We believe there are better options available in this category, read below to learn what this software does well, and what they could do better. ⤵
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The referral category deserves a bit of an explanation because we continually see confusion arise when it comes to the competitors in this space. You'll often hear terms like "affiliate", "referral", "link tracking", and "partner portals" all used interchangeably.
And with that, not all referral tracking tools are created equal, nor are they focused on the same needs. They can actually be broken up more into 5 main sub-categories:
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An affiliate tracking tool for large B2C eCommerce businesses like GAP and Honey (not for B2B SaaS companies)
Impact was built in 2008 when third-party cookies were the norm. While they’ve tried to modernize and adapt to first party cookies with their Universal Tracking Tag (UTT) their system still depends on a redirect “bounce hop” a quick, invisible detour through an Impact domain before sending a visitor to your site. Modern browsers increasingly block or skip these tracking hops. This means tracking never fires leads to unattributed referrals, missing conversions, partner disputes, and ultimately an unreliable affiliate program.
Impact is one of the most expensive affiliate platforms in the industry. Most SaaS companies pay between $10,000–$30,000/year, despite the platform being built for enterprise eCommerce rather than SaaS. More modern, SaaS-native platforms like Dub Partners or PartnerStack often cost less and provide more accurate, dependable tracking thanks to first-party cookies.
Manage your affiliate and customer referral programs seamlessly — and get started with the affiliate marketing software built for SaaS professionals, digital creators and marketers.
Cello's core differentiator is that it is built for user referrals inside your product rather than your typical affiliate platform. It aims to turn customers into a growth channel via peer-to-peer referrals. This is totally different than a typical affiliate activation that is focused on working with high-volume publishers, creators, or influencers.
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