Dub Partners vs FirstPromoter

Dub Partners started as a modern link shortener (think Bitly, but built for performance), which is why their link tracking and attribution are best in class. They use first-party cookies when someone clicks a partner link, ensuring conversions are accurately attributed across browsers like Safari and on iPhones. Everything ties back to a single link with UTMs, so you can clearly see which videos, posts, or campaigns actually drive revenue. You never need to worry about bounce hops with Dub Partners, or ad blockers getting in the way of your tracking.

Dub Partners automates payouts and tax compliance by handling W-9 and W-8 collection, generating 1099-NECs, and supporting both US and international affiliates in one platform, with one-click global payouts and clear earnings dashboards that eliminate manual admin work for affiliate programs.

Dub has the best partner experience of any affiliate tool we’ve used. One unified login, a clean, intuitive dashboard, and everything we need to manage affiliate programs in one place. We regularly check our dashboards and our partners using Dub Partners are top of mind.

Nothing gives you deeper, more actionable insight than Dub Partners. Dub was originally built as a link-tracking tool (think Bitly, but better), so the entire foundation is designed for accurate, granular analytics.

Because Dub tracks UTMs natively, we can see exactly which platform and which specific piece of content converts best, without changing anything about how we already post or promote. The visibility is genuinely rare.

As an affiliate partner, we use this data to double down on what works, and your company gets the same level of transparency. It feels like a real partnership, not a black box.

In Dub Partners’ analytics dashboard, you can view performance for each individual affiliate, including: Earnings Per Click (EPC), Average Lifetime Value (LTV), Conversion rates from click to lead to sale, Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).

Dub Partners has one of the best analytics experiences we have used. Nothing is buried or hidden. The moment you log in, you can see clicks, leads, sales, countries, and full UTM data, and filter everything however you want.

With most platforms, even basic insights like where leads are coming from require digging through layers of menus. With Dub Partners, it is all immediately visible and actually usable. I can quickly compare conversion rates between a specific video, another video, or a blog post and make real decisions based on that data. It is rare to find this level of clarity and flexibility in an affiliate platform.

FirstPromoter can track referrals and commissions via first party cookies.

Payments and tax compliance are a problem with FirstPromoter. While auto-payouts were added relatively recently, tax compliance remains manual and fragmented. You have to explicitly enable tax form collection, track submissions yourself, and handle 1099 generation outside the platform. That means chasing W-9s and W-8BENs, managing thresholds, and doing year-end reporting manually. You may save money on the subscription, but you pay for it in time and admin overhead. It technically supports the process, but it does not meaningfully remove the burden. Not to mention, more teams forget to even enable managed payments until its too late...

From a partner standpoint, FirstPromoter is usable, but bland. Affiliates get their own portal, can access links, and see basic stats, which checks the minimum boxes. The issue is that every program requires a separate login, which is a terrible experience for serious creators or publishers who work with dozens or hundreds of brands. As a result, partners forget to log in, disengage, and deprioritize your program. It is functional enough to run a program, but it does nothing to attract or retain high-quality partners.

FirstPromoter's analytics are extremely barebones. You cannot clearly see which pieces of content are driving conversions, which channels perform best, or where partners should focus their efforts. This leaves both sides guessing and makes it very difficult to optimize or scale an affiliate program. If you care about understanding what is actually working and doubling down on it, the reporting here will feel insufficient very quickly.

The FirstPromoter interface is simple, it comes at the cost of capability. Data is hidden behind multiple tabs, making it difficult to get a full picture of program performance. For instance, for one partner, just because we changed our commission structure, we had to manage two entirely different campaigns. While you get clicks and sign-up numbers, you don't get any conversion rates or EPC data. It's just an incredibly barebones tool that is not for serious affiliate programs.