Refersion vs UpPromote
We give Refersion a 2.0 GPA and UpPromote a 2.6, out of 4.0. UpPromote 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.
Refersion
Affiliate and influencer program software for online stores
UpPromote
Affiliate, influencer and referral programs for Shopify stores
How we grade them
| 2.0GPARefersionFair | 2.6GPAUpPromoteGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CFree stops at $3,000 of referral sales a month, so a store at $5,000 needs Growth: $24.99 a month on yearly billing plus 2% of sales ($100), $124.99 a month in all. That's on the dear side of this category, where several tools take no cut at all. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | BA free plan with link and coupon tracking, analytics, fraud detection and manual payouts, and no fee on sales, up to $3,000 of referral sales a month. A new store could live on it a good while; one at $5,000 a month is past it. |
| Features | 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. | BLink and coupon tracking, commissions by product, collection or order value, lifetime and multi-level rates, customer referrals, a marketplace, payouts in store credit, PayPal or Wise, and 1099 forms. Anti-leak codes come on Professional. The whole job. |
| Ease of use | 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. | CNo rating on record. It installs on Shopify and the free plan gets you going, but there are programs, commission rules and payouts to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb, built for Shopify, with PayPal, Wise, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, Recharge and Appstle. The API and MCP start on Professional. No desktop or phone app, so B is the ceiling. |
| Best for | affiliate programs for stores on several platforms | Shopify affiliate programs that start free |
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: Refersion and UpPromote. How we grade
Price against what you get
Refersion starts at $29 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. UpPromote starts at $24.99 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and UpPromote starts $4.01 a month lower. Of the other affiliate and referral tools on the chart, none scores higher than Refersion for less, and none scores higher than UpPromote 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
- Refersion starts at $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly). UpPromote starts at $24.99 per month, billed annually ($29.99 billed monthly).
- UpPromote has a free plan. Refersion does not.
At a glance
| Refersion | UpPromote | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) | $24.99 per month, billed annually ($29.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | One affiliate program with link and coupon tracking, analytics, fraud detection and manual payouts, reviewing up to $3,000 of referral sales a month. No performance fee. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial on Growth, Professional and Enterprise |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Refersion Inc. | UpPromote |
| Price read from | refersion.com | uppromote.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Refersion
- Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento stores starting an affiliate program
- Brands recruiting affiliates from a marketplace
- Stores tracking influencer sales by coupon code
UpPromote
- Shopify stores starting an affiliate or ambassador program for free
- Brands paying affiliates in store credit instead of cash
- Stores fighting coupon-code leaks from influencer codes
Worth knowing
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.
UpPromote
- Paid plans add a fee of 2%, 1.5% or 1% of successful referral sales to the monthly price, charged monthly.
- It is built for Shopify; pages off Shopify need the third-party tracking integration.
- PayPal auto-payouts, anti-leak discounts, 1099 forms and the API start on Professional; unlimited staff accounts need Enterprise.
- Creator Discovery is a separate add-on starting at $39 a month on any plan.
Key features
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.
UpPromote
- Link and coupon tracking
- Credit affiliates by link or coupon, with auto-generated coupons, custom affiliate links and anti-leak discount links on higher plans, and third-party tracking for pages not on Shopify.
- Commission rules
- Rates by order value, product or collection, lifetime and subscription commissions, new-customer rates, automatic tiers between programs and multi-level marketing.
- Customer referrals and recruiting
- Turn customers into ambassadors, list your offer in the UpPromote marketplace, and find creators with the Creator Discovery add-on from $39 a month.
- Payouts and tax forms
- Pay as store credit, through PayPal or with Wise bank transfers, schedule automatic payouts, export invoices and generate 1099-NEC forms.
- Affiliate engagement
- A customizable affiliate account in 8 languages, in-app chat, bulk emails, a media gallery for brand assets, and gifts or bonuses.
Plans
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.
UpPromote
Free$0
One program, one coupon per affiliate, up to $3,000 of referral sales reviewed a month, manual payouts and 24/7 live chat support.
Growth$24.99
per month, billed annually ($29.99 billed monthly)
Plus 2% of successful referral sales. Unlimited programs, 300 referral orders reviewed a month, customer referrals, marketplace listing and store credit.
Professional$74.99
per month, billed annually ($89.99 billed monthly)
Plus 1.5% of referral sales. 600 referrals a month, anti-leak discounts, PayPal auto-payouts, multi-level commissions, 1099 forms, API and MCP.
Enterprise$166.66
per month, billed annually ($199.99 billed monthly)
Plus 1% of referral sales. Unlimited referral reviews and staff accounts, multi-store sync and coupon code commissions. Shopify Plus pricing is custom.
Ways to pay less
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.
UpPromote
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
Yearly billing saves 17%: Growth is $299.90 a year, Professional $899.90 and Enterprise $1,999.90, against $29.99, $89.99 and $199.99 a month.
