Friendbuy vs ReferralCandy
We give Friendbuy a 2.0 GPA and ReferralCandy a 2.2, out of 4.0. Friendbuy grades higher on value for money. ReferralCandy grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ReferralCandy
Customer referral and affiliate programs for online stores
Free trial · from $9/mo
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFriendbuyFair | 2.2GPAReferralCandyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published: the pricing address leads to the homepage, and Friendbuy asks you to book a demo. So there's no monthly figure for a business whose affiliates bring in $5,000, and with nothing to compare, it sits at C. | DGraded on $5,000 a month of referred sales: Grow is $79 plus a 3.5% success fee ($175), so $254 a month, with no yearly price. Basic's 10.5% fee would make it $534. That's just inside this category's dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan, no free trial and no self-serve sign-up on the website. | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial on any plan, and the clock starts when you switch the app on, not when you install it. The listing doesn't say whether it wants a card. |
| Features | BReferrals with rewards held until checks pass, loyalty with VIP tiers, receipt scanning and wallet passes, and creator programs with tracked links, codes and automatic commissions. Benchmarks and an MCP server too. It covers the whole job. | BCustomer referrals and affiliates side by side, unlimited campaigns, custom coupon codes, store credit or cash through PayPal, Venmo, bank or virtual cards, a Fraud Center that blocks self-referrals, and full API access. Every plan has every feature. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Shopify is a one-click install, but it's sold through a demo, and Adobe Commerce and commercetools stores connect by script, tag manager or API. | CNo rating on record. It's one click on Shopify and a plugin elsewhere, but you'll still set rewards, coupons and fraud rules before friends start referring. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Shopify, Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Klaviyo, Attentive, Braze, Recharge and Segment, plus an API. No desktop or phone app, which an A needs. | BWeb, with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento, plus Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Recharge and Tremendous, and full API access on every plan. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | referral and loyalty programs for big brands | refer-a-friend programs for online stores |
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: Friendbuy and ReferralCandy. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonWebPublic APIAffiliate trackingPartner payouts
At a glance
| Friendbuy | ReferralCandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $9 per month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial on any plan, starting when the app is activated |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Friendbuy | Anafore Pte Ltd |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | referralcandy.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Friendbuy
- Consumer brands running referral, loyalty and creator programs together
- Subscription, finance and hospitality businesses with custom reward rules
- Larger Shopify Plus stores with several stores, languages or currencies
ReferralCandy
- Shopify stores that want customers to refer friends for a reward
- Brands running a small affiliate or ambassador program next to referrals
- Stores that prefer month-to-month billing with no contract
Worth knowing
Friendbuy
- No prices are published: the pricing address leads to the homepage, and Friendbuy asks buyers to book a demo or meeting.
- No free trial or self-serve signup is offered on the website.
- Adobe Commerce and commercetools stores connect through JavaScript, a tag manager or the API, not an installed app.
ReferralCandy
- Each plan adds a success fee of 10.5%, 3.5%, 1.5% or 0.25% of referred new customers' first three orders, after discounts and before tax and shipping.
- Each extra store costs $20 a month plus the main store's success-fee rate.
- PayPal, Venmo and bank-transfer payouts carry the provider's own fees; Tremendous cards and store credit do not.
- Billing is month to month only; no yearly price is listed.
Key features
Friendbuy
- Referral programs
- Customers share links to refer friends, and rewards are released only after validation such as a new-customer check, the attribution window or a return period.
- Loyalty programs
- Rewards for repeat purchases and other actions, VIP and membership tiers, receipt scanning, and wallet passes with notifications.
- Influencer and affiliate
- Invite and onboard creators with application forms and social checks, track their links and codes, and pay flat, fixed or performance commissions automatically.
- Store and subscription integrations
- One-click Shopify install with checkout and POS support, plus Adobe Commerce, commercetools and Salesforce Commerce Cloud; Recharge rewards apply to the next renewal.
- Messaging and data sync
- Referral, loyalty and reward events flow into Klaviyo, Attentive, Braze and Segment for flows and segments.
- Analytics and AI
- Benchmarks drawn from thousands of programs, incentive testing, AI recommendations, and an MCP server for querying program data with AI tools.
ReferralCandy
- Referrals and affiliates in one app
- Run a customer referral program and an affiliate program side by side, with unlimited campaigns and custom coupon codes; a loyalty program is offered on Shopify.
- Store platforms
- One-click install on Shopify, plugins for BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento, and an email-based install for custom stores, at the same price.
- Cash or store-credit rewards
- Pay advocates in store credit, or in cash through PayPal, Venmo, bank transfer or Tremendous virtual debit cards, with no transaction fee added.
- Fraud Center
- Exact self-referrals, existing customers and already-referred friends are blocked automatically; close name matches, shared IPs and bursts of referrals are flagged for review.
- Integrations and API
- Connect Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, Recharge and Tremendous, and build on full API access on every plan.
Plans
Friendbuy
Pricing could not be confirmed. See friendbuy.com.
ReferralCandy
Basic$9
per month
Plus a 10.5% success fee on referred new customers' first three orders. Every feature, unlimited campaigns and full API access.
Grow$79
per month
Plus a 3.5% success fee. For brands growing referral and affiliate revenue; the vendor's example puts $12,000 of referred sales at $499 for the month.
Scale$249
per month
Plus a 1.5% success fee, for high-volume brands where margins matter.
Enterprise$799
per month
Plus a 0.25% success fee, with dedicated onboarding and an account manager.
