As a corporate gifting player that joined the industry in 2020, Giftsenda aimed to resolve issues for international teams during the pandemic. But are its current solutions the best for global teams, clients, and leads? In this comprehensive review, that’s what we’ll find out—and more!

Giftsenda Overview

Giftsenda is a corporate gifting platform that aims to help companies connect with employees, customers, and prospects through gifts and branded swag. Founded by Dmitriy Peregudov, the company was a spin-off from GiftBasketsOverseas.com, an established international gift delivery service since 2002. During the 2020 pandemic, Giftsenda observed the need for innovative solutions for global corporate gifting and developed resolutions like the “Address Request Feature” that allowed senders to deliver gifts even without their recipients’ exact addresses. It’s currently based in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Main Features

Pay-as-you-go model

Giftsenda offers an option where you pay only for what you need with no subscription fee. This can provide flexibility and help you avoid recurring fees if you only have occasional gifting needs. However, there are other extra costs that you must pay, such as the processing, swag store setup, and warehousing fees.

Giveaway links

Giftsenda’s “Address Request Feature” has become a main feature of the platform’s Giveaway Links option. Using this feature, you can share a link with your recipients that will then redirect them to a page where they can select their gift or swag of choice from a selection based on your budget or a pre-curated collection. This allows gift sending without needing your recipients’ delivery details.

Reporting

The platform offers a real-time reporting feature that tracks your campaign performance metrics such as gift invite acceptance, ROI with cost metrics and gifting results, and the number of invites sent. Delivery status, popular gift choices, and feedback on gift notes are also included in the stats that you can access with this feature.

Pricing

Giftsenda has two pay-as-you-go options (or what the platform calls gift campaign/project-based gifting) and one subscription-based plan. In this section, we’ll take a look at the features offered in these tiers.

Lite Plan

One of the two pay-as-you-go options is the Lite plan, which provides you with access to Giftsenda’s gifting platform. Under this plan, you can have gifts delivered to international recipients, with the option to directly send gifts, send out digital gift invites, or do bulk gifting. Gift collections, basic reports, email, chat, and phone support, and a dedicated gift consultant are also provided for users in this tier. This plan is most suitable for small organizations as it only allows two platform users and has a 10% processing fee for gift sends. You need to book a demo with Giftsenda to know the price for this tier.

Pro Plan

Giftsenda’s Pro plan is also a pay-as-you-go option where you will get everything offered in the Lite plan with additional features. This includes access to custom projects managed by the platform’s Gift Concierge team and the ability to add unlimited users. This tier includes features such as eGifts, swag and custom gift requests, and giveaway links, which can be useful for remote teams or one-time gifting efforts. Other features include warehousing (with storage fees), company swag stores (with setup fees), calendar booking campaigns, basic platform integrations, and automated gifting.

If you’re under this tier, the 10% processing fees can be waived, provided that you pay $5,000 annually. While this kind of defeats the purpose of no recurring costs, the option can be beneficial if you have gifting campaigns where you need to send out gifts regularly, especially since the 10% processing fee can pile up in the long run.

Enterprise Plan

While Giftsenda offers pay-as-you-go plans, it also offers a subscription plan that is suitable if you have recurring gifting campaigns. This is the Enterprise plan. Under this plan, the features available are the same as those in the Pro plan, with some additions. For one, the company swag stores will now be set up for free, and there is now a limited amount of complimentary warehouse storage for your swag and gifts. Integrations and reports can also be customized for more tailored processes and informed campaigns. You can also manage your inventory under this tier. This plan is billed annually at a monthly cost of $333, with a 10% rebate and no processing fees.

Pros and Cons

Now, let’s talk about the upsides and downsides of choosing Giftsenda.

Pros

✅ Gift concierge: The platform’s gift concierge service allows a gifting expert to manage your gifting campaigns for you. This is a good option if you have a busy schedule or are unfamiliar with gifting campaigns.

✅ One-time gift campaign: With Giftsenda’s pay-as-you-go model, it can be easier for you to send gifts if you’re a one-time user or a small business.

✅ Gifts as experiences: Aside from gifts, Giftsenda also offers Experience Gift Cards where your recipients can enjoy a new experience, such as wine tasting or local massages. The experience options are curated depending on your recipients’ location.

Cons

❌ Not built for swag: Giftsenda is primarily geared toward gifting rather than swag management, which may not suit you if you’re planning to use swag for marketing events, too.

❌ Extra fees: While Giftsenda has a pay-as-you-go model, the additional fees for processing, swag store setup, and warehousing become expensive since they accumulate over time. This may be a little counterproductive, especially if you’re on a tight budget.

❌ Integrations are mostly through Zapier: The platform’s integrations are mostly offered through Zapier, which requires additional configuration. This can also limit native compatibility with other CRM and HRIS systems.

❌ Expensive shipping costs: Sending gifts domestically or internationally through Giftsenda will incur high shipping fees, ranging from $8 to $15 per send. These costs can add up quickly, especially if you have recurring gifting campaigns.

❌Limited sustainability efforts: Giftsenda’s gift catalog only has a few eco-friendly items, and the platform doesn’t appear to have a clear sustainability strategy or public commitments related to environmental impact.

Giftsenda is best for…

… businesses that don’t want monthly subscription fees 👍

Giftsenda mostly operates on a pay-as-you-go model, making it a good fit if you don’t want to commit to recurring monthly costs. This flexibility is especially beneficial when you only have seasonal gifting needs. However, there are other costs associated with such a model (like storage and swag store setup fees), so you would still need to consider the long-term effects of these fees on your gift campaign budget.

… leaders that have one-time gifting campaigns 👍

Speaking of seasonal gifting needs, if you’re planning a single-run campaign like a product launch or holiday gifting, then Giftsenda is a good option. With the platform, you can have a gifting campaign with no long-term commitments.

… enterprises looking for gift campaign management support 👍

With the platform’s Gift Concierge, you can have a gifting expert who can help manage your gifting projects from start to finish. Such a feature is a good option if you’ve never had experience managing a gift campaign before or simply are too busy to handle the campaign yourself.

Giftsenda may not be a good fit for…

… teams that need swag-related solutions or comprehensive swag management

Looking for a platform with extensive swag management capabilities? Then Giftsenda isn’t for you. This is because, while Giftsenda does offer a company swag store and On Demand swag, it’s still primarily designed as a corporate gifting platform focused on personalized gift campaigns, rather than a full-fledged swag management solution. As such, if you need more advanced features related to swag, such as detailed inventory control or marketing swag management, then you will find Giftsenda less suitable.

… leaders or managers sending to a large number of recipients 👎

Due to Giftsenda’s shipping fees, which range from $8 to $15 and up, it will be expensive to do a large-scale gifting campaign. Both domestic and international locations fall within this price range, meaning the total cost can rise significantly as your recipient list grows. As such, you must consider whether these high fees are sustainable for your company.

… organizations with smaller budgets 👎

Giftsenda’s pay-as-you-go options do give you more flexibility when it comes to budget; however, the additional 10% processing fees on top of other costs like swag store setup and warehousing can be expensive in the long run. Adding this up with the high shipping costs can greatly affect your gifting budget.

… companies looking for more native integrations 👎

While Giftsenda offers integrations through Zapier, it lacks deeper integrations with other CRM and HRIS tools. If seamless connectivity with your CRM, HRIS, or marketing systems is critical for your platform considerations, then this could be a big downside.

After this detailed review, you may think that Giftsenda is a great option when you want to avoid long-term commitments or simply need a quick gifting campaign. However, the platform can become costly due to add-on fees for processing, warehousing, and custom swag store setup. The limited integrations available and the high shipping costs can also be restrictive and less practical for global or large-scale gift campaigns. As such, it’s best to look for other options that better fit your needs and budget.

Looking for better, more transparent global gifting solutions? Explore the best Giftsenda alternatives

If your team is looking for more affordable shipping options, seamless integrations, or no hidden costs, then our curated list of Giftsenda alternatives is a good place to start. These platforms offer different pricing models, expanded features, and global logistics support, helping you find the right fit for your team without compromising reach or your budget.

Giftsenda vs PerkUp, the #1 platform with transparent pricing for global swag and gift campaigns

Giftsenda offers a simple, non-subscription-based gifting model that works well for occasional campaigns, mainly if you’re focused on gifts and want to avoid subscriptions. But if you’re managing gifts and swag at scale across teams, time zones, or use cases, then PerkUp offers a more advanced platform built for long-term campaigns. We talk more about this in detail in our thorough analysis of Giftsenda vs PerkUp, which can help you learn why leading companies like Inhabit and Mapbox trust PerkUp for their swag and gifting needs.