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Affiliate Marketing · head to head

Crossbeam vs Friendbuy

Crossbeam logo

Crossbeam

Affiliate Marketing

Partner ecosystem platform for revenue teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Friendbuy logo

Friendbuy

Affiliate Marketing

Referral and loyalty platform for DTC brands

From
$249/month
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; Friendbuy no public pricing; requires sales call which makes it difficult to compare costs
  • They diverge on capability: Crossbeam covers Account mapping, Friendbuy covers Referral programs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Crossbeam and Friendbuy actually diverge.

Attributes where Crossbeam and Friendbuy differ
AttributeCrossbeamFriendbuy
Starting priceFree$249/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded20182010

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 Friendbuy

  • Referral programs
  • Loyalty programs
  • A/B testing
  • Fraud detection
  • Attribution tracking
  • Shopify
  • Klaviyo
  • Attentive

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 Friendbuy
  • Running a partner ecosystem programme with shared datanot Friendbuy

Friendbuy

  • 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

Friendbuy

  • No public pricing; requires sales call which makes it difficult to compare costs
  • Custom pricing can be expensive, especially for additional currencies or features
  • Low level of customization makes it difficult to implement seamlessly and maintain brand consistency
  • Customer support only available via email with slow response times
  • Rewards require manual processing and approval rather than automatic distribution
  • Tracking accuracy issues where referred customers sometimes marked as existing customers

Pricing, plan by plan

Crossbeam

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 full access seats
    • 3 standard populations
    • Single-partner account mapping (50 records)
  • Connector$4800/year
    • 1 full access seat
    • Additional seats $1,800/user/year
    • Full account mapping
  • Supernode$null/month
    • 3 full access seats
    • Unlimited sales seats at $40/user/month
    • 25,000 record exports
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom full access seats
    • Custom sales seats
    • 100,000+ record exports

Friendbuy

$249/month
  • Starter$249/month
    • Referral program
    • Basic analytics
    • Email support

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 Friendbuy if

  • You need referral programs.
  • You also want loyalty programs.
Friendbuy review

Questions people ask

Is Crossbeam or Friendbuy better?
Neither clearly leads. Crossbeam starts at Free and Friendbuy at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Crossbeam or Friendbuy?
Crossbeam has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Crossbeam and $249/month for Friendbuy.
Does Crossbeam or Friendbuy 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. Friendbuy starts at $249/month.
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 Friendbuy is typically brought in for.
What can Crossbeam do that Friendbuy cannot?
Crossbeam covers Account mapping, Secure data sharing, Co-selling workflows, Partner scoring. Friendbuy covers Referral programs, Loyalty programs, A/B testing, Fraud detection. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Crossbeam: How much does Crossbeam cost?

Crossbeam offers a free tier with up to 3 seats, Connector at $4,800/year with 1 included seat ($1,800/year per additional seat), and Supernode and Enterprise with custom pricing. Sales seats cost $40/user/month in paid tiers.

Source
Friendbuy: What is Friendbuy's pricing model?

Friendbuy uses custom quote-based pricing with no publicly listed rates. Starting point is approximately $3,000 annually, with costs varying based on traffic volume, features needed, and onboarding requirements. Annual contracts are required.

Source
Crossbeam: What is included in the Crossbeam free plan?

The free plan includes up to 3 full access seats, 3 standard populations, single-partner account mapping with 50 records, Slack integration, AI Chat, and preview access to advanced features like Deal Navigator.

Source
Friendbuy: Does Friendbuy offer a free trial?

Friendbuy does not offer a free trial. Prospective customers must contact sales for a demo and quote. There is no self-serve signup or trial period available.

Source
Crossbeam: How much do additional Crossbeam seats cost?

In the Connector plan, additional full access seats cost $1,800/year each. Sales seats are priced at $40/user/month across Supernode and Enterprise tiers. Supernode includes 3 full access seats with unlimited sales seats available.

Source
Friendbuy: Does Friendbuy offer referral and loyalty programs?

Yes. Friendbuy bundles both referral and loyalty program features together. You cannot purchase referral features alone and must pay for the complete suite.

Source
Crossbeam: What is the Crossbeam Supernode plan?

Supernode is Crossbeam's most popular plan with 3 full access seats, 25,000 record exports, revenue attribution, and dedicated customer success manager. It has custom pricing and supports unlimited sales seats at $40/user/month.

Source
Friendbuy: What integrations does Friendbuy support?

Friendbuy integrates with major e-commerce platforms including Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, plus marketing tools like Klaviyo, Braze, and Segment.

Source
Friendbuy: Are rewards processed automatically in Friendbuy?

Activity is tracked automatically, but rewards are processed manually, requiring administrator action to approve and distribute rewards to referrers.

Source
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