CJ Affiliate vs Refersion
CJ Affiliate and Refersion are both affiliate & referral programs tools. CJ Affiliate is aimed at E-commerce and enterprise, while Refersion is aimed at E-commerce and small businesses. Both have a free plan.
Large affiliate network connecting brands with publishers and creators
Affiliate and influencer program software for Shopify and DTC brands
| Pricing | Paid | Paid · $39 |
| Starting price | Not published | $39/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | E-commerce, Enterprise, Creators | E-commerce, Small businesses |
| Platforms | web | web |
| Country | US · 1998 | US |
| 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 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).
CJ Affiliate vs Refersion pricing
CJ Affiliate
- AdvertiserCustomPublisher commissions plus network fees set per contract
- Publisher$0Free to join; earn commissions from approved brand programs
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
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
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
CJ Affiliate vs Refersion: FAQ
Do CJ Affiliate and Refersion have a free plan?
Yes, both CJ Affiliate and Refersion have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.
Which is better for small businesses, CJ Affiliate or Refersion?
Refersion lists small businesses as a core audience, while CJ Affiliate is aimed more at E-commerce and enterprise.