SaaS affiliate software alternatives
We make OpenPromoter. This list follows a checklist we applied to every tool, ours included. Competitor facts are as of November 2026 and come from each vendor's own pages in the sources below.
SaaS affiliate software alternatives at a glance
Affonso and OpenPromoter tie for the top of our checklist at 8.5 of 10. Affonso is listed first because ties go to the longer track record. FirstPromoter and Refgrow follow at 8. Tolt and Dub Partners score 7 and Rewardful scores 6. PartnerStack and impact.com score lower on price and fees but lead on partner marketplaces.
| Tool | Score | Starts at | Fee on payouts | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affonso | 8.5/10 | €15/mo (yearly) | 0% (managed payouts 3.25% + $25) | Pricing page |
| OpenPromoter | 8.5/10 | $0 | 0% | This site |
| FirstPromoter | 8/10 | $49/mo | None listed (affiliates pay withdrawal fees on managed payouts) | FirstPromoter alternatives |
| Refgrow | 8/10 | $49/mo | 0% | Pricing page |
| Dub Partners | 7/10 | $81/mo | 5% (3% on Enterprise) | Dub Partners alternatives |
| Tolt | 7/10 | $99/mo | 2% of what is paid out | Tolt alternatives |
| Rewardful | 6/10 | $49/mo | 0% (3% with Managed Payouts) | Rewardful alternatives |
| PromoteKit | 6/10 | $29/mo | 5% bank or 8% card on one-click payouts | Pricing page |
| PartnerStack | 5/10 | Quote | Not published | Pricing page |
| Tapfiliate | 5/10 | $89/mo | Trolley billed separately | Pricing page |
| impact.com | 4/10 | $500/mo for SaaS | Payouts above the plan billed separately | Pricing page |
- Affonso8.5
- OpenPromoter8.5
- FirstPromoter8
- Refgrow8
- Dub Partners7
- Tolt7
- Rewardful6
- PromoteKit6
- PartnerStack5
- Tapfiliate5
- impact.com4
How to choose affiliate software for SaaS
Choose by what the tool costs as the program grows, which billing systems it reads and who pays partners. Then check tax forms, fraud checks and how you would leave. A tool that is cheap at $5k a month can cost the most at $50k.
Fees on payouts
A percentage of payouts grows with every partner you pay. Dub charges 5% and Tolt 2%. OpenPromoter, Refgrow and Rewardful charge no platform fee on standard payouts.
Revenue caps
Most plans are priced by referred revenue. Rewardful caps Starter at $7.5k a month and FirstPromoter at $5k. A program that works moves up a tier.
Billing systems
Check that your billing system is supported and check again before you add a second one. Rewardful runs Stripe or Paddle but not both at once.
Tax forms
US programs need W-9s and 1099-NEC data. Affonso collects W-forms on Elite only and FirstPromoter files 1099s only with managed payouts.
Fraud checks
Self-referrals and leaked coupons cost real money. Tolt's Radar starts on Pro and Dub's risk monitoring starts on Advanced.
AI agents
Most tools now ship an MCP server, and each one limits agents differently. FirstPromoter's MCP excludes money movement. OpenPromoter agents prepare payouts and never send them.
Your data
Ask how to export partners, commissions and payouts before you sign up. A CSV of partners with their referral codes is the minimum.
The checklist we score every tool against
We wrote ten jobs before scoring any tool and applied them the same way to every one, OpenPromoter included. Each job scores 1 when the vendor's own page states it, 0.5 when it is partial and 0 when it is not mentioned.
The entry plan is the cheapest plan that runs a live program. Ties go to the tool with the longer track record. MCP servers and self-hosting appear as facts in each entry and are not scored.
| Job | How it scores |
|---|---|
| A published price of $50 a month or less | 1 when the entry plan is published at $50 a month or less. 0.5 when it is published above $50. 0 when it is quote only. |
| No percentage fee on payouts | 1 when the vendor states no fee. 0.5 when a fee applies only to an optional managed service. 0 for a percentage on standard payouts or no fee stated. |
| Stripe plus another billing system | 1 when Stripe and at least one more billing system are named. 0.5 when one is named. 0 when none is named. |
| Pays partners from the tool | 1 when the entry plan pays through PayPal, Wise, Stripe or bank. 0.5 for manual or CSV only or a higher plan only. |
| Fraud checks on the entry plan | 1 for several named checks on the entry plan. 0.5 for one check, unnamed checks or a higher plan only. |
| W-9, W-8 and 1099 support | 1 for W-9 and W-8 collection plus a 1099 report or filing on the entry plan. 0.5 for part of that or a higher plan only. |
| REST API and webhooks | 1 when both are stated. 0.5 when one is stated or it sits on a higher plan. |
| Vendor handles payouts and 1099 filing for you | 1 when the vendor sends payouts and files or issues 1099s itself. 0.5 for one of the two. |
| Multi-level commissions | 1 when stated with no higher plan named. 0.5 for a higher plan only or partner referral rewards. |
| Partner marketplace to find new partners | 1 for a stated marketplace or network where partners discover programs. 0.5 for a small directory or opt-in listing. |
| Tool | Price | Payout fee | Billing | Payouts | Fraud | Tax | API | Managed | Multi-level | Marketplace | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affonso | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 8.5 |
| OpenPromoter | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 8.5 |
| FirstPromoter | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Refgrow | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Dub Partners | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 7 |
| Tolt | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Rewardful | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| PromoteKit | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| PartnerStack | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Tapfiliate | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 5 |
| impact.com | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4 |
What the checklist leaves out
A score is only as good as its jobs. These matter to many buyers and are not in the total.
Track record
Years in market and the size of each customer base.
Reviews
We did not score G2, Capterra or Trustpilot ratings.
Integration depth
Recurly, Braintree, CRMs and store platforms count only through the billing job. FirstPromoter, PartnerStack and Tapfiliate go deeper here.
AI agents
Most tools here ship an MCP server. We list it as a fact and do not score it. Rules differ on whether an agent may move money.
Self-hosting
Only OpenPromoter publishes its source code to run on your own server. We list it as a fact and leave it out of the total.
Switching guides
We wrote a guide for the four tools teams ask about most: Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt and Dub Partners. Each guide ranks the real alternatives to that tool and says what it does well. It then lists the steps to move your partners.
- Rewardful alternatives
Rewardful is a hosted affiliate tool for Stripe-based SaaS with plans from $49 a month.
- Revenue caps decide the plan
- One billing system at a time
- Fraud rules you can read
- FirstPromoter alternatives
FirstPromoter is a hosted affiliate and referral platform for SaaS with plans from $49 a month.
- Revenue caps and affiliate limits
- 1099s tied to managed payouts
- Withdrawal fees for affiliates
- Tolt alternatives
Tolt is a hosted affiliate platform for SaaS with plans from $99 a month.
- A $99 starting price
- A 2% fee on payouts
- Fraud checks on the Pro plan
- Dub Partners alternatives
Dub Partners is the partner program product from the link platform Dub. Plans start at $81 a month.
- A fee on every payout
- Partner code left the public repo
- Partner and payout limits
What moves over when you change tools
Changing affiliate software keeps your partners if you plan the move. Most tools export partners as CSV, and OpenPromoter imports exports from Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt and PartnerStack and keeps each partner's referral code. Past commissions and payouts stay in the old tool for your records.
op.js reads ?via= (Rewardful), ?fpr= (FirstPromoter), ?ref= (Tolt) and ?gspk= (PartnerStack) along with your own parameter. Links partners already shared keep attributing once their codes are imported.
Links on Dub's domains are served by Dub. Partners moving from Dub need new links before you close that account. The getting started guide covers the import.
How affiliate tools charge
Affiliate tools charge in three ways: a fee capped by referred revenue, a cut of what you pay partners or a quote with a contract. Many mix two of them. Work out each one at the revenue you expect a year from now.
Revenue caps
Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt, Refgrow, Affonso and PromoteKit price plans by partner revenue a month. Entry caps run from $1k at Affonso to $20k at Tolt. OpenPromoter Cloud uses caps too and self-hosting has none.
A percentage of payouts
Dub takes 5% of payouts and 8% when they are funded by card. Tolt takes 2% and PromoteKit adds 5% or 8% on one-click payouts. On $10k of payouts a month, 5% is $500 a month.
Quotes and contracts
PartnerStack publishes no prices and quotes after a demo. impact.com publishes prices but needs a 12-month contract and charges $250 an hour for onboarding.
Questions
What is the best affiliate software for SaaS?
Is there free affiliate software for SaaS?
Can I switch affiliate software without losing partners?
Which affiliate software is open source?
Do I need to collect W-9 forms from affiliates?
How much does affiliate software cost?
Sources14 vendor pages, checked November 2026
- 1Affonso · Pricing
- 2FirstPromoter · Pricing
- 3Refgrow · Pricing
- 4Dub · Pricing
- 5Tolt · Pricing
- 6Rewardful · Pricing
- 7Promotekit · Pricing
- 8PartnerStack · Pricing
- 9Tapfiliate · Pricing
- 10impact.com · Pricing
- 11Dub · Partner payouts
- 12Rewardful · Integrating rewardful with paddle
- 13FirstPromoter · How managed auto payouts work
- 14FirstPromoter · overview.md
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