TL;DR

Top giveaway software tools automate the entry mechanics, fraud prevention, and viral sharing features that make online giveaways generate 5-15x the organic reach of standard social posts. The best platforms for ecommerce brands include KingSumo, Viral Loops, and Gleam, with pricing from $49-$149/month. A well-executed giveaway with email capture mechanics can add 1,000-10,000+ subscribers at a cost of $0.10-$0.50 per subscriber, dramatically lower than paid acquisition.

Social media giveaways are an exceptional means of growing a business quickly.

Brands that host giveaways on social media are able to generate tons of leads with a single giveaway. If done correctly, a social media giveaway can help you acquire high-quality leads.

The concept is simple. You put up a prize, get people to enter your giveaway by submitting their email, then randomly pick out a winner.

However, there's plenty more work to be done. Especially if you want a successful giveaway that runs smoothly.

Lucky for you, most of the actions required to manage a giveaway can be automated. With the right giveaway software tools, you can easily create giveaways that will successfully boost your business and generate leads cheaply and efficiently.

Why You Need Giveaway Software Tools

As mentioned, the concept of a giveaway is simple, yet there is tons of work to be done.

There's plenty of planning involved, launching and promoting your giveaway, and even selecting a winner fairly.

It's easy to get caught up in the whole buzz and make a few crucial mistakes that can cost you your reputation.

Because of this, it's essential to make use of proper giveaway tools and resources that can help you with the workload and properly guide you when hosting your giveaway.

Here are some of the actions that giveaway software tools can assist you with:

Accept entries to your giveaway and compile a list
Direct users to your website
Get entrants to refer other people to enter the giveaway
Perform bonus actions (watch this video, download our app, etc.)
Pick out a winner at random

Most giveaway software tools allow you to embed an entry form on your website. There are even some services that allow you to create a giveaway landing page on their platform.

There are plenty of giveaway services out there. However, the options and services they offer differ from one another.

Because of this, we created a list of our personal favorites for you to compare yourself.

1. VYPER (Now Blitz Rocket)

VYPER (now Blitz Rocket) is a superb platform to run social media giveaways, contests, and referral programs.

With VYPER, you can host different types of giveaways and contests such as:

Viral Giveaway - Host a giveaway on a popular social network to acquire new leads and followers.
Viral Contest - Host a contest to boost leads, followers, and engagement. Then watch people compete for the prize.
Milestone Contest - Users can unlock rewards after completing bonus actions.
Leaderboard Contest - Users battle it out for the number 1 spot. The first place goes to the user who got the most points after completing bonus actions.

Bonus Actions

VYPER has the option to allow your giveaway entrants to perform bonus actions.

Bonus actions can be any task that is specified by you, such as, 'refer a friend' or 'follow us on Facebook.'

You can award users that perform bonus actions with additional entries to your giveaway. This will increase their chances of winning.

You can even use bonus actions when hosting a contest. Users can compete to gain the most points from completing bonus actions. The contestant with the most points wins.

Giveaway Landing Page

A unique feature of VYPER is its campaign landing page creator.

You can create a landing page for your giveaway using VYPER and host it on their platform. This means that you don't need to design a page on your own website.

It's even better for those who don't have a website. The editor is simple and easy to use, making the process quick and simple.

Referral System

An awesome bonus to using VYPER is the fact that they are a referral platform as well. So if your giveaway is over, you can still use VYPER to manage your referral program.

VYPER allows your customers to use bonus actions to achieve points that can unlock rewards and store discounts.

The Pro account might seem ideal for small businesses. However, there are some brands that have managed to acquire more than 10k leads with a single contest with VYPER.

2. KingSumo

KingSumo is a simple giveaway tool that is built for WordPress websites. It's easy to install and set up your first campaign.

KingSumo once-off payment plans make it an excellent choice for brands looking to run small scale giveaways on a regular basis.

Features include:

Option to use a web-based app or WordPress app
Can schedule your giveaway start and end dates
Customization options that allow you to upload images and edit descriptions

KingSumo WordPress Integration

One of KingSumo’s greatest strengths is its WordPress plugin. It allows you to fully integrate the service to your WordPress website.

This can lead to more traffic for your website as users will have to visit your website to enter your giveaway.

KingSumo has also made it possible to host their giveaways on non-WordPress websites.

So if you like the service and its pricing, you will be able to embed the plugin on your non-WordPress site.

3. Rafflecopter

Rafflecopter is a popular giveaway platform used by many entrepreneurs and brands. The service is popular for its flexible embed options.

You can easily set up and host a giveaway for free on the Rafflecopter platform.

There’s also the option to embed giveaways on your website and directly integrate the giveaway with your Facebook page.

Features include:

Clean interface
Great customization options
Facebook integration

4. Rafflepress

RafflePress is another WordPress giveaway plugin. You can seamlessly integrate RafflePress to your website to create and manage contests and giveaways

RafflePress has templates and a drag and drop builder that makes customizing your giveaway an easy and simple task.

You can install and use the plugin for free.

Features include:

Drag and drop builder
Fraud protection system that detects cheaters
Rule generator to help you with drafting contest rules
Templates to help with faster campaign creation

5. Gleam

Gleam is one of the most popular and pricy options on the list. Their services were made popular by big brands, social media influencers, and YouTubers.

With more than a hundred different integrations, Gleam is a great giveaway platform for:

Musicians looking to get more plays on their songs that are published on streaming services
Brands looking to increase traffic to their store
YouTubers and streamers that are looking to get more people to visit their videos and live streams

Features include:

Simple and quick entry methods
Google Analytics integration
Support for multiple languages

TL;DR

Online giveaways and contests have proven to be effective marketing tools. However, it can be challenging to manage a giveaway, especially if you are hosting them regularly. This is why most brands use giveaway services.

The giveaway services listed above are all great at managing giveaways. Most of them specialize in just giveaways and contests and are free to try. If all you are just planning on hosting a single giveaway, then you could open a free account on any of the services to see which one suits your brand's needs best.

For those that are looking for something long term, services like VYPER and Gleam are ideal as they offer additional services like a rewards program.

Which giveaway service you recommend. Let us know in the comments below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best giveaway software for ecommerce?

Top giveaway platforms for ecommerce: (1) KingSumo - affordable ($49/month), strong viral sharing mechanics, integrates with Klaviyo; (2) Gleam - most feature-rich, multiple entry actions (follow, share, refer), good analytics; (3) Viral Loops - referral-focused giveaways with strong viral coefficient tracking; (4) Woobox - versatile campaign types including sweepstakes, photo contests, and referral giveaways; (5) Blitz Rocket (blitzrocket.com) - specifically designed for DTC brand launch and viral giveaway campaigns. All integrate with major email platforms.

How much does a giveaway cost to run for an ecommerce brand?

Giveaway costs include: platform fee ($49-$149/month), prize value ($200-$2,000 for most ecommerce giveaways), and promotional spend (optional, $0-$500 in ads to seed initial participants). Total cost: $300-$3,000 for a well-executed giveaway. Cost per subscriber varies: organic-only giveaways can achieve $0.05-$0.20/subscriber; paid-seeded giveaways typically run $0.20-$0.75/subscriber. Both are significantly cheaper than paid social acquisition costs of $3-$10 per email subscriber.

How do I run an ecommerce giveaway that generates leads?

High-converting giveaway structure: (1) Choose a relevant prize (your own products at $200-$500 value attract your target customer; generic prizes like iPads attract everyone and generate low-quality leads); (2) Require email for entry; (3) Offer bonus entries for sharing (viral coefficient booster); (4) Run for 7-14 days (longer giveaways see diminishing momentum); (5) Promote via email, social, influencer partnerships, and targeted Facebook ads to your existing customer lookalikes; (6) Immediately add all entrants to your welcome sequence.

Do giveaway subscribers convert to customers?

Giveaway subscribers convert at lower rates than organic subscribers (0.5-2% vs. 2-5% conversion to first purchase), but they're acquired at much lower cost. The key is aggressive welcome sequence follow-up: send a 5-7 email series starting immediately after the giveaway ends, announce the winner publicly (creates FOMO), and offer a compelling consolation offer ('You didn't win the giveaway, but here's 20% off your first purchase'). Nurturing giveaway leads properly can double the conversion rate.

What legal requirements do I need to know for running online giveaways?

Key giveaway legal requirements: (1) Clearly disclose 'No purchase necessary' for sweepstakes; (2) Include official rules covering eligibility, entry period, prize description, odds of winning, and how winners are selected; (3) Comply with platform terms of service (Facebook requires contests run via Apps, not personal pages); (4) State-specific laws (some US states have stricter sweepstakes regulations); (5) Winner verification (keep records of winner selection); (6) Prize value disclosure for federal tax purposes (winners of prizes over $600 may need a 1099 form).

Top Giveaway Software Tools

Why You Need Giveaway Software Tools