more than $200K in perks over a summer that ran June 1 to September 11 in 2026. It calls itself an accelerator but runs inside the university like an incubator. The 2026 cycle opened March 1 and closed April 1.

The Garage at Northwestern

The Garage at Northwestern is for Northwestern students. The Garage runs a Residency program and Jumpstart, with 500+ mentors and a makerspace, and Jumpstart Demo Day was August 27, 2026. Residency applications close September 21, 2026.

NYU Leslie eLab

NYU Leslie eLab is for NYU students through Startup Sprint and Summer Launchpad, and NYU faculty and researchers through the Tech Venture programs. Summer Launchpad gives $15,000 per team, and the 2026 cohort was 10 teams chosen from 242. The Tech Venture Program offers up to $102,000 in total.

Three programs above are on TIME and Statista's America's Best Incubators and Accelerators of 2026, with Tampa Bay Wave at No. 3 and The Garage at Northwestern at No. 5. mHUB says on its site that it is No. 14.

Innovation Works in Pittsburgh runs AlphaLab, which is also on the 2026 TIME list. We profile it in our startup accelerators list, so it has no number here.

Canada

Seven incubators. Velocity is free, Platform Calgary lists its incubator at no cost, Centech's 12-week program is free, and DMZ is the only one here that says it takes equity. For a founder in Kitchener-Waterloo, Velocity is the easiest door, with rolling intake, no fees and no equity.

Launch Academy

Launch Academy is for early-stage founders in Western Canada, and international startups exploring North America through Apollo. LaunchPad incubation gives desk space, mentorship and a peer community, Launch Your Startup includes 24 mentorship sessions, and The Revenue Factory is a 9-week program. The site says LaunchPad is where Western Canada's earliest-stage founders start, and that Launch Academy has incubated 6,000 entrepreneurs since 2012.

Platform Calgary

Platform Calgary is for aspiring and early-stage tech founders in Calgary. The Platform Incubator runs 12 months at 2 to 4 hours every two weeks, and Alberta Catalyzer runs 4 to 8 weeks for founders launching a tech-enabled startup. Alberta Catalyzer is the entry point for founders who are still launching.

Velocity

Velocity is for any founder based in Kitchener-Waterloo, whether or not they study at the University of Waterloo. Velocity has 45,000 sq ft of space, a hardware lab, a chem and bio lab with $1.5M+ of equipment, and coaching, while pre-seed money comes through the separate Velocity Fund. Applications are rolling, with onboarding every two months.

District 3 Innovation Hub

District 3 Innovation Hub is for bio, health, tech and social startups, at Concordia University. Programs include the District 3 Accelerator, the Balsam Impact Incubator, MentorConnect, AvanceBio, and programs for validation, MVP and product-market fit. The validation and MVP programs suit founders who have not built the product yet.

Centech

Centech is for tech, edtech and deeptech startups that come out of science and engineering. Acceleration runs 12 weeks and Propulsion runs 2 years, and info sessions are on October 14 and November 3.

ventureLAB

ventureLAB is for hardware, semiconductor, AI and enterprise software founders. The Hardware Catalyst Initiative gives access to $12M of prototyping and testing labs, Accelerate AI runs six months, and Investment Readiness and Canada Catalyst cover fundraising and landing in Canada.

DMZ

DMZ is for seed-stage, venture-backable software startups with monthly recurring revenue, at least one full-time founder and an in-house technical lead. Founders from anywhere can apply but must travel for pitch events. The 18-month incubator includes a growth plan, 1:1 mentorship, investor introductions, workspace, legal help and "$1M+ in tech credits", with fall and spring cohorts of no more than 10 companies and a 9-month Pre-Incubator for getting first customers.

DMZ asks for an in-house technical lead, and several programs below ask for a team of two or more. If you are still looking for that person, read how to find a co-founder first.

United Kingdom

Five incubators. Barclays Eagle Labs is the only one here that publishes a price, and none of the five publishes equity terms. That makes Eagle Labs the one you can budget for before you apply.

Barclays Eagle Labs

Barclays Eagle Labs is for UK founders, startups and scaleups, across a network of locations. Eagle Labs offers workspace, mentoring and sector programmes, and in Shoreditch the Club 5 hot desk gives incubator access 5 days a month while Club 10 gives 10 days.

CodeBase

CodeBase is for early-stage and scaling tech founders in Scotland. CodeBase runs Early Stage Startup Pathways, high-growth advisory, digital and AI skills training, and the Techscaler programme.

Sussex Innovation

Sussex Innovation is for deep tech, social impact and emerging tech founders, plus SMEs, linked to the University of Sussex. It offers office and coworking space, consultancy, the University of Sussex Business Angels and the AccelerateTech programme.

SETsquared

SETsquared is for high-growth tech startups through Business Acceleration, and university researchers through the ICURe pre-accelerator. SETsquared gives incubation, investment readiness and investor access across its six partner universities, with a Medtech spotlight event on 29 September 2026.

Accelerate Cambridge

Accelerate Cambridge is for early-stage founders with a clearly defined problem, run by Cambridge Judge Business School. The page does not state Cambridge affiliation rules. The program runs 12 weeks plus up to 6 months of coaching after, with a dedicated coach, mentors and help from MBA students, and the Spring 2027 deadline is 15 January 2027.

France

Two incubators, both on the STATION F campus in Paris. For a founder at the very start, Fighters is free, but it is taught in French.

STATION F Fighters Program

STATION F Fighters Program is for entrepreneurs from atypical or underprivileged backgrounds. Round 1 is one month, online and on-site, to learn the basics of entrepreneurship with office hours and advice from founders, and the most promising projects move on to Round 2 with a dedicated desk and full campus access. Round 1 teaches the basics, so it takes founders at the very start. Applications close October 18, 2026, and the program is taught in French.

STATION F's Founders Program starts from €259 per desk a month (September 2026). We cover the campus in our startup accelerators list.

Incubateur HEC Paris

Incubateur HEC Paris is for startups with strong execution capacity. The page does not say you need a link to HEC. The 4-month program gives mentors, the HEC alumni network and a base at STATION F with 200+ desks, and its Winter Batch 2026 had 13 startups.

Netherlands and Germany

Two programs, and both say they take no equity on at least one track. UnternehmerTUM also takes individual researchers and professionals, not only formed teams.

YES!Delft

YES!Delft is for tech founders validating an idea through the Validation Program, or growing a startup through the Accelerator. YES!Delft gives customer validation, skills, network and sector deep-dives, and says it has supported 560+ startups. The Validation Program is built for founders who have not proven the idea yet.

UnternehmerTUM Incubator

UnternehmerTUM Incubator is for students, researchers, professionals, founders and startup teams in DeepTech areas such as software and AI, robotics, quantum, aerospace, healthcare and additive manufacturing. The Incubator runs 10 to 12 weeks and starts twice a year, in March and September. Its separate Accelerator runs 3 months, is also free, and wants a complete team working full-time. The Incubator is open to individual researchers and professionals as well as formed teams.

Switzerland

Two programs, one for deep tech and one for finance.

EPFL Innovation Park

EPFL Innovation Park is for deep tech, life sciences, cleantech and AI startups. The park offers flexible offices, access to 500+ EPFL labs, and programs such as the Future of Health Grant (up to CHF 90,000, non-dilutive, Season 9 starting September 2026) and Tech4Trust (Season 8, October 2026).

Tenity

Tenity is for early-stage fintech, insurtech and digital assets startups, with offices in Zurich, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Madrid and Istanbul. Tenity runs incubation and acceleration programs and also invests through a VC arm with $140M+ in assets under management.

Italy

Two incubators, run by the Politecnico di Milano and the Politecnico di Torino.

PoliHub

PoliHub is for high-tech startups, students and researchers. PoliHub offers incubation, coworking, perks, separate calls for startups, students and researchers, and Encubator for climate, and it ran an Entrepreneurship Award in 2026.

I3P

I3P is for tech startups. I3P gives consulting, coaching and investor relations, says it incubated 23 new startups in the last year with 58 in its portfolio, and lists events in September 2026.

Spain, Portugal and Greece

Three incubators. Barcelona Activa is run by the city of Barcelona. Orange Grove names aspiring founders as a target group, so it suits founders who only have an idea.

Barcelona Activa Startup Lab

Barcelona Activa Startup Lab is for entrepreneurs and startups at every stage, through the city's business agency. Its incubators include Startup Lab in the 22@ technology district and North Startup Lab at the Barcelona Activa Technology Park, plus La InnoBAdora for socio-economic innovation projects. It reports more than 1,500 companies set up, with an 80% survival rate in the fourth year.

UPTEC

UPTEC is for entrepreneurs, researchers and students, at the University of Porto. UPTEC offers virtual and physical offices, labs, a School of Startups in September 2026 and ClimateLaunchpad in June 2026.

Orange Grove

Orange Grove is for aspiring and early-stage founders and young entrepreneurs, with backing from the Netherlands embassy. Orange Grove runs incubation, sector acceleration and bootcamps, with 180+ mentors and software perks, and fills places through calls for applications and interviews. It names aspiring founders as a target group.

Finland

Two programs, and both say they take no equity. Aalto asks for an MVP and at least two full-time people, so check that before you plan around it.

Maria 01

Maria 01 is for tech startups, with 230+ members on the campus. Maria 01 offers campus membership and Northern Light, a 12-week international program for startups landing in Finland and Europe. Northern Light applications for the Spring 2027 cohort open in November.

Aalto Startup Center

Aalto Startup Center is for research and deep tech startups in tech for sustainability, with a Finnish business ID under 3 years old, an MVP or proof of concept, and at least 2 full-time people. The Business Generator program gives business coaching, investor matchmaking and office space, and a Research to Business pre-incubator sits before it. The 2026 deadline was August 7.

Sweden

Three programs. KTH Innovation only takes KTH students and researchers. STING's Test Drive is built for teams that are just starting.

STING

STING is for early-stage tech founders in health, climate, society and deeptech, with Test Drive for teams just starting. Sting Core runs 6 months, with up to 18 months of support, coaching and a possible 500K SEK investment from Propel Capital. The next Core starts October 5, 2026, and applications are rolling.

Chalmers Ventures

Chalmers Ventures is for deep tech and research-based founders, including university spinouts. Chalmers Ventures runs a Venture Building Program, Startup Camp Deep Tech 2026 and mentorship.

KTH Innovation

KTH Innovation is for KTH students and researchers only. KTH Innovation gives coaching, help with funding and investment, IP support, workspace and a makerspace, and lists an event on October 22, 2026.

Denmark and Estonia

Two programs, one for life science and one for early-stage tech.

BII Venture Lab

BII Venture Lab is for early-stage life science (and quantum) startups, Danish and international. The 12-month program gives a EUR 500,000 convertible loan (EUR 560,000 in the September 2026 selection), labs, mentors, access to 200+ investors and a possible EUR 1.3M follow-on. The 2026 call closed January 28, 2026, and 17 startups were selected.

A convertible loan is money now that turns into shares at a later funding round. If the term is new to you, read startup fundraising terms before you apply.

Tehnopol

Tehnopol is for early-stage tech companies, with 45+ in the program, which was called Tehnopol Startup Incubator before it became Tehnopol Accelerator. It gives mentoring, an international network and funding through ESA BIC Estonia, which Tehnopol also runs, and it had a 2026 open call on its site.

UAE and Lebanon

Three programs. Hub71 and in5 both subsidise the cost of setting up. Hub71's Initiate track takes startups before they have an MVP.

Hub71

Hub71 is for startups from pre-MVP (Initiate) to growth (Access), plus tracks for Emirati founders and specific sectors. Hub71 gives subsidised housing, office space and medical insurance, plus mentors, investors and access to regulators. Initiate takes startups before they have an MVP, and Cohort 21 applications are open.

in5

in5 is for tech, media, design and science startups, across in5 Tech, Media, Design and Science. in5 gives subsidised business setup, labs and studios, and advisory, and it runs events such as a Startups AI Bootcamp.

Berytech

Berytech is for Lebanese entrepreneurs in agri-food, water, energy, cleantech and social impact. Berytech offers coworking, a Fab Lab and programs including ScaleSmart, Lebanon Innovate, IdeaLab and Mentorslink, and ScaleSmart asks founders to apply before November 30.

Africa

Two programs. LaunchLab only takes Stellenbosch University people.

CcHUB

CcHUB is for founders solving social problems in Africa. CcHUB runs incubation, a Growth Capital Fund and the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, whose Cohort 4 ran in July 2026.

LaunchLab

LaunchLab is for Stellenbosch University students, researchers and alumni. LaunchLab gives help with business model design and data rooms, incubation programs and hackathons, and posted news in August 2026.

India

Five incubators. Four of them sit inside an IIT or an IIM, and none publishes equity terms on the pages we checked. NSRCEL is the one that names the idea stage outright.

T-Hub

T-Hub is for startups in sectors such as semiconductors, AI and ML, space tech, mobility and health. T-Hub runs the Foundation Program, AIC T-Hub programs and corporate programs, including Kotak BizLabs grants of up to ₹30 lakh.

IIM Calcutta Innovation Park

IIM Calcutta Innovation Park is for early-stage startups, with a sustainability track called IGNITE run with IDFC FIRST Bank. The park gives incubation, acceleration and access to the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme.

IIMA Ventures

IIMA Ventures, called CIIE.CO before its rebrand, is for early-stage startups. IIMA Ventures gives incubation, investment and programs such as Kotak BizLabs Season 3, the Bharat Inclusion Initiative and an AI Residency launched in 2026.

NSRCEL

NSRCEL is for founders at idea and prototype stage through Launchpad, Campus Founders and Healthcare Incubation, and women founders through the Women Startup Program, which is open for applications. NSRCEL is IIM Bangalore's incubator and gives mentorship, tools and industry connections. It names the idea stage outright, which few programs on this list do.

SINE IIT Bombay

SINE IIT Bombay is for tech startups in physical or virtual incubation for up to 3 years. SINE gives incubation, mentors and IIT Bombay labs, and BUILD 2026 with Boeing gives the winning team a ₹10,00,000 grant.

Hong Kong and Singapore

Three programs. Both Hong Kong programs fund startups with cash, and National GRIP only takes graduate researchers. If you have no MVP yet, HKSTP's Ideation Programme is the earlier door.

HKSTP Incubation Programme

HKSTP Incubation Programme is for tech startups in ICT, electronics, green technology or precision engineering that have "been market validated with MVP or prototypes". HKSTP runs a separate Ideation Programme for earlier founders. The Incubation Programme runs 3 years on-site at Hong Kong Science Park, with labs, mentors, investor matching, a rental subsidy for its premises and funding support of up to HK$1.29 million for technology and business development. Applications are open all year.

Cyberport Incubation Programme

Cyberport Incubation Programme is for digital tech startups. The 24-month programme gives up to HK$500,000 in financial assistance plus a HK$200,000 rental subsidy, and the next deadline is December 1, 2026.

National GRIP

National GRIP is for graduate researchers from Singapore universities and research institutes. The NUS-led venture-building program has S$50M of backing over five years, and NUS may invest up to S$100,000 in high-potential startups. Run 3 of Phase 1 started 16 January 2026.

Australia and New Zealand

Three programs, two in Sydney and one in Wellington. Fishburners names the idea stage as its starting point.

Fishburners

Fishburners is for tech founders from idea to Series A. Fishburners offers Passport membership with networks, mentors and perks, and a Residency. It names the idea stage as its starting point.

Cicada Innovations

Cicada Innovations is for deep tech founders. Cicada gives labs, offices and equipment, programs called Foundations, Elevate and Stride (6 months of coaching), and Tech23, which ran on September 9, 2026.

Creative HQ

Creative HQ is for founders in fintech, govtech, climate and creative tech. Creative HQ runs the Activate and Lab accelerator programs.

All 57 incubators

When an incubator is the wrong next step

Most doors on this list have a condition attached. Seven programs only take people from one university. Velocity wants you in Kitchener-Waterloo, parallel18 wants a founder to move to Puerto Rico, HKSTP wants a validated MVP, and DMZ wants monthly recurring revenue. MIT delta v closed April 1 and Aalto closed August 7.

Those conditions fit what an incubator hands out, which is a lab, a desk, a grant or a cohort in one place. A second opinion on the idea itself has no intake date.

If you need a lab or a grant, apply to the incubator. If you need to know whether the idea is worth building, you don't have to wait for one.

For money questions, such as whether a grant, a convertible loan or an angel round fits your plans, browse mentors for funding advice. If you have an idea and nothing else yet, start with what to do first at the idea stage, then startup idea validation and market validation.

How we picked and when we checked

Left off this list

• Idealab, which does not accept outside business plans
• Oxford Foundry, which closed and merged into the Oxford Saïd Entrepreneurship Centre
• Startup Sauna, whose site is archived
• Halo Incubator, whose site lists no cohort after 2021
• Wayra, which now calls itself Telefónica's corporate venture capital arm
• Flat6Labs, an accelerator and seed investor
• Y Combinator, Techstars and 500 Global, which are accelerators and sit in the accelerator list

Frequently asked questions