In this article, we describe the 8 best WooCommerce affiliate plugins, along with a few quick tips to make your affiliate marketing program a smashing success.
Table of Contents
- Key Affiliate Program Stats You Should Know
- 4 Keys to Affiliate Marketing Success
- The 8 Best WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Information
Key Affiliate Program Stats You Should Know
Affiliate marketing has experienced incredible growth in recent years and is now responsible for a large portion of ecommerce revenue.
Don't miss out on this huge component of modern marketing!
4 Keys to Affiliate Program Success
Create the Right Affiliate Program
Before you jump in, it’s wise to do a bit of research on the other affiliate programs that you’re up against. Once you know how your competitors are positioning their affiliate programs and what offers they are making to other marketers, you’ll have a much better idea about what you can do to set your affiliate program apart from the rest.
Read more about how to research your competitor’s affiliate programs.
Acquire Affiliates
Start by making your existing customers affiliates, giving them incentives and education about the benefits of joining your program. Try offering high commission rates, even up to 50%, to recruit your first set of affiliates.
Don't just stick to one type of affiliate. Reach out to a diverse group of affiliate marketers, including bloggers, influencers, and developers. Pay special attention to influencers on platforms like YouTube and Twitter, who often appreciate affiliate programs, and to affiliates already working with your competitors.
Learn how to acquire affiliate partners.
Avoid the Affiliate Marketing Pitfalls
Affiliate marketing comes with risks. The most common is fraud involving false clicks or transactions. Some networks might also ask for a membership fee or use tactics like cookie stuffing to create misleading affiliate sales data.
For more information, see Risks and Vulnerabilities for Affiliate Marketers.
Choose the Right Affiliate Plugin
The best affiliate plugins are easy to set up, integrate fully with WooCommerce, provide great support for your affiliates, and keep you protected from fraud.
If you're not sure what some of that means, we strongly suggest you read our article on How to Choose an Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce before proceeding. Otherwise, here is our list of the best WooCommerce affiliate plugins.
The 8 Best WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins
#1 Solid Affiliate for WooCommerce
Solid Affiliate is our top choice as the best WooCommerce affiliate plugin. Its Setup Wizard lets you launch your program in minutes. It has great support for affiliates, including one of the best affiliate portals we've seen. And its admin dashboard and reports help you stay on top of everything with maximum efficiency.
Price
Plans start at $49 per month. This includes all features, as well as unlimited affiliates, creatives, and conversions.
Pros
- Extremely easy and simple plugin to set up, with powerful options for experts
- Simple pricing with no additional add-ons or hidden costs
- Create custom affiliate rates with commission rate overrides for affiliates and products
- Great affiliate portal with links, coupons, landing pages, and an excellent dashboard
- Streamlined affiliate payouts
- Self-hosted, so you own the data
Cons
- Affiliate payouts available only through PayPal
- There’s a free trial, but no free version of the plugin
Reviews
Trustpilot: 4.5 with 23 reviews
WordPress.org: N/A
Recommended For
Vendors who want a fully functional WooCommerce affiliate plugin out of the box and won't settle for less than the best.
Recommended For
People who have tried Solid Affiliate and are seeking an alternative WooCommerce affiliate plugin.
To read our complete review, see Solid Affiliate.
#2 SliceWP
SliceWP may not be our top choice for a WooCommerce affiliate plugin, but it’s a close second, and you won’t be disappointed if you choose it to build and manage your affiliate networks. It has everything you’d expect to find in an affiliate plugin and is one of the least expensive options on this list.
Price
A free version and paid plans starting at $169 per year for the first year and $229 per year thereafter. This includes all features and add-ons, as well as unlimited affiliate conversions.
Pros
- A WooCommerce affiliate plugin that's easy to set up and use
- Simple pricing, with all add-ons included in all plans
- Dashboard with real-time stats for affiliates
- Customizable cookie durations for maximum control
- Free version with a solid set of features
- Self-hosted, so you own the data
Cons
- Affiliate payouts only available through PayPal
- Plans only allow a maximum of 10 sites
- Premium support not available for a single-site license
Reviews
Trustpilot: None
WordPress.org: 5.0 with 63 reviews
Recommended For
People who have tried Solid Affiliate and are seeking an alternative WooCommerce affiliate plugin.
For our complete review, see SliceWP Affiliate Plugin.
#3 AffiliateWP
AffiliateWP is another great option for your WooCommerce affiliate marketing program. In addition to an easy setup process and a solid interface design throughout, it also offers integrations with many other leading WordPress and WooCommerce plugins.
Price
A personal (1-site) version starting at $149 per year for the first year and $374 per year thereafter. Note, this does not include all features, which cost $299 for the first year and $749 per year thereafter.
Pros
- Easy setup process
- Solid interface design
- Extensive feature set
- Integrations with many other WordPress and WooCommerce plugins
- Self-hosted, so you own the data
Cons
- No free version
- Pricing model is more complicated than the first two plugins on this list
- To get all features and integrations, you have to buy the most expensive license
Reviews
Trustpilot: 4.3 with 17 reviews
WordPress.org: N/A
Recommended For
People who need integrations with more WordPress and WooCommerce plugins and don't mind paying a premium price.
For our complete review, see AffiliateWP Review.
#4 ReferralCandy
ReferralCandy is not just a WordPress plugin. It's a hosted affiliate platform, with the WordPress plugin acting as a connector to that platform in the cloud.
There are some striking advantages and disadvantages to this model, depending on your situation. If you are a large company with multiple sales channels (or intend to become one), ReferralCandy has the kind of security, online support, and diverse features that may appeal to you. But if you're a startup operating just one WooCommerce store, it's probably overkill. Also, the fact that it stores your data on its own server and charges a commission on every sale may not be optimal for a small startup.
Price
Starts at $564 per year plus 3.5% commission.
Pros
- Support for platforms other than WooCommerce, such as Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce
- Dedicated affiliate account manager, plus uptime guarantees and SLAs
- Live chat support
- Advanced affiliate fraud management
- Dashboard with real-time affiliate stats
- Many mature features for advanced affiliate programs
Cons
- Charges a commission based on affiliate sales
- Not a WooCommerce-specific service
- Large, complicated affiliate platform
- Many features you probably don’t need
- Affiliate data is not self-hosted, unlike your WooCommerce products
Reviews
Trustpilot: None
WordPress.org: 4.9 with 193 reviews
Recommended For
Large stores that can take advantage of all the features offered by ReferralCandy and don’t mind paying a higher price for them.
For our complete review, see ReferralCandy.
#5 Tapfiliate
Just like ReferralCandy, Tapfiliate is not WooCommerce-specific and offers integrations with a broad range of ecommerce platforms. Like ReferralCandy, it’s also very expensive and has a lot of features. The question is: do you need them?
Price
Starts at $1190 per year, with a wide range of capabilities and limits for plans.
Pros
- White-labeled affiliate onboarding process for affiliates
- No commission fees
- Many powerful features for complex affiliate programs
- Integrations with many services and platforms
- Endless options for customization and configuration of affiliate programs
Cons
- Plans are very expensive
- Complicated set of capabilities and limits between plans
- Takes a lot of time to learn
- Not a WooCommerce-specific service
Reviews
Trustpilot: 3.2 with 10 reviews
WordPress.org: 4.2 with 5 reviews
Recommended For
People who want a large, powerful affiliate platform and don’t mind paying for it but also don’t want to pay commission fees.
For our complete review, see Tapfiliate.
#6 YITH WooCommerce Affiliates
YITH is a well-respected company that specializes in WooCommerce plugins. You can expect a solid affiliate plugin and excellent support. It doesn’t offer you everything that the previous entries in our best WooCommerce affiliate plugins list do, but it's ideal if you want something that addresses basic requirements for less money.
Price
A free version and a paid version for $197 per year.
Pros
- Solid plugin that covers the basics of managing an affiliate program
- Simple pricing
- Pay affiliate commissions with PayPal, Stripe, and Account Funds
- Integrates with other YITH software
- From a company that specializes in WooCommerce
Cons
- Lacks the power and flexibility of top affiliate plugins
- This company has many other plugins
Reviews
Trustpilot: None for this specific plugin
WordPress.org: 4.2 with 17 reviews
Recommended For
WooCommerce store owners on a budget who just need a basic affiliate plugin without sophisticated commission schemes or advanced reporting.
For our complete review, see YITH WooCommerce Affiliates.
#7 Affiliates by itthinx
Affiliates by itthinx is available in free, Pro, and Enterprise versions.
The free version provides great value for a free plugin but lacks the commission flexibility you'll need to run most affiliate marketing programs.
The Pro version represents the sweet spot. At $69 per year, it is the least expensive plugin on this list, yet it should allow you to support all but the most advanced affiliate programs.
The Enterprise version adds additional features like campaigns and multi-tier commission rates, yet it still costs less than many other affiliate plugins at only $149 per year.
The biggest drawback is that all of these versions share the same outdated interface designs, which may or may not be a problem for you, depending on your personal tastes.
Price
Affiliates Pro starts at $69 per year. Affiliates Enterprise starts at $149 per year. Both these prices are for single-site licenses. You can also buy 5-site and 25-site licenses at higher prices.
Pros
- Simple pricing structure
- The least expensive plugin on our list
- Simple and straightforward capabilities
- Can integrate with other platforms in addition to WooCommerce
- Free version available
Cons
- Dated design
- Not specifically designed for WooCommerce
- The developer has a wide range of WooCommerce plugins in their portfolio
Reviews
Trustpilot: None for this specific plugin
WordPress.org: 4.5 with 130 reviews
Recommended For
WooCommerce store owners on a budget who focus more on functionality than appearance.
For our complete review, see Affiliates by itthinx.
#8 Coupon Affiliates for WooCommerce
Coupon Affiliates is a different type of affiliate plugin because its design model centers around the use of coupons. This makes it a better fit for some scenarios than others, but make no mistake about it: this is a high-quality plugin.
Price
A free version and a paid plan for $156 per year.
Pros
- Simple pricing
- Lots of features
- High quality with good support
Cons
- A coupon-centric model that might make it an awkward fit for certain scenarios, especially large affiliate marketing programs
Reviews
Trustpilot: None for this specific plugin
WordPress.org: 4.9 with 63 reviews
Recommended For
WooCommerce store owners that offer a lot of discounts or specials, and that do not plan to build a large affiliate marketing program.
For our complete review, see Coupon Affiliates for WooCommerce.
Best WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins — Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use WooCommerce for affiliate marketing?
Yes, you can use WooCommerce for affiliate marketing. It has many affiliate plugins available at all price points that will let you set up the exact affiliate program that you need. WooCommerce is an excellent option for affiliate marketing and ecommerce in general.
How do I set up an affiliate program in WooCommerce?
- Pick a WooCommerce affiliate plugin and install it.
- Follow the plugin setup guide and set up a competitive affiliate program.
- Market your affiliate program to your existing customers and those already promoting your products.
- Research who your competitors are using as affiliates and try to onboard them.
- Reach out to influencers in your space and try to onboard them as affiliates.
What is the best platform to build an affiliate program?
WooCommerce is the best platform to build an affiliate program. You can build your store for free and use a free plugin to set up your affiliate program. If you have a larger budget, you can take advantage of many premium options that are more cost-effective and powerful than other platforms.
How can I promote my affiliate website for free?
- Install a free WooCommerce affiliate plugin.
- Market your affiliate program to existing customers.
- Invite those already promoting your products to become affiliates.
- Create a program with more competitive commissions than your competitors, and approach their affiliates.
Does WooCommerce offer an affiliate program?
While WooCommerce does not offer an affiliate program of its own, a great many affiliate programs offer integrations with it. When it comes to ecommerce, WooCommerce is widely recognized as the top choice and is indeed the most widely used ecommerce platform in the world.
Best WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins — Related Information
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