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.
| ShortStack | UpViral | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $24 | From $79 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 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, Landing Pages & Funnels | 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 |
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.
Only on this side
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.