Affiliate software for e-commerceViralPayouts vs Refero
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. With Refero, you pay your affiliates yourself and does not say it has two-tier recruiting. It costs $0 to $49 a month.
Every figure for Refero comes from its own pages or named review sites, checked 12 October 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.
Why brands pick ViralPayouts over Refero
Best fit: Brands wanting payouts handled and recruiter overrides, or selling outside Shopify.
- $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
| Refero | ViralPayouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 to $49 a monthTerm: Monthly; cancel anytime | $0 a month. 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3% at $10,000 a month. |
| Setup fee | Not stated | None |
| Fee for paying affiliates | Not stated | 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 | Novia Merchant's PayPal | 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 | No | Yes Partners browse and join with one account |
| Tracking | Referral links; Discount codes; Manual attribution; Ongoing (repeat-customer) attribution | 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 | Not stated | 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, Klaviyo, PayPal, Shopify Sidekick | Stripe Checkout, Shopify orders, any backend via the event API |
Refero plans in full
- Starter: $0 a month. 10 affiliates/referrers, rewards on first 10 attributed orders/month, up to 1,000 store orders processed/month, manual and store-credit payouts
- Pro: $49 a month. Unlimited affiliates and attributed orders, automated PayPal payouts, multi-currency, custom portal/emails, Klaviyo, custom referral domain
Where ViralPayouts comes out ahead of Refero
What Refero offers
Shopify merchants running affiliate and customer referral programs who want flat pricing with no revenue share.
Affiliate software for e-commerce
Why ViralPayouts is the better choice
- ViralPayouts pays partners for the brand (via Whop); brand funds by bank transfer
- Two-tier recruiter override built into every program, with separate customer and recruit links
- Public directory of live programs and one partner account across programs
- Works beyond Shopify: Stripe Checkout webhook and signed server-to-server event API, REST API and MCP server
What Refero users say
Paraphrased from public reviews. Follow each link to read the original.
Praise
- Migration from another referral app was smooth; quick support reply. apps.shopify.com
Complaints
- None found.
About Refero
- In their words:
- "Affiliate & referral management, made easy" (site H1)
- Company:
- Founded Shopify app launched March 11, 2026 · Montreal, QC, Canada · PARALEL
- Website:
- refero.app
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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Refero is a trademark of its owner. ViralPayouts is not affiliated with Refero. Prices and features change: check refero.app before you decide. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.