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.
| GrowSurf | UpViral | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $125 | From $79 |
| Pricing model | Free trial, then paid | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Everything, in an open format |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Giveaways & Referrals, Affiliate & Referral | Giveaways & Referrals, Email Marketing & Automation |
| 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 |
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.
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Referral contests that pay out in prizes
UpViral runs the kind of campaign where entrants earn points for sharing a link and the leaderboard decides who wins, which is the fastest way to turn a small list into a larger one. Landing pages, emails and fraud checks all come with it. The trial costs a dollar rather than nothing, and the plans are priced for a business running launches rather than for a one-off giveaway.
Our note
The trial costs a dollar, which is worth knowing before comparing this against the free trials elsewhere in this category. The refund promise is the real risk reversal here, and it is worth reading the terms of before relying on it.
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.