AffRef vs ShareASale
ShareASale is a network. AffRef is a tool. Flat $49/mo, no transaction fees, no shared affiliate pool. Recruit from your own customer base and the people you bring in don't see competitor offers.
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| Feature | AffRef | ShareASale |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat $49/mo | Setup + % transaction |
| Transaction fees | $0 | % on every commission |
| Affiliate marketplace | None | Network-based |
| Branded portal | All plans | Network-branded |
| First-party tracking | Yes | Third-party |
| Shopify install | 1-click app | Manual integration |
| Mobile (RevenueCat) | Pro+ | Not supported |
| Stripe Connect auto-pay | Pro+ | Network payouts |
Where the network model breaks down
ShareASale built the affiliate-network playbook. The trade-offs are baked into the model.
Transaction fees on every sale
The network takes a cut of every commission you pay. A $1000/mo affiliate spend at a 5% network fee is $600/year you don't get back. AffRef charges $0 transaction fees, flat $49/mo, regardless of attributed revenue.
Marketplace data leak
Your affiliates browse a network of competing merchants. ShareASale's value depends on it. If you don't want the people you recruited from your customer list seeing similar offers, you need a tool that doesn't run a marketplace.
Tracking lives on shareasale.com
Click links route through the network. AffRef ships first-party tracking on your own domain (branded subdomain portal on every plan), which is more durable against Safari ITP and Firefox ETP and reads as more legitimate to your affiliates.
Why brands switch off the network
Keep the network cut
No transaction fees, ever. The percentage you'd pay ShareASale becomes additional commission you can offer your affiliates instead.
Branded portal, your domain
Affiliates sign up at yourstore.affref.com, not yourstore.shareasale.com. Trust signal for the affiliate, brand consistency for you, and first-party tracking that survives ITP.
Cross-platform
Shopify, Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, RevenueCat, mobile, all in one tool. Networks tend to be one-checkout-platform deep.
Frequently asked questions
What's the main difference between AffRef and ShareASale?
ShareASale is a traditional affiliate network: marketplace-driven discovery, transaction-based pricing, a publisher pool shared across merchants. AffRef is a SaaS affiliate platform: flat $49/mo, no marketplace, no shared affiliate pool. You own the relationship with every affiliate you recruit.
Does ShareASale charge per-sale fees?
Historically ShareASale has charged a network access fee plus a transaction fee on every commission paid. AffRef charges $0 transaction fees on every plan, including the $49 Starter.
What about reaching existing affiliates?
ShareASale's value proposition is the publisher network. If you need access to a pre-existing pool of affiliates and don't have a list to draw from, that's a legitimate trade-off. If you have a customer base or audience to recruit from, the marketplace creates more problems (data leak, competitor exposure) than it solves.
Can I migrate from ShareASale?
Yes. Export your affiliates as a CSV from ShareASale and import to AffRef. Existing tracking codes are preserved; you'll re-issue tracking links so they point at your branded portal instead of shareasale.com.