Best giveaway tools in 2026: Gleam alternatives compared

Updated 8 November 2026 · By the Vast team

The best giveaway tool depends on what you are giving away and who enters. Game studios and streamers need Steam, Discord, Twitch and X actions that are actually checked; WordPress sites and online stores are better served by a plugin or a store-connected tool.

Vast is our product, so weigh that. We give every tool, including ours, its real weak spots below. Prices were checked on each tool's own pricing page on November 8, 2026, except Gleam's, which blocked us.

The tools at a glance

ToolFree planPaid entry priceGaming actionsChecks actions?
GleamNot confirmedSee their pricing pageDocs for Steam, Discord, TwitchMostly, per archived docs
KingSumoYes, unlimited giveaways$49 one-time (Lifetime plan)Not listedNot stated
ViralSweepNo, 7-day trial$49/mo billed monthly, or $41/mo billed annuallyNot listedNot stated
RafflePressLite version on WordPress.org$299 one-time, lifetime license (1 site)Twitch follow, X; no Steam or Discord listedPro lists "verified bonus actions"
ShortStackYes, with caps$29/mo billed monthly, or $290/yrNot namedNot stated
SweepWidgetYes, 10 entries$29/mo billed monthly, or $290/yrSteam, Discord, Twitch, Kick, XPartly
VastYes, with limits$15/mo billed monthly, or $108/yr (Basic)Steam, Discord, Twitch, Kick, XPartly

"Not stated" means the tool's own page does not say. It does not mean the tool doesn't check. Ask before you rely on it.

Gleam

Who it's for: Brands, creators and game studios, judging by its Twitch, Discord and Steam docs.

Price and free plan: We could not verify this. Gleam's site returned an access error (HTTP 403) every time we tried on November 8, 2026, so we are not quoting a number. Check Gleam's pricing page directly.

Entry actions and checking: Gleam publishes docs for Twitch actions, Discord actions and Steam actions, plus a help page on verified actions. The live pages blocked us too, so we read the latest Internet Archive copies (February 2025 to June 2026). In those, Twitch follow entries are "awarded once the follow status is verified by Gleam," and subscriber status is checked too. Discord actions cover joining a server, boosting it and holding a role; Steam actions cover login, playing a game and joining a group. The verified-actions page says Gleam checks actions through platform APIs, except on a few networks such as LinkedIn, YouTube and Snapchat. Confirm on the live pages.

Weak spots: We couldn't confirm the price or which plan each gaming action needs, and the Steam doc we read lists no wishlist action. Check both before you commit.

KingSumo

Who it's for: Creators and small businesses growing an email list. Its examples are an author, a racing team and a surfboard company, not game studios.

Price and free plan: The pricing page lists a Free plan with unlimited giveaways, bonus entries, embedding on any site, multiple winners and basic integrations. The Lifetime plan is a single $49 payment, bought through AppSumo. It adds custom branding, custom rules and terms, extra entry fields, advanced integrations and an option to remove the sponsored entry.

Entry actions and checking: The homepage describes viral bonus entries for sharing with friends and custom bonus entries, such as subscribing to a YouTube channel. It does not list Steam, Discord, Twitch, Kick or X actions, and it does not say whether actions are verified.

Weak spots: Light on gaming actions. Good at one job, which is email-list growth through referrals.

ViralSweep

Who it's for: Brands and agencies growing email and SMS lists, often tied to a store. The homepage names Shopify, BigCommerce, WordPress, Wix and Squarespace, and mentions entries per dollar spent.

Price and free plan: No free plan. Every paid plan starts with a 7-day trial. On the pricing page, Starter is $49 a month billed monthly, or $41 a month billed annually. Business is $199 a month ($166 billed annually), Premium is $399 ($333) and Elite is $999 ($833). Every paid plan includes unlimited promotions and entries, but Starter covers only 100 purchase-app orders.

Entry actions and checking: The homepage mentions comments on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, hashtag entries, purchases, and referrals. It lists no Steam, Discord, Twitch or Kick actions and makes no statement about verifying entrants.

Weak spots: Priced for businesses, with nothing aimed at game communities. Custom actions start on the $199 Business plan.

RafflePress

Who it's for: Owners of self-hosted WordPress sites. The RafflePress site says all you need is "a self-hosted WordPress site (WordPress.org)."

Price and free plan: The site's pricing section is headed "One-Time Payment. Lifetime Access." Single Site is $299 one-time and Unlimited Sites is $349 one-time, with "No subscriptions. No renewals." Both include lifetime updates, one year of priority support and a 14-day money-back guarantee. So these are lifetime licenses, not monthly or yearly prices. A free lite version is in the WordPress.org plugin directory; its listing says Pro adds email integrations, landing pages, templates, viral sharing and verified bonus actions.

Entry actions and checking: It advertises 30+ actions, including Follow on Twitch, Follow on Twitter/X, Tweet a Message, Visit YouTube Channel, Join Email Newsletter and Refer a Friend. Discord and Steam are not listed. Its site lists fraud protection but doesn't say which actions are verified.

Weak spots: WordPress only, a bigger upfront cost, and no Steam or Discord actions. Priority support covers the first year only.

ShortStack

Who it's for: Marketers and agencies. The contests and sweepstakes page says "no coding skills required," and its team offers custom builds.

Price and free plan: The pricing page lists a free plan ("$0 forever"), capped at 500 views a month and 200 stored entries on one connected site. Launch is $29 a month billed monthly, or $290 billed annually ($24 a month), with 25,000 views a month and 5,000 stored entries. The anti-fraud suite, which includes an entry fraud filter and reCAPTCHA, starts at Scale ($119 a month billed monthly, or $1,190 a year).

Entry actions and checking: Forms, comments, reactions and hashtag posts, plus bonus entries for actions such as sharing, following or watching a video. It doesn't name Twitch, Discord, Steam or X as entry actions, and doesn't say whether it verifies actions.

Weak spots: Pricing scales with views and stored entries. The free plan stops at its caps, and paid plans bill overages (on Launch, $6.70 per 10,000 extra views), so a successful giveaway can cost more than the base price. Fraud tools are on the third paid tier.

SweepWidget (a gaming-friendly addition)

Who it's for: Game developers and gaming brands, which its Steam page targets directly, and streamers.

Price and free plan: The pricing page says the free plan allows 10 user entries. Billed monthly, paid plans are Pro $29 a month, Business $59, Premium $119 and Enterprise $249. At normal yearly rates they are $290, $590, $1,190 and $2,490 a year.

Entry actions and checking: The Steam page lists Steam group join and Steam login, Discord server join, Twitch follow, Kick follow and X follow plus repost. On the pricing page's plan grid, the Steam, Twitch, Kick and X actions start on Pro, and Discord actions start on Business. SweepWidget's verification guide says Discord, Twitch, Telegram and Reddit are checked through the platform's API, while X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok rely on the username the entrant types, so you should verify winners yourself.

Weak spots: The free plan's 10-entry limit is enough to try the builder, not to run a public giveaway. Discord actions need Business ($59 a month) or higher; the Steam page says Premium, so confirm before you buy. The guide doesn't say how Steam group or Kick actions are checked.

Vast (our product)

Vast is our product, so treat this section as a vendor's description and check the claims yourself.

Who it's for: Hosts running giveaways for game communities: studios, streamers and creators. Players sign up on Vast to enter, and you can embed a giveaway on your own site.

Entry actions: The platform supports Steam (wishlist a game, play or own it, join a group), Discord server join, Twitch (follow, subscribe, redeem a channel reward), Kick (follow, subscribe), and X (follow, tag, repost). It also supports YouTube, Telegram, TikTok, Bluesky, Reddit, email newsletter, surveys, secret codes and custom actions.

Does it check actions? In part. The help center says Steam actions check that a player played, owns or wishlisted a game, or joined a group, and Twitch actions check follows, subscriptions and channel reward redemptions, using accounts players connect. Telegram joins can be checked with a bot you own. Discord, X and Kick actions aren't checked automatically today, so look over winners before you announce them. Steam actions also need the player's profile and game details set to public.

Plans: Vast has a free plan. Paid plans, as of November 2026, are Basic $15 a month ($108 a year), Pro $49 a month ($348 a year), Business $149 a month ($1,188 a year) and Enterprise $399 a month ($2,988 a year). Plans set how many giveaways you can run, custom actions, location limits and the analytics dashboard; the plans page lists what each includes. Winners are drawn at random from everyone who entered, and actions worth more entries improve a player's odds.

Weak spots:

Which one should you pick?

Game studio launching on Steam. You want Steam actions that are checked. Vast (ours) lists wishlist, play, ownership and group checks. SweepWidget's Steam page lists one Steam action, joining a group, plus Steam login. Gleam's Steam doc, in the copy we read, covers login, playing a game and joining a group. Compare them on plan limits and price, and ask each vendor how its checks work.

Streamer. You need Twitch, Discord and X actions. Look for Twitch and Discord checks done through an API. For Kick, ask how follows are checked. Vast and SweepWidget both list Kick actions.

Ecommerce brand. ViralSweep and ShortStack are built for marketers and email capture. ViralSweep awards entries for purchases on Shopify and BigCommerce, and SweepWidget lists purchase entries for Shopify and WooCommerce.

WordPress site. RafflePress fits if you want a one-time payment and run self-hosted WordPress, and its free lite version lets you try it first. KingSumo's $49 lifetime plan is cheaper if you mainly want referral-driven email signups.

Tight budget. KingSumo's free plan has unlimited giveaways. ShortStack's free plan has caps, so check them against your audience size.

Before you launch on any tool, read the rules of each platform you ask people to act on. Prize promotion laws vary by country. Vast (ours), ViralSweep and ShortStack can draft official rules for you, but check them for your giveaway. This isn't legal advice; check with a lawyer for your country and prize.

FAQ

What is the best free giveaway tool? KingSumo lists unlimited giveaways on its free plan, and ShortStack offers a free plan capped at 500 views a month and 200 stored entries. SweepWidget's free plan allows only 10 entries. RafflePress has a free lite plugin for WordPress.

What are the best Gleam alternatives? For gaming: SweepWidget or Vast (ours, so weigh that). For WordPress: RafflePress. For email growth: KingSumo. For stores and agencies: ViralSweep or ShortStack.

KingSumo vs Gleam: which is better? KingSumo is built around referrals and email growth, with a $49 lifetime option. Gleam documents Steam, Discord and Twitch actions. If your giveaway is for a game community, check Gleam's current plan limits. For email growth alone, KingSumo is simpler.

Do giveaway tools verify that people really followed? Some do, some trust the entrant. In SweepWidget's own guide, Discord and Twitch are API-checked while X is on trust. Ask any vendor which actions are checked before you pick one.

Sources

Run your next giveaway on Vast. Add Steam, Discord, Twitch, Kick and X actions, with Steam and Twitch actions checked through connected accounts. Start a giveaway

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