Affiliate networkViralPayouts vs Awin (incl. ShareASale)
ViralPayouts has no monthly fee, pays your affiliates for you and pays recruiters on every program. You pay 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3%, and nothing in a month when nobody sells. Awin (incl. ShareASale) also pays affiliates for you and does not say it has two-tier recruiting. It costs $49 to $99 a month + 2.5% to 3.5% of transactions.
Every figure for Awin (incl. ShareASale) comes from its own pages or named review sites, checked 12 October 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.
Why brands pick ViralPayouts over Awin (incl. ShareASale)
Best fit: Brands that want to build their own partner and recruiter army with payouts handled, no subscription, and fees tied to what partners earn.
- $0 a month
No plan and no setup fee. 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3% at $10,000 a month.
- Payouts done for you
One invoice per program. ViralPayouts sends every partner and recruiter their money and collects tax forms.
- Recruiters built in
Customer links and recruit links on every program, with the override set your way and reversed on refunds.
Side by side
| Awin (incl. ShareASale) | ViralPayouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 to $99 a month + 2.5% to 3.5% of transactionsTerm: Access: "3-month minimum contract with 14-day cancellation notice"; not listed for Accelerate/Advanced | $0 a month. 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3% at $10,000 a month. |
| Setup fee | Not listed on pricing pages. Trustpilot reviewers of ShareASale report $700-$900 onboarding/sign-up charges (unverified). | None |
| Fee for paying affiliates | None listed separately. Awin's "tracking fee" is charged per transaction on sale value: "+ 3.5% per transaction (tracking fee)" on Access, 2.5% on Accelerate (e.g. $100 sale at 6% commission: partner $6, Awin $3.50). Alternative rates for non-transactional sectors. | Included in the fee above: no charge to the brand for sending payoutsPartners pay Whop's own fee when they withdraw to their bank |
| Pays your affiliates for you | Yesvia Awin (network collects from advertiser and pays publishers; 'Traffic Light' system: amber advertisers' sales paid only after advertiser pays; ShareASale-upgraded programmes use prepaid deposits) | Yes You fund by bank transfer; we pay every partner |
| Two-tier recruiting | Not stated | Yes Two levels on every program: share of commission, share of sale or fixed. Paid on approved sales, never sign-ups |
| Public program directory | NoNetwork claims 30K+ brands and 1M+ approved creators/affiliates; advertiser directory inside the publisher interface (public status not confirmed). ShareASale merge: 9,500+ advertisers and 250,000 active publishers. programs | Yes Partners browse and join with one account |
| Tracking | First-party cookie tracking; MasterTag / Tracking Optimisation Plugin (bounceless, cookieless); Conversion API (server-to-server); Voucher code tracking | First-party links with click IDs, signed server-to-server events, Stripe Checkout webhook |
| Coupon tracking | Yes | Yes A code per partner, per program |
| Mobile app tracking | Not stated | App installs, sign-ups and purchases reported from your server through the signed event API, with bounties on them. No SDK to ship in your app. |
| API, webhooks, MCP | API | REST API for brands and partners with an OpenAPI spec, an MCP server for AI agents, a signed event API and partner postbacks |
| Integrations | Shopify (plugin), Awin e-commerce plugins, Soreto (referrals), BrandSwap, UpSellit | Stripe Checkout, Shopify orders, any backend via the event API |
Awin (incl. ShareASale) plans in full
- Access: $49 a month, plus 3.5% of transactions. "Ideal for starters"; first month free; brand sets partner commission; UK price GBP 99/month excl. VAT
- Accelerate: $99 a month, plus 2.5% of transactions. "Ideal for teams"; from $99/month (UK from GBP 199); Advertiser APIs included; flexible payment options
- Advanced: price not published. "Ideal for Enterprises"; custom pricing
Where ViralPayouts comes out ahead of Awin (incl. ShareASale)
What Awin (incl. ShareASale) offers
Brands of all sizes (from small Shopify stores on Access to enterprises) wanting access to a global network of affiliates, creators, cashback/voucher sites and tech partners; plus publishers who join brand programmes. ShareASale's US small-business base was moved onto Awin in 2025.
Affiliate network · G2 4.1 (507 reviews) · Trustpilot 2.8 (1,016 reviews)
Why ViralPayouts is the better choice
- No monthly fee or minimum term; Awin charges $49-$99+/month plus a 2.5-3.5% fee on sale value
- ViralPayouts' fee is a share of partner payouts (10% falling to 3%) reversed on refund, not a cut of every sale
- Two levels built in (recruiter override, separate recruit link); Awin documents none
- Brand-owned partner program with its own recruiters rather than a crowded network where publishers report closures and delays
What Awin (incl. ShareASale) users say
Paraphrased from public reviews. Follow each link to read the original.
Praise
- Publishers like that setup is easy and links, banners, reports and commissions are simple to check (Sep 2026). trustpilot.com
- Reviewer likes that advertisers pay only for confirmed sales and the large range of advertisers. trustpilot.com
- Support replies quickly and resolves issues, per several Sep 2026 reviewers. trustpilot.com
Complaints
- Publishers report late commissions (waiting since March), sales under review for over a month, and being bounced between Awin and the advertiser. trustpilot.com
- Brand reports partner fraud that Awin did not act on and an ignored cancellation request (Sep 2026). trustpilot.com
- Accounts closed without specific reason, including right after a first sale. trustpilot.com
- ShareASale affiliates report suspensions before payouts and withheld balances ($6,800, $10,000+), blaming the Awin takeover (2025). trustpilot.com
About Awin (incl. ShareASale)
- In their words:
- "Your growth, your way." (title: "Join our global affiliate platform | Awin")
- Company:
- Founded Since 2000 (per Awin about page) · Part of the Axel Springer group (about page); legal entity Awin AG, part of Awin Group. Awin acquired ShareASale in 2017; ShareASale platform closed 6 Oct 2025 after all customers moved to Awin.
- Team:
- Over 1,400 people in 17 locations
- Named customers:
- Nike, Samsung, Adidas, Booking.com, SharkNinja, Vodafone, Sephora, Dyson
- Website:
- awin.com
Try ViralPayouts on test money
Set your commission and recruiter override, see what each sale costs you, and run it on the test network before a real partner joins. No monthly fee.
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ViralPayouts vs CJ Affiliate (CJ, formerly Commission Junction)Sources for Awin (incl. ShareASale) (16), checked 12 October 2026
- https://www.awin.com/
- https://www.awin.com/us/pricing
- https://www.awin.com/gb/pricing
- https://www.awin.com/gb/about-us
- https://www.awin.com/us/getting-started-sas
- https://www.awin.com/us/news-and-events/awin-news/shareasale-to-awin-upgrade
- https://www.awin.com/us/news-and-events/awin-news/awin-shareasale-new-era
- https://www.awin.com/gb/how-to-use-awin/introduction-to-publisher-payments
- https://www.awin.com/gb/affiliate-marketing/everything-you-need-to-know-about-affiliate-tracking
- https://www.awin.com/sitemap.xml
- https://help.awin.com/
- https://help.awin.com/docs/awins-apis-overview
- https://help.awin.com/docs/adjusting-deposit-amounts-for-peak-periods-sas
- https://www.shareasale.com/ (302 to awin.com/us/getting-started-sas)
- https://www.trustpilot.com/review/awin.com
- https://www.trustpilot.com/review/shareasale.com
Awin (incl. ShareASale) is a trademark of its owner. ViralPayouts is not affiliated with Awin (incl. ShareASale). Prices and features change: check awin.com before you decide. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.