Each pick fits a different referral workflow. The entries give the job, the plan prices, and the modeled cost at $10,000 of referred sales a month with a 10% commission ($1,000), from each vendor’s pricing page and App Store listing. ReferralCandy’s model counts only sales to net-new referred customers, because its success fee applies only to those.
1
Simple Affiliate
Referral program on your store, flat monthly
Customers, creators, and partners join with your store’s Shopify customer accounts, so there is no separate referral portal. Each one shares a referral link, or a discount code on Pro and Premium, and earns a commission on the orders they refer. Pay the reward as store credit or by PayPal with no Simple Affiliate fee, or by Autopay through Stripe, where you pay the processing fee. There is no marketplace: the people who refer are people you invite.
Cost at $10,000 of referred sales. Starter $0, Basic $19, Pro $39, Premium $59, with no percentage of referred sales. Starter covers up to 10 affiliates. Pro pays rewards as store credit or by PayPal for $39 a month, or models to $78 with Autopay by bank.
2
ReferralCandy
Refer-a-friend rewards for customers
ReferralCandy runs customer referral, where shoppers earn a reward when they bring in friends, and affiliate programs from one app, with every feature on every plan. On top of the monthly plan, it charges a success fee on the first three orders of net-new referred customers.
Cost at $10,000 of referred sales. Basic $39/month plus a 10.5% success fee on net-new customers; Grow $79 plus 3.5%; Scale $249 plus 1.5%; Enterprise $799 plus 0.25% (referralcandy.com/pricing, re-checked October 24, 2026). Modeled at $10,000 of sales to net-new referred customers: $399 on Scale; less when referred customers buy again after their third order.
3
UpPromote
Refer-a-friend plus a marketplace, for a sales percentage
UpPromote is an affiliate app that adds customer referral from Growth. From Growth, its marketplace also lists your offer for publishers you have never met. Affiliates work in an UpPromote affiliate account. Paid plans charge a percentage of successful referral sales.
Cost at $10,000 of referred sales. Growth is $29.99/month plus 2% of successful referral sales: $229.99 at $10,000. Professional is $89.99 plus 1.5%. Free costs $0 for up to $3,000 of referral sales reviewed a month (uppromote.com/pricing, checked November 8, 2026).
4
Social Snowball
High-volume DTC, every buyer offered a link
For high-volume DTC brands that want checkout itself to do the recruiting: buyers get affiliate links automatically after purchase. The floor is $249/month plus 3% of affiliate revenue, a price that only makes sense at real scale.
Cost at $10,000 of referred sales. Snow Day from $249/month plus 3% of affiliate revenue; Blizzard from $899/month with no usage charges (Social Snowball’s App Store listing, re-checked November 8, 2026). Modeled at $10,000 GMV: $549 on Snow Day.