UpPromote Alternative
Stop paying a percentage of every sale you make
At $10,000/mo in referred sales UpPromote costs $230. Referly is $75, flat, with a 0% transaction fee.
Referly is an UpPromote alternative with a 0% transaction fee. UpPromote's paid plans charge $29.99/mo plus 2% of successful referral sales, at $10,000/mo in referred sales that is $230 a month, against Referly's flat $75, and the percentage has no upper bound. UpPromote is also Shopify-only; Referly tracks Shopify and Stripe on the same program.
Credit where due
Where UpPromote is the right answer
We say what they do well before we say what they do not. That is the reason you can believe the rest of the page.
UpPromote has the only genuine free tier in this comparison set, free up to $3,000/mo in referral revenue, and Referly has no free tier at all. Below that line UpPromote costs nothing and Referly costs $75, so UpPromote wins outright and this page will not pretend otherwise. It is Shopify-native with a Built for Shopify badge, installs from the App Store with no code, and publishes more case studies than nearly anyone in the category.
What changes is what happens after the free tier. UpPromote is priced as a share of your success: the moment referred sales cross $3,000/mo you move to a paid plan and start paying 2% of every sale, forever, with nothing capping it. That is a good deal at $2,000/mo referred and an expensive one at $20,000, and the crossover against Referly's flat $75 arrives at roughly $2,250/mo in referred sales, well before most stores would say their program is working.
What you actually pay
The same program, priced by both
At this size UpPromote costs 3.1× what Referly does. The gap comes from the percentages and the plan cliffs, not the sticker price.
Referly
- Startup plan
- $75
Startup, up to 200 active affiliates
UpPromote
- Growth plan
- $30
- 2% of referred sales
- $200
The other side
Where UpPromote stops
Three real limitations, each one traceable to a sentence on their own website.
The percentage never stops
2% of referral sales on Growth, 1.5% on Professional, 1% on Enterprise, uncapped, forever. At $10,000/mo referred that is $200 on top of the plan; at $20,000/mo it is $400. Referly's stays $0.
Source: uppromote.com/pricing
Referly vs UpPromote, full comparison table
Compiled from real research into both platforms. The same rows appear on every alternatives page, so you can compare any two of them.
| Comparison | Referly | UpPromote |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price / month | $75 (Startup) | Free |
| Real cost at $10,000/mo |
Their reviewers, not us
What UpPromote users say they're missing
Verbatim from public reviews, with the rating and date each one carries. Every link goes to the source.
“It says the installation is free, but when you install the app. They provide you 14-day free trial. Once the trial is ended, they don't discontinue. They charged you automatically and said it's based on Shopify rules.”
In ReferlyReferly bills through Stripe, not the Shopify billing API. The 14-day trial needs no card, and cancelling happens in your own billing settings.
Which one should you choose?
An honest look at which of Referly and UpPromote is right for you, including the reasons to stay where you are.
Choose Referly if
- 01Referred sales are past roughly $2,250/mo. The point where 2% costs more than Referly's flat $75
- 02You'd rather your bill stayed still while the channel grows, instead of scaling with it
- 03You want billing you can cancel yourself. Referly bills through Stripe, not the Shopify app rail
- 04You sell subscriptions alongside the store, and want W-9s and a recruiting marketplace as it matures
Free migration
Switch from UpPromote without losing your history
A CSV export from UpPromote carries affiliates, links and commission rates across. Free on every plan, including Startup.
Scope and plan
~30 minList your campaigns, commission rules and open payouts. Decide what happens to commissions accrued but not yet paid.
Export and map
~30 minExport your affiliates from UpPromote as CSV. Referly's CSV importer maps affiliates, their referral links and their commission rates.
Referly vs UpPromote vs everyone else
Five facts on each of the other tools. If you are weighing up a third option, its page is one click away.
| Referly | UpPromote |  Refersion |
|---|
Customer stories
Take their word for it
The founders and affiliate managers behind three fast-growing programs, in their own words.
“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
Affiliate Manager, Moov
FAQ
You probably have questions
All are honest, unbiased answers, even when not flattering.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
What happens to the bill as the channel grows. UpPromote takes 1-2% of every referred sale on its paid plans, uncapped, so at $10,000/mo in referred sales it costs about $230/mo. Referly is $75/mo flat with a 0% transaction fee at the same volume, and tracks Stripe as well as Shopify. Below UpPromote's $3,000/mo free tier the answer flips: it is free and Referly is not.
