CJ Affiliate vs Rakuten Advertising (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, CJ Affiliate and Rakuten Advertising share a 1.6 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CJ Affiliate
Affiliate network and platform for brands, publishers and creators
Paid
Rakuten Advertising
Affiliate network and partner marketing for brands and publishers
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick CJ Affiliate if
- Fits if you want to recruit publishers and creators from an existing network
- Works for brands ready to talk to a sales team
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price, since none is published
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, because the buttons say Get Started and Talk with CJ
- Watch out: no API or integration list is shown on the pages we read
- Tight if you're small: nothing on the site says there's a plan for a one-person program
Pick Rakuten Advertising if
- Fits if you want a managed affiliate network with strategy support
- Works for brands and publishers ready for a sales contact
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price, as none is published
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, because pages point to contact forms
- Watch out: its reach and traffic figures are its own claims and weren't checked
- Tight if you want an API or integrations list: none appears on the listing
How we grade them
| 1.6GPACJ AffiliateWeak | 1.6GPARakuten AdvertisingWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price or plan is published on the pages read, so cost has to be requested. Middle by default. | CNo price or plan is published; pages point to Get Started and contact forms. Middle by default. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial is shown on the listing or the pages read. | FNo free plan or trial is shown on the listing or the pages read. |
| Features | COnboarding, partner discovery, several partner types, commission structures and insights. The listing shows no API or tooling detail. | CAffiliate intelligence, a partner network, program design and strategy support. The pages give little detail on tooling. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A network program takes setup and a sales conversation to start. | CNo store rating on record. A network program starts with contact forms and strategy support. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the listing. | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the listing. |
| Best for | an affiliate network for brands, publishers and creators | an affiliate network for brands and publishers |
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: CJ Affiliate and Rakuten Advertising. How we grade
Where they differ
- CJ Affiliate also covers partner payouts.
In commonWebReportsAffiliate tracking
At a glance
| CJ Affiliate | Rakuten Advertising | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | CJ | Rakuten Advertising |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CJ Affiliate
- No price or plan is published on the pages read, so cost has to be requested from CJ.
- The site's calls to action are Get Started and Talk with CJ, which point to a sales conversation.
- CJ's own claims about rankings and growth figures are marketing statements and were not checked.
Rakuten Advertising
- No price or plan is published; pages point to Get Started and contact forms.
- The homepage headline reads "Rakuten Advertising and impact.com: two industry titans, one unstoppable force", but the pages read do not say how the two companies are related.
- Figures such as reach and traffic rank are Rakuten's own claims and were not checked.
Key features
CJ Affiliate
- Onboarding
- CJ describes onboarding with an integration set up for current and later needs, plus a set of featured onboarding tools.
- Partner discovery
- Brands find and activate new partners from a network that CJ describes as curated and transparent.
- Partner types
- The platform lists partner types including ambassadors, browser extensions, card-linked offers, coupons, editorial, email, influencers and paid search.
- Commission structures
- Brands set omni-channel program strategies and commission structures to reward partners.
- Insights
- On-demand data on customer value, journey touchpoints and how a program compares with competitors.
- Related products
- CJ also sells CJ Influence, CJ Leads and CJ Marketplaces as separate solutions.
Rakuten Advertising
- Affiliate Intelligence
- A set of data and AI tools Rakuten describes as helping brands and publishers find partners, forecast and benchmark performance.
- Partner network
- A curated network of publishers that spans payment programs and influencers, aimed at goals from awareness to loyalty.
- Program design
- Rakuten says it builds custom, large-scale, long-term programs around a brand's goals.
- Strategy and support
- Teams of experts work alongside the technology and network to plan and run programs.
- Publisher side
- Publishers can sign up on the site to join brand programs.
Plans
CJ Affiliate
Pricing could not be confirmed. See cj.com.
Rakuten Advertising
Pricing could not be confirmed. See rakutenadvertising.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CJ Affiliate or Rakuten Advertising?
As of Nov 12, 2026, CJ Affiliate has no price we could confirm, and Rakuten Advertising has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, CJ Affiliate or Rakuten Advertising?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither CJ Affiliate nor Rakuten Advertising has a free plan.
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.