Refersion
Refersion is an end-to-end affiliate marketing platform enabling e-commerce brands to recruit, track, and pay affiliates, influencers, and ambassadors. It serves 60,000+ merchants globally via first-party attribution, automated payouts, and a two-sided affiliate marketplace.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Refersion does
Refersion is an end-to-end affiliate marketing management platform that enables e-commerce brands to recruit, track, and pay affiliates, influencers, and brand ambassadors. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Palo Alto with remote-first operations spanning New York and Miami, the company is a subsidiary of Pantastic Networks Inc. following a July 2023 acquisition. The platform serves 60,000+ registered merchants globally and manages 6.6 million affiliates, having tracked $2 billion in affiliate revenue and 614,000+ orders daily. Core technology centers on a first-party attribution engine that uses session and cart IDs to match clicks to purchases without third-party cookies or redirects, with native integrations into Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Stripe, Magento, and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, augmented by 2,000+ Zapier-powered app connections. The product suite includes the Refersion Platform (management dashboard), Refersion Marketplace (free brand-affiliate discovery), Refersion Unified Payments (automated multi-method payouts with 1099 generation), and REST/GraphQL developer APIs.
Refersion monetizes through a hybrid subscription-plus-usage pricing model. The Launch tier ($39/month plus 3% of affiliate-driven sales) and Growth tier ($199/month plus 2% of affiliate-driven sales) target small and mid-market merchants, while the Scale tier offers flat custom monthly pricing for high-volume programs with white-glove onboarding, Slack support, and early feature access. A free marketplace listing tier enables brand-affiliate discovery without payment, serving as both a top-of-funnel acquisition channel and a freemium entry point. Distribution is primarily self-serve product-led growth via the company website and the Shopify App Store (where Refersion is a Plus Certified partner with 800+ five-star reviews), supplemented by an agency reseller channel (Absolute Web, Swanky, Roswell, Wolfpoint) targeting mid-market and a demo-based enterprise sales motion for the Scale tier.
Customer segments are horizontally oriented around e-commerce brands seeking to diversify customer acquisition away from paid advertising; additional segments include digital marketing agencies, brand ambassador programs, and influencer marketing teams. Notable customer outcomes cited include 5x higher conversion from affiliate traffic (Boardroom Socks), 656% affiliate revenue uplift (Renue by Science), 900% annual affiliate revenue increase (Fuego), and 270% ambassador revenue growth (Blenders Eyewear). The company is GDPR and CCPA compliant and supports affiliate payouts in 150+ currencies, indicating cross-border operational maturity.
Refersion firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Refersion
- Legal name
- Refersion Inc.
- Website
- https://refersion.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Refersion is an end-to-end affiliate marketing platform enabling e-commerce brands to recruit, track, and pay affiliates, influencers, and ambassadors. It serves 60,000+ merchants globally via first-party attribution, automated payouts, and a two-sided affiliate marketplace.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Refersion industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Affiliate Marketing Software
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Attribution, Measurement, Analytics & Incrementality (BPAMALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Influencer Measurement, Attribution & Analytics (BPAFAHAI), Influencer Campaign Operations & Managed Services (BPAFAHAF)
Keywords
Where Refersion is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Refersion business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription + Usage-based fees: Platform subscription fees combined with percentage of affiliate-driven sales. Plans scale with growth - lower percentage rates as volume increases. Launch tier at $39/mo + 3% of affiliate sales, Growth at $199/mo + 2%, Scale with flat monthly pricing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Marketplace Listing - Free brand visibility tier |
| Hybrid | Monthly | Launch - $39/mo + 3% affiliate-driven sales |
| Hybrid | Monthly | Growth - $199/mo + 2% affiliate-driven sales |
| Subscription | Annual | Scale - Custom flat monthly pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Refersion product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Refersion provides an end-to-end affiliate and influencer marketing management platform that enables e-commerce brands to launch, track, and pay affiliate partners without developer support. The platform offers first-party cookie-less attribution, flexible commission structures, automated multi-method payouts, a marketplace for affiliate discovery, and integrations with major ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Stripe).
Product overview
Refersion is an end-to-end performance marketing platform providing a unified affiliate management system with multiple integrated modules. The core Refersion Platform serves as the central hub for managing affiliate, influencer, and ambassador programs, supporting unlimited affiliates, first-party tracking, and flexible commission structures. The platform includes a free Refersion Marketplace for brand-affiliate discovery, Refersion Unified Payments for automated payouts with multi-method support (PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, ACH), and a Developer API (REST/GraphQL) for custom integrations. The offering is structured across three pricing tiers—Launch ($39/mo + 3% sales), Growth ($199/mo + 2% sales with API access and 30+ integrations), and Scale (enterprise with premium support)—enabling brands to manage the complete affiliate lifecycle from recruitment through commission calculation to automated disbursement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Refersion Platform
- Refersion Marketplace
- Refersion Unified Payments
- AI-Powered Affiliate Suggestions
- Refersion API
Quantifiable outcome
- Affiliate traffic converts 5x higher than other traffic for Boardroom Socks
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Refersion
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Refersion technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability2 records
Feature6 records
Refersion partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ShopifycoreShopify Plus Certified App Partner. Refersion was first built to support Shopify store owners. Offers plug-and-play app integration with Shopify, automated product feed sync, and custom API integrations for Shopify Plus merchants.
- Shopify PluscoreCertified App Partner with exclusive APIs for custom integrations. Provides automated Start Guide for quick setup, client success team support, and custom feature development for enterprise merchants.
- BigCommercecoreNative integration with BigCommerce platform. Automated Start Guide helps merchants set up tracking in minutes. Custom feature development available for enterprise accounts.
- WooCommercecoreCompatible WooCommerce plugin for order attribution and commission calculation. U.S.-based support team assists with integration and custom features.
- StripecoreOne-click Stripe integration for secure sales tracking and affiliate crediting. Robust API documentation available for custom implementations.
- Zapiercore2000+ app integrations available through Zapier, enabling connections to Gmail, Dropbox, Slack, Google Sheets, Mailchimp and thousands of other apps.
- Salesforce Commerce CloudcoreIntegration support for Salesforce Commerce Cloud merchants to track affiliate sales and manage commissions.
- Absolute WebminorDigital marketing agency partner offering affiliate management services using Refersion platform.
- SwankyminorDigital marketing agency partner offering affiliate management services using Refersion platform.
- RoswellminorDigital marketing agency partner offering affiliate management services using Refersion platform.
- WolfpointminorDigital marketing agency partner offering affiliate management services using Refersion platform.
- PayPalcoreSupported payout method for affiliates through Unified Payments system. One-click payouts include PayPal as primary option.
- RefermateminorAffiliate partner that uses Refersion Unified Payments for consolidated payments to their affiliate network and advertiser brands.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Refersion competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tapfiliate: Tapfiliate is a self-serve affiliate tracking software targeting SMB and Shopify-like e-commerce brands. It is highly comparable to Refersion on tiered pricing, dev-free setup, and integration focus, and competes head-to-head for the same Shopify/WooCommerce customer base.
- Awin: Awin is a global affiliate marketing network operating in retail, travel, and finance with cross-border payouts. It directly competes with Refersion for multi-region e-commerce brands needing affiliate tracking and global payout infrastructure, particularly against Refersion's 150+ currency support.
- PartnerStack: PartnerStack is a partner management platform focused on B2B SaaS and DTC affiliate programs. It is comparable to Refersion in targeting SaaS-style affiliate operations with tiered pricing and marketplace-style partner recruitment, though it leans more toward software/SaaS ecosystems than pure e-commerce.
- ShareASale: ShareASale is a long-standing affiliate network connecting merchants and affiliates across consumer verticals. It is comparable to Refersion in serving SMB and mid-market e-commerce brands on usage-based economics, though it relies on legacy cookie-based tracking rather than Refersion's first-party approach.
- Impact: Impact operates one of the largest global partner and affiliate marketing platforms serving enterprise and mid-market brands. It directly competes with Refersion on tracking accuracy, attribution, partner discovery, and global payouts, but skews further upmarket into larger enterprise budgets.
- CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction): CJ Affiliate is one of the largest global affiliate networks, historically serving enterprise retailers. It is comparable to Refersion in core affiliate tracking and commission payouts but skews toward large enterprise contracts with more complex service overhead and slower onboarding than Refersion's PLG motion.
- Rakuten Advertising: Rakuten Advertising operates a global affiliate network and partner marketing platform. It directly competes with Refersion in cross-border affiliate tracking and brand-affiliate discovery, especially for consumer brands, but with a more enterprise sales motion and brand-name network effect from the broader Rakuten ecosystem.
Emerging players
- GoAffPro: GoAffPro is an emerging Shopify-focused affiliate app targeting very small merchants with a low-cost entry tier. It overlaps with Refersion's Launch tier on Shopify, competing primarily on price rather than feature breadth.
- UpPromote: UpPromote is a Shopify-focused affiliate and referral marketing app competing in the same SMB Shopify App Store category as Refersion. It is comparable on tiered pricing and one-click Shopify install but typically targets even smaller merchants with a freemium bottom-of-funnel offering.
Broad incumbents
- Shopify Collabs: Shopify Collabs is Shopify's native affiliate and creator management tool, built directly into the Shopify platform. It is comparable to Refersion as the most direct substitute for Shopify merchants and represents the strongest platform-native competitive threat given Refersion's deep Shopify Plus Certified App Partnership.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Refersion social profiles
Digital presenceRefersion compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Refersion financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Refersion leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Refersion funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Refersion 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 Refersion
What does Refersion do?
Refersion provides an end-to-end affiliate and influencer marketing management platform that enables e-commerce brands to launch, track, and pay affiliate partners without developer support. The platform offers first-party cookie-less attribution, flexible commission structures, automated multi-method payouts, a marketplace for affiliate discovery, and integrations with major ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Stripe).
Is Refersion a public or private company?
Refersion is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Refersion founded?
Refersion was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Refersion based?
Refersion is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Refersion make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription + Usage-based fees.
Who are Refersion's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tapfiliate, Awin, PartnerStack, ShareASale, Impact, CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction) and Rakuten Advertising. Emerging players are GoAffPro and UpPromote. Shopify Collabs is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Refersion have an API?
Yes. Refersion offers public API access for developers. The API supports both REST and GraphQL for building custom dashboards and integrations. Features include automatic coupon creation via API (Shopify, BigCommerce), access to developer APIs, and webhooks for event notifications. A branded sending domain is also available for enterprise plans. Developer documentation is at www.refersion.dev/reference/welcome-to-refersion.
What industry is Refersion in?
Refersion's product category is Affiliate Marketing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMALAF, Attribution, Measurement, Analytics & Incrementality, with a secondary code of BPAFAHAI, Influencer Measurement, Attribution & Analytics. Its NAICS code is 519290 and its SIC code is 7310.