Refersion

Refersion is a partner-program platform for direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands running affiliate, influencer, or ambassador programs. It is best for teams that want partner discovery and referral operations in one place. Its paid tiers add tracking, commission management, and payouts; the free listing does not run a program.

Overview

Refersion combines partner discovery with first-party affiliate tracking, commissions, and payments. Its tracking is designed to work without cookies or redirects, while discovery uses product categories and a description of the brand’s ideal customer to surface relevant partners. That breadth suits brands building a partner program as well as those managing one, though the free Marketplace Listing only lets affiliates view and apply to an offer.

Refersion describes automated affiliate payments and automatic generation of required US tax forms for eligible affiliates. Optional two-factor authentication can require a code for payments over $1,000 USD within 24 hours. The platform says its reporting and data practices comply with GDPR and CCPA guidelines.

Key features

Recruitment, tracking, and commissions

Discovery gives brands a route to finding affiliates, influencers, and ambassadors rather than merely attributing their sales. Percentage-of-sale and subscription commissions cover common program structures; Growth adds advanced commission options and product and customer email tracking. That makes Growth more suitable for teams with more involved commission rules or wanting those additional tracking signals.

Payments and integrations

Launch includes one-click payouts, including PayPal, and both paid plans include unlimited affiliates, clicks, and conversions. Refersion integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, Chargebee, Stripe, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Zapier. Growth adds 30+ marketing integrations and multi-store management. Its API access can also support custom dashboards through GraphQL or REST, which is useful for teams that want Refersion data in their own reporting.

Pricing

The free Marketplace Listing is an offer page, not a free operating tier: affiliates can view and apply, but tracking referrals, managing commissions, and issuing payouts require a paid plan. A 14-day free trial is offered for ambassador, influencer, and affiliate marketing programs.

Marketplace Listing: custom pricing. Publish a percent-of-sale offer in the Refersion Marketplace and let affiliates view and apply. It is suitable for testing partner interest, not for running the resulting program.

Launch: $39 a month, plus 3% of affiliate-driven sales. It includes unlimited affiliates, clicks, and conversions, a first-party tracking domain, and one-click payouts including PayPal. This is the entry paid tier for brands that need core tracking and payouts without Growth’s advanced options.

Growth: $199 a month, plus 2% of affiliate-driven sales. Advanced commission options, product and customer email tracking, API access, 30+ marketing integrations, chat support, and multi-store management make it the stronger fit for more complex or multi-store programs.

Scale: custom pricing for brands doing more than $1 million GMV per year. It includes premium support and a Slack channel.

Launch (yearly billing): $29 a year, plus 3% of affiliate-driven sales. The page displays $29/mo with yearly billing and 20% off; features match Launch.

Growth (yearly billing): $159 a year, plus 2% of affiliate-driven sales. The page displays $159/mo with yearly billing and 20% off; features match Growth.

The main plan trade-off is clear: Launch covers core program operations, while Growth adds flexibility, integrations, and API access at a higher monthly charge but a lower percentage fee. The yearly-billing prices are displayed as monthly rates with yearly billing; brands should weigh that commitment against the monthly options.

Platforms

Refersion runs on web and offers API access. Growth includes API access, and the platform supports custom dashboards using its GraphQL or REST API.

Who it's for

Refersion is aimed at direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands that want to recruit partners and manage affiliate, influencer, or ambassador programs alongside referral tracking, commissions, and payments. Launch fits teams needing core operations; Growth is better for brands needing advanced commissions, multi-store management, or API access. The free listing is only a fit for brands seeking offer visibility and applications, while Scale is positioned for brands above $1 million GMV annually.

Pros and cons

Pro: Discovery and operational tools sit together, so brands can find partners and then track referrals, manage commissions, and pay them on paid plans.

Pro: Launch has no stated affiliate, click, or conversion caps, which avoids those quotas becoming a constraint as a program grows.

Pro: Growth combines advanced commission options, multi-store management, and API access for more involved programs.

Con: The free Marketplace Listing does not track referrals or handle commissions and payouts, so a brand must pay to operate its program.

Con: Both Launch and Growth add a percentage fee on affiliate-driven sales, on top of the monthly price.

Con: Growth is a substantial step up from Launch in monthly price, making its extra options harder to justify for teams that only need basic tracking and payouts.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, compare Affiliate Marketing Software and Affiliate Analytics Software.

OpenPartner is worth considering for a self-hosted option; its Revshare plan has no monthly fee and charges 3% of GMV.

Refport may suit teams looking for a free plan with 100 links, 5,000 clicks per month, and one seat, or a Starter plan at $49 a month.

Siren offers a free Lite plan with unlimited programs, affiliates, and conversions, plus basic ecommerce integrations and referral-link and coupon tracking.

Awin is a paid alternative with a large partner network; Access costs £99 a month plus VAT and a 3.5% per-transaction tracking fee, with a three-month minimum term.

Affilyn has a free plan limited to five active partners and one VIP storefront, which may fit a small program with those constraints.

UpPromote has a free plan for one affiliate program with a $3,000 referral review limit per month.

Trackier uses custom pricing and offers the first 10,000 conversions free.

Sprout Affiliate offers a free program with up to 200 referral orders per month.

Verdict

Choose Refersion if your ecommerce brand wants partner discovery alongside first-party tracking, commission management, and automated payouts, and Launch’s percentage fee is acceptable. Look elsewhere if you need a free operating tier: Refersion’s free listing only collects applications, while its paid plans charge a monthly price plus a share of affiliate-driven sales.