I have only entered no-fee so far. This is based on my budget more than anything else. I don't enter a contest unless it has a cash or other worthwhile reward.

People who are completely clueless about the quality of their work, are clueless regardless of whether the contest has a fee -- so the fee doesn't necessarily correlate with quality of entries received.

I've won contests in both poetry and short essay.
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My handcrafted jewelry:
limited edition designs
more jewelry, plus bead supplies

Poet and essayist