ShortStack
Free planHosted contests, giveaways, quizzes and pop-ups you can embed on any site or run on a landing page.
Best for brands and agencies that run contests often, from hashtag and photo contests to instant-win games
Facts checked November 4, 2026 · First written by Mutuo Mbilla
The short answer
ShortStack suits marketing teams and agencies that run promotions through the year and need more than a prize draw. Photo and video upload contests, public voting, Instagram hashtag entries, instant-win prizes and quizzes all sit in one hosted builder, and every plan, the free one included, gets unlimited landing pages, pop-ups and embeds. Paid plans start at $29 a month, but limits are counted in monthly views and stored entries with overage fees past them, so a contest that takes off can raise your bill. Its integrations page lists only Mailchimp, HubSpot and Klaviyo for email and CRM, and the entry fraud filter starts on the $119 Scale plan.
Choose it if
- You run photo, video or user-generated content contests and want a public voting gallery (voting from Launch at $29 a month, uploads from Build at $59)
- You run comment-to-enter giveaways or Instagram hashtag contests and want comments imported from Facebook, Instagram or YouTube instead of copied by hand
- You want to test it on a real campaign first: the free plan gives 500 views a month and 200 stored entries with no card
- You manage several brands or clients and need white label on your own domain, an entry API and saved templates, which come with Max at $199 a month
- You're a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, since ShortStack takes 50% off any paid plan
Skip it if
- You run the odd giveaway on a WordPress site and would rather pay once; RafflePress sells a one-time license
- Your campaign could pull heavy or bot traffic and you need a fixed bill: overages apply per 10,000 views and per 1,000 entries, and the terms say ShortStack won't waive them for automated or fraudulent activity
- Your email platform isn't Mailchimp, HubSpot or Klaviyo and you don't want to set up webhooks, Zapier or Make
- You want contests on TikTok or X: the social tools import from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
- You want a refund if it doesn't work out, because the terms say payments are nonrefundable
Main features
Contest and sweepstakes templates
Start a sweepstakes, giveaway, photo or video contest, or voting gallery from a template and change the text, fields, colors and fonts in a drag-and-drop builder. Advanced users can add their own CSS, and Build adds custom JavaScript.
Comment and hashtag imports
Pull comments from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube posts into ShortStack, filter and moderate them, then draw a random winner. Instagram hashtag feeds collect tagged posts into a gallery, from one feed on Free and Launch to unlimited feeds on Max.
Refer-a-friend sweepstakes
From Build up, every entrant gets a unique referral link and earns points or bonus entries when friends sign up through it.
Instant win and code distribution
Scale adds instant-win games with several prizes and hands out redemption codes to winners, a fit for coupon drops and retail promotions.
Quizzes and polls
Build personality quizzes, knowledge tests, polls and scored assessments, and put the results behind an email opt-in so each quiz taker becomes a lead.
Pop-ups and embeds
Show a campaign as a pop-up, inline embed or full-page overlay, triggered by time on page, scroll depth, exit intent or URL. Add the global embed code to your site once and new campaigns go live without touching your site code again.
Landing pages
Every plan gets unlimited mobile-responsive landing pages on a ShortStack address. Max adds full white label with your own domain and favicon and no ShortStack footer.
Entry rules and fraud tools
Limit entries per email to once, a set frequency or a cap, and restrict voting by browser fingerprint, IP address or email login. Scale adds the entry fraud filter and reCAPTCHA.
Autoresponders
Send a confirmation, discount code or download link the moment someone submits a form, plus delayed follow-ups. Max lists scheduled and custom entry emails.
Analytics and exports
Every plan shows live totals for views, submissions, clicks and shares, and you can export entries as CSV at any time. Scale adds campaign analytics, Max the full analytics suite, and you can add tracking pixels or Google Analytics.
Pricing
Monthly prices checked November 4, 2026. Yearly billing costs ten times the monthly price: $290, $590, $1,190 and $1,990 a year. Overages run from $6.70 per 10,000 views and $3.33 per 1,000 stored entries on Launch down to $2.50 and $1.50 on Max; the free plan has no overages but ShortStack may add branding or stop taking entries when you pass its limits. Registered 501(c)(3) nonprofits get 50% off Launch through Max.
Free
$0
500 views a month, 200 stored entries, 1 site, sweepstakes, quizzes and pop-ups, ShortStack footer
Launch
$29 / month
25,000 views, 5,000 stored entries, 1 site, public voting contests, visitor profiles, entry database
Build
$59 / month
100,000 views, 20,000 stored entries, 3 sites, refer-a-friend sweepstakes, photo and video upload contests, custom JavaScript
Scale
$119 / month
300,000 views, 60,000 stored entries, 5 sites, 1 team seat, multi-prize instant win, code distribution, fraud filter and reCAPTCHA
Max
$199 / month
750,000 views, 150,000 stored entries, 10 sites, 3 team seats, full white label, entry API, country limits, agency tools
Enterprise
Custom / custom quote
Limits above Max, a dedicated account manager, custom contracts, SLAs and custom integrations
Reviews
Write a reviewNo reviews yet. If you use ShortStack, yours would be the first.
Alternatives to ShortStack
| Product | Choose it instead if | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| RafflePress | Your site runs on WordPress and you want one-time pricing with no view or entry limits to watch | Free (RafflePress Lite) |
| Convertful | You want always-on pop-ups and spin-to-win wheels that target visitors by their email platform tags, more than you want contests | $9 a month (or $84 a yea... |
Questions people ask
Does ShortStack have a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan costs $0 with no card and no end date, and allows 500 campaign views a month, 200 stored entries and one connected site. It includes sweepstakes, quizzes, pop-ups, unlimited landing pages and comment imports, with a ShortStack footer on your campaigns.
Does ShortStack offer a free trial of paid plans?
The pricing page doesn't advertise one; it points you to the permanent free plan instead. The terms say ShortStack may offer a trial of a paid plan or feature when you sign up, and the feature goes away if you don't upgrade before the trial ends.
What happens if I go over my monthly views?
On a paid plan your campaigns keep running and you pay overage fees, from $6.70 per 10,000 views on Launch to $2.50 on Max, and ShortStack emails you as you near the limit. On the free plan there are no fees, but ShortStack may add more branding or pause form submissions until the next period.
Which social networks does ShortStack work with?
It imports comments from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube posts for comment-to-enter giveaways and collects Instagram hashtag posts for hashtag contests. You can also link to a ShortStack landing page from any social bio or post.
Can I connect ShortStack to my email marketing tool?
ShortStack's integrations page lists Mailchimp, HubSpot and Klaviyo, and its FAQ names Mailchimp as the direct integration. For other tools you send entries through webhooks, Zapier or Make, and on Max you can use the entry API. You can also export entries as CSV at any time.
Can I get a refund from ShortStack?
The terms say payments are nonrefundable and there are no credits for partly used periods. You can cancel at any time; your plan runs to the end of the billing period and the account then moves to the free plan.
Can ShortStack build a campaign for me?
Yes. ShortStack's team offers custom builds from concept to launch. It doesn't publish prices for this, so you ask for a quote.
Sources we checked 15
- shortstack.com/pricing for plans, monthly and yearly prices, views, stored entries, sites, seats, overage rates, features by plan, nonprofit discount, enterprise checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com for campaign types, fraud protection, white label, integrations summary checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/faqs for pop-up triggers, quizzes, autoresponders, refer-a-friend, winner selection, entry and voting limits, integrations, analytics, CSV export, overage behavior, global embed code checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/integrations for integrations list and count checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/social-media for comment imports from Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, hashtag contests checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/why-shortstack for support channels, account manager checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/enterprise for enterprise and agency features checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/contact for contact options, custom builds checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/terms-and-conditions for company name, trials, refunds, cancellation, free plan limits, overage rules checked November 4, 2026
- shortstack.com/privacy-policy for company address in Sparks, Nevada checked November 4, 2026
- rafflepress.com/pricing for alternative: one-time WordPress license checked November 4, 2026
- kingsumo.com for alternative: one-time lifetime deal checked November 4, 2026
- viralsweep.com for alternative: purchase-based entries for Shopify and BigCommerce checked November 4, 2026
- wishpond.com for alternative: social promotions alongside landing pages, email and SMS checked November 4, 2026
- convertful.com/features for alternative: spin-to-win wheels and targeting by CRM tags checked November 4, 2026