If you’re planning a sweepstakes, you’ll hit this fork almost immediately: do you run it yourself on a platform, or hand the whole thing to an agency? Both get you a legally compliant sweepstakes. They just get you there in very different ways, at very different price points, and with very different amounts of your own time on the line.
Here’s the short version. Self-service works if you have the internal bandwidth to build the sweepstakes yourself and your prize pool stays under $5,000 in Florida and New York (or $500 in Rhode Island with retail-display advertising). Full-service is built for everything above that line, or for anyone who’d rather not own the compliance risk directly. Below is what each actually includes, so you’re not guessing.
What self-service actually means
Self-service puts you in the driver’s seat on Sweeppea’s platform. You’re not building compliance infrastructure from scratch — the tools are there — but you’re the one running them.
At $399/month, the Self-Service plan gets you:
- 3 active sweepstakes, unlimited entries and participants
- A custom entry page, plus Thank You, Official Rules, and Winner’s pages
- An Official Rules builder tool (or upload your own)
- A one-click random winner drawing tool
- Entry via web form, QR code, text-to-win, or social media
- Participant reports: demographics, location, entry method, conversion rates
- 1099 MISC generation for prizes over $2,000
- One-click cloning to duplicate a past sweepstakes
- 24/7 email and phone support
There’s also a lighter Allegro tier at $99/month if you only need one active sweepstakes and up to 5,000 participants, with access to a human sweepstakes expert if you get stuck.
Self-service is a genuinely good fit if your prize value is modest, you have someone in-house who can own the setup, and you don’t need state bonding. That last part matters more than it sounds like — see below.
What full-service actually adds
Full-service isn’t “self-service with hand-holding.” It’s a different delivery model: a human expert plus the platform, where Sweeppea builds and runs the sweepstakes for you.
Starting at $2,999 per sweepstakes plus the $399/month platform fee, full-service includes:
- Official Rules and Abbreviated Official Rules, drafted for you
- Surety bonds and state registration in Florida, New York, and Rhode Island estimated based on Prize(s) retail values.
- Random winner drawing, verification, and notification
- Liability and publicity release collection from winners
- Prize sourcing, purchasing, and fulfillment as an additional serviceif needed..
- 1099/1096 IRS forms filed on the sponsor’s behalf
- ABC approvals for alcohol sponsors as an additional service if needed.
- A dedicated account manager and full task/calendar management
The entry methods also expand here — donation-to-enter and purchase-to-enter are full-service (or plan-specific) options that self-service doesn’t cover directly.
The factor that actually decides it
Every comparison guide will tell you to weigh budget, internal resources, and campaign complexity. All true, but there’s one line item that makes the decision for a lot of sponsors before any of that matters: state bonding and registration.
Florida and New York require registration and bonding once your prize pool exceeds $5,000. Rhode Island requires registration (no bonding) once it exceeds $500 and you’re running physical retail-display advertising. Self-service does not include this — it’s explicitly outside the platform’s scope. If your sweepstakes touches any of those thresholds, full-service isn’t the “premium” option, it’s the only compliant one, unless you’re prepared to secure that bonding and registration yourself outside the platform. For the full state-by-state picture, the Rules & Laws guide is worth a read before you price anything out.
So the real first question isn’t “how much time do I have” — it’s “what’s my prize pool, and where am I advertising it.” Answer that first, and the self-service-vs-full-service decision mostly answers itself.
Cost comparison, side by side
| Self-Service | Full-Service | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cost | $399/mo platform | $2,999/sweepstakes + $399/mo platform |
| Who builds it | You | Sweeppea |
| State bonding (FL/NY over $5,000, RI over $500 w/ retail display) | Not included | Included. Bond and registration fees are estimated based on Prize(s) retail value. |
| Prize fulfillment | You handle it | Your or Sweeppea |
| Tax forms | You send 1099s (tool provided) | Filed on your behalf |
| Best for | Smaller prize pools, in-house bandwidth | Larger prize pools, compliance-sensitive campaigns, hands-off sponsors |
If neither fits cleanly — say, you want full ownership but occasional expert input — the Allegro plan’s acess to a human expert is worth a look before committing to full-service pricing.
Quick decision checklist
Lean on self-service if:
- Your prize pool is comfortably under the FL/NY $5,000 and RI $500 thresholds
- You have someone who can own entry page setup, rules, and winner notification
- You’re running one campaign, not a recurring calendar of them
Lean on full-service if:
- Your prize pool is at or near those state thresholds
- You want bonding, registration, and tax filing handled for you
- You’re running an alcohol promotion (ABC approval), a national campaign, or anything with real legal exposure
- You’d rather pay for certainty than spend internal hours on compliance research
Get started
Ready to run it yourself? Start with Self-Service and have a working entry page today.
Want it handled for you? Book a free consultation and we’ll scope your sweepstakes, prize pool, and state requirements together.
Not sure yet? The Pricing page has the full plan-by-plan feature comparison if you want to see everything side by side before you decide.
Questions? We’re here to help:
- Email: support@sweeppea.com
- Phone: +1 (888) 705-2049
- Article written by Claude. Edited by Marcos J. Menendez