Gleam
Gleam is a growth marketing platform that helps you run engaging competitions, rewards, and email captures to grow your audience and increase user interaction across your digital channels.
Viral Loops
Viral Loops is a referral marketing software that allows you to create and launch viral giveaways, waitlists, and ambassador programs to grow your customer base through word-of-mouth.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Gleam | Viral Loops |
|---|---|---|
| Website | gleam.io | viral-loops.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Subscription |
| Starting Price | Free | $49/month |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2013 | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia | London, UK |
Overview
Gleam
Gleam is a versatile growth marketing platform designed to help you build an engaged audience through interactive campaigns. Instead of static lead forms, you can create dynamic competitions, instant-win rewards, and social media galleries that encourage specific user actions like following your brand or sharing content.
You can manage four distinct apps—Competitions, Rewards, Galleries, and Captures—all from a single dashboard to drive traffic and sales. The platform works for businesses of all sizes, from solo creators to global brands, by providing verified social actions and seamless integrations with major platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Shopify.
Viral Loops
Viral Loops is a referral marketing platform designed to help you turn your existing customers into active promoters. Instead of relying solely on paid ads, you can build custom referral programs, pre-launch waitlists, and milestone-based giveaways that encourage people to share your brand with their network. You can choose from a variety of proven templates inspired by successful companies like Dropbox and Airbnb, allowing you to launch a professional campaign in minutes without needing a developer.
The platform integrates directly with your website, e-commerce store, or email provider to track referrals and distribute rewards automatically. Whether you are a startup looking to build early hype or an established e-commerce brand aiming to lower acquisition costs, you can manage the entire viral loop from a single dashboard. It simplifies the technical side of word-of-mouth marketing so you can focus on creating rewards that your audience actually wants.
Overview
Gleam Features
- Verified Social Actions Ensure your growth is real by automatically verifying that users have actually followed, liked, or subscribed to your channels.
- Viral Share Loops Give your campaigns a boost by rewarding users with extra entries when they refer their friends to your competition.
- Smart Email Captures Display targeted popups and opt-in forms based on user behavior to grow your mailing list without being intrusive.
- Instant Rewards Drive immediate sales by giving users coupons, downloads, or access codes in exchange for completing specific marketing tasks.
- Responsive Widgets Embed beautiful, mobile-friendly campaign widgets directly on your website or host them on dedicated landing pages.
- Fraud Protection Keep your contests fair with built-in security features that detect and block suspicious activity or duplicate entries.
Viral Loops Features
- Referral Templates. Launch proven campaign styles like the Milestone Factory or Startup Pre-launch using pre-built templates inspired by world-class brands.
- Viral Widgets. Embed customizable sharing widgets and referral counters directly onto your website to encourage instant participation from your visitors.
- Automated Rewards. Set up automatic email triggers to notify winners and distribute digital rewards or coupon codes the moment a referral goal is met.
- Participant Dashboard. Give your users a dedicated space to track their own referral progress, view their rank, and see how many rewards they have earned.
- Fraud Detection. Protect your campaigns from fake entries and self-referrals with built-in security features that flag suspicious activity automatically.
- E-commerce Integration. Connect your Shopify or WooCommerce store to reward customers for successful purchases made through their unique referral links.
Pricing Comparison
Gleam Pricing
- Unlimited total entries
- Basic entry methods
- Random winner selection
- Mobile responsive widgets
- Standard reporting
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Additional entry types
- Up to 500 monthly captures
- Basic email integrations
- Remove Gleam branding on Captures
Viral Loops Pricing
- Up to 1,000 participants
- Unlimited campaigns
- Viral Loops branding
- Standard templates
- Basic integrations
- Email support
- Everything in Start-up, plus:
- Up to 3,000 participants
- Remove Viral Loops branding
- Custom CSS for widgets
- Advanced integrations
- Priority support
Pros & Cons
Gleam
Pros
- Extremely easy to set up and launch campaigns
- Wide variety of social media entry methods
- Verified actions prevent fake contest entries
- Reliable free version for basic giveaways
Cons
- Full suite pricing is relatively expensive
- Interface feels slightly dated to some users
- Steep learning curve for complex logic
Viral Loops
Pros
- Extremely fast setup using pre-built campaign templates
- Clean and intuitive interface for managing participants
- Seamless integration with popular landing page builders
- Responsive customer support team for technical help
Cons
- Participant limits can feel restrictive for viral hits
- Customization options require CSS knowledge for advanced looks
- No forever-free plan for very small startups