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CJ Affiliate vs impact.com

CJ Affiliate and impact.com are both affiliate & referral programs tools. CJ Affiliate is aimed at E-commerce and enterprise, while impact.com is aimed at enterprise. Only CJ Affiliate has a free plan.

CJ Affiliate

Large affiliate network connecting brands with publishers and creators

impact.com

Partnership management for enterprise brands

PricingPaidPaid · $30
Starting priceNot published$30/mo
Free planYesNo
Free trial——
Built forE-commerce, Enterprise, CreatorsEnterprise
Platformswebweb
CountryUS · 1998US · 2008
Rating——

Choose CJ Affiliate if

Mid-sized and enterprise brands that want an established affiliate network with managed services and detailed reporting.

  • Access to one of the largest established publisher networks
  • Strong presence with major retail, travel and finance publishers
  • Detailed reporting on customer type and incrementality

Look elsewhere if: Small stores or SaaS startups that want self-serve, flat-priced referral tools (Refersion, PartnerStack, Rewardful).

Choose impact.com if

Enterprises and fast-growing brands with large partner programs.

  • Enterprise-grade
  • Large partner network
  • All partnership types

Look elsewhere if: Small SaaS (Rewardful, Tolt).

CJ Affiliate vs impact.com pricing

CJ Affiliate

  • AdvertiserCustomPublisher commissions plus network fees set per contract
  • Publisher$0Free to join; earn commissions from approved brand programs

impact.com

  • Starter$30/moPlus 2.5% of revenue; self-serve
  • Essentials$500/moUp to $2M/yr ecommerce revenue; $2,500 payouts
  • Pro$2,500/mo$2M-$15M/yr revenue; $14,300 payouts incl.
  • Enterprise$10,000/mo$15M+/yr revenue; $82,500 payouts incl.

CJ Affiliate · Key features

  • Universal Tag tracking with item-level and cookieless measurement
  • Turnkey ecommerce plugins and tag manager integrations
  • Publisher discovery and recruitment across a large network
  • Situational commissioning by customer type, product or channel
  • Insights reporting on new, lapsed and returning customers
  • Compliance monitoring with a violation tracking dashboard

Cons

  • No public pricing; fees and minimums are negotiated
  • Network fees add a meaningful cost on top of commissions
  • Too heavy and costly for small or early-stage stores

impact.com · Key features

  • Partner discovery marketplace
  • Contracting and onboarding
  • Tracking and attribution
  • Fraud protection
  • Global payments
  • Influencer and referral programs

Cons

  • Complex
  • Expensive at higher tiers
  • Implementation effort

CJ Affiliate vs impact.com: FAQ

Do CJ Affiliate and impact.com have a free plan?

CJ Affiliate has a free plan. impact.com has no free plan.

Not sure yet?