LTK vs Rakuten Advertising (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LTK 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 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 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.
Rakuten Advertising
Affiliate network and partner marketing for brands and publishers
Paid
Which one is for you
Pick LTK if
- Fits if you sell fashion, beauty or home goods and want creators
- Works for creators who want shoppable posts
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you sell software or B2B, since the focus is consumer retail
- Skip it if you want a price, as none is published
- Watch out: creators are accepted by application, not open sign-up
- Too light for self-serve affiliate programs
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
| 1.6GPALTKWeak | 1.6GPARakuten AdvertisingWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo pricing or commission rates for brands are published; brands contact LTK. | 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 listed for brands. | FNo free plan or trial is shown on the listing or the pages read. |
| Features | CShoppable creator content, creator discovery, reporting and campaign products. The brand pages are about fashion, beauty and home. | 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. Brands plan campaigns with creators, which takes some learning. | CNo store rating on record. A network program starts with contact forms and strategy support. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing, with no integrations named. | CWeb only, with no integrations listed on the listing. |
| Best for | creator shopping content for fashion and home brands | 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: LTK and Rakuten Advertising. How we grade
Where they differ
- LTK also covers partner payouts.
In commonWebReportsAffiliate tracking
At a glance
| LTK | Rakuten Advertising | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | rewardStyle Inc. | Rakuten Advertising |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LTK
- No pricing or commission rates for brands are published; brands contact LTK.
- Creators are accepted by application, not open sign-up.
- The brand pages stress fashion, beauty, home, retail and similar verticals, so it is less suited to software or B2B programs.
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
LTK
- Shoppable creator content
- Creators post products that shoppers can buy, and the site says it lists over 450 million products from 8,000 brands.
- Creator discovery for brands
- LTK Leaderboard ranks top organic performers, and LTK Match uses the platform's sales data to pair brands with creators.
- LTK 360 reporting
- Reports on influencer marketing spend at each stage of the funnel, including LTK's own performance metrics.
- Campaign and ad products
- The brand site lists LTK Campaigns, Ads, Boost, Optimize, CTV and RMN alongside the core creator network.
- Creator application
- People who want to earn from their recommendations apply to become a creator.
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
LTK
Pricing could not be confirmed. See shopltk.com.
Rakuten Advertising
Pricing could not be confirmed. See rakutenadvertising.com.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LTK or Rakuten Advertising?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LTK has no price we could confirm, and Rakuten Advertising has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, LTK or Rakuten Advertising?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither LTK 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.