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Affiliate Marketing · head to head

Crossbeam vs Rakuten Advertising

Crossbeam logo

Crossbeam

Affiliate Marketing

Partner ecosystem platform for revenue teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Rakuten Advertising logo

Rakuten Advertising

Affiliate Marketing

Performance marketing solutions with global reach

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Crossbeam has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Crossbeam the first paid plan is $4,800 a year and includes a single full access seat, with additional seats at $1,800 a year each; Rakuten Advertising account terminations without clear explanation
  • They diverge on capability: Crossbeam covers Account mapping, Rakuten Advertising covers Global publisher network.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Crossbeam and Rakuten Advertising actually diverge.

Attributes where Crossbeam and Rakuten Advertising differ
AttributeCrossbeamRakuten Advertising
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptiontransaction
Free tierYesNo
Founded20181997

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Affiliate Marketing).

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 Crossbeam

  • Account mapping
  • Secure data sharing
  • Co-selling workflows
  • Partner scoring
  • Revenue attribution
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Slack

Only in Rakuten Advertising

  • Global publisher network
  • Influencer marketplace
  • Cross-device attribution
  • AI-powered insights
  • Brand protection
  • Google Analytics
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Shopify

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Crossbeam

  • Mapping overlapping accounts and pipeline with partner companiesnot Rakuten Advertising
  • Running a partner ecosystem programme with shared datanot Rakuten Advertising

Rakuten Advertising

  • affiliate marketing managementnot Crossbeam
  • Workflow automationnot Crossbeam
  • Reportingnot Crossbeam

Where each one falls short

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

Crossbeam

  • The first paid plan is $4,800 a year and includes a single full access seat, with additional seats at $1,800 a year each
  • The free plan caps Deal Navigator and Pipeline Generation at 10 records each and offers no record exports at all
  • Record exports are the ladder, at 5,000 on Connector, 25,000 on Supernode and 100,000 on Enterprise
  • Sales seats are a separate $40 per user per month on top of the plan
  • SAML SSO and advanced access controls are excluded from the Connector plan
  • Both upper tiers are custom priced

Rakuten Advertising

  • Account terminations without clear explanation
  • Commission payment delays of 60-90 days before payment settlement
  • Support response times are slow and often unhelpful
  • Limited transparency on advertiser approval reasons when applications get rejected
  • Less user-friendly interface compared to CJ Affiliate and ShareASale

Pricing, plan by plan

Crossbeam

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited partners
    • Account mapping
    • Basic analytics

Rakuten Advertising

On request
  • NetworkFree
    • Performance-based pricing
    • Global publisher access
    • Advanced reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Crossbeam if

  • You need account mapping.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want secure data sharing.
Crossbeam review

Choose Rakuten Advertising if

  • You need global publisher network.
  • You also want influencer marketplace.
Rakuten Advertising review

Questions people ask

Is Crossbeam or Rakuten Advertising better?
Neither clearly leads. Crossbeam starts at Free and Rakuten Advertising at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Crossbeam or Rakuten Advertising?
Crossbeam has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Crossbeam and On request for Rakuten Advertising.
Does Crossbeam or Rakuten Advertising run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Crossbeam for free?
Yes. Crossbeam has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rakuten Advertising starts at On request.
What is Crossbeam best used for?
Crossbeam is most often used for mapping overlapping accounts and pipeline with partner companies, running a partner ecosystem programme with shared data. Of those, mapping overlapping accounts and pipeline with partner companies and running a partner ecosystem programme with shared data are not what Rakuten Advertising is typically brought in for.
What can Crossbeam do that Rakuten Advertising cannot?
Crossbeam covers Account mapping, Secure data sharing, Co-selling workflows, Partner scoring. Rakuten Advertising covers Global publisher network, Influencer marketplace, Cross-device attribution, AI-powered insights. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rakuten Advertising: How does Rakuten Advertising pay commissions?

Rakuten Advertising follows a 60-to-90 day commission payment cycle tied to advertiser invoice settlement, which is industry-standard but can result in delayed payments.

Source
Rakuten Advertising: What integrations does Rakuten Advertising support?

Rakuten Advertising integrates with third-party platforms including Improvado, Strackr, Wecantrack, and Kochava for data tracking and reporting across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, and Meta Ads.

Source
Rakuten Advertising: How are commission rates determined on Rakuten Advertising?

Each advertiser sets its own commission rates, cookie durations, and approval requirements. Commission structures vary by individual brand and product category.

Source
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Related pages

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