Cello vs FirstPromoter (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick FirstPromoter: it is second in our ranking of affiliate and referral tools, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
FirstPromoter grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cello
Referral platform for B2B SaaS, for users and for partners
FirstPromoter
Affiliate, referral and influencer programs for SaaS subscriptions
Which one is for you
Pick Cello if
- Fits if you run B2B SaaS and want referrals from both users and partners
- Works for small partner programs that stay under 5 transacting partners
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your referral ARR is above $10K, where the next user plan is $200 a month
- Tight if you grow past 5 partners, as the next partner plan is $80 a month
- Watch out: partner plans take a transaction cost of 5% on Free and 3.5% on Plus and Pro
- Watch out: the page shows dollars but its pricing data lists euros, so check the currency at sign-up
Pick FirstPromoter if
- Fits if you bill through Chargebee, Recurly or Braintree rather than just Stripe
- Works for programs mixing affiliates, influencers and customer referrals, with commissions up to three tiers deep
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if your affiliates bring in a bit over $5,000 a month, as Starter stops there
- Skip it if you run an online store rather than a subscription business
- Not for you if you need white-labeling, SSO or managed payouts without an Enterprise deal
- Tight if you're on Starter: 1,000 affiliates, three campaigns, and no custom dashboard or email domain
- Watch out: the AI assistant and MCP server are still in beta, and Enterprise tiers above $15,000 are priced through sales
How we grade them
| 2.4GPACelloFair | 2.6GPAFirstPromoterGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CUser referrals start at $65 a month for up to $10K referral ARR, which is under the category's middle of $69 but not in its cheapest quarter. | BGraded on $5,000 a month of affiliate sales, which is exactly Starter's cap: $490 a year on yearly billing ($49 monthly), with no cut of sales. That's in the lowest-priced part of this category. But one good month moves you to Business, which is $990 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free partner plan with 1 campaign and up to 5 transacting partners, with a 5% transaction cost. Caps you will reach quickly. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial on every plan, and no credit card needed. |
| Features | BIn-product referrals, sharing, campaigns, rewards, activation sequences and partner programs cover the core job. The listing names no gap. | BFive billing systems, coupons synced to Stripe, sub-IDs, recurring, per-plan and three-tier commissions, a translated portal that collects W-9 and W-8BEN forms, emails to affiliates and fraud checks. The whole job. Its AI assistant and MCP server are still in beta. |
| Ease of use | CA web app with campaigns and rewards to build, and Slack support on paid plans. No store rating is on record. | CNo rating on record. There are billing integrations and an import of past Stripe data, but there are campaigns, commission rules and a portal to set up before promoters join. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android listed, with a single integration named. | BWeb, with Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly, Braintree, HighLevel, Kajabi and Zapier, plus APIs. No desktop or phone app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | referral programs for B2B SaaS, users and partners | SaaS affiliate programs on any billing system |
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: Cello and FirstPromoter. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cello starts at $65 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. FirstPromoter starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and FirstPromoter starts $16 a month lower. Of the other affiliate and referral tools on the chart, none scores higher than Cello for less, and none scores higher than FirstPromoter for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Cello also covers reports.
At a glance
| Cello | FirstPromoter | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $65 per month for up to $10K referral ARR | $49 per month for up to $5,000 of affiliate revenue a month |
| Free plan | Partner referrals Free plan: 1 campaign and up to 5 transacting partners, with a 5% transaction cost. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial on every plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Cello | Igil Webs SRL |
| Price read from | cello.so | firstpromoter.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cello
- User-referral plans are capped by referral ARR: $10K, $50K and $100K, with Enterprise for more.
- The page text shows dollars, but its structured pricing data lists euro amounts, so confirm the currency at sign-up.
- Partner referrals charge a transaction cost of 5% on Free, 3.5% on Plus and Pro, and 2% on Enterprise.
- Dedicated success manager is not on the Start plan.
FirstPromoter
- Plans follow affiliate-driven revenue: Starter stops at $5,000 a month, and passing a limit moves the account to the next tier.
- Starter allows up to 1,000 affiliates and three campaigns; a custom dashboard domain and custom email domain need Business.
- White-labeling, SSO, activity logs and Managed Auto Payouts are Enterprise only; managed payouts need approval and are for SaaS companies.
- The AI assistant and MCP server for Claude or ChatGPT are marked beta.
Key features
Cello
- In-product referrals
- A web SDK and a mobile SDK for iOS, Android, Flutter and React Native put personal referral links inside the product, with no separate sign-up.
- Sharing and attribution
- Share by email, social, QR code or unique link, with branded landing pages and auto attribution that recovers missed attributions.
- Campaigns and rewards
- Campaigns carry payout rules, and users are notified and rewarded automatically when a referral succeeds.
- Activation sequences
- Automated engagement sequences across in-product and email touchpoints encourage users to share.
- Partner referrals
- A separate line for affiliates and influencers, priced by campaigns and transacting partners, with a growth portal.
- Performance analytics
- Referral performance is tracked in a portal in real time, with text customizable in more than 10 languages.
FirstPromoter
- Billing-system tracking
- Connects to Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree, imports past Stripe data when you migrate, and creates negative commissions on refunds.
- Links, coupons and sub-IDs
- Referral links on your own domain, coupon codes synced to Stripe that affiliates can customize, clean direct URLs and sub-IDs to split one link by channel.
- Commission rules
- Recurring or lifetime commissions as a percentage or flat amount, rates per plan, bonuses, cost-per-lead, double-sided rewards and up to three tiers of sub-affiliates.
- Promoter portal
- A brandable dashboard with an asset library, leaderboards, signed agreements and W-9 or W-8BEN collection, translated into French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.
- Mass payouts
- Pay through PayPal, Wise, Stripe, crypto or bank transfer in 190 currencies on monthly or twice-monthly cycles, with self-billed VAT invoices for EU companies on Business.
- Emails, reports and fraud checks
- Welcome sequences and broadcasts to affiliates, reports with CSV and JSON export, and self-referral detection, reCAPTCHA and manual approval thresholds.
Plans
Cello
User referrals Start$65
per month for up to $10K referral ARR
Unlimited referrals, 1 campaign, all integrations and features, Slack support, 0% transaction costs. Shown with a 32% discount.
User referrals Grow$200
per month for up to $50K referral ARR
Unlimited campaigns, priority Slack support and a dedicated success manager. Shown with a 33% discount.
User referrals Scale$750
per month for up to $100K referral ARR
Same features as Grow at a higher referral ARR ceiling; Enterprise has unlimited ARR at a custom price.
Partner referrals Free$0
1 campaign and up to 5 transacting partners, with a 5% transaction cost.
Partner referrals Plus$80
per month for up to 25 transacting partners
3 campaigns, with a 3.5% transaction cost.
Partner referrals Pro$280
per month for up to 100 transacting partners
10 campaigns, 3.5% transaction cost. The Enterprise tier has custom pricing and a 2% transaction cost.
FirstPromoter
Starter$49
per month for up to $5,000 of affiliate revenue a month
Up to 1,000 affiliates and three campaigns, with unlimited team members, every billing integration and the APIs. No custom dashboard domain.
Business$99
per month for up to $15,000 of affiliate revenue a month
Unlimited affiliates and campaigns, two websites, a custom dashboard domain, in-app embedded dashboard, custom email domain and one-click PayPal payouts.
Enterprise$149
per month and up, above $15,000 of affiliate revenue a month
Tiers rise above $15,000 a month in affiliate revenue, sold through sales. Adds white-labeling, SSO, activity logs, post-back URLs and managed payouts.
Ways to pay less
Cello
No public discounts listed.
FirstPromoter
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
Yearly plans cost ten times the monthly price: Starter is $490 a year, Business $990 a year and Enterprise from $1,490 a year.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cello or FirstPromoter?
As of Nov 13, 2026, FirstPromoter is cheaper to start with: $49 a month, against $65 a month for Cello. Cello starts at $65 per month for up to $10K referral ARR, and FirstPromoter starts at $49 per month for up to $5,000 of affiliate revenue a month.
Which has a free plan, Cello or FirstPromoter?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Cello has a free plan. FirstPromoter does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Cello and FirstPromoter run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Cello lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.