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AfterShip vs Refersion

AfterShip and Refersion are both E-commerce tools aimed at E-commerce and small businesses. AfterShip costs less, from $29/mo versus $39/mo for Refersion. Both have a free plan.

AfterShip

Shipment tracking, returns and post-purchase suite for online stores

Refersion

Affiliate and influencer program software for Shopify and DTC brands

PricingFreemium · $29Paid · $39
Starting price$29/mo$39/mo
Free planYesYes
Free trial7 days—
Built forE-commerce, Small businesses, EnterpriseE-commerce, Small businesses
Platformsweb, ios, androidweb
Country—US
Rating——

Choose AfterShip if

Shopify and multi-channel ecommerce brands shipping thousands of orders a year that want branded tracking and fewer support tickets.

  • Very wide carrier coverage for cross-border sellers
  • Measurably cuts where-is-my-order support tickets
  • Deep Shopify integration with a free starter app plan

Look elsewhere if: Merchants mainly looking for discounted shipping labels (Shippo, ShipStation) or an all-in-one EU shipping tool (Sendcloud).

Choose Refersion if

DTC ecommerce brands on Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce that want to run an affiliate and influencer program with accurate first-party tracking.

  • Purpose-built for ecommerce rather than SaaS referral programs
  • Cookieless first-party tracking holds up against browser restrictions
  • Unlimited affiliates, clicks and conversions on every paid plan

Look elsewhere if: B2B SaaS partner programs or simple customer referral loops (PartnerStack, ReferralCandy, FirstPromoter).

AfterShip vs Refersion pricing

AfterShip

  • Free (Shopify app)$0Shopify App Store plan with 50 shipments a month
  • Tracking Essentials$35/mo$29/mo billed yearly; 6,000 shipments/yr, $0.08 overage
  • Tracking Premium$70/mo$59/mo billed yearly; 6,000 shipments/yr, API and webhooks
  • EnterpriseCustomCustom volumes, SLAs and support

Refersion

  • Marketplace Listing$0Public listing only; tracking and payouts need a paid plan
  • Launch$39/mo$29/mo billed yearly; plus 3% of affiliate-driven sales
  • Growth$199/mo$159/mo billed yearly; plus 2% of sales; API access
  • ScaleCustomFlat monthly fee, white-glove onboarding, Slack channel

AfterShip · Key features

  • Branded tracking pages with product recommendations
  • Email and SMS delivery notifications across 1,300+ carriers
  • AI-predicted estimated delivery dates on product and checkout pages
  • Self-serve returns and exchanges portal (AfterShip Returns)
  • Shipping labels and rate comparison (AfterShip Shipping)
  • Shipping protection priced per declared order value

Cons

  • Pricing differs between direct site and Shopify App Store
  • API access requires Premium, not Essentials
  • Overage fees per shipment add up during peak season

Refersion · Key features

  • First-party tracking domain attribution without third-party cookies or redirects
  • Affiliate marketplace where creators discover and apply to brand offers
  • Branded affiliate registration pages and recruitment tools
  • Commission rules by product, customer email, subscription or new customers
  • One-click affiliate payouts including PayPal, with tax form collection
  • Multi-store management and API access on the Growth plan

Cons

  • Percentage of affiliate sales on top of the subscription adds up
  • API access and advanced commissions start at $199 per month
  • No published free trial for the paid plans

AfterShip vs Refersion: FAQ

Which is cheaper, AfterShip or Refersion?

AfterShip starts at $29/mo and Refersion at $39/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.

Do AfterShip and Refersion have a free plan?

Yes, both AfterShip and Refersion have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Not sure yet?