Affiliate & Referral Software

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Affiliate & Referral Software page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.

Run your own affiliate or referral program, with tracked links, commissions and payouts.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about affiliate and referral tools, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 15 affiliate and referral tools

   2 of them are free or have a free plan, and 8 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $49 a month in the middle

   From $9 (ReferralCandy) to $1,500 (Superfiliate), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Superfiliate and ReferralCandy

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   1 of 15 have iPhone and Android apps

   15 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.2

   1 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is GoAffPro, at 3.2.

6. 6

   Best free option: GoAffPro

   GoAffPro has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.2. Affiliate and multi-level marketing app for online stores.

7. 7

   15 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 15 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three affiliate and referral tools we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.2GPA

   GoAffPro

   Free plan · from $49/mo

   For: Most online stores starting an affiliate program

   GoAffPro runs affiliate programs for online stores, with apps for Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Magento and six more platforms. Affiliates join through a portal, share referral links and are paid through PayPal Payouts, and multi-level chains are on offer. The free Hobby plan has no cap on affiliates, sales or revenue and takes no cut; GoAffPro suggests it for stores under 100 orders a day. Know the limits: the free portal is basic, branding, MLM, payout scheduling and integrations need Premium at $49 a month, fraud tools and automations are on Business from $99, priced by affiliate sales, and no yearly price is listed.

   The GoAffPro Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.6GPA

   FirstPromoter

   Free trial · from $49/mo

   For: SaaS and subscription businesses

   FirstPromoter reads sales from Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly or Braintree, so recurring commissions follow each customer, with coupons synced to Stripe, sub-IDs, up to three tiers of sub-affiliates, W-9 and W-8BEN collection and payouts in 190 currencies. Starter is $49 a month, or $490 a year, for up to $5,000 of affiliate revenue a month, 1,000 affiliates and unlimited team members, with no cut, after a 14-day trial with no card. It is second because it is built for subscriptions rather than store checkouts and has no free plan. One month past $5,000 moves you to Business at $99, which is also where a custom dashboard domain starts.

   The FirstPromoter Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.6GPA

   UpPromote

   Free plan · from $24.99/mo

   For: Shopify stores adding customer referrals

   UpPromote runs affiliate, influencer and customer referral programs on Shopify, tracking sales by link or coupon, with commissions by product, collection or order value, payouts in store credit or through PayPal or Wise, and a marketplace for recruiting. Its free plan covers one program with link and coupon tracking, fraud detection and manual payouts, up to $3,000 of referral sales a month, with no fee on sales. It is third because GoAffPro's free plan has no such cap, and UpPromote's paid plans take a share of sales: Growth is $24.99 a month billed yearly plus 2%. Anti-leak codes, PayPal auto-payouts and the API start on Professional at $74.99, and pages off Shopify need extra tracking.

   The UpPromote Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Superfiliate and ReferralCandy give the most for the money among affiliate and referral tools: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $49 a month across the 12 that charge, from $9 (ReferralCandy) to $1,500 (Superfiliate).

0 of the 12 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 4 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded affiliate and referral tools, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
GoAffPro	A	A	B	C	B	3.2
FirstPromoter	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
Rewardful	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
UpPromote	C	B	B	C	B	2.6
LeadDyno	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Post Affiliate Pro	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Tapfiliate	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Everflow	C	F	A	C	B	2.2
PartnerStack	C	F	A	C	B	2.2
ReferralCandy	D	C	B	C	B	2.2
Superfiliate	F	C	A	C	B	2.2
Tolt	C	C	C	C	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where affiliate and referral tools land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 15

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every affiliate and referral tool we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1GoAffProFree plan · from $49/mo3.2
2. 2FirstPromoterFree trial · from $49/mo2.6
3. 3RewardfulFree trial · from $49/mo2.6
4. 4UpPromoteFree plan · from $24.99/mo2.6
5. 5LeadDynoFree trial · from $49/mo2.4
6. 6Post Affiliate ProFree trial · from $79/mo2.4
7. 7TapfiliateFree trial · from $74/mo2.4
8. 8EverflowPaid2.2
9. 9PartnerStackPaid2.2
10. 10ReferralCandyFree trial · from $9/mo2.2
11. 11SuperfiliateFree trial · from $1,500/mo2.2
12. 12ToltFree trial · from $69/mo2.2
13. 13FriendbuyPaid2.0
14. 14RefersionFrom $29/mo2.0
15. 15Social SnowballFrom $249/mo1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 2,281

  tools graded

• 73

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries