A Guide to Affiliate Tracking Software Comparison

About 81% of brands have affiliate programs for more sales and exposure — but how do you track all that revenue (or lack thereof) coming in? Affiliate tracking software is the fastest way to see your affiliate program performance from all angles so you can improve it over time. 

Question is: how do you pick the right affiliate marketing software for your business? You’ll have to compare your options — and they’re vast, in terms of features, pricing, data, communication, and more. 

We’ll walk you through Tapfiliate’s process to compare affiliate marketing platforms to find you the best fit to manage your program and skyrocket affiliate sales and revenue.

How do you Compare Affiliate Tracking Software?

Most of our clients here at Tapfiliate use our platform for real-time analytics to generate insights that will improve affiliate campaign performance. Doesn’t every platform have that? Perhaps, but the data, metrics, and filterability available might differ. Plus, data isn’t the only thing affiliate software offers. 

The best place to start? Your business niche — then, business needs. Here’s a few vital comparisons to make to decide on an affiliate marketing platform that’ll best serve your business: 

1. Assess niche specialties

Are you an ecommerce makeup brand? Then, it might not make sense to choose an affiliate software company that specializes in solely course-based businesses. Try to find affiliate software that serves businesses similar to yours. PS: Tapfiliate specializes in affiliate tracking for ecommerce, SaaS, dropshipping, and subscription-based businesses. 

2. Look for the most relevant features to your business needs

Dozens of affiliate software boast endless features, but they won’t mean much if you can’t monetize or take advantage of them for your business. Features speak directly to your business needs. Need a software that can generate and disperse promotional materials to your affiliates in one place? That should be a feature. 

Other features you can look for include: 

• Real-time reporting: What data does the software collect on your affiliate performance and audience? Can you see which affiliates, channels, or time periods bring in the most affiliate revenue? Reporting features should give you historical data to help you assess progress and make tweaks where necessary.

• Affiliate dashboards: Data is one thing, but you can’t do much with it if your team can’t understand it. Software for affiliate marketing should have dashboards to give you bird’s eye views and actionable insights on your data. 

• Commissions and bonus flexibility: You might want to engage high-performing affiliates with increased commission rates or bonuses. Some affiliate software (like Tapfiliate) offer flexible commission structures to optimize engagement and performance

• Communication: How can you reach your affiliates? Can you inform them of important updates, notify them about increased commissions, or simply write messages to them on the platform? Communication methods across different platforms vary, and some businesses  might prefer more robust options. Tapfiliate offers in-platform communication to help you converse one-on-one and enhance relationships with affiliates. 

Keep in mind, also, that simply having one or more of these features doesn’t guarantee that a software is the right fit for your business. It’s also vital to look at the level of sophistication for all of these features and to envision how far you can take them. For example, real-time reporting might be a great feature. But if a platform only lets you report in one-month intervals without comparing long-term performance? That could be a downside. 

3. Consider integrations 

Integrations help you connect an affiliate marketing tracking software to other pieces of software you use in your business. Let’s say you have a heavy reliance on email marketing across across the entire breadth of your marketing efforts. You might use an email marketing platform like Mailchimp to gather detailed insights and real-time metrics about your performance. If that’s the case, you should look for a software that integrates with Mailchimp. Other desirable integrations include for payment processing apps like PayPal, customer relationship management (CRM) software like Hubspot, and course creation software like Teachable. 

Psssst. Tapfiliate has integrations to all the above in its 30+ direct integrations. 

But direct integrations aren’t always available for every platform. In that case, look for software that offer custom integrations via developer efforts and code or APIs. 

4. Determine your scalability needs

Are you a well-established affiliate program? Your top goal for a software might not be growth for your affiliate program; instead, you might look for software with robust management features to simply help you smooth out business operations. 

But if you have big growth goals and want to expand your program? You better make sure your affiliate tracking software can keep up. Scalability refers to how effective a software can adapt to a growing affiliate program’s new performance and tracking needs. For example, Tapfiliate’s tiered subscriptions allow for increased tracking capabilities for clicks and conversions as you move up our tiers. Similarly, some software offer access to an affiliate marketplace to help you recruit more affiliate programs. 

5. Figure out your budget and ideal price point 

You’d think pricing would be consistent for these online tools, but that’s far from the truth. You can pay anywhere from $80 to $8,000+ for an affiliate tracking software. Crazy, right? The numbers in between depend on the tier you choose, features you add on, and sometimes, it’s simply the specialized features of a software that can bring costs higher. For example, Partnerstack is a notoriously expensive affiliate management platform, but it might be worth it for brands who value robust courses and training for affiliates on their platform. 

Additionally, you should check if a monthly fee is really all you’ll be paying, or if the software has hidden fees. For example, you might have a $100 subscription that covers up to 500 tracked conversions, and charges $0.50 per every conversion after 500. And if you have 1,000 extra conversions? That’s an easy $500 more per month. See the dilemma? 

Still, cost isn’t the only thing to consider when comparing software. If a costlier plan or software gives you a functionality that directly translates to business value, then you should make room for it in your budget. 

6. Peruse for user reviews

Most websites for affiliate software solutions feature case studies and testimonials from their happy clients. But guess what? They’re not going to feature the unhappy customer experiences on their website, right? That’s why you need to check more objective review sites like Capterra or G2 for honest reviews about each platform. Don’t write off a software for one or two bad reviews — but if you feel the reviewer had business needs similar to yours that weren’t met? You might reconsider that particular software. 

7. Try it out

Finished all the above steps? OK, it’s safe to say you’ve definitely done your research. But theory is often different from practice. So, to see all the features, scalability, integrations, and niche specialties of a software in practice? You’ll need to actually try the software through a trial period or demo. This is the most important part of our comparison process because oftentimes, you’ll learn so much more about a platform with a trial than through reading about it online. 

Questions to ask Yourself When Comparing Affiliate Software

We’ve covered your initial comparison steps — but the devil’s in the details. Here are a few questions to expand your comparison and help you find the best affiliate marketing software solutions for your business: 

1. Does this software support the commission structures relevant to my business model?

Earlier, we mentioned performance-based commission increases and bonuses to engage affiliates. But a software’s commission model itself might not work for every business. Let’s say you have a software with solely one-time commissions. Does that make sense for your online course subscription? Similarly, what if an affiliate brings you a super high-ticket customer base that keeps buying? In that case, lifetime commissions would keep them working to find you more conversions. 

2. How user-friendly is the interface for both administrators and affiliates?

The best software won’t enhance your affiliate marketing campaigns if you don’t know how to use it. That’s why an intuitive interface is so important for both your team and affiliates. Look for software that’s easy to navigate and get from point A to B. Make sure all the features listed are easily accessed when you try the free trial. 

3. What types of tracking technologies does the software employ, and are they reliable?

4. What is the level of customer support provided, and are there any additional costs for premium support services?

Excellent customer service can be the difference between a happy affiliate or a lost high-performer. If you have an issue with affiliate payments, the software’s service team should be able to rectify it ASAP. Otherwise, you’ll lose trust with your affiliates. Similarly, customer service is also a component of smooth business operations. You can’t work as efficiently when you’re waiting ages to reach someone. 

Many software’s guarantee a response within a set period of time, like 24 hours or 2 business days. If that doesn’t feel adequate enough, look for companies that offer premium support (like Tapfiliate). 

5. What are the security features, and how does the software comply with data protection regulations?

Affiliate fraud can cost you thousands of dollars if undetected. Malignant affiliate marketers could pretend to get you traffic from fraudulent referral links or their own IP addresses. The best software helps identify signs of fraud so you can protect your revenue. Additionally, security features include data privacy and encryption, which helps you protect data and maintain trusting, strong relationships with your customers and affiliates. 

6. What are the analytical capabilities, and can I generate customizable reports?

Every software probably offers reporting as one of its key features, but the analytics aren’t always deep enough to be relevant to your business. Advanced analytics should offer more customization and filters to help you access real-time data that’s more important to your performance. For example, Tapfiliate’s customizable reports let you go granular to compare conversion tracking across multiple affiliates, time periods, environments, promotions, assets, and channels.

Comparison criteria? Locked in. Let’s apply them to some of the market’s most popular affiliate programs. 

What Software is Best For Affiliate Marketing?

The affiliate market is vast, with so many different businesses leveraging affiliates to grow their sales. When you have different sizes, niches, and goals for businesses, software companies act accordingly with an array of specializations and options. 

Let’s look at a few of those software options:

Tapfiliate

Tapfiliate is an affordable, scalable affiliate marketing software with real-time campaign tracking, integration capabilities, and convenient communication between brands and affiliates. Our robust reporting gives you all the metrics and data you need to inform your marketing strategy, with filtrable views and custom metadata fields. Plus, Tapfiliate has an automated referral program to help you grow your business and sales with your existing customers. 

Pros:

• Scalable with automated referral program and referral links
• Accessible for people without a tech background
• Extreme customization potential for analytics and reports
• In-platform communication
• Accurate tracking
• Workflow automation via Zapier integration
• Affordable for new businesses but adaptable to enterprise plans as well

Cons:

• Can be a learning curve if you aren’t familiar with affiliate marketing

Post Affiliate Pro

Post Affiliate Pro is an affiliate platform that stands out for its diverse tracking capabilities (pixel, S2S, impressions, IP referrals, etc.) and many integrations. The platform also has comprehensive reporting and creative asset potential with its in-app banners and social media post editors. However, reviews tend to lament the platform’s more expensive price tag and steep learning curve.

Pros: 

• Over 200 integrations
• Advanced analytics, including trend reports and map overlays
• Solid customer support

Cons: 

• No Zapier integration
• Steep learning curve
• Expensive

AffiliateWP

AffiliateWP is a popular WordPress plugin that offers solid reporting and automation features for in-person and online businesses with WordPress websites. Unfortunately, we’ve noticed a couple of reviews that cite inconsistency in its tracking. Additionally, the most valuable features like flexible commission structures, recurring commissions, and vanity coupon codes are only available on the most expensive subscription tier. 

Pros:

• Fraud detection features
• 1-click payouts
• Coupon codes

Cons:

• Only relevant to businesses with a WordPress website

GoAffPro

GoAffPro is an affiliate software for ecommerce businesses that supports integration with ecommerce platforms like BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Its tracking capabilities are extensive, recording data from simple customer website visits to full-on conversions. 

Additionally, GoAffPro is a combined vendor and affiliate platform where each party can expand their business and find each other. The only con? You can’t use this platform unless you’re an ecommerce business, so SaaS, in-person, dropshipping, and other types of businesses will have to look elsewhere. 

Pros:

• Affiliate networks for both affiliates and vendors to find each other
• Specialized ecommerce business features
• Branded affiliate portal

Cons:

• Not relevant to any businesses that aren’t on an ecommerce model

Social Snowball

Social Snowball is an affiliate marketing platform that offers revenue attribution, custom reports, and product seeding (actions for specific products) for ecommerce businesses that use Shopify. Its most prominent customer base is ecommerce businesses with influencer affiliates. 

The platform also offers an option to send out affiliate invitations and notifications by email address, but some reviews cite disappointment with the lack of customization. 

Pros:

• Specializes in influencer affiliate marketing
• Advanced reporting data based on individual products for ecommerce businesses
• Shareable social media posts

Cons:

• Irrelevant to brands who don’t use Shopify

Tune

Tune is an affiliate tracking platform with a prominent client base of businesses in the financial industry, as well as subscription-based businesses. The software has solid security features like GDPR compliance and verified payments, as well as customizable commission payouts. The interface isn’t as user-friendly as some of the others on this list, with some customers complaining online about a lack of intuitiveness. It’s also very expensive with starter subscriptions priced at $599 per month. 

Pros:

• Experienced with scalable, large affiliate programs 
• Reliable uptime and accurate tracking
• Premium customer service

Cons:

• Not user-friendly
• Expensive

FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is an affordable affiliate software with plans starting at $49 per month. It offers a wide range of features, like flexible commissions, promo code tracking, and fraud detection. However, the platform does fall short with a lack of promotional materials and shareable social media posts to engage affiliates. 

Pros:

• White-labeled affiliate onboarding
• Extensive tracking capabilities

Cons:

• No option to create or share social media materials
• Limited languages and currencies

Get Started Today

Bottom line? Not all affiliate tracking platforms are equal, especially when you consider your unique business niche, needs, and budget. The right software can keep your affiliate or referral program stagnant — or bring it to new heights. 

Bookmark this comparison article as a reference as you continue to assess the best affiliate tech for your business.

Want to get started with one worthy contender? Tapfiliate is an affordable, robust affiliate tracking software that serves hundreds of diverse businesses, with accessible features like branded materials, flexible commissions, and real-time reporting. Our laser-sharp real-time tracking system gives you insider access into absolutely every aspect of your affiliate revenue. 

Chrissy Kapralos

Chrissy Kapralos runs a Toronto-based writing agency called No Worries Writing Co. She’s passionate about helping businesses communicate and share their stories. When she isn’t writing about the latest tech and marketing content, you’ll find her traveling, cooking, or watching horror movies.