Creator and checkout platformViralPayouts vs Roster
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 Roster, paying affiliates for you is optional or extra and has no two-tier recruiting. It costs $599 to $2,299 a month.
Every figure for Roster comes from its own pages or named review sites, checked 12 October 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.
Why brands pick ViralPayouts over Roster
Best fit: Brands that want commission-only cost, managed payouts from day one, and partners rewarded for recruiting other partners.
- $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
| Roster | ViralPayouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $599 to $2,299 a month | $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 | Automated payments: per-payment fee (amount not listed); 3% on international payments (brand can absorb or deduct); external/CSV: no per-payment platform fee | 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 | Optionalvia Roster payment platform for automated payments, funded by ACH pull from brand bank account about ten business days before payment | Yes You fund by bank transfer; we pay every partner |
| Two-tier recruiting | No | 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 | Unique links; Discount codes (leak-resistant codes and links); UGC post-to-revenue 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 | API, MCP server | 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 / Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix and headless (documented, API backup), Klaviyo | Stripe Checkout, Shopify orders, any backend via the event API |
Roster plans in full
- Starter: $599 a month. 1 program, 2 campaigns, 10 actions; unlimited ambassadors; PayPal/Venmo payouts from brand account
- Growth: $1199 a month. 3 programs, 6 campaigns, 30 actions; automated payments and tax documents; creator discovery
- Pro: $2299 a month. 6 programs, 15 campaigns, 60 actions; partnership ads; multi-store/regions
- Enterprise: price not published. Unlimited; SSO, custom integrations, dedicated CSM
Where ViralPayouts comes out ahead of Roster
What Roster offers
DTC and e-commerce brands with roughly $1M+ revenue and products people post about (apparel, beauty, food, outdoor) that want customers and fans as a sales channel.
Creator and checkout platform
Why ViralPayouts is the better choice
- No monthly fee versus $599-$2,299/month
- Payouts handled on every program, not only on Growth and up
- Two-level recruiter overrides with separate recruit links
- Public directory of programs and one partner account across programs
What Roster users say
Paraphrased from public reviews. Follow each link to read the original.
Praise
- Sparx Hockey (Dec 2025) found it easy to run a US/Canada ambassador program and liked turning Shopify buyers into ambassadors. apps.shopify.com
- Entegro Health (Dec 2025) praised helpful support on calls and paying ambassadors via Venmo or PayPal. apps.shopify.com
- FullWell (Nov 2025) says it streamlined applications, clarified performance metrics and made payouts easier. apps.shopify.com
Complaints
- Small learning curve at first (Sparx Hockey, Dec 2025). apps.shopify.com
- A few requested features were unavailable (Entegro Health, Dec 2025). apps.shopify.com
About Roster
- In their words:
- "Brand ambassador software. One platform for affiliates, creators and influencers."
- Company:
- Lehi, Utah, US (Shopify App Store developer address) · Roster Technologies
- Named customers:
- On Running, Caraway (4,000+ active ambassadors, $2.1M referred revenue from VIP cohort), Cozy Earth, Owala, Blackstone, Shokz
- Website:
- getroster.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 SamCartSources for Roster (5), checked 12 October 2026
Roster is a trademark of its owner. ViralPayouts is not affiliated with Roster. Prices and features change: check getroster.com before you decide. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.