Friendbuy vs Refersion
We give Friendbuy and Refersion the same GPA: 2.0 out of 4.0. 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.
Refersion
Affiliate and influencer program software for online stores
From $29/mo
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAFriendbuyFair | 2.0GPARefersionFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CGraded on $5,000 a month of affiliate sales: Launch is $29 a month on yearly billing plus 3% of those sales ($150), so $179 a month. That's on the dear side here, where tools with no cut cost less at this size. Monthly billing makes Launch $39. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan, no free trial and no self-serve sign-up on the website. | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing page. The free Marketplace Listing only shows your offer: tracking sales, approving affiliates and paying them all need a paid plan. |
| 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. | BPlug-in apps for four store platforms, tracking by link and code (and by email or SKU on Growth), product-level and lifetime commissions, a marketplace, post-purchase recruiting, and payouts by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, ACH or gift card with US tax forms. The whole job. |
| 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 a plug-in on Shopify or BigCommerce, and coupons are made for you there, but you still set commissions, recruit affiliates and set up payouts. |
| 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 Stripe, Chargebee, Klaviyo and Mailchimp. The API and 30+ integrations wait for Growth. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. |
| Best for | referral and loyalty programs for big brands | affiliate programs for stores on several platforms |
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 Refersion. How we grade
Where they differ
In commonWebPublic APIAffiliate trackingPartner payouts
At a glance
| Friendbuy | Refersion | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Friendbuy | Refersion Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | refersion.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
Refersion
- Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento stores starting an affiliate program
- Brands recruiting affiliates from a marketplace
- Stores tracking influencer sales by coupon code
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.
Refersion
- Launch adds 3% and Growth 2% of affiliate-driven sales to the monthly fee, billed monthly; Scale is a flat subscription.
- The free Marketplace Listing only shows your offer: tracking, approving affiliates and payouts need a paid plan.
- SKU and email tracking, API access, Zapier and other integrations, chat support and multi-store tracking need Growth.
- No free trial is mentioned on the pricing page.
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.
Refersion
- Store integrations
- Plug-in apps for Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento, automatic coupon creation for Shopify and BigCommerce, and code widgets for Stripe and Chargebee.
- First-party tracking
- Credit affiliates by unique link, coupon code or manual credit on a first-party tracking domain, and on Growth by customer email or product SKU.
- Commission options
- Percent of sale, flat rate and lifetime commissions on subscriptions, with product-level rates, tiered bonuses and different rates for new and returning customers on Growth.
- Affiliate marketplace
- List a percent-of-sale offer in the Refersion Marketplace for affiliates to find and apply, and get AI-curated affiliate recommendations.
- Unified Payments
- Pay approved commissions on a schedule through PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, ACH or Shopify gift cards, with US tax forms generated for eligible affiliates.
- Post-purchase recruiting
- A post-purchase widget invites customers to become affiliates, with a customizable registration page and emails.
Plans
Friendbuy
Pricing could not be confirmed. See friendbuy.com.
Refersion
Launch$29
per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Plus 3% of affiliate-driven sales. Unlimited affiliates, clicks and conversions, a marketplace listing, first-party tracking and one-click PayPal payouts.
Growth$159
per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)
Plus 2% of affiliate-driven sales. Adds SKU and email tracking, advanced commissions, API access, 30+ integrations, chat support and multiple stores.
ScaleCustom
For brands above $1 million in yearly sales: a flat monthly subscription with premium support, white-glove onboarding and a Slack channel.
Ways to pay less
Friendbuy
No public discounts listed.
Refersion
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Refersion says annual billing saves 20%: Launch is $29 a month billed annually against $39 monthly, and Growth $159 against $199.
