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Affiliate Marketing · head to head

FirstPromoter vs Loop & Tie

FirstPromoter logo

FirstPromoter

Affiliate Marketing

Referral tracking for SaaS and subscription businesses

From
$49/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Loop & Tie logo

Loop & Tie

Employee Engagement

Choice-based gifting on a flat annual subscription with a marketplace weighted toward small and independent makers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Loop & Tie has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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; Loop & Tie the tier structure gates users tightly, so needing a fourth user pushes an organisation from five hundred to five thousand dollars a year, a tenfold platform cost increase for one seat.
  • They diverge on capability: FirstPromoter covers Recurring commission tracking, Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FirstPromoter and Loop & Tie actually diverge.

Attributes where FirstPromoter and Loop & Tie differ
AttributeFirstPromoterLoop & Tie
Starting price$49/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownPer year subscription plus gift spend
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb (SaaS)Web
CategoryAffiliate MarketingEmployee Engagement
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: 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 FirstPromoter

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

Only in Loop & Tie

  • Choice-based collections
  • Curated marketplace
  • Flat rate or free shipping
  • Redemption analytics
  • Post-redemption scheduling
  • Branded merchandise and swag
  • Salesforce and HRIS integrations
  • Global warehousing

What people use each for

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

FirstPromoter

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

Loop & Tie

  • A marketing team that wants gifting spend to go to small and independent makers rather than mass-produced branded drinkwarenot FirstPromoter
  • A customer success team sending moderate volumes of thank you gifts and needing a meeting booked immediately after redemptionnot FirstPromoter
  • A property management company sending resident perks where a curated local-feeling catalogue matters more than catalogue sizenot FirstPromoter
  • A small business that wants to run gifting properly on a published five hundred dollar a year subscription rather than negotiating an enterprise contractnot FirstPromoter

Where each one falls short

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

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

Loop & Tie

  • The tier structure gates users tightly, so needing a fourth user pushes an organisation from five hundred to five thousand dollars a year, a tenfold platform cost increase for one seat.
  • The curated marketplace is deliberately smaller than mass catalogues, so recipients who want a specific well known product will not find it and some will treat the choice as limited.
  • Global warehousing and international fulfilment only appear on the Premium tier, so any organisation gifting outside its home market is effectively on the five thousand dollar plan whatever its volume.
  • Native Salesforce and HRIS integration is a Premium feature or an Essentials add-on, so the automation that makes gifting scalable is not in the price most buyers first see.
  • Free shipping starts at Essentials, meaning free plan users pay five dollars per gift in shipping, which on any real volume is more than the Essentials subscription would have cost.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Loop & Tie

Free
  • FreeFree
    • One user
    • Full marketplace access
    • Send gifts by email
  • Essentials$500/year
    • Three users and three teams
    • Custom gift collections
    • Free shipping
  • Premium$5000/year
    • Unlimited users and five teams
    • Gift cards, print on demand and branded merchandise
    • Global warehousing and fulfilment
  • Build Your Own$undefined/year
    • Custom team structures and permissions
    • Exclusive inventory or private-label collections
    • Custom logistics and compliance-driven fulfilment

Which should you pick?

Choose FirstPromoter if

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

Choose Loop & Tie if

  • You need choice-based collections.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want curated marketplace.
Loop & Tie review

Questions people ask

Is FirstPromoter or Loop & Tie better?
Neither clearly leads. FirstPromoter starts at $49/month and Loop & Tie at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FirstPromoter or Loop & Tie?
Loop & Tie has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for FirstPromoter and Free for Loop & Tie.
Does FirstPromoter or Loop & Tie run on more platforms?
FirstPromoter runs on Web (SaaS). Loop & Tie runs on Web.
Can I use Loop & Tie for free?
Yes. Loop & Tie has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. FirstPromoter starts at $49/month.
What is FirstPromoter best used for?
FirstPromoter is most often used for running an affiliate or referral programme for a saas product, tracking referral revenue through stripe, paying affiliates and issuing invoices, multi-tier commission structures on the higher plans. Of those, running an affiliate or referral programme for a saas product and tracking referral revenue through stripe are not what Loop & Tie is typically brought in for.
What can FirstPromoter do that Loop & Tie cannot?
FirstPromoter covers Recurring commission tracking, Multi-tier rewards, Coupon attribution, Public leaderboards. Loop & Tie covers Choice-based collections, Curated marketplace, Flat rate or free shipping, Redemption analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Loop & Tie: How much does the platform cost?

Free for one user, five hundred dollars a year for Essentials with three users, five thousand dollars a year for Premium with unlimited users, plus a quoted enterprise tier. Gift spend is separate.

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
Loop & Tie: What is different about the catalogue?

It is curated toward small, independent, sustainable and diverse-owned brands rather than mass market products, which is the usual reason buyers choose it over larger competitors.

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
Loop & Tie: Do recipients choose their gift?

Yes, the sender sets a collection and price band and the recipient picks one item.

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
Loop & Tie: Can I gift internationally on the cheaper plans?

Not properly. Global warehousing and fulfilment are Premium features.

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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