# Skimlinks review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Affiliate link monetization for publishers, with paid merchant tiers Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. 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. - **Category:** Affiliate & Referral Software - **Made by:** Skimlinks - **Website:** https://www.skimlinks.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Watch out: what a publisher keeps from each sale isn't stated on the pages we read. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Skimlinks has a free plan, and paid plans start at $166 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly). - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **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 | $166 per month, billed annually ($200 billed monthly) | Merchant tier: commission rate recommendation, 7-day performance reports and higher ranking in merchant search. | | Premium | $900 per 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 | $1,620 per 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 https://www.skimlinks.com/preferred-partner-program/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Skimlinks before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Up to 17% off Preferred with annual billing** (Annual discount): The Preferred tier is $200 a month billed monthly or $166 a month when paid annually, a saving of up to 17%. Source: https://www.skimlinks.com/preferred-partner-program/ ## 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. ## Good for - Editorial publishers who want affiliate links added automatically - Merchants already on a supported network who want more publisher exposure - Shopping platforms and creators that need many merchants under one contract ## 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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. - **Value for money: C.** Preferred is $166 a month on annual billing ($200 monthly), at the top of what affiliate tools cost, and Premium is $900. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Publishers join for free. The paid tiers are for merchants, so a publisher can use it without paying. - **Features: C.** Automatic links, one contract across networks, a reporting hub and merchant search. It isn't a program host, so merchants need an existing network. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You set up accounts and programs before it does anything, so there is a learning curve. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, with Awin, CJ, Impact, Rakuten, Partnerize, PartnerStack, Refersion and Tradedoubler. These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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. ## Where it 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. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/affiliate-software ## Keep it, 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. - You could make: Reports: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: Every click and sale traced back to the right partner. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Awin, CJ Affiliate and Impact among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Awin, CJ Affiliate, Impact, Rakuten Advertising, Partnerize, PartnerStack, Refersion, Tradedoubler **Tags:** Affiliate tracking, Reports, Public API ## Alternatives - [Sovrn Commerce](https://toolgpa.com/tools/sovrn-commerce): Affiliate linking and reporting for publishers and creators. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/skimlinks-vs-sovrn-commerce) - [FlexOffers](https://toolgpa.com/tools/flexoffers): Affiliate network for publishers and advertisers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/flexoffers-vs-skimlinks) - [Awin](https://toolgpa.com/tools/awin): Affiliate network and platform for brands and partners. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/awin-vs-skimlinks) - [impact.com](https://toolgpa.com/tools/impact): Partnership platform for affiliate, creator and referral programs. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/impact-vs-skimlinks) - [CJ Affiliate](https://toolgpa.com/tools/cj-affiliate): Affiliate network and platform for brands, publishers and creators. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cj-affiliate-vs-skimlinks) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.skimlinks.com/preferred-partner-program/ - https://www.skimlinks.com - https://www.skimlinks.com/editorial-publishers/ - https://www.skimlinks.com/growth-merchants - https://www.skimlinks.com/company/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/skimlinks Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).