Softwr

Sales Enablement · head to head

Brainshark vs Viral Loops

Brainshark logo

Brainshark

Sales Enablement

Sales Readiness Platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Viral Loops logo

Viral Loops

Affiliate Marketing

Viral and referral marketing made simple

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Viral Loops has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Brainshark user interface feels outdated with limited formatting customization options; Viral Loops pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • They diverge on capability: Brainshark covers Content authoring, Viral Loops covers Campaign templates.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brainshark and Viral Loops actually diverge.

Attributes where Brainshark and Viral Loops differ
AttributeBrainsharkViral Loops
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
CategorySales EnablementAffiliate Marketing
Founded19992016

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Brainshark

  • Content authoring
  • Video coaching
  • Training
  • Assessments
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Slack

Only in Viral Loops

  • Campaign templates
  • Milestone rewards
  • Leaderboards
  • Referral widgets
  • Viral analytics
  • Shopify
  • Mailchimp
  • Klaviyo

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Brainshark

  • Customer Successnot Viral Loops
  • Sales Readinessnot Viral Loops
  • Content Authoringnot Viral Loops

Viral Loops

  • affiliate marketing managementnot Brainshark
  • Workflow automationnot Brainshark
  • Reportingnot Brainshark

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Brainshark

  • User interface feels outdated with limited formatting customization options
  • Branching feature is very limited compared to competitors
  • Course catalog and transcript management in Salesforce are clunky and unintuitive
  • Administrative controls are complex and adjusting settings takes longer than expected

Viral Loops

  • Pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • Advanced features are only available on higher-tier plans, limiting smaller businesses
  • Limited customization without technical development for highly branded campaigns
  • Customer support response times may vary by region and time zone

Pricing, plan by plan

Brainshark

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Brainshark review.

Viral Loops

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 participants
    • All templates
    • Basic features

Which should you pick?

Choose Brainshark if

  • You need content authoring.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want video coaching.
Brainshark review

Choose Viral Loops if

  • You need campaign templates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want milestone rewards.
Viral Loops review

Questions people ask

Is Brainshark or Viral Loops better?
Neither clearly leads. Brainshark starts at On request and Viral Loops at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Brainshark or Viral Loops?
Viral Loops has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Brainshark and Free for Viral Loops.
Does Brainshark or Viral Loops run on more platforms?
Brainshark runs on Web, Ios, Android. Viral Loops runs on Web.
Can I use Viral Loops for free?
Yes. Viral Loops has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Brainshark starts at On request.
What is Brainshark best used for?
Brainshark is most often used for customer success, sales readiness, content authoring. Of those, customer success and sales readiness are not what Viral Loops is typically brought in for.
What can Brainshark do that Viral Loops cannot?
Brainshark covers Content authoring, Video coaching, Training, Assessments. Viral Loops covers Campaign templates, Milestone rewards, Leaderboards, Referral widgets. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Brainshark: What is Brainshark primarily used for?

Brainshark is used for sales enablement, onboarding, and continuous training to prepare customer-facing teams with content, coaching, and certifications for buyer interactions.

Source
Viral Loops: What does Viral Loops pricing start at?

Viral Loops pricing starts at $35/month and ranges up to $208/month depending on the plan. The platform offers a 14-day free trial, flat-rate pricing (no per-campaign charges), and 30% discount for annual billing.

Source
Brainshark: Does Brainshark integrate with PowerPoint?

Yes, Brainshark offers PowerPoint integrations along with a mobile app for on-demand training access and content authoring capabilities.

Source
Viral Loops: What types of campaigns can Viral Loops create?

Viral Loops allows creation of referral programs, giveaways, waiting lists, and sweepstakes/competitions. Campaigns can be integrated into websites or mobile apps within minutes using pre-built templates.

Source
Brainshark: Can Brainshark track employee training completion?

Yes, Brainshark provides training tracking, analytics, and scorecards for monitoring completion and engagement across your sales team.

Source
Viral Loops: Does Viral Loops offer custom pricing?

Yes. Beyond the standard $35-208/month plans, Viral Loops offers custom pricing for larger teams and enterprises with specific feature requirements.

Source
Viral Loops: What happens to campaigns after I cancel Viral Loops?

Users can export large files of mailing lists in several data formats, allowing campaign data to be migrated to another platform if needed after cancellation.

Source
Viral Loops: How quickly can I launch a campaign with Viral Loops?

Campaigns can be launched within minutes using Viral Loops' template-based, intuitive interface that requires no technical expertise or coding knowledge.

Source
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