Total cost, not list price
Platform fee, percent of revenue, payout fees and seat limits are recorded separately, so you can compare what a program really costs.
Documented facts, not a quality ranking. Pricing and rights depend on the selected plan.
| Decision criteria | ReferralHero | AffiliateWP |
|---|---|---|
| Consider for | Brands needing gamified referral acquisition, viral waitlists, contest campaigns, customer advocacy or a flexible branded refer-a-friend funnel. | WordPress stores that want to run an affiliate program within their own installation and need WooCommerce product attribution. |
| Paid entry / monthly | Not verified | Not verified |
| Billing detail | Official pricing routes currently show conflicting versions. Newer /pricing route lists Basic $249/month and Pro $399/month, both with seven-day trials; an older rendering lists Pro $199 and a branded 25-subscriber free tier. Confirm latest account pricing directly. | The live pricing page lists introductory first-year ANNUAL licenses: Personal $149.50 (normal $299/year), Plus $199.50 (normal $399/year), Pro $299.50 (normal $599/year). Do not interpret these as monthly rates; promotions and renewal prices differ. |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free plan detail | A legacy pricing version advertises a free branded 25-subscriber tier. A more recent pricing version advertises paid Basic and Pro with seven-day trials and does not show the same permanent free tier. Do not assume free merchant access is currently available. | No free version and no free trial; vendor lists a 14-day refund guarantee for new purchases. |
| Commissions | One- or two-sided referral incentives may be issued as cash, gift cards, donations and promotions. Unlike SaaS commission software, the product's core focus includes referrals, waitlists, contests and customer advocacy rather than a fixed Stripe recurring-invoice commission system. | Percentage or fixed commissions for eligible WordPress checkouts; recurring, lifetime and tiered/multi-tier commission workflows are Pro-level features. Validate plugin-level support for refunds and renewals. |
| Tracking method | Referral links, campaign signup and attribution, fraud algorithms, automated emails and audience/member limits. Recent pricing highlights AI insights and self-service campaign builder; mobile SDK access is indicated under Pro with annual-plan restrictions. | WordPress referral links, coupon codes, WooCommerce order attribution and site-owned affiliate dashboard; not a direct integration with Paddle Billing subscriptions. |
| Payouts | The newer official offer advertises reward distribution with processing fees from 2.5% plus $0.50 and SMS charges separately. Budget the actual reward cost, payment provider fees and subscriber volume beyond base subscription. | Current AffiliateWP documentation lists Stripe, PayPal, store credit and manual payout methods. The former AffiliateWP Payouts Service was retired on 30 September 2026; the vendor directs merchants to Stripe for bank payouts. Confirm country eligibility, processor fees and account requirements before promising a payout route. |
| Integrations | ReferralHero offers campaign sharing widgets, email/SMS marketing, integrations and APIs. A recent product page lists more than 500 integrations on Pro. Confirm exact ESP, CRM, ecommerce or SDK version required. | WordPress and WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads and supported membership/course/form plugins. Other hosted ecommerce platforms require a different tool. |
| API available | Yes | No |
| Consider the limitation | Founders seeking unambiguous public pricing or a direct lifetime SaaS subscription affiliate payout ledger without campaign setup. | Shopify-only merchants and buyers expecting the advanced Pro commission options on the cheapest annual license. |
| Sources checked | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-09 |
| Check the source | ||
| Next step | Visit ReferralHero ↗ | Visit AffiliateWP ↗ |
Platform fee, percent of revenue, payout fees and seat limits are recorded separately, so you can compare what a program really costs.
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