ContestHubChoosing a Shopify giveaway app?
Check these 7 things first.
A giveaway is one of the fastest ways to grow an email list — but the app you run it with can quietly cost far more than its sticker price. Here's what merchants in this category actually complain about.
The 7-point checklist
01 Flat pricing, or tiered with upgrades?
Entry-level plans often hide the useful parts — referrals, bonus actions, hashtag entries — behind tiers costing 3-10× more. Check what the cheapest plan actually includes before you commit.
02 Does it authorize variable charges?
Some apps request spending authorizations on your Shopify bill — up to thousands per month — at install. Read the approval screen carefully: a fixed fee should never ask for a variable cap.
03 Can you always export entrants?
The entrant list is the whole point of a giveaway. If CSV export sits behind a higher tier, you're paying twice for data you generated.
04 Native widget or external iframe?
Iframes from an external domain are slower, style badly against your theme and break more often. A theme app extension renders as part of your store.
05 How do entrants sign in?
Multi-provider social login confuses people and drops entries. Verified email should be enough to enter — friction here costs you the list you're trying to build.
06 Are winners notified automatically?
Picking a winner is only half the job. If the app doesn't email them for you, you'll be copying addresses by hand at the worst possible moment.
07 Does support answer?
A campaign runs for days: a bug mid-giveaway is a live problem. Check recent critical reviews for crashes — and send a pre-sales question to time the reply.
Green flags vs red flags
| Check | Green flag | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | One flat plan, everything included | Core features locked behind 3-10× tiers |
| Billing | Fixed fee, no variable cap | Spending authorization at install |
| Your data | CSV export on every plan | Entrant list behind a paywall |
| Widget | Native theme app extension | External iframe |
| Entry | Verified email, one step | Confusing multi-provider login |
| Winners | Picked and emailed automatically | Manual copy-paste |
| Support | Answers, even pre-sales | Silence mid-campaign |
How ContestHub answers all 7
- Free up to 50 entrants a month, then one flat $49/month — every feature included
- Fixed fee, no spending authorization, ever
- CSV export of entrants, always available
- Native theme app extension, no iframes
- Verified email entry — social follows are optional bonuses
- Fair random draw + automatic winner email
- A human answers every support email
Run your next giveaway in minutes.
Email entries, social follows, referrals and page visits — one widget, one flat price.
Install ContestHub — free plan available