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Affiliate Marketing · head to head

Friendbuy vs Refersion

Friendbuy logo

Friendbuy

Affiliate Marketing

Referral and loyalty platform for DTC brands

From
$249/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
R

Refersion

Influencer Marketing

Affiliate and influencer marketing for e-commerce

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Friendbuy no public pricing; requires sales call which makes it difficult to compare costs; Refersion no influencer discovery tools; requires using separate platforms to identify creators
  • They diverge on capability: Friendbuy covers Referral programs, Refersion covers Affiliate recruitment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Friendbuy and Refersion actually diverge.

Attributes where Friendbuy and Refersion differ
AttributeFriendbuyRefersion
Starting price$249/month$99/month
CategoryAffiliate MarketingInfluencer Marketing
Founded20102014

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web), 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 Friendbuy

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

Only in Refersion

  • Affiliate recruitment
  • Coupon tracking
  • Commission automation
  • Influencer management
  • Performance analytics
  • BigCommerce
  • WooCommerce
  • Magento

Both cover

  • Shopify
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Friendbuy

  • affiliate marketing management
  • Workflow automation
  • Reporting

Refersion

  • affiliate marketing management
  • Workflow automation
  • Reporting

Both are used for affiliate marketing management, workflow automation, reporting, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

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

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

Refersion

  • No influencer discovery tools; requires using separate platforms to identify creators
  • Limited audience analysis and insights compared to competitors
  • Minimal customization options for reports and analytics
  • Higher starting price (39-99 USD/month) may be prohibitive for small businesses

Pricing, plan by plan

Friendbuy

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

Refersion

$99/month
  • Professional$99/month
    • 130 monthly order conversions
    • Unlimited affiliates
    • Shopify integration

Which should you pick?

Choose Friendbuy if

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

Choose Refersion if

  • You need affiliate recruitment.
  • You also want coupon tracking.
Refersion review

Questions people ask

Is Friendbuy or Refersion better?
Neither clearly leads. Friendbuy starts at $249/month and Refersion at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Friendbuy or Refersion?
Friendbuy starts at $249/month and Refersion at $99/month.
Does Friendbuy or Refersion run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Friendbuy best used for?
Friendbuy is most often used for affiliate marketing management, workflow automation, reporting.
What can Friendbuy do that Refersion cannot?
Friendbuy covers Referral programs, Loyalty programs, A/B testing, Fraud detection. Refersion covers Affiliate recruitment, Coupon tracking, Commission automation, Influencer management. Both handle Shopify, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Refersion: How much does Refersion cost?

Refersion offers tiered pricing starting at 39 USD per month for the base plan, with Growth tier at 129 USD/month and Scale tier at 599 USD/month. Professional plans start at 99 USD/month with a 14-day free trial, and Business plans cost 249 USD/month. Pricing scales with advanced features at 599 USD/month.

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
Refersion: How fast can I set up Refersion?

Refersion integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce stores in as little as 10-15 minutes with no developer required. This is significantly faster than competitors like Impact.com which typically requires 2-4 weeks and developer resources for implementation.

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
Refersion: What integrations does Refersion support?

Refersion integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, and Stripe. The platform also connects with Klaviyo for email marketing and Postscript for SMS campaigns, enabling seamless affiliate program management across ecommerce platforms.

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
Refersion: Does Refersion include influencer discovery?

No. Refersion does not include tools for discovering influencers, which requires brands to use additional platforms or manually identify creators. The platform focuses on tracking and managing existing affiliate and influencer relationships rather than discovery.

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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