Affiliate Software, Free
Three real free plans. Here is where each one ends.
Free affiliate software exists. It just caps on something success will break. See the caps, the fees on the paid tiers, and the exact point where flat pricing gets cheaper.
- 3 genuinely free plans compared
- Every cap listed
- The crossover point, charted
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Competitor pricing checked .
Quick answer
Which free plan fits you?
Three affiliate tools have genuinely free plans: UpPromote (free to $3,000/mo in referral revenue, then 1% to 2% of sales), BixGrow (free to 50 referral orders and 30 affiliates) and Endorsely (free until $1,000/mo in affiliate revenue, then $39). Referly has no free plan. It is $75/mo after a 14-day trial.
UpPromote
Shopify store, under $3,000/mo in referral sales. Free, then a 1% to 2% cut.
BixGrow
Shopify store, want to stay flat-fee forever. Free, then $14.99/mo.
Endorsely
Pre-revenue SaaS. Free until your affiliates earn $1,000/mo.
Affonso
Ready to pay, want the smallest bill. €15/mo billed annually.
Rewardful
Stripe-only and past free. $49/mo, the cheapest known name.
Referly
Past a cap, or you need Stripe and Shopify in one program. $75/mo.
What free costs
Read the cap, not the price
A percentage is cheap while the program is small and the biggest line on the bill once it works. UpPromote's cut passes Referly's flat fee near $3,500/mo.
- BixGrow$14.99/mo
- Referly$75/mo
- Endorsely$99/mo
- UpPromote$149.99/mo
Your program, roughly
Free plans at this size
- Free to $3,000/mo revenue$29.99/mo + 2%
- Free to 50 referral orders$14.99/mo
- Free to $1,000/mo revenue$39/mo
3 of 3 free plans are already behind you. Compare paid tiers on total cost, not headline price.
Side by side
What each free plan actually caps
| Tool | Free plan | Where free ends | Fee on paid plans | Next tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UpPromote | $3,000/mo referral revenue1 program, 1 coupon per affiliate | 2% / 1.5% / 1% of referral sales | $29.99/mo | |
| BixGrow | 50 referral orders/mo, 30 affiliates | None at any tier | $14.99/mo | |
| Endorsely | $1,000/mo in affiliate revenue | None stated | $39/mo | |
| Affonso | 14-day trial | n/a | Not stated | €19/mocheapest paid entry |
| Rewardful | 14-day trial | n/a | 0% | $49/mo |
| Referly | 14-day trial | n/a | 0%No cut of sales on any plan | $75/moStartup |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
- 1Referly has no free plan. It is on this table so the comparison you make when a free tier runs out is an honest one.
The shortlist
Six options, three of them free
Free plans first, cheapest paid tier next, ours last. This page is about free, and Referly is not.
UpPromote
The only free plan with a real Shopify install behind it.
- Free to $3,000/mo in referral revenue
- Deepest Shopify-native experience here
- Their directory promotes your program
Limitation: Every paid plan takes 1% to 2% of your referral sales, and the free plan allows one coupon per affiliate. The moment it works, you choose between a cap and a cut.
Best for Shopify stores under $3,000/mo in referral sales.
BixGrow
The cheapest path from free to paid, with no percentage anywhere.
- No per-sale fee on any tier
- $14.99/mo is the cheapest paid tier in the category
- Free plan covers a first program
Limitation: Shopify only, and the free plan caps at 50 referral orders and 30 affiliates.
Best for Shopify stores that want flat pricing forever.
Endorsely
Free until your affiliates generate $1,000/mo. You pay only once it works.
- The best free-plan structure in the set
- Aimed at Stripe-billed SaaS
- Small, clean, nothing to learn
Limitation: Their own published numbers disagree with each other. Trust the pricing page, not the docs.
Best for pre-revenue SaaS testing whether a program converts.
Open-source WordPress plugins
Self-hosted tracking inside your own WordPress. No licence, your data.
- No subscription, no meter
- Full data ownership
- Extensible if you have developers
Limitation: You host, secure, update and support it yourself. No payouts, no tax forms, no support desk. The cost moves from the invoice to your calendar.
Best for teams with WordPress developers and spare time.
Affonso
Not free, but cheaper than most free plans' first paid tier. €15/mo annually.
- The cheapest paid entry anywhere
- 14-day trial first
- Covers a Stripe program's basics
Limitation: Not free, and the Launch plan caps affiliate revenue at $1,000/mo.
Best for founders who decided to pay but want the smallest bill.
Paid. On this page for one honest reason: it is where free plans send you when they run out.
- Direct import from eight tools, so leaving free is painless
- Coupon tracking and fraud checks on every plan
- Stripe and Shopify in one program
Limitation: No free plan. $75/mo, with a $10,000/mo affiliate revenue cap on Startup. If free is a hard requirement, three tools above qualify and this one does not.
Best for programs that outgrew a free tier's cap.
Before you pick
What free actually costs
What is the meter?
Revenue, orders or affiliates. Whichever breaks first is the real price.
Percentage or flat?
2% of $30,000/mo is $600/mo. Flat wins past roughly $3,750/mo.
Can you get your affiliates out?
No export means the free plan is the trap, not the offer.
Who pays the partners?
Most free plans track referrals and leave the payouts and W-8s to you.
What does support look like at $0?
A community Discord is not an SLA, and affiliate disputes spread.
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Shopify store, under $3,000/mo in referral sales
UpPromote free, or BixGrow flat
Pre-revenue SaaS testing the channel
Endorsely, free until it works
Past a cap, or on more than one channel
Referly, flat and 0%
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
Free affiliate software questions
The questions buyers ask in the first ten minutes.
14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime
Three are genuinely free: UpPromote to $3,000/mo in referral revenue, BixGrow to 50 referral orders, and Endorsely to $1,000/mo in affiliate revenue. Everything else here is a paid tool with a trial.
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