AppSumo and Stacksocial are two of the better known "deal sites." The promise is that you can find unique deals with savings you couldn't find any other place.
Until I came across AppSumo, I didn't have too much experience with "social shopping" communities as a buyer. I knew a little bit about how these sites work because I tried to make a deal with a site a few years back.
The site was called Living Social.
My impression was that they bleed the vendor to death while the offer they put out does not reflect the meat they cut out of the vendor's body.
In other words: My impression was that the real profiteur is neither the buyer nor the vendor but the site. I cut my losses and declined (the time I invested to get them to accept a Newbie and prepare everything until they finally sent the paperwork.)
On the other hand, as soon as you start your own homepage or blog, you will soon learn that you need about 138 products and services and basically every little button wants to charge an annual subscription fee.
So ... how about AppSumo and StackSocial? Can they help you to stretch your budget? And if so, which site is better?
Appsumo vs Stacksocial
Target Group
The main difference is that AppSumo is focused on Entrepreneurs, Online Businesses, Small Businesses, Bloggers and Freelancers.
StackSocial has a broader spectrum. They offer physical items, online courses, gadget, household items and much more.
If you don't want to read so much text - please make sure to scroll to the bottom where the important topics "trust" and "refund" are being compared.
- not focused on a specific target group
- offers a wide range of products, training and software
- highly targeted offer
- offers only software, applications and services
- specialized offer for entrepreneurs, small biz, online biz, developers, bloggers ...
Conclusion
It's a matter of taste, really. Personally, I believe that a lot of us are very busy and/or easily distracted.
I prefer a focused offer where every handpicked deal aims to help me optimize my business.
Number of offers
When you look at the sheer number of offers, Stacksocial clearly wins. If we compare the number of offers that help you grow your business, Stacksocial has a few more offers.
Conclusion
Stacksocial offers a larger number of active deals.
Pricing
It's hard to compare. I only found a few deals that both companies offered. Two of the deals AppSumo had first, were more limited on Stacksocial.
For instance, a lifetime license became a one-year subscription for $ 20 less - so that it's hard to compare.
- Stacksocial has something called "Pay what you want." In this section, you can find truly amazing deals. Desktop software deals (i.e. Security, Mac Apps, Bundle of a special vendor). The earlier you see it, the better
- Stacksocial also offers $1 credit for every $25 purchase
- AppSumo has created a unique and nearly "too good to be true" subscription offer. I'll make this the next topic.
Both offer good prices. Please do read "refunds" and "trust level" - that's where the difference lies.
AppSumo Briefcase
Ok, so this topic is for your information. I will not factor it into my rating. Because it basically makes looking for deals or apps obsolete.
They do not promote this offer on their homepage but in case you want to learn more - I will put a link for you.
I cannot guarantee that the 1$ trail I signed up for a while back will still be available but you can try.
So what is AppsSumo Briefcase? It's a monthly subscription pack ($50) that comes with 38 apps. 4-6 new apps are being added each month. It's everything you need to run your business and many tools allow you to offer services (SEO and other...) if that is your interest.
In addition to the access to the tool, you also get a $20 Coupon for the AppSumo main page. In case you want to stack a deal or buy for a friend.
Are you ready for crazy? Ok ... let's do it!
So .. what can I say? This offer is insance, highly thought trough and targeted. I dislike 3 of the apps, personally don't care so much for the social media and SEO items and LOVE the rest. I am saving over $550 each month and am much more productive than before.
You can read my review about the single programs here:
I am wishing you luck that the link still for the free trial still works.
https://successful-online-business.com/2017/11/appsumo-briefcase-review-update-2.html
https://successful-online-business.com/2017/11/appsumo-briefcase-review-part-2.html
https://successful-online-business.com/2017/08/appsumo-briefcase-review.html
Refund Policy / Support
In this section we have a clear winner.
AppSumo has a two-click (click on "refund" and click on "confirm") 60-day refund policy. No hassle, no questions asked. Bam.
Stacksocial, on the other hand, does not offer any refunds for most software deals. On some (when you see a special icon) they offer a 15-day money back.
To get it, you have to fill out a pretty long form.
The next topic will make clear why this is a problem.
Trust factor
It can happen with both companies that a "lifetime deal" ends after a year or a few month when the company goes out of business.
AppSumo has a community character. People are very active there, comments - even critical or trollish comments - will not get deleted.
On Stacksocial you do not have the possitility to ask questions or share your concerns or even negative feedback.
AppSumo is a platform I trust. I don't have to read "small prints" and look at deals with a suspicous eye. I like that.
On Stacksocial about half of the deals are rubbish. The "free" section is a collection of Affiliate links (OMG ... we're all so tired of this) and a lot of deals are not good deals.
When a deal on AppSumo has the name "premium plan" it is the same as the premium plan on the page of the vendor.
With Stacksocial it can happen (it did happen to me just yesterday) that if you don't read word for word you end up with a gimmicky deal that is not a deal but a cheap way for the vendor to get you into a subscription.
It's not scam per se (even though Stacksocial also offers torrent apps and some things that seem a tad exotic for a reputable site) - more like an Ebay seller that sells an empty box.
I don't like to be careful. On Stacksocial you have to be careful.
And guess what? Just the deal you like has no refund option.
Quicky regarding support:
AppSumo reacts promptly and they have their "best men" replying to messages - not some Zendesk.
Stacksocial has slow support and it's not good. In my opinion.
AppSumo or Stacksocial? Who wins?
- Trust factor is a huge issue for me. I don't care for having to be careful so that I don't end up with a bad deal
- The variety on Stacksocial is very nice. I personally prefer the targeted offer. It doesn't help my business to get lost in looking at deals for the latest gadets
- Stacksocial has two great features: "Pay what you want" and that you get 1 credit for every $25
- That "geat feature" dies a quick death when you factor in that they basically have to refund offer for software deals and apps
- The "AppSumo Briefcase" offer is a game changer. In my personal view, it makes everything else more or less obsolete (I am exaggerating ... there will always be "nice to have things". But besides hosting, AppSumo Briefcase offers everything you need to run your successful business - at a joke of a price.
