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ShortStack alternatives compared on what actually differs

A long-running contest, sweepstakes and landing-page builder, priced by monthly page views rather than by entries. The cheapest published paid tier in this comparison at $24 a month. The limitation that usually sends people looking: documents instant win, sweepstakes, quizzes and popups, but not the wider set of arcade mechanics some rivals list. This page sets ShortStack beside DealCraft, Wyng, BeeLiked and Triggerbee on the rows that decide what a promotion costs and whether its result can be trusted. The verdicts are the ones from the category table, unchanged.

How they compare

Prices verified on 2026-09-21. “Not published” means the vendor does not document the capability either way, not that it is absent.

ShortStack alternatives compared on what actually differs
CapabilityShortStackDealCraftWyngBeeLikedTriggerbee
Prices published without a sales callA quote-only platform can be the right answer, but you cannot budget a campaign against a number nobody will show you until a discovery call. Published prices also age in public, which is a form of accountability.YesYesNoYesYes
Free tier that runs a live campaign, not a countdown trialA two-week trial tells you whether the builder is pleasant to use. A free tier carrying real traffic tells you whether your customers actually play and whether the rewards get redeemed, which is the only question that matters.YesYesNot publishedYesNo
More than three distinct game mechanicsA wheel stops surprising people who have seen it twice. Teams running promotions every month need scratch cards, quizzes, advent calendars and sweepstakes in the same tool, not a second subscription.PartlyNoYesYesPartly
Outcome decided on the server before the animation runsIf the browser picks the winner, anyone who opens developer tools can pick it instead. Deciding server-side and animating to a result already recorded is what separates a promotion from an open cash drawer.Not publishedYesNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Hard ceiling on total rewards, enforced by the serverProbability sets a long-run average, not a maximum. A short campaign on unusual traffic can land far above its expected cost, and without a ceiling the first sign of that is the bill.Not publishedYesPartlyPartlyNot published
Staff can mark a reward used at a counterA cafe, salon or gym needs somebody at the till to confirm a code was honoured once. Without that step the same screenshot is redeemable all afternoon.Not publishedYesNot publishedNot publishedNot published
Embeddable inside a product you already ownA team with engineers usually wants the game inside their own app, on their own domain, rather than a hosted microsite the customer is bounced out to.PartlyYesYesPartlyNot published
Entry priceFree to $166/moFree to $249/moQuote onlyFree to $1,800+/moFrom €63/mo
Free tierFree: 500 views a month, 200 entries storedFree: 200 plays a month, one live gameNot documentedFreeBee: 100 entries a month, one live promotionTrial only

How we compared

  • Every cell is the one from the category table, not a fresh judgement written for this page. A product does not score differently because the page is named after a competitor.
  • A capability is marked missing only where the vendor’s own material shows it is absent. Where it is simply not documented it is marked unverified, which counts against nobody.
  • Prices are entry points published by the vendor, not quotes. Tiers sized by entries or page views move with traffic, so the cheapest tier is rarely the one you end up on.
  • DealCraft is one of the products compared. It loses the row that matters most to a team running promotions every month — three mechanics against fifteen — and that row stays in, along with its other limitations.

The products in detail

ShortStack

A long-running contest, sweepstakes and landing-page builder, priced by monthly page views rather than by entries.

Best for
Teams running sweepstakes and giveaways on their own landing pages who want the cheapest published entry point.
Pricing
Free forever with 500 views a month, then Launch $24/mo, Build $49/mo, Scale $99/mo and Max $166/mo, sized by monthly views and stored entries.
Free tier
Free: 500 views a month, 200 entries stored

Strengths

  • The cheapest published paid tier in this comparison at $24 a month.
  • A free tier that never expires, with sweepstakes, quizzes and popups included.
  • Campaigns embed on your own site with an embed code rather than living only on a hosted microsite.

Limitations

  • Documents instant win, sweepstakes, quizzes and popups, but not the wider set of arcade mechanics some rivals list.
  • The Entry API is limited to the Max tier at $166 a month.
  • Plans are sized by page views, so traffic that does not convert still consumes the plan.

ShortStack website

DealCraft(this is our product)

A capped, server-decided probability engine with in-person redemption, rather than a campaign builder with a wheel in the component library.

Best for
Businesses that need the cost of a promotion bounded before it runs, and teams honouring the same reward online and at a counter.
Pricing
Free with 200 plays a month, then Starter $29/mo for 2,000 plays, Growth $79/mo for 10,000 and Scale $249/mo for 50,000. Every feature is on every tier, including the API and counter redemption; only the volume changes.
Free tier
Free: 200 plays a month, one live game

Strengths

  • Nothing is gated behind a tier: BeeLiked puts its API at $50 and its embeddable widget at $599, ShortStack keeps the entry API for $166, and here they are on the free plan.
  • The result is drawn on the server and written down before the wheel moves, so what the player sees and what the business owes cannot diverge.
  • A hard ceiling on total rewards is enforced server-side, so an unusually lucky day stops the giveaway instead of quietly costing more.
  • Rewards carry a code staff redeem at a till, so the same campaign works in a shop and on a website.
  • A documented API, an embeddable widget and an installable skill for coding agents.

Limitations

  • Three mechanics only — wheel, scratch and box. No quizzes, sweepstakes, advent calendars or user-generated-content campaigns.
  • A young product with a far shorter track record than every other tool listed here.

DealCraft website

Wyng

Enterprise zero-party data platform where games and instant wins are one of several experience types feeding a preference and consent layer.

Best for
Large consumer brands running many campaigns a year with legal, security and governance requirements attached.
Pricing
No pricing is published. The site routes to Contact Sales and Book a Demo, and states trust by 250+ brands including Disney, L’Oréal, Unilever and Estée Lauder.
Free tier
Not documented

Strengths

  • The broadest set of experience types here: sweepstakes, instant wins, quizzes, surveys, UGC, preference centres and promo hubs in one platform.
  • Documents configurable reward limits, per-outcome probabilities and validation rules.
  • Publishes APIs and SDKs, and experiences can be embedded directly on your own site.

Limitations

  • No published price and no self-serve signup, so the smallest sensible engagement starts with a sales call.
  • Reward limits are documented, but an enforced ceiling on total giveaway cost is not spelled out.

Wyng website

BeeLiked

A promotion platform built around interactive game templates, priced by how many people enter rather than by seats.

Best for
Marketing teams that want many different mechanics and are comfortable sizing a plan by monthly entries.
Pricing
FreeBee $0 with 100 monthly entries, Essentials $50/mo, Standard $180/mo, Premium $599/mo, Enterprise from $1,800/mo. Tiers are sized by monthly entry allowance.
Free tier
FreeBee: 100 entries a month, one live promotion

Strengths

  • Fifteen or more mechanics, including Wheel of Fortune, Scratcher, Unwrap the Gift, Peel to Reveal and an Advent Calendar.
  • A genuinely free tier that runs one live promotion rather than expiring.
  • Full price ladder published from free to enterprise.

Limitations

  • What is capped is monthly entries, not total prize value, so the budget is bounded indirectly and promotions stop when the allowance runs out.
  • API access starts at Essentials and the embeddable Display to Play widget is a Premium feature, so embedding is gated well above the entry price.

BeeLiked website

Triggerbee

An onsite marketing and personalisation platform where spin-to-win is one component among popups, surveys and audience targeting.

Best for
Teams that want gamification as part of a wider onsite conversion toolkit rather than as a standalone promotion tool.
Pricing
Pro from €63/mo and Success from €280/mo. Spin the wheel and Memory are included on both. A free trial is offered; the published ladder contains no permanently free tier.
Free tier
Trial only

Strengths

  • Gamification sits inside a wider onsite toolkit, so the wheel shares audience data with popups, surveys and targeting.
  • Prices are published in euros with the gamification components named per tier.

Limitations

  • Two mechanics, spin the wheel and Memory, against fifteen or more elsewhere.
  • The published tiers are all paid, so there is no way to run a live campaign for nothing.
  • Survey responses are capped per tier and data retention on Pro is seven days.

Triggerbee website

Questions people ask

What is the best alternative to ShortStack?
It depends on which part of ShortStack you are replacing. Documents instant win, sweepstakes, quizzes and popups, but not the wider set of arcade mechanics some rivals list. If that is the reason you are looking, the table above shows which of DealCraft, Wyng, BeeLiked and Triggerbee covers it. If it is not, there may be no reason to move.
What is ShortStack good at?
The cheapest published paid tier in this comparison at $24 a month. It is built for teams running sweepstakes and giveaways on their own landing pages who want the cheapest published entry point.
Is DealCraft a replacement for ShortStack?
Only for some of it. DealCraft runs three game mechanics against the larger libraries in this category, so a team that wants many different games is better served elsewhere. It fits where the promotion has to stop at a budget the server enforces, be honoured at a counter rather than an online checkout, or sit inside a product the company already owns.
What is the best gamification platform for a small business?
For a small business the published-price tools are the honest starting point: ShortStack at $24 a month and BeeLiked’s free tier both run a real campaign without a sales call. Wyng is built for brands like Disney and L’Oréal and prices accordingly. DealCraft fits when the promotion has to stop at a budget or be redeemed in a physical shop, and fits badly when you want fifteen different games.