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.
| KingSumo | Viral Loops | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $49 | From $35 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | One-time purchase | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Everything, in an open format |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Giveaways & Referrals, Newsletter & Email | 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 a lifetime price tag
KingSumo runs the bonus-entry giveaway that grew half the email lists of the last decade, and it sells a lifetime licence rather than a subscription. The free tier covers unlimited giveaways with bonus entries and reminder emails. Branding controls, tracking and integrations are all on the paid side, and the sponsored entry stays on your giveaway until you pay.
Only on this side
Referral programs from templates, per campaign
Viral Loops ships templates for the referral mechanics that already worked for somebody else, a waiting list, a milestone giveaway, a straight refer-a-friend, and lets you run one without building it. Participants import and export as a list, so it plugs into whatever you already send email with. Pricing rises with the number of participants rather than with features.
Our note
The ten-participant cap on the trial is the thing to plan around: it proves the mechanics work and tells you nothing about scale. Against UpViral this is cheaper at the entry tier and gives away less of the API.
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.