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Employee Engagement · head to head

Awardco vs FirstPromoter

Awardco logo

Awardco

Employee Engagement

Employee recognition powered by Amazon Business

From
$2.5/month
Free plan
No
FirstPromoter logo

FirstPromoter

Affiliate Marketing

Referral tracking for SaaS and subscription businesses

From
$49/month
Free plan
No

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Awardco tiers are defined by how many recognition programme types you may run, two on Standard and four on Scale, rather than by features or headcount; FirstPromoter plans are capped by affiliate-driven revenue, so Starter at $49 a month stops at $5,000 a month and Business at $99 stops at $15,000
  • They diverge on capability: Awardco covers Peer recognition, FirstPromoter covers Recurring commission tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Awardco and FirstPromoter actually diverge.

Attributes where Awardco and FirstPromoter differ
AttributeAwardcoFirstPromoter
Starting price$2.5/month$49/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
PlatformsWebWeb (SaaS)
CategoryEmployee EngagementAffiliate Marketing
Founded20152017

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Awardco

  • Peer recognition
  • Amazon reward catalog
  • Service milestones
  • Incentive programs
  • Analytics
  • Mobile app
  • Social recognition wall
  • Manager tools

Only in FirstPromoter

  • Recurring commission tracking
  • Multi-tier rewards
  • Coupon attribution
  • Public leaderboards
  • Custom signup pages
  • Stripe
  • Braintree
  • Paddle

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Awardco

  • Service award and milestone recognitionnot FirstPromoter
  • Spot recognition and peer awardsnot FirstPromoter
  • Rewards redeemable against a large cataloguenot FirstPromoter
  • Running several recognition programmes under one systemnot FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter

  • Running an affiliate or referral programme for a SaaS productnot Awardco
  • Tracking referral revenue through Stripenot Awardco
  • Paying affiliates and issuing invoicesnot Awardco
  • Multi-tier commission structures on the higher plansnot Awardco

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Awardco

  • Tiers are defined by how many recognition programme types you may run, two on Standard and four on Scale, rather than by features or headcount
  • Small organisations under 100 employees start at $3,000, so there is a floor regardless of size
  • The A-Pay card, Company Store and Awardco Engage are premium add-ons
  • No per-employee price is published; larger organisations must go through sales

FirstPromoter

  • Plans are capped by affiliate-driven revenue, so Starter at $49 a month stops at $5,000 a month and Business at $99 stops at $15,000
  • Starter is limited to 1,000 affiliates, 3 campaigns and 2 websites
  • Multi-tiered commissions, invoicing and Stripe payouts require the Business tier
  • Fraud and refund protection, automated payouts, SSO and custom roles are Enterprise only, from $149 a month
  • There is no free tier, only a 14 day trial

Pricing, plan by plan

Awardco

$2.5/month
  • Core$2.5/month
    • Recognition platform
    • Amazon rewards
    • Milestones
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Advanced analytics
    • Custom integrations
    • Dedicated support

FirstPromoter

$49/month
  • Starter$49/month
    • Up to $5,000/month affiliate revenue
    • 2 campaigns maximum
    • 1,000 affiliates maximum
  • Business$99/month
    • Up to $15,000/month affiliate revenue
    • Unlimited campaigns
    • Unlimited affiliates
  • Enterprise$149/month
    • $30,000+/month affiliate revenue
    • Unlimited campaigns
    • Unlimited affiliates

Which should you pick?

Choose Awardco if

  • You need peer recognition.
  • You also want amazon reward catalog.

Choose FirstPromoter if

  • You need recurring commission tracking.
  • You work on Web (SaaS).
  • You also want multi-tier rewards.

Questions people ask

Is Awardco or FirstPromoter better?
Neither clearly leads. Awardco starts at $2.5/month and FirstPromoter at $49/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Awardco or FirstPromoter?
Awardco starts at $2.5/month and FirstPromoter at $49/month.
Does Awardco or FirstPromoter run on more platforms?
Awardco runs on Web. FirstPromoter runs on Web (SaaS).
What is Awardco best used for?
Awardco is most often used for service award and milestone recognition, spot recognition and peer awards, rewards redeemable against a large catalogue, running several recognition programmes under one system. Of those, service award and milestone recognition and spot recognition and peer awards are not what FirstPromoter is typically brought in for.
What can Awardco do that FirstPromoter cannot?
Awardco covers Peer recognition, Amazon reward catalog, Service milestones, Incentive programs. FirstPromoter covers Recurring commission tracking, Multi-tier rewards, Coupon attribution, Public leaderboards.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Awardco: What does Awardco cost for startups?

New startups and small businesses with 100 or fewer employees can reach out to the Awardco sales team for flexible packages starting at $3,000 annually.

Source
FirstPromoter: Does FirstPromoter offer a free trial?

Yes, FirstPromoter offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, subscription pricing starts at $49/month for the Starter plan.

Source
Awardco: What plan tiers does Awardco offer?

Awardco offers Standard (two program types), Scale (four program types), and Enterprise (unlimited program types) plans. Exact pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
FirstPromoter: What are FirstPromoter's pricing tiers based on?

FirstPromoter pricing is based on monthly tracked revenue from your affiliate program. The Starter plan ($49/month) supports up to $5,000/month affiliate revenue with 2 campaigns, the Business plan ($99/month) supports up to $15,000/month, and the Enterprise plan ($149+/month) supports $30,000+/month.

Source
Awardco: Does Awardco offer add-on services?

Yes, premium add-ons include A-Pay (physical or digital payment card), Company Store (no-minimum swag solution), and Awardco Engage (comprehensive engagement solution).

Source
FirstPromoter: Which billing platforms does FirstPromoter integrate with?

FirstPromoter integrates with Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, Recurly, and Braintree. The platform ties commissions to subscription billing events like renewals, upgrades, and cancellations.

Source
FirstPromoter: Does FirstPromoter support multi-level affiliate commissions?

Yes, FirstPromoter supports multi-level commissions tracking up to 3 levels deep, allowing affiliates to earn from their own referrals and referrals they bring in.

Source
FirstPromoter: Can I customize the affiliate portal branding in FirstPromoter?

Yes, FirstPromoter provides a white-label partner portal that you can customize with your domain and branding. However, FirstPromoter's logo appears on portal pages unless you upgrade to higher tiers.

Source
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