Best affiliate software for Stripe in 2026, compared on setup, refunds and price
Six tools that connect to Stripe, weighed on setup work, refund and dispute handling, and plan limits, with entry plans from $0 to $69 a month in October 2026.
Muzahid Maruf, FounderUpdated
On this page
- 01What does Stripe give an affiliate tool to work with?
- 02How do affiliate tools for Stripe compare on price and plan limits?
- 03How does each tool connect to Stripe and receive the referral?
- 04Which six tools connect to Stripe, and how?
- 05How do partners get paid?
- 06What does a $9,000-a-month program cost on each plan?
- 07How do refunds, disputes and the hold period work?
- 08Which test should you run before paying a partner?
- 09Which tool fits which program?
Explore with AI
Opens this article inside the chosen assistant with a ready-made prompt.
The best affiliate software for Stripe is a short list of 6 tools: TrackRev, Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt, PromoteKit and Affonso.
TrackRev reads 6 billing systems, against 5 for FirstPromoter and Affonso, and it is the one that also compares partner revenue with other channels. PromoteKit and Affonso have the lowest entry prices.
Entry plans run from PromoteKit's free tier (3 referrals) to $69 a month at Tolt, and most vendors cap a different number, so a $9,000-a-month program lands on a $29 plan at one vendor and a $99 plan at another.
We built TrackRev for exactly this: affiliate software for indie hackers and small SaaS teams, with link tracking and revenue attribution built in, 0% fees and no limit on tracked revenue from $29 a month.
Key takeaways
- Stripe ships no affiliate features, so what separates these tools is how the referral ID reaches the charge and which Stripe events they act on.
- Entry prices: $0 for PromoteKit's 3 referrals, $19 monthly for Affonso, $29 for TrackRev, $49 for Rewardful and FirstPromoter, and $69 for Tolt.
- A $9,000-a-month program at a 30% payout costs $29 to $99 a month depending on the vendor, because most vendors cap referred revenue while TrackRev caps nothing.
- Dispute handling differs most: FirstPromoter documents it by Stripe event, Affonso lists it on every plan, and TrackRev does not subscribe to dispute events.
- Hold payouts at least as long as your refund window, and test each tool with Stripe's 4242 4242 4242 4242 and 4000 0000 0000 0259 cards first.
What does Stripe give an affiliate tool to work with?
Stripe is a payment platform with no affiliate links, partner portals or commission rules, so all 6 tools here build on the Stripe API.
The referral rides on a Checkout Session's client_reference_id, on metadata your server writes, or on a promo code read off the charge.
Payment Links accept client_reference_id as a URL parameter of up to 200 characters, returned in the checkout.session.completed webhook (Stripe's Payment Links documentation).
On the event side, charge.refunded fires for every refund, partial ones included, and charge.dispute.created fires when a customer disputes a charge (Stripe's event types), so a tool that listens only for refunds never hears about a lost chargeback.
Stripe retries a failed webhook for up to 3 days in live mode and warns against relying on event order (Stripe's webhook documentation), so a tool should re-read the charge after each event.
| Stripe event | What the affiliate tool should do |
|---|---|
checkout.session.completed | Create the referral and first commission from the referral ID or metadata |
invoice.paid | Add a commission for each subscription renewal |
charge.refunded | Cut or void the commission |
charge.dispute.created | Hold the commission |
charge.dispute.closed | Release it if the dispute is won, remove it if lost |
Event names are from Stripe's API reference. The right-hand column is my recommendation.
How do affiliate tools for Stripe compare on price and plan limits?
Plan limits decide the bill more than the $0 to $69 entry price does. TrackRev caps neither revenue nor commission, while Rewardful, FirstPromoter, PromoteKit and Affonso cap the revenue your affiliates generate in a month.
Tolt's page says "earned from affiliates" without defining the term. Per each vendor's pricing page in October 2026, 5 of the 6 tools set a monthly limit.
| Tool | Entry price | What the entry plan caps | Next plan up | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrackRev | $29 | Nothing; no cap on revenue or commission | Growth, $299 a year for up to 10 workspaces | No free affiliate plan |
| Rewardful | $49 | $7,500 a month of affiliate-attributed revenue | Growth, $99 for $15,000 | 14 days |
| FirstPromoter | $49 | $5,000 a month of revenue from affiliates | Business, $99 for $15,000 | 14 days, no card |
| Tolt | $69 | $10,000 a month "earned from affiliates" | Growth, $99 for $20,000 | 14 days, no card |
| PromoteKit | $0, then $39 ($29 billed yearly) | Free: 3 referrals. Pro: $10,000 a month from affiliates | Enterprise, quoted | Free plan |
| Affonso | $19 ($15 billed yearly) | $1,000 a month of revenue from partners | Growth, $29 on yearly billing, for $10,000 | 14 days |
Prices from each vendor's pricing page, October 2026.
How does each tool connect to Stripe and receive the referral?
A referral reaches a Stripe charge through 1 of 3 routes: a client reference ID, metadata or a promo code. TrackRev connects through a restricted key, Rewardful through read plus modify access and Tolt through Stripe authorization.
Everything except promo codes needs 1 change from you. A custom Stripe Checkout takes one extra line at Tolt, PromoteKit, Rewardful, TrackRev and FirstPromoter, while Payment Links and Pricing Tables need only a script at PromoteKit and FirstPromoter.
We built TrackRev's pixel to add client_reference_id to them itself.
| Tool | Connects with | Referral reaches the charge through |
|---|---|---|
| TrackRev | Restricted key you paste in | client_reference_id with the visitor ID, customer email fallback, partner promo codes |
| Rewardful | Stripe connection, read plus modify access | clientReferenceId on Stripe Checkout, script cookie, promo codes |
| FirstPromoter | Stripe connection, test or live mode | _fprom_track cookie as client_reference_id; no-code scripts; Stripe coupons it creates |
| Tolt | Stripe authorization | tolt_referral metadata; separate guides for the Buy Button and Payment Links |
| PromoteKit | Stripe account, required | promotekit_referral metadata; Payment Links script; promo codes with no script |
| Affonso | Stripe authorization plus a pixel | Checkout Session metadata; Payment Links add-on for client_reference_id |
1. Is TrackRev the right pick for programs that also compare channels?
TrackRev is an affiliate platform for indie hackers and small SaaS teams, with 6 billing systems.
TrackRev Indie is $29 a month for 1 workspace and 1 tracked domain, and TrackRev Growth is $299 a year for up to 10 workspaces, up to 10 tracked domains and unlimited team members.
Neither of the 2 paid plans caps the partner commission or revenue tracked. Every paid plan includes unlimited partners and programs, multi-tier commissions, cash or credit rewards and white-label partner pages.
The free tier stops at 50 links and 1,000 events a month and cannot run an affiliate program (plans and limits).
You paste in a restricted Stripe key with read access to charges, Checkout Sessions, customers and payment intents, plus webhook write.
With webhook write, TrackRev registers an endpoint for charge.succeeded, charge.refunded and checkout.session.completed, and each event triggers a sync; without it, a scheduled sync runs, hourly according to the Stripe integration page.
Paddle Billing, Polar, Lemon Squeezy, Creem and Dodo Payments connect through their own credentials.
How does TrackRev handle holds and promo codes?
In our product, the hold period is set per program from 0 to 180 days and defaults to 0, so set it before the first payout.
Promo codes match by text: you create the code in Stripe and assign the same string to a partner, because TrackRev does not generate codes in Stripe the way Rewardful, FirstPromoter and PromoteKit do.
The same Stripe connection that pays partners also shows partner revenue next to newsletters and paid ads, so you can compare every channel on one set of numbers.
2. Is Rewardful the right pick for programs up to $15,000 a month?
Rewardful is a Stripe-first affiliate tool. Starter costs $49 with 1 campaign and 2 team members. Rewardful Growth ($99) adds the branded portal, custom domain, private campaigns and custom rewards, and Rewardful Enterprise begins at $149 for $30,000 of revenue.
Every plan has a 0% transaction fee, coupon code tracking and self-referral detection, and annual billing is 12 months for the price of 10, which makes Starter $490 a year and Growth $990.
Its site lists it as a Premier Stripe Partner. The permissions article says it cannot move money, issue refunds or change subscriptions, and that it writes only tracking metadata and promo codes to your account.
Sources: rewardful.com/pricing · help.rewardful.com/en
3. Does FirstPromoter cover billing beyond Stripe?
FirstPromoter is an affiliate platform with a Starter plan ($49) which caps 1,000 affiliates and 3 campaigns.
FirstPromoter Business ($99, or $990 billed yearly) removes both limits and adds a custom domain and white-labeling, and FirstPromoter Enterprise is listed at $149 for revenue above $15,000.
It reads 5 billing systems (Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree), imports historical Stripe data when you migrate and creates a Stripe coupon for each affiliate. Cookies last up to 9,999 days, and multi-tier commissions reach 3 levels.
FirstPromoter's docs list the Stripe events it handles, which I did not find for the other 5.
Its Stripe page maps invoice.payment_succeeded and charge.succeeded to sales, charge.refunded to a refund and customer.subscription.deleted to a cancellation, and it ignores charges of zero or without a customer email.
Sources: firstpromoter.com/pricing · docs.firstpromoter.com/integrations
4. Is Tolt a fit for teams that already pass metadata to Stripe?
Tolt is an affiliate platform with a Basic plan ($69) which includes 2 programs, 3 partner groups and 3 team members, Tolt Growth ($99) raises programs, groups and seats to 5 each.
Tolt Pro is $199 for $50,000 a month with unlimited programs. The Stripe guide has you load a 4 KB script and write the referral ID into metadata from your backend.
A checkout path you forget to wire can record a sale with no partner attached, so test each path.
Sources: tolt.com/pricing · help.tolt.com/en
5. Does PromoteKit offer the cheapest start?
PromoteKit is an affiliate tool built for Stripe alone, and its FAQ says a Stripe account is required. The free plan covers 3 referrals, 1 campaign, unlimited affiliates and coupon code tracking.
PromoteKit Pro ($39 monthly) adds self-referral detection, commission tiers, per-product commissions and a custom portal domain, and above $10,000 a month the page says to contact them.
A coupon created in Stripe becomes a promo code for each affiliate, and the link route writes the referral into metadata with a 60-day cookie by default.
Sources: promotekit.com/pricing · promotekit.com/docs
6. Is Affonso built for the smallest programs?
Affonso is an affiliate platform whose Launch plan ($19 monthly) is the lowest paid price here, with 1 team seat and 3 partner groups.
Affonso Growth adds 5 team seats and 5 partner groups, and Affonso Elite is $79 on yearly billing for $30,000 a month, and Affonso Enterprise starts at $149 above that.
Every plan lists self-referral detection, a Risk Center and automated chargeback and refund handling. It also connects Paddle Billing, Polar.sh, Creem.io and Dodo Payments.
Launch caps partner revenue at $1,000 a month, which 34 subscribers on a $30 plan reach, and it leaves out multi-level commissions, double-sided incentives, private programs and a custom domain.
Sources: affonso.io/pricing
How do partners get paid?
| Tool | Payout routes | Automated payouts |
|---|---|---|
| TrackRev | A PayPal or Wise CSV you pay, then mark each payout paid | None yet |
| Rewardful | PayPal and Wise mass payments for up to 5,000 affiliates per click | Managed payouts, 3% processing fee |
| FirstPromoter | PayPal, Wise, Stripe, crypto and bank transfer in 190 currencies | Managed Auto Payouts, Enterprise only |
| Tolt | Manual on Basic; PayPal, Wise, bank, crypto and wire from Growth | Auto payouts from Growth, 2% fee |
| PromoteKit | One-click Stripe Connect payouts to 100+ countries; PayPal and Wise | 5% for a bank account, 8% for a card |
| Affonso | PayPal, Wise and wire bulk payouts | Managed payouts from Growth, fees may apply |
Listed on the vendors' pricing pages in October 2026.
What does a $9,000-a-month program cost on each plan?
The cost of a program depends on which of the 5 monthly limits it crosses. Take a program that refers $9,000 a month of Stripe revenue at a 30% commission, which pays partners $2,700.
| Tool | What decides the plan | Plan needed | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| TrackRev | No cap on revenue or commission | Indie | $29 |
| Rewardful | $9,000 against $7,500 on Starter | Growth | $99 |
| FirstPromoter | $9,000 against $5,000 on Starter | Business | $99 |
| Tolt | $9,000 against $10,000 on Basic | Basic | $69 |
| PromoteKit | $9,000 against $10,000 on Pro | Pro | $39 ($29 billed yearly) |
| Affonso | $9,000 against $10,000 on Growth | Growth | $29 on yearly billing |
Monthly billing unless noted, using plan limits as published in October 2026.
Rewardful Growth and FirstPromoter Business land at $99 because $9,000 clears both entry limits, and PromoteKit and Affonso come out cheapest at this size on yearly billing.
TrackRev Indie, priced on our own pricing page, matches their $29 yearly rate on monthly billing, against $39 for each of them month to month, and it stays at $29 however far the program grows.
At $99, Rewardful and FirstPromoter cover $15,000 and Tolt $20,000.
Against the $990 a year for Rewardful Growth or FirstPromoter Business billed yearly, Indie is $348 a year, a gap of $642, and the $299 TrackRev Growth yearly price widens it to $691.
How do refunds, disputes and the hold period work?
| Tool | Refunds | Disputes |
|---|---|---|
| TrackRev | Any refund reverses the whole commission at every tier | No dispute events subscribed; use the hold period |
| Rewardful | Stripe refund notices update the commission; a partial refund recalculates it from the refunded amount | Not in its help center pages on refunds |
| FirstPromoter | charge.refunded creates a refund and a negative commission | charge.dispute.created counts as a refund; a won dispute is not described |
| Tolt | A refund deducts the commission, and a cancellation stops new commission | Silent in its pricing FAQ |
| PromoteKit | Refunds are detected in Stripe and the commission adjusts | Silent in its FAQ |
| Affonso | Full or partial refunds reduce the commission | Automated chargeback handling on every plan |
As stated by each of the 6 vendors in its pricing page, help center or docs.
What does a lost dispute cost after a payout?
On a $300 plan, a lost dispute costs the sale, Stripe's fee and any commission already paid.
Stripe says cardholders can typically dispute a payment within 120 days, you usually get 7 to 21 days to respond, and the issuer takes another 60 to 75 days to decide (Stripe's dispute documentation).
When a dispute opens, Stripe debits the disputed amount plus a dispute fee from your balance. Take a $300 annual plan with a 30% commission that you paid out on day 30.
A lost dispute on day 90 costs you the $300, Stripe's fee and the $90 the partner already holds.
The hold period is the main control, and TrackRev accepts 0 to 180 days. Rewardful's help center advises setting the days before commissions become due to match your refund policy, and a 90-day refund policy gets 90 days.
Upgrades and downgrades add their own edge cases, covered in affiliate commissions on Stripe refunds.
Which test should you run before paying a partner?
Use Stripe's test mode where the tool supports it (FirstPromoter's docs say you can connect in test or live mode), or a $1 plan and real refunds where it does not.
- Open a partner link in a private window and pay with test card 4242 4242 4242 4242. Check which partner it names.
- Refund half the charge in the Stripe Dashboard. Rewardful and Affonso document a reduced commission for a partial refund, while TrackRev reverses the whole commission on that charge.
- Pay again with 4000 0000 0000 0259. Stripe's testing guide says that card succeeds and is then disputed as fraudulent, which shows whether a tool holds, reverses or ignores the commission.
- Pay with a promo code and no partner link, to see whether the code credits the 1 partner who owns it. Use a code below 100% off, because FirstPromoter ignores zero-amount charges.
- Advance a test subscription with a Stripe test clock to produce the 2nd invoice, then upgrade the plan mid-cycle. The commission should follow the invoice Stripe issued.
Which tool fits which program?
| Your situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| Partner revenue beside other channels on one Stripe connection | TrackRev from $29 |
| Testing the idea with a few partners | PromoteKit's free plan, or any 14-day trial |
| Under $1,000 a month of referred revenue | Affonso Launch, $15 billed yearly or $19 monthly |
| Under $10,000 a month and watching cost | TrackRev Indie, $29 monthly, or PromoteKit Pro or Affonso Growth, both $29 on yearly billing |
| Billing through Recurly or Braintree | FirstPromoter |
| Paying affiliates through Stripe | PromoteKit one-click payouts, or FirstPromoter mass payouts |
| Affiliates as the only channel, $7,500 to $15,000 a month | Rewardful Growth or FirstPromoter Business, $99 |
For single-vendor comparisons see Rewardful vs TrackRev, Tolt vs TrackRev, the Affonso alternative and FirstPromoter alternatives. If your billing sits on Paddle Billing instead, the Paddle comparison covers 7 tools on that stack.
Found this useful? Share it.
Frequently asked questions
- Only for link tracking on a custom Checkout, where one line passes the referral ID to Stripe. No-code surfaces such as Payment Links need just a script, and promo code tracking needs none.
- PromoteKit's free plan stops at 3 referrals. Rewardful, FirstPromoter, Tolt and Affonso give 14-day trials, and TrackRev's free plan covers links only.
- Rewardful's help center says it cannot issue refunds and advises holding commissions for as long as your refund policy runs, such as 30 or 90 days, and it does not describe a clawback after payout. Ask any of the 6 vendors what its ledger does with a late refund before you rely on it.
- Begin with the length of your money-back guarantee and extend it if disputes arrive late, since Stripe puts the usual cardholder window at 120 days. TrackRev accepts 0 to 180 days.
- FirstPromoter and Affonso each list 5 billing systems and TrackRev lists 6. Tolt's pricing FAQ names Stripe and Paddle, though the same page also mentions Chargebee, and PromoteKit requires 1 billing system, Stripe.
- Some do: Rewardful asks for modify access to write metadata and create coupons in your Stripe account. Stripe recommends restricted API keys limited to what an integration needs.
Written by
Founder, TrackRev.io & Contant.io
Muzahid Maruf founded TrackRev.io, SaaS affiliate software with no limit on tracked revenue, and Contant.io. He writes about affiliate programs.
Writes about Marketing attribution · Link tracking · Revenue analytics · SaaS growth
Run your affiliate program without a revenue cap.
Affiliate software for indie hackers and small SaaS teams: $29 a month flat, 0% fees, link tracking and revenue attribution built in. Free to start, no card.