ShortStack Review Review
4.6 (170+ reviews) on G2
ShortStack Review
★★★★★★★★★★5.0
4.6 (170+ reviews) on G2
EASE OF USE4.5
VALUE FOR MONEY4.6
CUSTOMER SUPPORT4.7
FUNCTIONALITY4.5
ShortStack Overview
ShortStack is a contest and landing-page platform built specifically for marketers who run sweepstakes, giveaways, photo contests, video contests and lead-capture campaigns. With 100+ pre-built templates, a drag-and-drop builder, native winner-picking, fraud detection, viral referral mechanics and built-in email automations, it lets brands launch a fully legal, mobile-ready contest in under an hour without engineering help.
ShortStack collapses the contest tech stack — landing page, entry form, winner picker, fraud detection, email and analytics — into one tool with 100+ templates that can be launched same day. It is the long-time leader in contest marketing, used by Sony, Disney, Nikon, Toyota and 250,000+ marketers.
ShortStack Features What You Get
ShortStack Pricing Plans
Business — $99/month annual ($119 monthly)
10K entries, 1 user
Agency — $199/month annual ($239 monthly)
50K entries, 3 users
Brand — $499/month annual ($599 monthly)
250K entries, 10 users
Enterprise — custom pricing
unlimited entries, dedicated CSM
Free 30-day trial on every plan
Annual billing gives 2 months free (~17% off)
Pre-built giveaway, contest, quiz templates on every plan
Email autoresponders and CRM integrations on every paid plan
ShortStack offers four contest, sweepstakes, and giveaway platform tiers plus enterprise pricing. Annual billing saves 20%, and a 7-day free trial covers all features.
- Startup: $49/month (monthly) or $39/month (annual) — 2,000 entry limit, unlimited campaigns, all publishing options (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, websites), sweepstakes, story contests, public voting
- Business: $99/month (monthly) or $79/month (annual) — 10,000 entries, photo upload contests, social media tracking, email integrations (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, AWeber)
- Agency: $199/month (monthly) or $159/month (annual) — 50,000 entries, multi-user (5 seats), white-label client portal, advanced reporting, dedicated support, custom domain
- Brand: $499/month (monthly) or $399/month (annual) — 150,000 entries, custom integrations, single sign-on, dedicated account manager, advanced security, custom contract
- Enterprise: Custom pricing — unlimited entries, dedicated team, custom development, SLA, advanced compliance (CCPA, GDPR), priority phone support
All plans include unlimited campaigns, real-time analytics, email auto-responders, full participant data export, and access to 90+ pre-built contest templates. A 14-day free trial is included on all plans (no credit card required), and you can upgrade or cancel at any time.
ShortStack Price Plans
ShortStack prices by entries-per-month and feature tier, with a free Trial plan to launch a real campaign on a custom domain and three paid tiers that scale into agency-grade volumes. Annual billing comes with two months free across the lineup.
Trial Plan $0
Run real contests on a ShortStack subdomain with up to 100 entries, full template library and the winner picker — best for evaluating before committing.Business Plan $99/month
10,000 entries, 1 custom domain, fraud detection, email automation, analytics and Mailchimp/HubSpot/Klaviyo integrations — entry-level for marketers.Agency Plan $249/month
50,000 entries, white-label, multiple sub-accounts, advanced analytics and priority chat support — built for marketing agencies running client campaigns.Brand Plan Custom pricing
Unlimited entries, dedicated success manager, custom integrations, SLA and SOC 2 paperwork — for global brands and high-volume contest programs.What real users say
Verified G2 reviewer, Marketing director • January 30, 2026
"Our team has run 14 sweepstakes on ShortStack in the past year. The viral referral mechanic alone gave us a 6x larger email list per campaign than we got with our previous tool. The drag-and-drop builder is fast enough that a copywriter can launch a contest without a designer, and ShortStack support helped us write GDPR-compliant terms for our German campaign in a day."
EASE OF USE4.0
VALUE FOR MONEY5.0
CUSTOMER SUPPORT5.0
FUNCTIONALITY5.0
Top ShortStack Alternatives
If ShortStack isn't the right fit, these are the alternatives most often compared against it:
RafflePress
WordPress giveaway and contest plugin.
Gleam
Contests, giveaways and lead capture.
Woorise
Giveaways, forms and landing pages.
VYPER
Viral contests and rewards programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the most common questions about ShortStack, covering pricing, features, alternatives, and whether it is the right fit for your team.
What is ShortStack and what kind of contests can I run?+
ShortStack is a marketing platform purpose-built for sweepstakes, giveaways, photo and video contests, polls, quizzes, voting campaigns and lead-capture landing pages. It includes everything from the entry form to the winner picker in one tool.
Does ShortStack offer a free trial?+
Yes. The Trial plan lets you build and launch real campaigns on a ShortStack subdomain with up to 100 entries, full template access and the random winner picker. No credit card required to start.
How much does ShortStack cost in 2026?+
Business is $99/month, Agency is $249/month, and the Brand plan is custom-priced. Annual billing comes with two months free, and entry caps scale from 10,000/month on Business up to unlimited on Brand.
Does ShortStack include fraud detection?+
Yes. ShortStack flags duplicate emails, suspicious IPs, bot traffic and disposable email providers in real time, and lets you blacklist countries or domains to keep a $5,000 prize draw from being swept by a fraud ring.
Can ShortStack pick a winner from Instagram or Twitter hashtags?+
Yes. The hashtag picker pulls all posts using your campaign hashtag from Instagram or Twitter and lets you randomly pick winners — with optional duplicate-entry filtering and audit logs.
Does ShortStack integrate with Mailchimp, HubSpot or Klaviyo?+
ShortStack connects natively with Mailchimp, HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Salesforce, Constant Contact and 50+ other tools, plus Zapier — entries flow straight into your existing email or CRM list with tags.
How does ShortStack compare with Gleam.io and Woobox?+
Gleam is famous for SaaS-style complete-a-task-to-enter giveaways but limits design control; Woobox is closest in shape; ShortStack tends to win on landing-page design flexibility, viral referral mechanics and built-in email follow-up.
Is ShortStack worth it for marketing agencies in 2026?+
For agencies running multiple client contests per quarter, the Agency plan sub-account, white-label and 50,000-entry quota usually pay for themselves on a single mid-size client campaign. The 4.6 G2 score reflects strong renewal rates among agency users.
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