Is KingSumo Legit? An Honest Review of the Giveaway Tool

Looking for an honest KingSumo review before running your first giveaway?

I’ve tested KingSumo myself to see how well it actually works for growing an email list through viral contests. In this review, I’ll walk you through exactly what KingSumo offers, where it falls short, and whether it’s the right tool for your business goals.

You’ll learn how the platform works, how much it costs, what kind of results to expect, and which alternative I recommend if you need more advanced features or use WordPress.

What Is KingSumo?

If you want to run a giveaway but don’t have a website, KingSumo is worth knowing about. KingSumo is a web-based giveaway tool that helps you build your email list with online giveaway contests.

It works by asking participants to complete tasks like following you on social media or joining your email list in return for entry into your prize draw.

Since KingSumo works in your web browser, you won’t need a business website to use it. Everything is handled in your KingSumo dashboard from start to finish.

Is KingSumo Legit?

KingSumo is a legitimate giveaway tool from AppSumo. AppSumo is an established software deals marketplace that has been operating since 2010, and KingSumo is one of its own products.

On AppSumo, KingSumo holds a 3.8/5 rating from 65 reviews. On G2, it’s 3.4/5 from 15 reviews.

That said, “legitimate” doesn’t mean perfect. The most common complaints I found in reviews are slow customer support and unresolved issues. The feature set is also limited compared to paid alternatives, which frustrates users who expected more from the paid tier.

KingSumo works well for people who need a fast, low-cost giveaway without a website. It disappoints users who need entry verification, deep integrations, or WordPress-native control.

What Features Does KingSumo Offer?

Some of KingSumo’s key features include:

• Create unlimited giveaways
• Enter your giveaway via email
• Upload a prize cover image
• Use your own logo
• Bonus social media giveaway sharing actions
• Bonus social media following actions
• 3 Email marketing integrations + Zapier
• Display winners inside the giveaway app

KingSumo Review: A Hands-On Look

Now that you know what KingSumo is, let’s see what it’s like in action. I’ll walk through the entire process of setting up a giveaway.

How to Create a Giveaway with KingSumo

To create a giveaway with KingSumo, log into your KingSumo dashboard and click the “New Giveaway” button. From there, you’ll see the giveaway builder, where you can enter your giveaway title and description.

After entering your details, you can choose a start and end date and time. You can also set a date for when KingSumo awards the winner and choose how many winners you’ll have.

Next, you can type in who is running the giveaway, along with your website URL, prize name, and prize value. To show how your prize looks, you can upload some photos.

What Entry Actions Can You Use with KingSumo?

The next step involves choosing which platforms you’d like participants to share your giveaway. In total, there are 6 social sharing options, including:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Messenger
• LinkedIn
• Pinterest
• Email

Under that section is the option to add bonus entries for additional chances to win. For instance, you can add bonus social follow actions like:

• Instagram follow
• Facebook like
• Twitter follow
• YouTube subscribe
• Podcast subscribe

Or you can include other bonus entries like “Click a Link,” “Watch a YouTube Video,” or “Daily Entry.”

One limitation worth knowing is KingSumo’s share-tracking can be gamed. Users can click the share button and receive entry credit without actually sharing the content. This is a documented issue in AppSumo reviews and affects the quality of leads your giveaway generates.

If accurate entry data matters, consider checking your giveaway rules and tools with verified entry tracking.

Note: To remove the KingSumo branding, you’ll need to subscribe to the paid version. You can also include an EU GDPR checkbox to ensure your giveaway is compliant.

How to Publish a KingSumo Giveaway

Given that KingSumo is a web app, there are several ways to publish your giveaway online. You can click any of the checkboxes to:

• Share on Facebook
• Send as message
• Tweet about it
• Send via email
• Copy the link

There’s also the option to embed a widget on your website, which involves copying the embed code and pasting it onto your site.

If you’re not comfortable pasting embed code, don’t worry. There’s an alternative coming up that may suit you better.

What Email Tools Work with KingSumo?

KingSumo only offers 3 direct email marketing integrations, including MailChimp, SendFox, and ConvertKit. That way, your list gets updated automatically as each user enters.

You can connect with many other services by using Zapier integration. That said, three native integrations is a real constraint if you use a different email provider and prefer not to manage Zapier.

How Much Does KingSumo Cost?

KingSumo offers a free web app and a one-time paid upgrade. Here’s how it compares to competing tools:

Tool	Free Plan	Paid Plan	Model
KingSumo	Yes (basic, with branding)	$49	One-time
RafflePress	Yes (Lite, limited features)	$299 / $349	One-time
Gleam	Yes (1 campaign limit)	$29-$119/mo	Monthly subscription
SweepWidget	Yes (limited entries)	From $29/mo	Monthly subscription

KingSumo’s $49 one-time fee is the most affordable paid option in this comparison. RafflePress also has a one-time model, which beats subscription tools on cost after about 12 months.

KingSumo Pros and Cons (Quick Summary)

After looking in-depth at KingSumo, let’s round up some of the pros and cons of this giveaway tool.

KingSumo Pros

• Free web app version
• Easy to set up
• Social sharing options
• Create unlimited giveaways
• 1-time payment for the paid version
• Email support

KingSumo Cons

• Distracting branding in the free version
• No verification for entries
• Cannot collect participant names
• No entry management dashboard
• Limited integrations
• Limited entry actions outside of social media
• Customer support is slow: AppSumo reviews frequently cite unresolved issues and delayed responses

KingSumo Review: Is It Worth It?

KingSumo works best for small brands without a website. The setup is fast, and the $49 one-time price is hard to argue with for a basic campaign. Users who want a quick, simple giveaway are generally satisfied; users who need reliable support or advanced tracking are not.

Results vary widely.

One Kickstarter pre-launch campaign reported gathering 12,000 email addresses from a single KingSumo giveaway; another reported a 6.64% conversion rate driving Facebook ad traffic to their campaign. Those are high-end examples, and your results depend on prize quality, audience targeting, and how hard you promote.

If your site runs on WordPress, KingSumo’s embed code works but requires manual insertion. There’s no native plugin, which makes setup more technical than alternatives like RafflePress.

Where KingSumo genuinely shines is non-WordPress use cases:

Kickstarter pre-launches, author platform building, product launches where you want a standalone giveaway page without a full website. For those scenarios, the $49 lifetime deal is hard to beat. If you need more control inside WordPress, there are better KingSumo alternatives.

Best Alternative to KingSumo for WordPress

I completely understand I might sound biased given that RafflePress is our own product. But the truth is, it genuinely solves the limitations I found when testing KingSumo.

Unlike KingSumo’s web app, RafflePress is a dedicated WordPress giveaway plugin. That means you can build, launch, and monitor giveaways right inside your WordPress website.

RafflePress also includes a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop giveaway builder. When you’re building your giveaway, you’ll see a live preview in real-time.

Where KingSumo offers 6 social sharing options, RafflePress gives you 30+ entry actions including referrals, blog comments, image submissions, and polls.

For example, it includes all of the standard social sharing and following options from KingSumo, along with bonus entry actions to:

• Join an email newsletter
• Follow on Twitch
• Subscribe to podcast
• Leave a blog comment
• Write a blog post
• Submit an image
• Answer a question
• Subscribe to RSS
• Polls and Surveys
• Refer a friend

So you can easily hold a photo contest from your WordPress site or even run a giveaway to grow your Twitch followers.

You can set up your giveaway fast with pre-made giveaway templates, let users log in via email or Facebook, and pick a winner randomly from inside WordPress.

You can also publish your giveaway on a distraction-free giveaway landing page that you can share anywhere online.

RafflePress has over 17 integrations with popular email marketing services, Zapier, and Recaptcha. Your email list stays current automatically.

RafflePress is built to run on your own WordPress site so your data stays yours. If you’re just starting out and want a quick way to run viral giveaways without building a full website, KingSumo is a decent option. But if you need more entry types, better tracking, or full control inside WordPress, RafflePress is the smarter choice.

You can launch your first WordPress giveaway with RafflePress in minutes, no coding required.

Frequently Asked Questions About KingSumo

Is KingSumo legit?

Yes. KingSumo is a legitimate product from AppSumo, which has been operating as a software deals marketplace since 2010. On AppSumo, KingSumo holds a 3.8/5 rating from 65 reviews. The most common criticism is slow customer support and limited entry verification, not fraud or deception. It’s a real product that works as described for basic giveaway creation.

Is KingSumo free?

KingSumo has a free web app version that lets you create basic giveaways with social sharing options. The free version displays KingSumo branding on your giveaway. To remove the branding and unlock translation features, the paid version is a one-time fee of $49, with no ongoing subscription required.

Does KingSumo work with WordPress?

KingSumo works with WordPress through an embed code you paste manually into a page or widget area. There is no native WordPress plugin, which means setup requires more manual steps than WordPress-native tools like RafflePress. If your site runs on WordPress, a plugin integration will give you better control and less friction during setup.

How many email subscribers can you realistically get with KingSumo?

Results vary widely. One Kickstarter pre-launch campaign reported gathering 12,000 email addresses from a single KingSumo giveaway. Another user reported a 6.64% conversion rate driving Facebook ad traffic to a KingSumo campaign. Those are high-end examples. Typical results depend heavily on prize quality, how targeted your audience is, and how aggressively you promote the giveaway.

What is the best KingSumo alternative for WordPress users?

For WordPress users, RafflePress is the strongest KingSumo alternative. Unlike KingSumo, RafflePress installs as a native WordPress plugin with no embed code needed. It offers 30+ entry actions compared to KingSumo’s 6, includes built-in fraud protection with verified entry tracking, and integrates with 17+ email marketing services. The paid plan is a one-time purchase starting at $299. You can compare all options in this giveaway tool comparison.

Ready to Run Your First Giveaway?

KingSumo is a solid starting point if you need a fast, cheap giveaway without a website. For WordPress users who want more control, RafflePress gives you the full picture.

And if you want a free option, check out this guide on how to get an unlimited free trial of RafflePress.

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