Refersion vs UpPromote Comparison 2026
Refersion is free to list on its marketplace, then Launch is $39 a month plus 3 percent of affiliate-driven sales, aimed at ecommerce brands generally. UpPromote installs directly into a Shopify store, free until referral review passes $3,000 a month, then Growth at $29.99 plus 2 percent, cheaper than Refersion's Launch plan at every sales level. UpPromote is built for Shopify specifically, and its own listing sends anybody selling elsewhere to Refersion or Tapfiliate instead.
Affiliate programs for ecommerce brands
Affiliate marketing built for Shopify stores
At a glance
- UpPromote starts cheaper, at $29.99.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
- UpPromote takes 2% of what you earn against Refersion's 3%.
Side by side
Refersion | UpPromote | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $39 | From $29.99 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Yes |
Refersion
Affiliate programs for ecommerce brands
Refersion tracks affiliate sales first-party, without a third-party cookie, which is what keeps attribution working now that browsers throw those away. Its marketplace is the other half: affiliates browse offers and apply, so a new program is not starting from an empty list. Pricing charges a percentage of affiliate-driven sales on top of the monthly fee, and that percentage falls as the plan gets dearer.
Our note
The percentage on top is what separates this from Tapfiliate's flat pricing. A program doing $20,000 a month through affiliates pays around $640 here and $89 there, so Refersion has to win on the marketplace to be worth it.
Only on this side
- Covers monetization & payments
UpPromote
Affiliate marketing built for Shopify stores
UpPromote installs into a Shopify store and turns customers into affiliates without anybody writing tracking code. Recruitment forms, coupon-based attribution and automated payouts all sit inside the admin a merchant already uses. The performance fee on top of the monthly price means a program that works costs more, which is either fair or annoying depending on the month.
Why people weigh these two
- UpPromote instead of Refersion
- UpPromote is built for Shopify stores from $30 with a free tier, the closest fit for the same ecommerce buyer.
- Refersion instead of UpPromote
- Refersion runs affiliate programs for ecommerce brands, from $39 with a free tier, the same buyer outside Shopify alone.
Which one should you pick
Choose Refersion if the store is not on Shopify, or if the marketplace of affiliates already browsing for offers matters more than a lower percentage: Launch is $39 a month plus 3 percent of affiliate-driven sales, with first-party tracking that keeps working in Safari. It is not tied to one platform, which is the reason to be here rather than at UpPromote once the storefront is somewhere else.
Choose UpPromote if the store is on Shopify and you want an affiliate program running this week: free covers one program and $3,000 of referral review a month, and Growth at $29.99 plus 2 percent undercuts Refersion's Launch plan at every level of sales, since both the base fee and the percentage are lower. Its own listing is direct that anybody selling outside Shopify should look at Tapfiliate or Refersion instead, since the whole product assumes that admin.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper, Refersion or UpPromote?
- UpPromote's Growth plan, at every sales level: $29.99 a month plus 2 percent beats Refersion's Launch plan at $39 plus 3 percent, since both the base fee and the percentage are lower. UpPromote only works on Shopify, though, which is where the comparison stops applying.
- Does UpPromote work outside Shopify, like Refersion does?
- No, its own listing says plainly that anybody selling somewhere else should look at Tapfiliate or Refersion instead. UpPromote installs directly into the Shopify admin and is not built for other storefronts.
- Which one has a marketplace of affiliates who apply on their own?
- Refersion does, with a free marketplace listing that puts an offer in front of affiliates already browsing for one. UpPromote's free plan covers recruitment forms and tracking inside Shopify but does not describe an equivalent outside marketplace.
- Is there a free option for either?
- UpPromote's free plan covers one program and $3,000 of referral review a month with real limits. Refersion's free option is a marketplace listing only, with no tracking attached until a paid plan starts.
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.