FirstPromoter vs Tapfiliate

FirstPromoter is affiliate and referral management software built specifically for SaaS and other subscription businesses. Its main job is to attribute signups and payments to affiliates or referring customers and calculate recurring commissions correctly over the life of a subscription, including upgrades, downgrades, refunds and cancellations.

It integrates directly with billing systems such as Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree, and offers a JavaScript tracking script and API for custom setups. Program managers can run several campaigns with different commission rules, tiered and multi-level rewards, coupons tied to affiliates, fraud detection for self-referrals and suspicious traffic, branded affiliate portals and payout management via PayPal or bulk files. Plans are priced by the referral revenue tracked each month, so cost grows with program success, and some extras cost more.

FirstPromoter suits subscription companies whose billing is not only Stripe or that need nuanced commission logic. It does not give you a marketplace of affiliates to recruit from, so you bring your own partners. Rewardful is simpler and popular with Stripe-only startups, Tolt is a newer low-cost option, and PartnerStack or Impact fit larger partner ecosystems with discovery and enterprise contracts. The interface is functional rather than modern, but tracking depth is the reason teams choose it.

Tapfiliate is cloud affiliate tracking and management software founded in 2014 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and acquired by the affiliate network Admitad in February 2021. It lets SaaS and e-commerce businesses run their own affiliate, referral and influencer programs: tracking clicks and conversions, calculating commissions and giving partners a branded portal.

Tracking works through a JavaScript snippet, REST API, postback pixels and coupon codes, so partners can earn even when no click happens. Commissions can be percentage, fixed, tiered, recurring, lifetime or multi-level. Programs get a white-label portal on a custom domain, an in-app messenger, automation for approvals and payouts, and an offers marketplace. Native integrations cover Stripe, Shopify, WooCommerce, Paddle, BigCommerce and Wix, with Zapier for the rest. Plans are Launch, Scale and Enterprise, priced by monthly clicks and conversions.

Tapfiliate fits online stores and SaaS companies that want more flexibility than a Stripe-only referral tool, such as coupon tracking or multi-level commissions. It costs more than SaaS-focused tools, Launch caps you at 50 affiliates, and overages add up for high-traffic programs. Rewardful and FirstPromoter are simpler for Stripe-billed SaaS, and PartnerStack adds a B2B partner marketplace for larger budgets.

Check usage limits closely: Launch ($89 a month, or $74 billed annually) includes 5,000 clicks and 500 conversions a month, with overages of $1.50 per 1,000 clicks and $15 per 1,000 conversions.