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Affiliate Marketing · head to head

PartnerStack vs Viral Loops

PartnerStack logo

PartnerStack

Affiliate Marketing

B2B partner ecosystem platform for SaaS companies

From
$800/month
Rated
-
Viral Loops logo

Viral Loops

Affiliate Marketing

Viral and referral marketing made simple

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Viral Loops has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PartnerStack pricing is not published; the plan and price are set during a sales demo; Viral Loops pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • They diverge on capability: PartnerStack covers Partner marketplace, Viral Loops covers Campaign templates.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PartnerStack and Viral Loops actually diverge.

Attributes where PartnerStack and Viral Loops differ
AttributePartnerStackViral Loops
Starting price$800/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
Founded20152016

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 PartnerStack

  • Partner marketplace
  • Automated payouts
  • Multi-program support
  • Partner portal
  • Revenue attribution
  • Salesforce
  • Stripe

Only in Viral Loops

  • Campaign templates
  • Milestone rewards
  • Leaderboards
  • Referral widgets
  • Viral analytics
  • Shopify
  • Mailchimp
  • Klaviyo

Both cover

  • HubSpot
  • Zapier
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

PartnerStack

  • Running an affiliate or referral programmenot Viral Loops
  • Partner lead and deal registration for a reseller channelnot Viral Loops
  • Paying partners across geographiesnot Viral Loops
  • Onboarding and training partnersnot Viral Loops
  • Finding partners through the PartnerStack marketplacenot Viral Loops

Viral Loops

  • affiliate marketing managementnot PartnerStack
  • Workflow automationnot PartnerStack
  • Reportingnot PartnerStack

Where each one falls short

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

PartnerStack

  • Pricing is not published; the plan and price are set during a sales demo
  • The entry Launch tier makes you choose between affiliate link tracking and lead or deal registration rather than offering both
  • Advanced integrations, learning management and MDF management require the Growth tier
  • Custom workflows and a dedicated customer success manager are Enterprise only

Viral Loops

  • Pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • Advanced features are only available on higher-tier plans, limiting smaller businesses
  • Limited customization without technical development for highly branded campaigns
  • Customer support response times may vary by region and time zone

Pricing, plan by plan

PartnerStack

$800/month
  • Launch$800/month
    • Partner portal
    • Automated payouts
    • Analytics dashboard

Viral Loops

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 participants
    • All templates
    • Basic features

Which should you pick?

Choose PartnerStack if

  • You need partner marketplace.
  • You also want automated payouts.

Choose Viral Loops if

  • You need campaign templates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want milestone rewards.

Questions people ask

Is PartnerStack or Viral Loops better?
Neither clearly leads. PartnerStack starts at $800/month and Viral Loops at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PartnerStack or Viral Loops?
Viral Loops has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $800/month for PartnerStack and Free for Viral Loops.
Does PartnerStack or Viral Loops run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Viral Loops for free?
Yes. Viral Loops has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PartnerStack starts at $800/month.
What is PartnerStack best used for?
PartnerStack is most often used for running an affiliate or referral programme, partner lead and deal registration for a reseller channel, paying partners across geographies, onboarding and training partners. Of those, running an affiliate or referral programme and partner lead and deal registration for a reseller channel are not what Viral Loops is typically brought in for.
What can PartnerStack do that Viral Loops cannot?
PartnerStack covers Partner marketplace, Automated payouts, Multi-program support, Partner portal. Viral Loops covers Campaign templates, Milestone rewards, Leaderboards, Referral widgets. Both handle HubSpot, Zapier, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PartnerStack: What is PartnerStack used for?

PartnerStack helps partnership teams easily scale their program revenue by automating a variety of partner referral and sales motions in a single dashboard, supporting affiliate, referral, co-sell and influencer programs.

Source
Viral Loops: What does Viral Loops pricing start at?

Viral Loops pricing starts at $35/month and ranges up to $208/month depending on the plan. The platform offers a 14-day free trial, flat-rate pricing (no per-campaign charges), and 30% discount for annual billing.

Source
PartnerStack: How does PartnerStack automate commissions?

PartnerStack automates the entire commission process from tracking partner-sourced revenue to calculating payouts and issuing payments, consolidating all approved commissions into a single monthly invoice and distributing earnings to every partner.

Source
Viral Loops: What types of campaigns can Viral Loops create?

Viral Loops allows creation of referral programs, giveaways, waiting lists, and sweepstakes/competitions. Campaigns can be integrated into websites or mobile apps within minutes using pre-built templates.

Source
PartnerStack: Does PartnerStack provide partner recruitment tools?

Yes. PartnerStack AI automatically identifies and ranks the best-fit partners for your program using data from across the PartnerStack Network, and leverages AI-generated invites to scale your outreach with personalized messages.

Source
Viral Loops: Does Viral Loops offer custom pricing?

Yes. Beyond the standard $35-208/month plans, Viral Loops offers custom pricing for larger teams and enterprises with specific feature requirements.

Source
PartnerStack: How many partners are in the PartnerStack ecosystem?

PartnerStack hosts over 80,000 active vetted partners in its ecosystem, with over 800 partner programs ranging from startups to publicly traded corporations.

Source
Viral Loops: What happens to campaigns after I cancel Viral Loops?

Users can export large files of mailing lists in several data formats, allowing campaign data to be migrated to another platform if needed after cancellation.

Source
Viral Loops: How quickly can I launch a campaign with Viral Loops?

Campaigns can be launched within minutes using Viral Loops' template-based, intuitive interface that requires no technical expertise or coding knowledge.

Source

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