What's the main difference between Referly and Tolt?

Payout economics and store coverage. Tolt is $69/mo, manual payouts only on Basic, and charges a 2% processing fee on automated payouts from Growth up. Referly is $75/mo, automates payouts from Business with no percentage fee, and tracks Shopify and WooCommerce as well as Stripe, Paddle and Chargebee. Both entry plans cap at $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue.

Is Tolt a good product?

Yes. It's clean, fast to set up, and its $69 Basic matches Referly's $10,000/mo headroom for $6 less. Its $99 Growth plan bundles W-9 collection and 1099 filing, which is the cheapest tax package in the band. If you pay affiliates by hand and never automate, the 2% fee never touches you.

Does Tolt charge a transaction fee?

Not on sales. Tolt charges a 2% processing fee on automated payouts. Their pricing page says it verbatim: "fast global payouts with 2% processing fee", on Growth, Pro and Enterprise. Referly charges 0% on sales on every plan and no percentage on payouts through your own PayPal, Wise or bank; its optional managed rail (Referly Payouts) is the only percentage, and it's opt-in.

When should I choose Tolt over Referly?

When you're under $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue and pay affiliates manually, when $69 versus $75 matters, or when you want W-9s and 1099 filing at $99/mo. Tolt bundles both on Growth while Referly's tax forms start on its $149 Business plan. For a small Stripe-only program with simple needs, Tolt is the simpler buy.

Can I move my affiliates from Tolt to Referly?

Yes. Referly has a direct Tolt importer that brings across affiliates, referral links and commission rates, and migration is free. Historic click logs stay in Tolt, and accrued commissions should be paid out from Tolt before you switch. Most moves take an afternoon plus a few days of parallel running.

How does Referly's pricing compare to Tolt's?

Tolt starts at $69/mo and Referly at $75/mo, both covering $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue. Above that, Tolt is $99 to $20,000/mo and $199 to $50,000/mo; Referly is $149 to $30,000/mo. The real difference is the payout fee: automating $5,000/mo in payouts costs $100/mo extra on Tolt and $0 on Referly.

Referly vs Tolt

Tolt is $69 and Referly is $75. The $6 gap disappears the first time you automate a payout.

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14-day free trial · No credit card required · Free migration, including a direct import from Tolt

Referly

Startup

$75/mo

Covers: $10,000/mo affiliate revenue
Fee: 0% transaction fee
Tracks: Stripe, Shopify, WooCommerce, Paddle, Chargebee, Polar, Zylvie

Tolt

Basic

$69/mo

Covers: Up to $10,000/mo earned from affiliates
Fee: 2% payout processing fee
Tracks: Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee

Referly and Tolt both track affiliate programs on subscription billing, and both cap their entry plans at $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue. Tolt at $69/mo, Referly at $75/mo. Tolt's Basic plan is manual payouts only, and its automated payouts carry a 2% processing fee. Referly automates payouts from Business up with no percentage fee, and also tracks Shopify.

The case

Why choose Referly over Tolt?

The three differences that decide it against Tolt, with the plan each one is on.

0% payout processing, on every plan.

Tolt's pricing page says it verbatim: "fast global payouts with 2% processing fee", on Growth and above. Referly charges no percentage on payouts you run through your own PayPal, Wise or bank transfer. Pay $10,000 out and keep $200.

Stores as well as subscriptions.

Tolt tracks Stripe, Paddle and Chargebee, subscription billing only. Referly tracks Shopify and WooCommerce orders and coupon codes on the same program as your Stripe subscriptions, with 27 integrations listed in total.

A supply side, not just tracking.

Referly has a built-in affiliate marketplace and Influencer Discovery with real revenue and conversion numbers per profile. Tolt has neither. Every affiliate is your own outbound. The listing needs a Marketplace Licence; Discovery is a $199/mo add-on.

Referly or Tolt: which should you pick?

Choose Referly if

You'll automate payouts and don't want 2% taken off every batch
You sell on Shopify or WooCommerce as well as Stripe
You want a marketplace and influencer network to recruit from
You're an agency running client programs under your own brand

Choose Tolt if

You're under $10,000/mo and paying a handful of affiliates by hand anyway
$69 versus $75 matters, and you want the simplest possible product
You need W-9 collection and 1099 filing at $99/mo, which their Growth plan bundles
You bill through Chargebee and want a clean, fast setup measured in minutes

Referly vs Tolt, full comparison table

Compiled from real research into both platforms.

Comparison	Referly	Tolt
Entry price / month	$75 (Startup)	$69/mo (Basic)
Real cost at $10,000/mo	$75/mo on Startup	$69/mo on Basic
What the price meters on	Affiliate revenue	Affiliate revenue
Revenue cap, entry plan	$10,000/mo	Up to $10,000/mo earned from affiliates
Next tier	$149 (Business), $30,000/mo cap	$99 (Growth), Up to $20,000/mo
Transaction or payout fee	0% transaction fee	2% payout processing fee
Stripe
Shopify
WooCommerce
Paddle
Chargebee, Polar, Zylvie		Chargebee only
Coupon-code tracking	Every plan, including Startup	Not stated
Cookie window	60 days default, configurable	Not stated
W-9 / W-8 collection	Business and above, TIN encrypted at rest	W-9/W-8 + 1099 filing on Growth ($99) and above
EU self-billing invoices	Business and above, with VIES VAT validation
Automated payouts	Business and above, through PayPal and Wise with no percentage fee	Growth+ only, with a 2% processing fee
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	Auto payouts Growth+, with a 2% fee
New-sale and new-affiliate alerts	Email alerts to program owners	Not stated

Run your numbers

What the 2% payout fee adds

Tolt automates payouts from Growth ($99) with a 2% processing fee; Referly automates from Business ($149) with none. Drag your monthly payout volume. The two bills cross at exactly $2,500.

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Affiliate payouts you automate each month$5,000

Tolt

Growth, where automation starts

$199/mo

Plan: $99
2% payout fee: $100

Referly

Business, automation starts here

$149/mo

Plan: $149
Payout processing via your PayPal or Wise: $0

At $5,000/mo in payouts, Tolt's 2% costs $100 on top of the plan and the bills crossed at $2,500/mo, and the fee has no ceiling.

Paying by hand instead? Tolt Basic is $69 and Referly Startup is $75, both manual, no percentage on either. This calculator compares the plans where each tool starts automating. Referly's optional managed rail (Referly Payouts) is the one thing that carries a fee of 5% bank or 8% card, and using your own PayPal or Wise costs 0%.

In depth

Why teams compare Referly and Tolt

Six questions answered in full, including what they do better than us.

01What Tolt does well

Tolt is a clean, fast product with a 15-minute setup, a 14-day trial with no card, and an entry price $6 under Referly's. Its $69 Basic covers the same $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue that Referly's $75 Startup does. Identical headroom, slightly cheaper. And its Growth plan at $99 bundles something Referly gates higher: W-9/W-8 collection with 1099 filing arrives at $99 on Tolt against $149 on Referly. If tax paperwork at the lowest possible price is the deciding feature, Tolt gets there first.

Under $10,000/mo, with a handful of affiliates you pay by hand, Tolt is cheaper and simpler. That is a real recommendation.

02Where Tolt stops

Three limitations, each from Tolt's own pricing page:

1Basic is manual payouts only. The $69 plan has no payout automation at all. You pay every affiliate by hand, every month, or you upgrade.
2Automation costs 2% of everything you pay out. Verbatim: "Auto payouts (fast global payouts with 2% processing fee)", on Growth, Pro and Enterprise. On $5,000/mo in payouts that is $100/mo, on top of the $99 plan.
3Subscriptions only. Stripe, Paddle and Chargebee. A Shopify or WooCommerce checkout isn't tracked on any plan.

03What Referly adds on top of the tracking

The two products are closest of the four head-to-heads on paper. Same meter, same entry cap, $6 apart. The differences are the fee, the stores and the supply side.

Referly's automated payouts (Business and above) run through your own PayPal or Wise with no percentage fee. The opt-in Referly Payouts managed rail is the only thing that carries one, at 5% bank / 8% card, and using your own rails costs 0%. Shopify and WooCommerce orders track alongside Stripe on the same program. EU self-billing invoices with VIES VAT validation come with the tax forms at Business. And the marketplace plus Influencer Discovery give you partners you didn't find yourself.

04Pricing: $69 vs $75

Tolt's Basic is $69/mo and Referly's Startup is $75/mo. Both cover $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue, so at the entry point Tolt is $72 a year cheaper for the same headroom.

The ladders diverge above that. Tolt's Growth is $99 to $20,000/mo; Referly's Business is $149 to $30,000/mo. But add the payout fee to the arithmetic: automating $5,000/mo in payouts on Tolt Growth costs $99 + $100 in processing = $199. Referly Business automates the same payouts for $149 + $0. The more you actually pay out, the faster the sticker order inverts.

Both cap revenue. Neither is Partnero, which charges a flat fee and caps nothing.

05Who should choose Tolt

A subscription business on Stripe, Paddle or Chargebee, under $10,000/mo in affiliate revenue, paying a small roster of affiliates manually, or one that wants W-9s and 1099 filing at $99/mo, the cheapest tax bundle in the band. For that buyer Tolt is simpler than Referly and slightly cheaper.

06Who should choose Referly

A program that automates payouts at any real volume. The 2% fee is the whole comparison once you do. A brand selling through a store as well as subscriptions. A team that wants recruitment supply built in. Or an agency: Tolt has no client-program console, white-label dashboard or client billing, and Referly's agency plans are built around exactly that.

Free migration

Switching from Tolt to Referly

Connect Tolt 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 Tolt. Referly's direct Tolt 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 Tolt.

What does not come across

Historic click data and per-click attribution history stay in Tolt. Referly imports your affiliates, their links and their commission rates; it does not import Tolt's click log. Commissions already accrued in Tolt should be paid out from Tolt before you switch.

The full Tolt migration guide

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FAQ

Questions you may still have

All are honest, unbiased answers, even when not flattering.

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