Referly vs FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is $49 and Referly is $75. The caps are $5,000 and $10,000. Start there.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Free migration, including a direct import from FirstPromoter
Referly
Startup
$75/mo
- Covers
- $10,000/mo affiliate revenue
- Fee
- 0% transaction fee
- Tracks
- Stripe, Shopify, WooCommerce, Paddle, Chargebee, Polar, Zylvie

FirstPromoter
Starter
$49/mo
- Covers
- Up to $5,000/mo revenue from affiliates
- Fee
- Transaction fee: not stated
- Tracks
- Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle
Referly and FirstPromoter both track affiliate programs for subscription businesses. FirstPromoter is $49/mo, covers $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue, supports Stripe, Chargebee and Paddle, and caps its Starter plan at 1,000 affiliates. Referly is $75/mo, covers $10,000/mo, and also tracks Shopify and WooCommerce. Both cap revenue on their entry plans.
The case
Why choose Referly over FirstPromoter?
The three differences that decide it against FirstPromoter, with the plan each one is on.
Twice the headroom before the first cliff.
FirstPromoter's $49 Starter covers $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue. The lowest cap in the $49 band. Referly's $75 Startup covers $10,000/mo. If your program lands between those two numbers, the cheaper tool is already on its $99 plan.
Shopify on the same program as Stripe.
FirstPromoter tracks Stripe, Chargebee and Paddle, subscriptions only, no store checkout. Referly tracks Shopify and WooCommerce orders alongside Stripe subscriptions, with coupon codes as a first-class tracking method on every plan.
The payout stack past the payout button.
Referly runs PayPal and Wise batch payouts, a managed worldwide rail, W-9 and W-8 collection with the TIN encrypted, and EU self-billing invoices with VIES validation, from Business up. FirstPromoter gates managed auto payouts to plans above Starter and has no tax-form collection.
Referly or FirstPromoter: which should you pick?
Choose Referly if
- You sell on Shopify or WooCommerce as well as through a subscription processor
- You expect to pass $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue. The band where the $49 price stops being $49
- You need W-9s, W-8s or EU self-billing invoices handled inside the product
- You want a marketplace and an influencer network to recruit from

Choose FirstPromoter if
- You bill through Chargebee. Referly supports it too, but FirstPromoter's roots are there
- You're under $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue and staying there
- Built-in affiliate email automation is the feature you'd use most
- $49 versus $75 matters, and you want the most detailed feature documentation before you buy
Referly vs FirstPromoter, full comparison table
Compiled from real research into both platforms.
| Comparison | FirstPromoter | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price / month | $75 (Startup) | $49/mo (Starter) |
| Real cost at $10,000/mo | $75/mo on Startup | $99/mo on Business |
| What the price meters on | Affiliate revenue | Affiliate revenue |
| Revenue cap, entry plan | $10,000/mo | Up to $5,000/mo revenue from affiliates |
| Next tier | $149 (Business), $30,000/mo cap | $99 (Business), Up to $15,000/mo |
| Transaction or payout fee | 0% transaction fee | Transaction fee: not stated |
| Stripe | ||
| Shopify | ||
| WooCommerce | ||
| Paddle | ||
| Chargebee, Polar, Zylvie | Chargebee only | |
| Coupon-code tracking | Every plan, including Startup | Stripe coupons |
| Cookie window | 60 days default, configurable | Not stated |
| W-9 / W-8 collection | Business and above, TIN encrypted at rest | |
| EU self-billing invoices | Business and above, with VIES VAT validation | |
| Automated payouts | Business and above, through PayPal and Wise with no percentage fee | Managed auto payouts gated above Starter |
| Affiliate marketplace | Built in | |
| Influencer Discovery | $199/mo add-on, 500 invitations/mo | |
| Branded portal on your domain | Business and above | Not stated |
| Portal languages | 15 + custom languages you define | Not stated |
| Sub-affiliate tiers | 2 levels, Business and above | Not stated |
| Free tier | Referly has none | |
| Trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card |
| Refund policy | Standard | Not stated |
| Direct import into Referly | n/a | Direct importer |
| Bulk approve, decline and edit | Bulk approve and decline affiliates | Not stated |
| Cancel without contacting support | Self-serve in billing settings; billed via Stripe | Not stated |
| Per-link and per-affiliate reporting | Link-level and per-affiliate, every plan | Not stated |
| Payout proof and audit trail | Proof required on manual payouts, with an audit trail. Business and above for automation | Managed auto payouts above Starter |
| New-sale and new-affiliate alerts | Email alerts to program owners | Not stated |
Run your numbers
Where each plan runs out
Both tools meter on monthly affiliate revenue. Drag to your number and watch which plan each tool puts you on. The $49/$75 sticker prices stop describing reality at exactly $5,000.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Referly
FirstPromoter
Referly
Startup

FirstPromoter
Business
The dashed line is your revenue crossing each ladder. At $6,500/mo, Referly bills $75 and FirstPromoter bills $99.
In depth
Why teams compare Referly and FirstPromoter
Six questions answered in full, including what they do better than us.
01What FirstPromoter does well
FirstPromoter is $49/mo against Referly's $75, and it publishes the biggest, clearest feature comparison table in the category, grouped matrices covering email, portal, reports, tracking, payouts and fraud, row by row. If you want to know exactly what you're buying before a trial, nobody documents themselves better. Its built-in affiliate email automation is genuinely strong: onboarding sequences and announcement emails without wiring up a separate tool. And it runs 19 comparison pages, including 10 it isn't in. They understand their own market better than anyone in it.
For a Stripe-only SaaS under $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue, FirstPromoter at $49 is a rational default.
02Where FirstPromoter stops
Three limitations, each from their own pricing matrix:
- 1No Shopify. FirstPromoter tracks Stripe, Chargebee and Paddle. If any of your revenue goes through a store checkout, it isn't tracked, and no plan changes that.
- 2The $5,000 cap. The $49 Starter covers $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue. Half of what Tolt's $69 covers and a third of Rewardful's next tier. It also caps affiliates at 1,000 on Starter.
- 3The Starter gate list. Their own matrix gates SSO, custom roles, activity logs, managed auto payouts, post-back URLs, removing "Powered by", embedding the dashboard, and custom CSS/JS above Starter.
03What Referly adds on top of the tracking
Both products compute recurring commissions off the subscription lifecycle. The difference is scope and the stack after the sale.
Referly tracks store checkouts as well as subscriptions. Shopify, WooCommerce and coupon codes on the same program as Stripe. Downstream it runs PayPal and Wise batch payouts, a managed payout rail, W-9/W-8BEN/W-8BEN-E collection with the TIN encrypted at rest, and EU self-billing invoices with VIES VAT validation, all from Business up. The portal runs on your own domain (Business and above) in 15 languages. And the supply side exists: a marketplace listing (separate Marketplace Licence) and Influencer Discovery (a $199/mo add-on, 500 invitations a month).
04Pricing: $49 vs $75
FirstPromoter's Starter is $49/mo and Referly's Startup is $75/mo. Referly costs 53% more at the door.
The caps decide whether that gap is real. FirstPromoter's $49 covers $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue; Referly's $75 covers $10,000/mo. From $5,000 to $15,000 you are on FirstPromoter's $99 Business plan, while Referly is still $75 up to $10,000, then $149 to $30,000. Between $5,000 and $10,000 a month, the nominally cheaper tool bills $99 and the nominally pricier one bills $75.
Under $5,000/mo, FirstPromoter is simply cheaper, and this page says so plainly.
05Who should choose FirstPromoter
A subscription business on Stripe, Chargebee or Paddle, under $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue, that wants affiliate email automation built in and has no store checkout anywhere in the funnel. At that size the $49 plan is honest value and the gate list doesn't bite yet.
06Who should choose Referly
A business whose affiliate revenue is heading past $5,000/mo, or whose sales don't all run through a subscription processor. A brand with a Shopify store next to its SaaS. A program paying enough US or EU affiliates that tax forms and self-billing invoices stopped being a spreadsheet job. Or a team that wants supply, a marketplace and an influencer network, not just tracking.
Free migration
Switching from FirstPromoter to Referly
Connect FirstPromoter directly and your affiliates, their links and their commission rates come across mapped. Free on every plan, including Startup.

- 1Scope and plan~30 min
- List your campaigns, commission rules and open payouts. Decide what happens to commissions accrued but not yet paid.
- 2Export and map~30 min
- Export affiliates from FirstPromoter. Referly's direct FirstPromoter importer maps affiliates, their referral links and their commission rates.
- 3Configure and import~1 hour
- Recreate your commission plans in Referly, run the import, and swap the tracking script and the payment connection.
- 4Verify and go live3 to 7 days overlap
- Run both in parallel, compare attributed sales daily, then switch off FirstPromoter.
What does not come across
Historic click data and per-click attribution history stay in FirstPromoter. Referly imports your affiliates, their links and their commission rates; it does not import FirstPromoter's click log. Commissions already accrued in FirstPromoter should be paid out from FirstPromoter before you switch.
The full FirstPromoter migration guideFAQ
Questions you may still have
All are honest, unbiased answers, even when not flattering.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Headroom and scope. FirstPromoter is $49/mo and covers $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue on Stripe, Chargebee or Paddle, with affiliates capped at 1,000 on Starter. Referly is $75/mo, covers $10,000/mo, and also tracks Shopify and WooCommerce checkouts. Referly adds W-9/W-8 collection and EU invoicing from its Business plan; FirstPromoter has neither.
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