Awin vs Genius Referrals Comparison 2026
Both cover affiliate & referral. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
The affiliate network ShareASale merged into
Referral programs priced per advocate
At a glance
- Awin starts cheaper, at $49.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Awin | Genius Referrals | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $49 | From $71 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free trial, then paid |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | Web | Web |
| Covers | Affiliate & Referral, Brand Deals & Sponsorships |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Awin
The affiliate network ShareASale merged into
Awin is a global affiliate network on both sides: publishers join to find programmes to promote, and brands pay to run one. ShareASale is now part of it, so a creator who had an account there arrives here. What separates it from affiliate software is that the network handles recruiting, tracking and payment across thousands of merchants at once, rather than running one brand's programme. Advertisers pay a monthly fee plus a percentage of each tracked transaction.
Our note
Read this page as a brand and the publisher page as a creator, because the two sides of a network are priced nothing alike and only one of them is quoted here. If you arrived looking for ShareASale, this is where it went.
Only on this side
- Covers brand deals & sponsorships
Genius Referrals
Referral programs priced per advocate
Genius Referrals runs customer referral schemes rather than affiliate marketing, which is a different job: the people doing the referring are buyers rather than publishers, and the rewards go both ways. Plans are metered on new advocates a month with a stated overage rather than a cliff, so a good month costs a known amount. Payout automation is an add-on rather than a tier. Existing advocates are not counted twice, which the page states, and that is what stops the meter running on people who joined last year.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.