<p>This study investigates the behaviour of stiffened circular plates with varying stiffener configurations under a constant volume of material, focusing on the deformation and vibrational characteristics. The study aims to identify the best stiffener configuration in the plate to reduce deflection and improve vibrational characteristics under clamped and simply supported boundary conditions. Different stiffener configurations, including radial, chordal and hybrid, are analysed using finite element-based Ansys software to determine their impact. An extensive parametric study was carried out on stiffened circular plates. The findings indicate that the best-performing model under clamped conditions reduces deflection by 19.26 times, while the top model under simply supported conditions achieves a 47.47 times reduction compared to an unstiffened plate of the same boundary conditions. Likewise, the fundamental frequency increases by 4.11 times higher for clamped conditions and 5.18 times for simply supported conditions compared to an unstiffened plate. Findings might be helpful for improved design of stiffened circular plates in structural applications, ensuring better weight efficiency and mechanical performance.</p>