Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover giveaways & referrals. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| Gleam | GrowSurf | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $29 | From $125 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | None | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Not stated | Web |
| Covers | Giveaways & Referrals, Social Media Management | Giveaways & Referrals, Affiliate & Referral |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
Giveaways with the rules enforced and the draw run
Gleam runs the mechanics of a giveaway: the entry actions, one entry per person, and a draw you can show your working on afterwards. Competitions is sold on its own, and the lead capture, rewards and gallery apps are each priced again. A free account runs a basic campaign, which is the cheap way to learn whether a giveaway brings you followers who stay.
Our note
Buy the month you need and cancel it. A giveaway brings followers who came for the prize, which makes it worth running only when the prize is something nobody outside your audience would want.
Only on this side
Referral programs priced by participant
GrowSurf runs a refer-a-friend program for a product rather than a one-off giveaway: every participant gets a link, the rewards fire automatically, and the tax paperwork on the payouts is handled. It bills on how many people are in the program rather than on how many you refer, which is unusual and worth understanding before you launch.
Our note
The pricing model is the thing to think hardest about: paying per participant is generous if your referrals convert and punishing if they do not. Run the trial with real traffic before committing to a year.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.