Referral Factory vs ReferralCandy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ReferralCandy grades higher than Referral Factory: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
ReferralCandy grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Referral Factory
Referral program software for mid-market and enterprise teams
ReferralCandy
Customer referral and affiliate programs for online stores
Which one is for you
Pick Referral Factory if
- Fits if you run a mid-sized or larger company and want referral campaigns without developers
- Works for teams that want 200+ reward types in one place
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: Basic is $200 a month and covers 20,000 users
- Skip it if you need white-labelling, your own domain, SSO or PayPal payouts, as none are on Basic
- Watch out: price follows users who join a campaign, whether referring or invited
- Tight if you want self-hosted data or a dedicated manager, as those are Enterprise at $1,000 and up
Pick ReferralCandy if
- Fits if you want your customers to refer friends for a reward
- Works for stores running a small affiliate or ambassador program next to referrals
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if referred sales are big on Basic, as its success fee is 10.5% of each referred customer's first three orders
- Tight if you run several stores, as each extra one is $20 a month plus the fee
- Not for you if you want a yearly discount, as billing is month to month only
- Watch out: PayPal, Venmo and bank payouts carry the provider's own fees on top
- Tight if you want a long trial: it's 7 days, and the listing doesn't say whether a card is needed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAReferral FactoryFair | 2.2GPAReferralCandyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$200 a month against a category middle of $69, and white-labelling, your own domain and SSO sit on Pro at $400. Dearer than most of the category. | 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, now $39 plus its 10.5% fee, would make it $564. That's just inside this category's dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | DA 15-day free trial and no free plan. Whether the trial needs a card is not stated. | 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 | BCampaign builder, rewards, fraud alerts, tracking, webhooks and API all come on Basic. Nothing in the listing is missing from the core 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 | CA web app where you build the campaign yourself, with a guided onboarding only on Pro. No store rating is on record. | 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 only, with 8 integrations plus webhooks and an API. | 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 | no-code referral programs for mid-size teams | 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: Referral Factory and ReferralCandy. How we grade
Price against what you get
Referral Factory starts at $200 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ReferralCandy starts at $39 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and ReferralCandy starts $161 a month lower. Of the other affiliate and referral tools on the chart, none scores higher than Referral Factory for less, and none scores higher than ReferralCandy 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
- Referral Factory also covers no-code and reports.
At a glance
| Referral Factory | ReferralCandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $200 per month for up to 20,000 users | $39 per month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial | 7-day free trial on any plan, starting when the app is activated |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Referral Factory | Anafore Pte Ltd |
| Price read from | referral-factory.com | referralcandy.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Referral Factory
- Price follows the number of users who join a campaign, whether referring or invited: 20,000 on Basic and 40,000 on Pro.
- White-labelling, your own domain, SSO and PayPal payouts are not on Basic.
- Self-hosted data, invoice billing and a dedicated account manager are Enterprise only.
- The vendor positions it for mid-market and enterprise teams rather than very small programs.
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
Referral Factory
- No-code program builder
- An AI-assisted builder creates a branded referral program, with page editing or custom HTML upload, widgets, pop-ups and embeds.
- Several ways to capture referrals
- Referrals can come from unique links, referral codes, QR codes, lead-submission forms, uploads, the API and integrations.
- Rewards automation
- Over 200 reward types including gift cards in several currencies, cash payouts via PayPal, discounts, coupons and custom rewards.
- Fraud alerts
- Flags sign-ups from the same IP address or suspect emails so rewards are not issued for fake referrals.
- Integrations and API
- Connects to HubSpot, Stripe, Intercom, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive and Zapier, plus webhooks and an API on every plan.
- Security and compliance
- The pricing page lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, with SSO on the Pro plan and above.
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.
- REx AI assistant
- An AI helper on every plan sets up referral and affiliate programs, suggests rewards and commissions and explains results; changes apply only once you approve them.
Plans
Referral Factory
Basic$200
per month for up to 20,000 users
Self-serve. Unlimited campaigns, 200+ reward types, fraud alerts, tracking and reporting, all integrations, webhooks and API.
Pro$400
per month for up to 40,000 users
Everything in Basic plus white-labelling, SAML SSO, email verification, teammate access and guided onboarding.
Enterprise$1000
per month and up, for 100,000+ users
Everything in Pro plus a dedicated account manager, invoice billing, self-hosted data and custom HTML. Sold through a demo.
ReferralCandy
Basic$39
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.
Ways to pay less
Referral Factory
- Annual discount
20% off yearly billing
The pricing page has a Monthly/Yearly toggle labelled Save 20%. The prices above are the monthly ones.
- Startups
50% off for startups and small businesses
Startups and small businesses can apply for 50% off qualifying subscriptions, with the same 15-day trial.
ReferralCandy
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Referral Factory or ReferralCandy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, ReferralCandy is cheaper to start with: $39 a month, against $200 a month for Referral Factory. Referral Factory starts at $200 per month for up to 20,000 users, and ReferralCandy starts at $39 per month.
Which has a free plan, Referral Factory or ReferralCandy?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Referral Factory nor ReferralCandy has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.