Skimlinks review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Affiliate link monetization for publishers, with paid merchant tiers
Black Friday: is there a Skimlinks sale?
Skimlinks report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for turning product links in articles into affiliate links
Skimlinks automatically converts product links on a publisher's site into affiliate links across many networks, and publishers join free. Merchants pay for Preferred Partner tiers from $166 a month, and the share a publisher keeps isn't stated.
Who Skimlinks is for
- Fits if you run a content site and want links monetised without hand-building them
- Works for merchants already on a major affiliate network
Who Skimlinks is not for
- Watch out: what a publisher keeps from each sale isn't stated on the pages we read
- Pricey if you are a merchant, since tiers run $166 to $1,620 a month
- Tight if you choose Preferred, as it has a three-month minimum
- Watch out: Premium and VIP cost more by ACH ($1,100 and $1,900) than on a yearly contract
- Skip it if you need a standalone program, because merchants join inside an existing network
Why Skimlinks gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyPreferred is $166 a month on annual billing ($200 monthly), at the top of what affiliate tools cost, and Premium is $900.
- BFree plan and trialPublishers join for free. The paid tiers are for merchants, so a publisher can use it without paying.
- CFeaturesAutomatic links, one contract across networks, a reporting hub and merchant search. It isn't a program host, so merchants need an existing network.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record. You set up accounts and programs before it does anything, so there is a learning curve.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb, with Awin, CJ, Impact, Rakuten, Partnerize, PartnerStack, Refersion and Tradedoubler.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Skimlinks's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/skimlinks#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/skimlinks.svg" alt="Skimlinks: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Skimlinks stands among affiliate and referral tools
Skimlinks's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 68 of the 89 other affiliate and referral tools we grade, and level with 12.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 80 of 89) and worst on features (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $166 a month, against a middle price of $65.46 for the category: 40 of the 49 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 17 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 90 affiliate and referral tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Skimlinks’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 14 of 89, level with 61
- BFree plan and trialAbove 80 of 89, level with 7
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 89, level with 56
- CEase of useAbove 2 of 89, level with 87
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 35 of 89, level with 54
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 51 affiliate and referral tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Skimlinks, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of Skimlinks you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.4 is higher than 68 of the 89 other affiliate and referral tools we grade. It costs $1,992 a year.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Every click and sale traced back to the right partner.
- It plugs into other products, Awin, CJ Affiliate and Impact among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Skimlinks’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Skimlinks?
Skimlinks is an affiliate monetization service run as a single contract and integration between publishers and merchants. A small piece of code on a site converts product links into affiliate links, and the Publisher Hub reports on what earned. Merchants that already sit on a connected affiliate network can pay for extra visibility.
Worth knowing
- Merchants join by accepting Skimlinks inside their existing affiliate network; it is not a standalone program host.
- The Preferred tier has a three-month minimum, and Premium and VIP need a yearly contract for the lower rate.
- Premium and VIP are quoted at higher rates if paid by ACH ($1,100 and $1,900 a month) than on a yearly contract.
- The publisher revenue split is not stated on the pages we read, so what a publisher keeps is unconfirmed.
Key features
- Automatic link monetization
- A piece of code on the site converts organic product links into affiliate links, so editors do not have to build each one by hand.
- One contract, many networks
- The site says one integration and one contract connect a publisher to 48,500 merchants across more than 50 affiliate networks.
- Publisher Hub and data tools
- Performance, merchant and product data are available in the Publisher Hub and through APIs, feeds and cloud-based tools.
- Merchant search
- Publishers browse merchants and their commission rates and cookie windows. Preferred Partners rank higher in those results.
- Preferred Partner program
- Merchants pay a monthly access fee for commission-rate benchmarking, weekly or 7-day reporting and promotion in publisher newsletters.
Skimlinks pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Skimlinks has a free plan, and paid plans start at $166 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly).
- Starts at
- $166 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- Publishers join for free; the paid plans are the Preferred Partner tiers sold to merchants.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher access | $0 | Free for publishers, who join to monetize links and read reports in the Publisher Hub. |
| Preferred | $166per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly) | Merchant tier: commission rate recommendation, 7-day performance reports and higher ranking in merchant search. |
| Premium | $900per month on a yearly contract ($1,100 by ACH) | Adds a dedicated growth manager, analytics help, twice-yearly competitor analysis and a program audit. |
| VIP | $1,620per month on a yearly contract ($1,900 by ACH) | Adds a newsletter placement, monthly check-ins, a featured guide listing and a backlink from Skimlinks.com. |
Read from skimlinks.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Skimlinks before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountUp to 17% off Preferred with annual billing
The Preferred tier is $200 a month billed monthly or $166 a month when paid annually, a saving of up to 17%.
Stated on skimlinks.com
Works with
- Awin
- CJ Affiliate
- Impact
- Rakuten Advertising
- Partnerize
- PartnerStack
- Refersion
- Tradedoubler
Skimlinks alternatives
- Skimlinks vs Awin
Free trial · from $99/mo
- Skimlinks vs impact.com
Free trial · from $30/mo
Common questions
Does Skimlinks have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Skimlinks is listed for Web.
Does Skimlinks have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Skimlinks is listed for Web.
Is Skimlinks open source?
Skimlinks is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Skimlinks have an API?
Yes. Skimlinks offers a public API, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.