World Community Grid lets people contribute computer time to research projects through distributed computing.
BOINC
The open-source BOINC platform supports computing using volunteered resources.
About BOINC
BOINC is a platform for volunteer computing: it lets people donate spare processing power from their own computers to scientific research. The BOINC app runs in the background, downloading computing jobs from research projects and processing them invisibly. The site states that about 30 science projects use BOINC, investigating topics such as diseases, climate change and pulsars. Participants can join Science United to contribute to broad research areas, or download BOINC and choose specific projects themselves.
Key features
- Runs scientific computing jobs in the background on your computer
- Supports about 30 science projects
- Science United matches one computer to chosen research areas
- Direct BOINC installation allows picking specific projects
- Enables participation in competitions and systems such as Gridcoin
- Project areas include biomedicine, physics, astronomy and climate
Best for: People who want to donate idle computing time on their own machines to scientific research projects.
Good for
- Covers roughly 30 projects across diseases, climate, pulsars and other research
- Science United simplifies contribution for those who do not want to pick projects
- BOINC and Science United are based at UC Berkeley and supported by the National Science Foundation
Watch out for
- Running jobs directly requires installing the BOINC application on a computer
- Science United assigns current and future projects within chosen areas rather than specific ones
BOINC at a glance
- Website
- boinc.berkeley.edu
- Type
- Website
- Pricing
- Not confirmed. Check the site
- Platforms
- Web
- Open source
- Not stated
- Language
- English
- Last checked
- Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
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BOINC FAQ
What kinds of research can I contribute to?
About 30 science projects use BOINC, investigating topics such as diseases, climate change and pulsars. Through Science United you contribute to areas including biomedicine, physics and astronomy.
How do I choose which projects to support?
Join Science United to contribute to broad research areas, or download BOINC and select specific projects yourself.
Who runs BOINC?
The BOINC and Science United projects are located at the University of California, Berkeley and are supported by the National Science Foundation.
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