Gleam vs ShortStack Comparison 2026
Gleam runs as a widget on a page you already have, verified entry actions and a documented draw, Competitions at $29 a month with a free basic account. ShortStack builds the whole campaign instead, a hosted landing page, the entry form and the rules together, free forever at view limits, then $24 a month billed annually and priced by page views rather than entries. ShortStack's own guidance draws the line here directly: anybody wanting a simple widget on an existing page should look at Gleam instead.
Giveaways with the rules enforced and the draw run
Contests and giveaways with entry rules
At a glance
- ShortStack starts cheaper, at $24.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Gleam | ShortStack | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $29 | From $24 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Not stated |
Gleam
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
- Covers social media management
- Works with YouTube
- Works with TikTok
- Works with Twitch
- Works with Kick
- Works with Discord
- Works with X
ShortStack
Contests and giveaways with entry rules
ShortStack builds the contest itself, not only the widget: a landing page, the entry form, the rules that decide what counts as an entry, and the random draw at the end. Emails to entrants go out from the same place. Pricing is by page views rather than by entries, and overage is charged per thousand once a campaign catches on.
Why people weigh these two
- ShortStack instead of Gleam
- ShortStack from $24 with a free tier runs contests with entry rules and its own landing pages, closer to a campaign builder than a widget.
- Gleam instead of ShortStack
- Gleam is the other simpler widget ShortStack's own guidance names, with a free tier and a $29 plan, for a viral loop bolted onto an existing page rather than a built landing page.
Which one should you pick
Pick Gleam for a giveaway widget that drops onto a page already built, with verified entry actions and a draw you can show your working on. Competitions is $29 a month with a free basic account to start, and no annual discount is offered. It does not build a hosted landing page and entry form the way ShortStack does; the widget assumes a page to embed into already exists.
Pick ShortStack when the campaign needs its own hosted landing page, entry form and rules built together, with follow-up emails going out from the same place. Free forever runs a campaign at view limits, and Launch is $24 a month billed annually, priced by page views with overage charged per 10,000 once a campaign catches on. Nonprofits get 50 percent off every tier.
Common questions
- Is ShortStack cheaper than Gleam?
- ShortStack has a genuine free-forever plan, where Gleam's free tier runs only basic Competitions features. On paid tiers, ShortStack Launch is $24 a month billed annually against Gleam Competitions at $29, though ShortStack meters by page views and Gleam does not.
- Does Gleam build a hosted landing page like ShortStack does?
- No, and ShortStack's own guidance says this is the exact line between them: Gleam is a widget for a page that already exists, and ShortStack builds the landing page, form and rules together as a hosted campaign.
- How is ShortStack's pricing metered differently from Gleam's?
- ShortStack prices by page views and entries, with overage charged per 10,000 views and per 1,000 entries once a plan's limit is passed. Gleam charges a flat monthly price per app, Competitions at $29, regardless of how many views or entries a campaign gets.
- Does either one send follow-up emails to entrants?
- ShortStack does, from the same place the campaign was built. Gleam's email capture is a separate app, Captures, priced at $49 a month on its own rather than bundled with Competitions.
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.