AfterShip vs ReferralCandy

AfterShip is a post-purchase platform for ecommerce brands, started in Hong Kong around 2011 to 2012 by Teddy Chan, Andrew Chan and Dante Tsang after Teddy built a script to cut where-is-my-order emails in his own store. It raised a $66M Series B led by Tiger Global in 2021. Its core job is keeping shoppers informed after checkout and reducing support tickets about deliveries, returns and delays.

The suite is sold as separate products: Tracking (branded tracking pages, delivery notifications, estimated delivery dates and analytics across 1,300+ carriers), Returns (self-serve returns and exchanges), Shipping (label printing and rate comparison), Protection (shipping insurance), plus personalization and warranty tools. AI features and an MCP server give assistants read access to shipment and return data. Each product has its own tiers, and the Shopify App Store versions are priced differently from direct plans.

AfterShip fits Shopify, BigCommerce and WooCommerce brands that ship thousands of orders a year and want to turn tracking emails and pages into a marketing channel. Brands mainly needing cheap labels should look at Shippo, Easyship or ShipStation, and EU merchants often pick Sendcloud.

Buying tip: in mid-2026 AfterShip cut its direct Tracking plans from four to three, renamed Pro to Premium at $59 a month billed yearly, and moved to annual shipment quotas (6,000 a year on both paid tiers). API and webhooks start on Premium. On Shopify, compare the app's own plans, which include a free tier for 50 shipments a month.

ReferralCandy is a customer referral platform for online stores, founded in Singapore. Its idea is simple: after a purchase, customers receive a personal referral link, friends who use it get a discount, and the referrer earns a reward such as cash, store credit or a discount code once the friend buys.

The platform automates the whole loop. Post-purchase emails and on-site widgets invite customers to share, a referral portal tracks their progress, and fraud detection blocks self-referrals and suspicious orders. Reward rules can be customized by amount, type and conditions, and analytics show referral revenue, top advocates and campaign performance. It integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix and email tools such as Klaviyo and Mailchimp. Pricing combines a monthly subscription with a commission on sales generated through referrals, and there is a free trial.

ReferralCandy fits direct-to-consumer brands with repeat customers and products people like to recommend, such as beauty, fashion, food and subscription boxes. The commission on referral sales adds up as programs succeed, customization is basic, and it is not meant for SaaS or B2B. Friendbuy and Yotpo offer richer loyalty and referral suites for larger brands, Smile.io focuses on points-based loyalty, and SaaS companies are better served by Rewardful or PartnerStack. Turkish stores on local platforms should check integration support before committing.