What simple affiliate tracking software costs

The percentage of sales. Refersion's cheapest paid plan is $39 a month, which reads like the bargain of the group. It is $39 plus 3 percent of every sale an affiliate refers. That percentage lands on top of the 10 to 20 percent commission you are already paying the affiliate, so the software line grows exactly as the channel you built it for succeeds. At $10,000 a month in affiliate sales that 3 percent is $300, turning a $39 plan into a $339 bill.

The usage caps. Flat-fee tools solve the percentage problem and hand you a different one. Tapfiliate Launch is $89 a month but stops at 5,000 clicks and 500 conversions. Past that it is $1.50 per 1,000 extra clicks and $15 per 1,000 extra conversions, or you move up to the $179 Scale plan. A cheap flat fee with a low cap is not cheap once you are over the cap.

The revenue tier. Rewardful charges no transaction fee at all, which is the cleanest model here for subscription SaaS on Stripe or Paddle. The catch is that its plans are gated by affiliate revenue: Starter stops at $7,500 a month, so a program doing real numbers is pushed to the $99 Growth plan and then to $149-plus, not because you need more features but because you crossed a revenue line.

The fee before your first sale. Every tool here bills monthly from day one, affiliates or not, and the free trials auto-convert to paid. A card added to test Tapfiliate or Rewardful is charged when the 7 to 14 day window closes unless you cancel. Below a handful of active affiliates, unique discount codes cost nothing and cover the same job until the channel proves itself.

The number to compare is not the plan price. It is the plan price plus the commission you pay affiliates, measured at the affiliate revenue you actually expect.

Take $10,000 a month in affiliate-driven sales at a 15 percent commission. You owe affiliates $1,500 either way. On Refersion Launch, add $39 plus 3 percent ($300) and the all-in cost is about $1,839, roughly 18 percent of that revenue. On Tapfiliate Launch you add $89 flat, provided you are inside the click and conversion caps, so all-in is about $1,589. On Rewardful, $10,000 in affiliate revenue exceeds the Starter cap, so you are on the $99 Growth plan and all-in is about $1,599 with no transaction fee.

The two Refersion tiers cross at about $16,000 a month in affiliate sales: below it Launch ($39 + 3 percent) is cheaper, above it Growth ($199 + 2 percent) is. That crossover, not the sticker, is the decision. Model your expected affiliate revenue against it before you pick a tool, because the pricing model you choose is the cost you live with as the program grows.