Viral Loops
Viral Loops is a B2B referral marketing SaaS platform, founded in 2016 and acquired by EMERGE Commerce in March 2026, that enables brands to launch no-code referral, giveaway, and pre-launch campaigns via templated programs and 30+ integrations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Viral Loops does
Viral Loops is a B2B referral marketing SaaS platform founded in 2016 that enables brands to launch, track, and reward customer referral programs without coding. Its core product is a template-driven campaign builder offering nine pre-built referral program templates (Universal, Newsletter, Milestone, Startup Prelaunch, Tempting Giveaway, Leaderboard, Shopify, Refer-a-Friend, Altruistic), each inspired by referral strategies employed by billion-dollar consumer brands such as Harry's, Robinhood, Dropbox, and Morning Brew. Supporting components include a no-code landing page builder (Viral Loops Pages), a real-time analytics dashboard, a progress tracking widget, an ML-based fraud detection system trained on seven years of referral data, an AI-powered auto-brand detection feature, and Viral Loops Rewards for automated payout fulfillment through Stripe and Tremendous.
The platform is distributed primarily through a self-serve, freemium product-led growth motion supplemented by a sales-assisted concierge/fully-managed service for enterprise customers. Pricing follows a tiered SaaS subscription model with annual or monthly billing, and distribution is reinforced by 30+ native integrations (Stripe, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo, Shopify, Substack, Slack, Mixpanel, Segment, Zapier-connected 500+ tools) and dedicated Shopify, vertical-specific landing pages for fintech, startups, newsletters, and eCommerce. Customer logos span consumer and B2B growth-stage companies including Life360, Rocket Companies, Descript, Lime, Greenlight, Cloudways, Product Hunt, theGIST, theDONUT, Greenwood Bank, TreeCard, Baraka, Zengo, and Jupiter.
In March 2026, EMERGE Commerce Ltd. acquired substantially all assets of Viral Loops from Wishpond Technologies Ltd. for CA$2.3M (approximately 2.9x 2025 Adjusted EBITDA), forming EMERGE's first B2B vertical. Viral Loops generated approximately CA$1.3M in 2025 revenue at an 86% gross margin and approximately CA$800K Adjusted EBITDA, operating with a 1-10 employee headcount from its legal base in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Viral Loops firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Viral Loops
- Legal name
- Viral Loops Technologies Inc.
- Website
- https://viral-loops.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Viral Loops is a B2B referral marketing SaaS platform, founded in 2016 and acquired by EMERGE Commerce in March 2026, that enables brands to launch no-code referral, giveaway, and pre-launch campaigns via templated programs and 30+ integrations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Viral Loops industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Referral Marketing Software
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (541810)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Performance Marketing Automation & Bid Management Services (MPAAACAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Customer Retention, Win-Back & Churn Reduction Programs (MPAAAIAH), Sweepstakes, Contests & Giveaway Administration (BPAFAMAD)
Keywords
Where Viral Loops is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Viral Loops business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription Licenses: Annual or monthly subscription-based access to referral marketing platform with tiered pricing based on features and campaign volume.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free trial available for new users |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Viral Loops product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Viral Loops is a B2B SaaS referral marketing platform that enables brands to launch, track, and reward customer referral campaigns. The product is built around a library of pre-built, customizable referral campaign templates (nine-plus templates) that can be configured without coding, paired with fraud detection, real-time analytics, and more than 30 integrations with email, CRM, eCommerce, and analytics tools. The company also offers an optional Concierge fully-managed service for brands that want hands-on campaign setup and management.
Product overview
Viral Loops is a B2B referral marketing platform founded in 2016, acquired by EMERGE Commerce in March 2026. The core platform provides template-based referral program software enabling brands to increase, track, and reward customer referrals. The product portfolio centers on the main Viral Loops platform with its Campaign Wizard for guided setup, complemented by multiple referral program templates (Universal Referral, Newsletter Referral, Milestone Referral, Startup Prelaunch, Tempting Giveaway, Refer a Friend, Leaderboard Giveaway, and Shopify-specific template). Supporting features include Viral Loops Pages (no-code landing page builder), the Real-time Dashboard for analytics, the Progress Tracking Widget, Viral Loops Rewards for automated rewards, native integrations with 30+ tools, and the Concierge Fully Managed Service add-on for hands-on campaign execution. The platform serves industries including newsletters, fintech, startups, and e-commerce.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Viral Loops Platform A SaaS referral marketing platform sold to businesses (fintech startups, newsletter publishers, SaaS companies, and eCommerce brands) that want to launch customizable referral campaigns. The platform includes a no-code campaign builder, nine-plus pre-built templates, fraud detection, real-time analytics, a JavaScript SDK, an API, and 30+ third-party integrations.
- Concierge (Fully Managed Service) A fully managed add-on service in which the Viral Loops team designs, launches, and optimizes referral campaigns on behalf of clients who prefer a hands-off experience rather than running campaigns themselves in the self-serve platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Grow newsletter subscriber list up to 25%
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Viral Loops
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Viral Loops technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration34 records
Feature10 records
Viral Loops partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and former.
- StripecoreOfficial integration enabling automated tracking of Stripe payments from referred users and triggering rewards only when actual purchases are made. Allows reward fulfillment via Stripe coupons and account credit.
- TremendouscoreIntegration for automated reward fulfillment via prepaid cards and e-gifts. Allows scaling reward distribution without manual processing.
- MailchimpcoreOfficial integration to sync campaign participants with Mailchimp email lists and automate email marketing workflows.
- HubSpotcoreCRM integration connecting Viral Loops marketing data with HubSpot automatically, including workflow automation capabilities.
- KlaviyocoreIntegration to add new campaign participants from Viral Loops to Klaviyo email marketing platform.
- ZapiermajorIntegration enabling connection with 500+ tools through Zapier's automation platform for custom workflows and data sync.
- ShopifycoreDedicated Shopify app enabling referral programs directly within Shopify stores, allowing merchants to reward customers for referring friends.
- ActiveCampaignmajorIntegration to automatically import Viral Loops campaign participants and build automated email campaigns.
- SubstackmajorIntegration allowing newsletter referral programs embedded directly in Substack publications, rewarding subscribers for inviting friends.
- Google AnalyticsmajorIntegration to measure advertising ROI and track referral campaign performance within Google Analytics.
- EMERGE Commerce Ltd.coreAcquired Viral Loops assets from Wishpond Technologies Ltd. in March 2026 for CA$2.3 million. EMERGE forms new B2B vertical around Viral Loops platform. Transaction immediately accretive to earnings with pro forma 2025 Adj. EBITDA increasing ~52% to CA$2.2M.
- Wishpond Technologies Ltd.formerFormer parent company that sold Viral Loops assets to EMERGE Commerce. Previously integrated Viral Loops into Wishpond's Propel IQ all-in-one marketing platform alongside Winback and PersistIQ.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Viral Loops competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Friendbuy: Friendbuy is a referral and loyalty marketing platform serving eCommerce, DTC, and SaaS brands. Directly comparable to Viral Loops in core offering (referral program templates, fraud detection, reward fulfillment, integrations with Stripe/Klaviyo/Mailchimp).
- SaaSquatch: SaaSquatch is a referral and loyalty platform purpose-built for SaaS companies. Directly comparable to Viral Loops in serving SaaS, fintech, and subscription-based customer acquisition via referral programs.
- Mention Me: Mention Me is a referral marketing platform with strong enterprise focus, specializing in two-sided referral programs and brand-to-brand referrals. Comparable to Viral Loops in campaign templates and reward mechanics.
- ReferralCandy: ReferralCandy is a referral marketing platform built for Shopify and eCommerce merchants. Closely comparable in SMB/self-serve referral programs, Shopify app presence, and post-purchase referral incentives.
- Yotpo: Yotpo is a customer content marketing platform offering reviews, visual UGC, referrals, and loyalty. Competes with Viral Loops in the eCommerce referral/loyalty space, with broader content marketing scope.
- Extole: Extole is an enterprise referral marketing platform serving brands across retail, financial services, and telecom. Comparable to Viral Loops in referral program software, but with stronger enterprise focus and deeper customization.
- GrowSurf: GrowSurf is a referral program software for SaaS, eCommerce, and small businesses. Closely comparable to Viral Loops in self-serve PLG motion, no-code campaign builder, and SMB-focused pricing.
Broad incumbents
- HubSpot: HubSpot is a broad CRM and marketing automation platform that has integrated referral and partner program capabilities. Represents the platform-as-incumbent risk where Viral Loops' standalone category gets absorbed into a wider marketing stack.
- Klaviyo: Klaviyo is a leading marketing automation platform for eCommerce and DTC brands with growing referral and loyalty capabilities. Comparable in customer overlap (eCommerce brands, newsletter creators) and integration ecosystem.
Emerging players
- Smile.io: Smile.io is a loyalty and referral program platform focused on Shopify merchants. Comparable to Viral Loops' Shopify template and eCommerce referral use cases, with deeper loyalty/points emphasis.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Viral Loops social profiles
Digital presenceViral Loops financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Viral Loops leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Viral Loops funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Viral Loops M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Viral Loops
What does Viral Loops do?
Viral Loops is a B2B SaaS referral marketing platform that enables brands to launch, track, and reward customer referral campaigns. The product is built around a library of pre-built, customizable referral campaign templates (nine-plus templates) that can be configured without coding, paired with fraud detection, real-time analytics, and more than 30 integrations with email, CRM, eCommerce, and analytics tools. The company also offers an optional Concierge fully-managed service for brands that want hands-on campaign setup and management.
Is Viral Loops a public or private company?
Viral Loops is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Viral Loops founded?
Viral Loops was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Viral Loops based?
Viral Loops is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Viral Loops make money?
One revenue line is on record: saaS Subscription Licenses.
Who are Viral Loops's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Friendbuy, SaaSquatch, Mention Me, ReferralCandy, Yotpo, Extole and GrowSurf. Broad incumbents are HubSpot and Klaviyo. Smile.io is listed as an emerging player.
Does Viral Loops have an API?
Yes. Full API access available starting from the Plus plan and on all higher plans. The API enables converting participants from backend systems, creating custom widgets, managing rewards, and flagging users. Every plan includes access to the Viral Loops JavaScript SDK for integrating referral functionality into products. Developer documentation is at developers.viral-loops.com/docs.
What industry is Viral Loops in?
Viral Loops's product category is Referral Marketing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAACAM, Performance Marketing Automation & Bid Management Services, with a secondary code of MPAAAIAH, Customer Retention, Win-Back & Churn Reduction Programs. Its NAICS code is 541810 and its SIC code is 7372.