Best Affiliate Software for SaaS
Commissions that follow the subscription
Renewals, upgrades, churn and refunds, computed for you every cycle. Compare the six SaaS affiliate tools that matter, with real prices and real caps.
- Recurring and step-down rules
- Refunds reversed automatically
- Stripe and Shopify in one program
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Competitor pricing checked .
Quick answer
Which SaaS affiliate tool fits you?
For most SaaS companies the shortlist is Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt, Referly, Partnero and Affonso. Rewardful and FirstPromoter start at $49/mo and track Stripe. Referly is $75/mo and tracks Stripe and Shopify. Partnero is the only one that never caps your affiliate revenue. Costs below.
Referly
You sell on Stripe plus a store, or you need tax forms and your own portal domain.
Rewardful
You are Stripe-only, under $7,500/mo in affiliate revenue, and want $49/mo.
FirstPromoter
You bill through Chargebee, which Rewardful does not support.
Tolt
You want the fastest setup and can live with manual payouts on Basic.
Partnero
Your affiliate revenue is already big. Flat fee, no revenue meter.
Affonso
You are pre-revenue and want the cheapest possible start at €15/mo.
Side by side
Every tool, every price, every cap
The cap is the column buyers skip and then hit in month four.
| Tool | Entry price | Meters on | Cap at entry1 | Payment platforms | Per-sale fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referly | $75/moStartup | Affiliate revenue | $10,000/moBusiness lifts it to $30,000/mo | StripeShopifyWooCommercePaddleChargebee | 0%No cut of sales on any plan |
| Rewardful | $49/moStarter | Affiliate revenue | $7,500/mo | StripePaddle | 0%, advertised |
| FirstPromoter | $49/moStarter | Affiliate revenue | $5,000/moTightest cap of the $49 tier | StripeChargebeePaddle | Not stated |
| Tolt | $69/moBasic | Affiliate revenue | $10,000/mo | StripePaddleChargebee | Verbatim from their pricing page: "Auto payouts (fast global payouts with 2% processing fee)", on Growth, Pro and Enterprise. Basic has manual payouts only. |
| Partnero | $59/moStarter, annual | Programs + seats only | NoneThe only tool here with no revenue meter | StripePaddleShopifyWooCommerce | None |
| Affonso | €19/moLaunch, annual | Affiliate revenue | $1,000/mo | Stripe | Not stated |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
- 1The cap is on affiliate-driven revenue, not your total revenue. Crossing it moves you to the next plan on every vendor here except Partnero.
Run the numbers
What one customer is worth to a partner
Three commission models on one customer. Move the churn month, it changes more than the rate does.
- One-timefirst payment only$19.80
- Recurring20% for 18 payments$356.40
- Recurring, stepped down20% then 10% after 12$297.00
Commission on one customer over 24 months, stopping at churn. The step-down model is what most SaaS programs actually want: enough to win the partner, not so much that a customer they referred three years ago is still the largest line in your commission bill.
The shortlist
Six tools, six honest limitations
Ours included, at the same weight, with the $26 it costs above Rewardful stated plainly.
Built around commission rules that follow a subscription, not a single payment.
- Recurring commissions with step-down schedules and caps
- Refund detection reverses the commission automatically
- W-9, W-8 and EU invoices handled in the portal
Limitation: $75/mo against Rewardful's and FirstPromoter's $49, and affiliate revenue caps at $10,000/mo on Startup. Automated payouts start on Business at $149.
Best for SaaS that also sells through a store, or needs the tax paperwork done.
Rewardful
The best-known Stripe-first tool and the shortest path to a working program.
- $49/mo, no transaction fee
- Stripe Premier Partner
- Fast setup, huge user base
Limitation: Stripe or Paddle only, by their own FAQ. Add a store and you replace it. Starter caps affiliate revenue at $7,500/mo.
Best for Stripe-only SaaS under $7,500/mo in affiliate revenue.
FirstPromoter
The deepest feature matrix at the $49 tier, with Chargebee support.
- Chargebee alongside Stripe and Paddle
- The most configurable campaigns in its class
- 14-day trial, no card
Limitation: Starter has the tightest cap of the $49 tier: $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue. No transaction fee is stated either way.
Best for Chargebee-billed SaaS that wants maximum configurability.
Tolt
Fast, clean, Stripe-first. Running in an afternoon.
- Setup measured in minutes
- A partner portal affiliates like
- 14-day trial, no card
Limitation: Basic is manual payouts only. Automated payouts carry a 2% processing fee and start on Growth at $99, along with tax forms.
Best for small Stripe-only teams that value speed above all.
Partnero
The only tool here that never meters on affiliate revenue.
- Flat fee no matter how big the program gets
- Affiliate, referral and newsletter programs in one
- 30-day trial, the longest in the category
Limitation: Starter is one program and one seat, and extra seats cost $29/mo each.
Best for programs already large enough that a revenue meter hurts.
Affonso
The cheapest entry in the whole category at €15/mo billed annually.
- Nothing else is close on price
- Covers a Stripe program's basics
- 14-day trial
Limitation: The Launch plan caps affiliate revenue at $1,000/mo and gates custom domains and private programs. Realistic only before the program works.
Best for pre-revenue founders testing whether a program converts.
Before you pick
What breaks in a SaaS affiliate program
Does commission follow the subscription?
Renewals, upgrades, downgrades and churn, not just the first payment.
What happens on a refund?
Automatic reversal plus a holding period, or you email partners for money back.
Where is the revenue cap?
Every tool here except Partnero has a cliff. Know yours before month four.
Who collects the tax forms?
W-9 and W-8 collection built in, or a spreadsheet and a January panic.
Do coupon codes count?
Half of SaaS affiliate sales start as a code in a YouTube description.
What does leaving cost?
No export means re-onboarding every partner. Some will not come back.
One customer on $99.00/mo, 20% commission
Churns in month 7
One-time commission
Paid on the first invoice only
$19.80
Recurring commission
Paid every month until churn
$118.80
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Stripe only, under $5,000/mo in affiliate revenue
Rewardful or FirstPromoter
Past $30,000/mo in affiliate revenue
Partnero's flat fee
Stripe plus a store, or you need tax forms handled
Referly
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
$6.9M
in total affiliate-driven revenue
- 1,154
- active affiliates
- 19,017
- affiliate sales
- 1,240,030
- clicks tracked
“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
Founder & CEO, OptimizePress
- 7 figures
- in affiliate-driven sales
- 4,554
- active affiliates
- 10,536
- referrals
“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
CMO & Co-founder, Letterly
- 300K+
- app users
- 689
- active affiliates
- 24,114
- clicks tracked
Pricing
One flat price. 0% of your sales.
Referly never takes a percentage of your revenue or your affiliates' commissions, on any plan.
FAQ
SaaS affiliate software questions
The questions buyers ask in the first ten minutes.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Usually yes. Check the caps, not the features: Affonso caps affiliate revenue at $1,000/mo and Rewardful's Starter at $7,500/mo. Both are fine until the program works, which is exactly when migrating hurts most.
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