Affilimate vs Skimlinks (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Skimlinks grades higher than Affilimate: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Skimlinks grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Affilimate
Affiliate revenue analytics and sponsorship tools for publishers
Skimlinks
Affiliate link monetization for publishers, with paid merchant tiers
Which one is for you
Pick Affilimate if
- Fits if you publish content and earn from several affiliate networks at once
- Works for teams who want those numbers in one place or in a warehouse
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price before a call, as quotes come after one
- Not for you if you run a program of your own, as it is aimed at publishers
- Watch out: the AI platform is early access and the creator plan is request early access
- Tight if you are small, as no free plan or entry price is shown
Pick Skimlinks if
- Fits if you run a content site and want links monetised without hand-building them
- Works for merchants already on a major affiliate network
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: what a publisher keeps from each sale isn't stated on the pages we read
- Pricey if you are a merchant, since tiers run $166 to $1,620 a month
- Tight if you choose Preferred, as it has a three-month minimum
- Watch out: Premium and VIP cost more by ACH ($1,100 and $1,900) than on a yearly contract
- Skip it if you need a standalone program, because merchants join inside an existing network
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAffilimateWeak | 2.4GPASkimlinksFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published: the FAQ says pricing follows platform volume and features and is quoted after a first call, so it sits in the middle by default. | CPreferred is $166 a month on annual billing ($200 monthly), at the top of what affiliate tools cost, and Premium is $900. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is mentioned, so you pay before you can try it. | BPublishers join for free. The paid tiers are for merchants, so a publisher can use it without paying. |
| Features | CUnified data, page and link reporting, offsite tracking and sponsorship campaigns exist. The AI platform is early access and it is aimed at publishers only. | CAutomatic links, one contract across networks, a reporting hub and merchant search. It isn't a program host, so merchants need an existing network. |
| Ease of use | CNetworks and accounts are yours to connect before the reports mean anything. No store rating is on record. | CNo store rating on record. You set up accounts and programs before it does anything, so there is a learning curve. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with 8 integrations, an API, an MCP server and warehouse sync. | BWeb, with Awin, CJ, Impact, Rakuten, Partnerize, PartnerStack, Refersion and Tradedoubler. |
| Best for | affiliate revenue reports for publishers | turning product links in articles into affiliate links |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Affilimate and Skimlinks. How we grade
Where they differ
- Affilimate also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| Affilimate | Skimlinks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | $166 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Publishers join for free; the paid plans are the Preferred Partner tiers sold to merchants. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Adaero Software | Skimlinks |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | skimlinks.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Affilimate
- No prices are published; the FAQ says pricing follows platform volume and features and is quoted after a first call.
- Aimed at content publishers, not at brands running their own affiliate program.
- The AI platform is marked as early access, and the creator plan as request early access.
Skimlinks
- Merchants join by accepting Skimlinks inside their existing affiliate network; it is not a standalone program host.
- The Preferred tier has a three-month minimum, and Premium and VIP need a yearly contract for the lower rate.
- Premium and VIP are quoted at higher rates if paid by ACH ($1,100 and $1,900 a month) than on a yearly contract.
- The publisher revenue split is not stated on the pages we read, so what a publisher keeps is unconfirmed.
Key features
Affilimate
- Unify affiliate data
- Transactions, rates and payouts from 100+ affiliate networks and platforms are normalized into one record and updated as networks confirm and pay.
- Page and link reporting
- Article and link-level revenue, conversion heatmaps and traffic source and UTM reporting, with 25+ customizable attributes.
- Offsite tracking
- Follows revenue beyond a publisher's own site into mobile apps, syndication partners such as Apple News and MSN, and social channels.
- Sponsorship campaigns
- Campaign infrastructure for sponsored content and link swaps, from pitch to renewal, with yield optimization.
- API, MCP and warehouse sync
- Data is reachable through the dashboard, an API, an MCP server and sync to BigQuery, Snowflake and Redshift.
- Product data
- Reporting is enriched with prices, categories and availability from 70M+ tracked products matched to a publisher's links.
Skimlinks
- Automatic link monetization
- A piece of code on the site converts organic product links into affiliate links, so editors do not have to build each one by hand.
- One contract, many networks
- The site says one integration and one contract connect a publisher to 48,500 merchants across more than 50 affiliate networks.
- Publisher Hub and data tools
- Performance, merchant and product data are available in the Publisher Hub and through APIs, feeds and cloud-based tools.
- Merchant search
- Publishers browse merchants and their commission rates and cookie windows. Preferred Partners rank higher in those results.
- Preferred Partner program
- Merchants pay a monthly access fee for commission-rate benchmarking, weekly or 7-day reporting and promotion in publisher newsletters.
Plans
Affilimate
Pricing could not be confirmed. See affilimate.com.
Skimlinks
Publisher access$0
Free for publishers, who join to monetize links and read reports in the Publisher Hub.
Preferred$166
per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly)
Merchant tier: commission rate recommendation, 7-day performance reports and higher ranking in merchant search.
Premium$900
per month on a yearly contract ($1,100 by ACH)
Adds a dedicated growth manager, analytics help, twice-yearly competitor analysis and a program audit.
VIP$1,620
per month on a yearly contract ($1,900 by ACH)
Adds a newsletter placement, monthly check-ins, a featured guide listing and a backlink from Skimlinks.com.
Ways to pay less
Affilimate
No public discounts listed.
Skimlinks
- Annual discount
Up to 17% off Preferred with annual billing
The Preferred tier is $200 a month billed monthly or $166 a month when paid annually, a saving of up to 17%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Affilimate or Skimlinks?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Affilimate has no price we could confirm, and Skimlinks starts at $166 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Affilimate or Skimlinks?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Skimlinks has a free plan. Affilimate does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.