Gleam Competitions vs ShortStack

Gleam Competitions9.1Visit ShortStack8.8Visit

Higher score Gleam Competitions #3 in Social Media Contest Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 3 features Visit Gleam

vs

ShortStack #5 in Social Media Contest Software 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit ShortStack

• Gleam Competitions fits best

  Flexible, multi-channel competitions

• ShortStack fits best

  Branded landing-page contests

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Side by side

Feature	Gleam Competitions 9.1/10 Visit ↗	ShortStack 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.8
Ranking	#3 in Social Media Contest Software	#5 in Social Media Contest Software
Best for	Flexible, multi-channel competitions	Branded landing-page contests
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	$24/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Browser extension	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Tickets, Docs · 24/7	Email, Live chat
Integrations	17 integrations	11 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Gleam Competitions 3/3 · ShortStack 0/3
Voting tools	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Moderation tools	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Analytics and reporting	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Specs
Campaign types	Giveaways, sweepstakes, photo contests, social media giveaways, caption-to-win contests, raffles, and user-generated-content campaigns	Not checked yet
Entry methods	Email subscriptions, social follows and visits, comments, shares, hashtags, video actions, file uploads, quizzes, custom actions, coupon codes, Discord entries, and event actions	Not checked yet
Social networks	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter/X, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitch, Telegram, Discord, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Goodreads	Not checked yet
Winner selection	Both	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	90+ entry methods across social, email, commerce, and community channels Supports hosted pages, embeddable widgets, voting, analytics, and fraud detection Offers both random and manual winner selection across campaign types	Unlimited forms, pop-ups, and landing pages A/B testing, analytics, and conversion tracking Fraud prevention, bot protection, and Entry API
Cons	The Free plan includes 20+ entry types and random winner draws only Automatic entry verification applies only where supported API access is listed as beta on the Premium plan	Free plan is limited to 500 views and 200 stored entries monthly Advanced contest features begin on paid plans Annual-plan monthly equivalents are shown rather than explicit monthly prices
Our verdict	Gleam Competitions is a web-based platform for creating giveaways, sweepstakes, photo contests, raffles, caption-to-win contests, and user-generated-content campaigns. It is suited to creators, small businesses, agencies, brands, and… Read the review →	ShortStack is a no-code marketing platform for businesses, marketers, and agencies running interactive campaigns. It supports quizzes, sweepstakes, contests, instant-win campaigns, referral programs, branded lead forms, landing pages, and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Gleam Competitions — where it wins

  • 90+ entry methods across social, email, commerce, and community channels
  • Supports hosted pages, embeddable widgets, voting, analytics, and fraud detection
  • Offers both random and manual winner selection across campaign types

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan includes 20+ entry types and random winner draws only
  • Automatic entry verification applies only where supported
  • API access is listed as beta on the Premium plan

• ShortStack — where it wins

  • Unlimited forms, pop-ups, and landing pages
  • A/B testing, analytics, and conversion tracking
  • Fraud prevention, bot protection, and Entry API

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan is limited to 500 views and 200 stored entries monthly
  • Advanced contest features begin on paid plans
  • Annual-plan monthly equivalents are shown rather than explicit monthly prices

• Gleam Competitions9.1/10 · Free plan

  A flexible contest platform for multi-channel campaigns, with a capable free tier.

  Visit GleamFull verdict →
• ShortStack8.8/10 · Free plan

  A strong fit for branded contests that need forms, landing pages, testing, and analytics.

  Visit ShortStackFull verdict →