Best Affiliate Software

The Best Affiliate Software, All Fairly Compared

Pricing taken from each vendor's own site. Last checked 10 August 2026.

The best affiliate software depends on what you sell. Rewardful and FirstPromoter start at $49 for Stripe-only programs. Tolt is $69. Tapfiliate meters clicks and conversions. Referly is $75 and is the only platform here that tracks Stripe subscriptions and Shopify orders in one program, with a 0% transaction fee on every plan.

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Compared here

Entry plan pricing. Caps are monthly affiliate revenue.

  • ReferlyReferly$75 · $10,000/mo cap
  • Rewardful$49 · $7,500/mo cap
  • FirstPromoter$49 · $5,000/mo cap
  • Tolt$69 · $10,000/mo cap
  • Tapfiliate$89 · Metered on clicks

Which affiliate software is best for you?

One line each. The table underneath has the numbers.

  • Referly

    Referly

    $75/mo

    $10,000/mo cap

    Choose it if you sell on Stripe, Shopify or both, want coupon codes tracked, and want tax forms collected for you.

  • Rewardful

    $49/mo

    $7,500/mo cap

    Choose it if you bill on Stripe only and want the simplest setup in the category.

  • FirstPromoter

    $49/mo

    $5,000/mo cap

    Choose it if you want the deepest feature matrix at $49 and will stay under a $5,000 cap.

  • Tolt

    $69/mo

    $10,000/mo cap

    Choose it if you want the nicest SaaS-first product and can pay partners by hand at first.

  • Tapfiliate

    $89/mo

    Metered on clicks

    Choose it if your volume is low and predictable, because it meters clicks rather than revenue.

Entry pricing, metering and payment coverage, checked 10 August 2026
ToolEntry priceMeters onFeePayment platforms
ReferlyReferly$75/moAffiliate revenue to $10,000/mo0% transaction feeStripe, Shopify, WooCommerce, Paddle, Chargebee, Polar, Zylvie
Rewardful$49/moAffiliate revenue to $7,500/mo0% transaction feeStripe or Paddle only
FirstPromoter$49/moAffiliate revenue to $5,000/moNot statedStripe, Chargebee, Paddle
Tolt$69/moAffiliate revenue to $10,000/mo2% payout fee from $99 tierStripe, Paddle, Chargebee
Tapfiliate$89/mo ($74 annual)Clicks and conversionsOverage per 1,000Broad, ecommerce and SaaS

Pricing taken from each vendor’s own site. Last checked 10 August 2026. Vendors in this category change pricing often; if a figure here is out of date, the vendor’s own page wins.

The shortlist

The five best affiliate platforms, compared

What each one is good at, who it suits, and where it stops. Ours included.

01Referly

Referly

The widest payment coverage in this comparison: Shopify orders and Stripe subscriptions in one program, across 27 integrations, with a 0% transaction fee on every plan. Coupon codes are first-class tracking, so podcast, YouTube and Instagram partners get attributed without a click. W-9, W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E are collected in the affiliate portal from the $149 tier, with EU self-billing invoices and VIES VAT validation.

Fits: Brands selling through a store, a subscription, or both, and anyone whose partners are creators who never send a click.

Limitation

$75/mo with no free plan, and affiliate revenue caps at $10,000/mo on the entry tier. Commission plans, groups, per-affiliate rates, automated payouts and tax-form collection all start on the $149 tier, so check that before you buy if any of them is the reason you are here.

How the tracking worksSee pricing in full

Where Referly wins

  • Stripe and Shopify in one programThe only platform in this comparison that reads Shopify orders and Stripe subscriptions together, across 27 integrations.
  • 0% transaction fee, every planReferly never takes a percentage of your sales or your affiliates' commissions, on any plan.
  • Tax forms collected in the portalW-9, W-8BEN and W-8BEN-E filed by the affiliate, tax ID encrypted at rest, W-8 expiry tracked. From the $149 tier. Rewardful and FirstPromoter do not collect them at any price.
  • Coupon codes as first-class trackingPodcasts, YouTube and Instagram get attributed without a click, on every plan.
  • Free migration from eight platformsImports affiliates, referrals and rewards from Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt, Tapfiliate, PartnerStack, Trackdesk, Partnero and Dub.
02

Rewardful

The most established Stripe-first option and a Stripe Premier Partner. 0% transaction fee, stated plainly. Their FAQ puts install at 15 to 20 minutes with a 30-day refund.

Fits: A SaaS billing entirely through Stripe that wants a program live this afternoon.

Limitation

Their FAQ says it outright: Stripe or Paddle only. If you sell on Shopify or WooCommerce, Rewardful cannot serve you at any price. Starter caps at $7,500/mo and two team members, and the branded portal with a custom domain starts on Growth at $99.

Referly vs Rewardful
03

FirstPromoter

The biggest feature comparison table in the category, grouped across nine areas and genuinely deep on the mechanics. Stripe, Chargebee and Paddle from $49.

Fits: A team that wants maximum configurability and is confident it will stay under the cap.

Limitation

The lowest entry cap in this set at $5,000/mo, with promoters capped at 1,000 on Starter. The second tier is $99 for a $15,000 cap. SSO, custom roles, activity logs, managed auto payouts, post-back URLs and removing the “Powered by” link are all gated above Starter. No transaction fee is stated anywhere, which is not the same as there not being one.

Referly vs FirstPromoter
04

Tolt

A clean, modern product aimed at SaaS, with a branded portal and custom domain on the entry plan. Unlimited affiliates and referrals at $69.

Fits: A SaaS that wants the nicest-feeling product in the band and does not mind paying partners by hand at first.

Limitation

Basic is manual payouts only. Automated payouts start on Growth at $99 and carry a 2% processing fee on the total payout, in their own words. Basic also rose from $49 to $69 in January 2026, so older comparisons are wrong. W-9 and W-8 collection and 1099 filing are gated to Growth, which makes the tax work a $99 feature.

Referly vs Tolt
05

Tapfiliate

The only vendor here that publishes its overage rates, so the bill is predictable if you know your volume. It meters clicks and conversions rather than revenue, which suits high-ticket programs where a revenue cap bites early.

Fits: A high-ticket program with modest traffic, where revenue metering would push you up a tier for no extra work.

Limitation

Launch caps affiliates at 50, clicks at 5,000/mo and conversions at 500/mo, then charges $1.50 per 1,000 clicks and $15 per 1,000 conversions. At $89 monthly or $74 annual it is the highest entry price in this set. White label, SSO and unlimited team members are Enterprise only.

Referly vs Tapfiliate
PartneroNamed, not shortlisted

Partnero is the only vendor in this category that does not meter affiliate revenue at all. Unlimited partners, transactions and tracked revenue on every paid tier, at $59 billed monthly or $49 annually, with extra seats at $29. If a hard revenue cap is the thing you refuse to accept, that is the tool to look at.

How to choose

Six things to check before you buy

Each one takes five minutes on the vendor's own site.

Model it against your own numbers
  1. 1

    Does it track how you get paid?

    Stripe subscription, Shopify order, or both. Check the integration list, not the homepage.

    Check:Find your payment processor by name on their integrations page.

  2. 2

    What is the cap, and what is the next tier?

    Most of the $49 to $99 band meters affiliate revenue: $5,000 at FirstPromoter, $7,500 at Rewardful, $10,000 at Tolt and Referly. Partnero does not meter at all.

    Check:Find the entry cap, then the price of the plan above it.

  3. 3

    Is there a fee on top of the subscription?

    Tolt charges 2% on automated payouts. Tapfiliate charges per 1,000 clicks and conversions over the cap. Referly charges a 0% transaction fee on every plan.

    Check:Search the pricing page for the word “fee” and read every result.

  4. 4

    Can it track a sale with no click?

    Podcasts, YouTube and Instagram do not produce clicks. Coupon-code tracking is how those channels get attributed, and Referly mints codes on every plan.

    Check:Ask whether coupon codes are minted automatically, and on which plan.

  5. 5

    Who handles payouts and tax forms?

    Tolt gates W-9 and W-8 collection to Growth at $99. Rewardful and FirstPromoter do not collect them at any price. Referly collects them in the portal from the Business tier.

    Check:Ask which plan tax-form collection starts on, in writing.

  6. 6

    What does it cost when it works?

    Model your bill at three times your current affiliate revenue. That is the number that decides this, and nobody publishes it.

    Check:Use the chart here, then repeat it at 3x your revenue.

What it costs when the program works

Subscription plus percentage fees, at the affiliate revenue you set. Move the slider: the sticker price and the total bill are not the same number once payout fees and the next tier up are included.

Monthly affiliate revenue

$8,000

Assuming a 20% commission rate, so payouts are $1,600

  • Referly$75

    Startup · covers to $10,000/mo

  • Rewardful$99

    Growth · covers to $15,000/mo

  • FirstPromoter$99

    Business · covers to $15,000/mo

  • Tolt$69

    Basic, manual payouts only · covers to $10,000/mo

  • Tapfiliate$89

    Launch, metered on clicks and conversions · uncapped

  • Partnero$59

    Starter, no revenue metering · uncapped

SubscriptionPercentage fees

Payouts are modelled at a 20% commission rate, so percentage fees scale with the revenue you set. Tapfiliate meters clicks and conversions rather than revenue, so its bar does not move along this axis. Partnero does not meter revenue at all. Bars show each vendor's own published pricing, sorted by the shortlist order rather than by cost.

Pricing taken from each vendor’s own site. Last checked 10 August 2026. Vendors in this category change pricing often; if a figure here is out of date, the vendor’s own page wins.

The short version

So which one should you pick?

Four situations, four honest picks.

Rewardful

Stripe only, live this afternoon, tight budget

Look at it
Referly

Referly

You sell on Shopify, or Shopify and Stripe, or you need coupon codes tracked

Look at it

Partnero

Revenue caps are the thing you refuse to accept

Look at it

Tapfiliate

High ticket, low volume, happier paying per conversion

Look at it

Proof

Programs already running on Referly

Named customers, their own figures, and what the program is worth to each of them.

Moov
EcommerceFitness

“Affiliates drive a serious share of our revenue across three countries. Since we moved to Referly everything runs from one place, tracking has been spot on, and our partners get paid without me chasing spreadsheets.”

Alexander Koppers

Alexander Koppers

Affiliate Manager, Moov

$6.9M

in total affiliate-driven revenue

1,154
active affiliates
19,017
affiliate sales
1,240,030
clicks tracked
OptimizePress
SaaSSite builder

“We have been running affiliate programs for over a decade, and ours is one of the biggest parts of how OptimizePress grows. Referly is the first platform where an operation with thousands of partners actually feels manageable, from recruiting new affiliates to tracking every sale they send.”

James Dyson

James Dyson

Founder & CEO, OptimizePress

7 figures
in affiliate-driven sales
4,554
active affiliates
10,536
referrals
Letterly
Mobile appAI writing

“This platform is quite simple and easy to use, and you can start attracting people to your affiliate program very quickly. A big plus is that the founder, Ayo, is super responsive.”

Ilfat Khayrullin

Ilfat Khayrullin

CMO & Co-founder, Letterly

300K+
app users
689
active affiliates
24,114
clicks tracked

FAQ

Questions buyers ask in this category

Answered for the category, with the numbers each answer depends on.

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Pricing taken from each vendor’s own site. Last checked 10 August 2026. Vendors in this category change pricing often; if a figure here is out of date, the vendor’s own page wins.

  • Whichever tool tracks your payment processor at a tier you will not immediately outgrow. If you bill only through Stripe, Rewardful and FirstPromoter start at $49. If you sell through a store, or a store and a subscription, that narrows fast: Rewardful supports Stripe or Paddle only, and Referly at $75 is the option here that reads Shopify orders and Stripe subscriptions in one program.

Where to go next

Head-to-heads, per-vendor breakdowns, and how the tracking works.

Pricing taken from each vendor’s own site. Last checked 10 August 2026. Vendors in this category change pricing often; if a figure here is out of date, the vendor’s own page wins.