What Affiliate Management Software Should You Try?
If you own an eCommerce website or you’ve created a product, whether that be software or something else, you’re probably looking for new ways of marketing it to a brand new audience.
In today’s article, we’re looking at some of the best affiliate management software out there, which can help you keep track of what your affiliates are making commissions-wise, process payments, and everything else you might need in this sense.
What affiliate management software should you try?
Before we move on to the actual list, we thought we’d note that some of the following options are quite different and might be pretty difficult to utilize. What we mean by this is while some are made for small creators and people who own eCommerce businesses, others are designed more for bigger brands.
This is one of the reasons why you might not even find a price on some of the following websites, despite them being packed with features you might be looking for.
And while you might think that this makes some of the following affiliate network management software less transparent, it’s just the way things are right now. You sometimes have to make an estimate of the number of affiliate marketers you suspect will want to promote your product and depending on that, you’ll pay a monthly fee.
Other options that we will list below function on a different model, such as the number of users you get on your website every month and based on that, you’ll be billed uniquely. Whether that is relevant or not remains a debate.
Awin
This is a company that has recently bought ShareASale and we thought we’d note that right from the beginning just to give you a clue as to how well-known and popular it is.
Awin is one of the largest affiliate networks out there, so you will have access to a myriad of affiliate marketers that might be interested in promoting your products.
What’s interesting about this option is that while it does charge a fee of 5 pounds to make sure that you get your account verified, it is completely free to use by merchants.
JVZoo
JVZoo is somewhat newer compared to some of the other affiliate management choices we’ve included in our list, but that shouldn’t deter you from giving it a shot. The fact that it’s had its ups and downs over the years is pretty natural, but these days, JVZoo is doing a pretty good job of connecting affiliates with publishers.
Like Awin, this one is completely free to utilize, so that’s one less thing to worry about. It doesn’t even ask for the deposit that we mentioned with Awin.
ShareASale
If you sell physical products, ShareASale should be at the top of your selection and that’s because with the downfall of Amazon Associates and other similar networks, it has once again become widely used by marketers across the globe.
Besides coming with all the features you might need to manage your affiliates, ShareASale also excels when it comes to customer service — so you will have someone to talk to in case you run into a problem. The same can’t be said for other affiliate networks, though.
Rakuten LinkShare
Although Rakuten started out as LinkShare, the company acquired the affiliate management software about 15 years ago. It’s right at the top of the list alongside CJ Affiliate, Awin, and ShareASale, and you’ll be amazed at how many things you can get done with Rakuten if you decide to utilize it to work with affiliates.
The downside is that the interface could have been slightly better and is probably going to be improved in a few years’ time if not sooner. Other than that, creating an account is very easy and you’ll get your reply in a few working days.
PartnerStack
This one is slightly different in that it’s not just an affiliate link management software option. Besides including pretty much the same features you might be expecting, PartnerStack also gives you the opportunity to get in touch with other affiliates and work with them.
The service itself is extremely easy to use, convenient, as well as effective, and you will have no trouble setting it up, either. On the downside, at the time we’re writing this post, there wasn’t a specific feature regarding mobile friendliness.
You can give PartnerStack a shot without spending a single cent, although your features will of course be limited. Unfortunately, this one is among the least affordable options that we have gone through, since the plans start at $800 per month.
LinkMink
We’re planning a separate review of this option in the following weeks, but we would like to note that it’s among the best when it comes to commissions management, automated payouts, as well as tracking referrals.
The dashboard is very easy to use and you can also categorize your affiliates based on the commissions you’re offering — whether it’s pay per lead or pay per sale or whichever model you tend to use.
While we couldn’t recommend this one more when it comes to its features, it does have some cons, too. At the time we’re writing this post, there wasn’t any payment processing ability besides Stripe.
On top of that, there was no affiliate discovery feature, either. LinkMink plans start at just $39 per month, making it one of the most affordable options out there — and there’s also a 14-day free trial available, too.
Tapfiliate
Tapfiliate is an automated affiliate management software solution that comes with most of the features you might have been searching for. It’s effective for anything ranging from tracking to creating new affiliate programs and managing the commissions that you have to pay.
Best of all, it integrates with a truly generous range of digital marketing and eCommerce tools and platforms, so you have nothing to worry about on this account.
Like Refersion, which we will describe in a section below, this one has a 14-day trial, which means that you can give it a go before making up your mind. It’s also cheaper compared to other solutions since the lowest plan costs just $69 per month.
Refersion
This one has slowly become one of the most popular affiliate program management software options out there, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. It is, however, geared more toward eCommerce businesses than anything else, so if you’re not in that specific niche, perhaps it’s not the best choice for you.
The neatest thing about Refersion is that tracking your affiliates’ sales is made super easy thanks to the platform’s features. Not only that, but you can also pay your affiliates directly through PayPal based on a schedule that you have complete control over.
To make things even better, the company is now offering a 14-day trial, which means that you have more than enough time at your disposal to tell whether it meets your needs and preferences. Paid plans start at $89 per month.
LeadDyno
This affiliate management platform has been getting both positive and negative reviews in pretty much equal parts, so it all boils down to what you want to do and how much patience you have.
Even though the software itself is quite good because you can do anything from tracking and controlling your commissions to paying your affiliates with just a few clicks, the biggest drawback of the service seems to be the lack of good customer service.
On the other hand, the product integrates with virtually any type of ecommerce tool you may be using already, whether that be Shopify or BigCommerce or payment processors such as Stripe or PayPal. There is a free month trial available for LeadDyno, after which the lowest plan is priced at $49/month.
WeCanTrack
If you run a bigger business and you’re already using a wide range of marketing methods to get your products out there into the world, WeCanTrack might be the best solution in the way of affiliate management software that you now have available.
And the reason we’re saying that is that it works with more than 200 tools and affiliate networks, from social media networks like Instagram and Facebook to actual tools such as Google Drive or platforms like Amazon, if that’s where you’re selling your products.
There is a free WeCanTrack version available, although as you can imagine, the features you’ll get with that one are quite limited. The plans range from $60 to $240 per month and their cost is based on the number of clicks you generate and the number of transactions you get every single month.
SamCart
If you haven’t read our review of this affiliate network/management platform before, here’s what you should know. The software works with a lot of other tools and makes it easy for you to create unique features and manage everything from your affiliate links to your commissions.
It even allows you to have complete control over the cookie duration and your payment schedule. By the way, with SamCart, you can send your affiliates their earnings through Venmo, PayPal, as well as cheques.
What we also have to add about SamCart is that the real affiliate management features are only available with the bigger plans, such as the Scale and the Enterprise ones. To give you an idea of how much that costs, the Scale is priced at $199/month.
Post Affiliate Pro
If you run an eCommerce business and you’re looking for software to track your affiliates specifically for that, Post Affiliate Pro should be right up your alley. Off the bat, it excels when it comes to integration since it works with more than 160 tools, whether that be content management systems or payment options.
It integrates with anything from Shopify and PayPal to WordPress or Stripe. As for the features themselves, you can do anything from tracking your affiliates’ performance and commissions to actually making payments.
While everything about it sounds nice, Post Affiliate Pro is considerably less affordable when compared to other choices since the lowest plan starts at $97 per month. There is a free trial lasting for two weeks, although you’ll quickly find that the features are very limited for that.
Rewardful
This one combines the best of all worlds for people who are looking to get in touch with potential affiliates and then manage them as smoothly as possible. And that’s because Rewardful comes with its own search engine designed for discovering people who use affiliate marketing in specific niches.
Also, the software makes it possible for you to create links including for A/B testing. Other than that, you can use Rewardful for pretty much anything from processing payments to handling various types of commissions, whether they be recurring or not.
The Affiliate Finder feature that we have previously mentioned is only available with the most expensive plan, the Enterprise, which can set you back $299 per month. The lowest one costs $29 per month and you can also try Rewardful for a whole month before having to pay for anything.
Purply
When it comes to affiliate management software, Purply should probably show up on your list and the reason for that is that it’s extremely easy to use, even for someone who hasn’t resorted to affiliate marketing before.
The interface is clean and well-designed and it shows you all the stats you need to better promote your products. It also supports most other networks and tools and you can benefit from excellent customer service, too.
If you’re feeling wary about giving it a shot, you will be glad to know that there is a 7-day trial available. After that, the plans start at $99 per month.
Grovia
If you don’t think that your products or services are so well-known yet, you may want to reach out to bloggers or digital marketers and convince them to promote them — so that’s where Grovia comes in and makes it easy to find affiliates to work with.
It’s a little different from some of the other choices that we have showcased in our article, in that it is more geared toward affiliate discovery rather than managing those affiliates. That means that you will still need a separate tracking system for commissions and payments, which can be a nuisance.
Even so, the fact that it is free to try makes things a bit better. The pricing remains a mystery since if you want more features, you will have to request a quote.
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Craig Campbell
I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years.
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