PromoSimple vs ShortStack Comparison 2026
PromoSimple generates the official legal rules that go under a giveaway, the part most creators either skip or copy unwisely, at $14 a month billed annually, though the cheapest plan does not connect to an email tool at all. ShortStack builds the whole campaign, a hosted landing page, the entry form, its own entry rules and a random draw, with a genuine free forever plan under view limits, then $24 a month billed annually once that runs out. ShortStack's free tier and entry API give it a lower floor to start; PromoSimple's generated legal rules remain its more specific compliance feature.
Giveaways with the legal wording generated
Contests and giveaways with entry rules
At a glance
- PromoSimple starts cheaper, at $14.
- Only ShortStack has a free tier.
Side by side
PromoSimple | ShortStack | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $14 | From $24 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated |
PromoSimple
Giveaways with the legal wording generated
PromoSimple builds giveaway entry forms and generates the official rules to go under them, which is the part most creators running a competition either skip or copy from somewhere unwise. Entries can be earned through actions on the major social platforms. Age and location restrictions are set on the form rather than policed afterwards. The cheapest plan does not connect to an email tool, so anybody whose point is list building should start one tier up.
Our note
Start at the Businesses tier if the giveaway exists to grow a list, since sending entrants to your email tool is the entire point and it is not on Basic. The generated official rules are the underrated part of this: most creator giveaways run without any, which is a problem nobody notices until it is one.
Only on this side
- Works with Pinterest
- 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 PromoSimple
- ShortStack keeps a free tier to test entry rules and giveaway pages before paying, where PromoSimple's cheapest plan starts at $14 with no free option.
- PromoSimple instead of ShortStack
- PromoSimple at $14 generates the legal wording with the giveaway, the compliance side rather than the landing page around it.
Which one should you pick
Pick PromoSimple specifically for the generated official rules, since most creator giveaways run without any and that is a real legal gap. Basic is $14 a month billed annually, but start on Businesses at $29 instead if list growth is the actual goal, since Basic does not connect to an email tool at all.
Pick ShortStack if you want the whole campaign hosted, landing page and entry form together, with a free forever plan to test it under view limits first. Launch is $24 a month billed annually once you outgrow that, and overage is charged per 10,000 views and per 1,000 entries at rates that fall as the plan rises.
Common questions
- Which has a free plan, PromoSimple or ShortStack?
- ShortStack does, a genuine free forever plan with view limits. PromoSimple has no free tier at all, starting at $14 a month billed annually for Basic.
- Does ShortStack generate the official legal rules a giveaway needs, like PromoSimple does?
- ShortStack lets you define entry rules, what counts as an entry and what earns a bonus one, but generating the official legal wording for compliance is PromoSimple's specifically stated feature.
- Which is cheaper for connecting entrants to an email list?
- PromoSimple requires its second tier, Businesses at $29 a month, since the cheapest Basic plan has no email integration at all. ShortStack's free plan does not specify email integration either, but its paid tiers include it as part of the campaign build.
- How does overage work if a campaign does well?
- On ShortStack, overage is charged per 10,000 views and per 1,000 entries at rates that fall as the plan rises. PromoSimple's pricing is not described with a comparable per-unit overage; its tiers are flat monthly prices instead.
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.