Overview

UpPromote is a Shopify-focused affiliate platform for merchants who want to manage partner referrals and payouts alongside their store. It suits Shopify businesses building a program from a small base through to larger operations, though paid-plan sales fees can make growth more expensive.

Its appeal is the combination of several referral tracking methods, affiliate-facing tools and fraud detection. The main trade-off is that every paid plan adds a percentage charge on successful referral sales to its monthly subscription.

Key features

Merchants can attribute referrals through links, coupons, connected customers and connected products. Attribution uses last click, and the cookie window is 3,652 days, which can credit conversions long after the initial referral. That long window may suit products with a considered purchase, but last-click attribution gives credit to the final qualifying interaction rather than distributing it across a journey.

A partner portal gives affiliates a place to engage with the program, while merchants can schedule payouts through PayPal or store credit. Fraud detection targets spam signups and suspected referrals. Integrations include Wise, email marketing and subscription apps, Shopify customer accounts, API and postback URLs; support is advertised around the clock.

Shopify Plus is supported. Creator Discovery is an optional add-on, starting at $39/month, that searches more than 380 million creators across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Enterprise adds API and webhook customization and unlimited staff accounts, while Professional allows up to four staff accounts. The API platform designation may be useful for teams seeking integration options, but API and webhook customization is specifically an Enterprise feature.

Pricing

The Free plan costs $0.00 USD and includes one affiliate program, one coupon per affiliate, $3,000 in monthly referral reviews, 100 bulk emails per day and a 50 MB media gallery. It is a sensible starting point for a small program, but the review cap and single program constrain expansion.

Growth costs $29.99 USD per month, plus 2% of successful referral sales. It raises the limit to 300 monthly referral reviews and 300 bulk emails per day, while retaining one coupon per affiliate and a 50 MB gallery. This is the least expensive paid entry, but its percentage fee and limited program allowance make it less compelling as sales volume or program complexity increases.

Professional costs $89.99 USD per month, plus 1.5% of successful referral sales. It includes 600 monthly referral reviews, unlimited programs and coupons per affiliate, 400 daily bulk emails and an unlimited media gallery. It is the more practical step for merchants who have outgrown one program or need higher-volume outreach; the four-staff-account cap may be restrictive for larger teams.

Enterprise costs $199.99 USD per month, plus 1% of successful referral sales. It removes the referral-review cap and includes unlimited programs, coupons and media gallery, 500 daily bulk emails, unlimited staff accounts, and API and webhook customization. It best fits a sizeable operation needing room to scale, though the recurring fee remains alongside the sales charge.

Yearly billing is advertised as saving 17%. Creator Discovery is optional and starts at $39/month. A 14-day trial is advertised in the pricing note, but no trial or refund terms are stated; check the applicable terms before committing.

Platforms

UpPromote is built for Shopify and supports Shopify Plus. Its tracking methods and integrations are oriented around that ecosystem, so it is not the natural choice for merchants whose store platform is elsewhere.

Who it's for

Choose UpPromote if your business runs on Shopify and you want affiliate tracking, scheduled payouts and fraud checks in one platform, with a free tier for a modest program and paid plans that expand limits. It is less suitable if you need a platform-neutral solution or want to avoid fees tied to referral sales.

Pros and cons

Pros: Links, coupons, connected customers and connected products provide several ways to track referrals.
Pros: Scheduled PayPal or store-credit payouts, a partner portal and fraud detection cover key program operations.
Pros: Professional and Enterprise remove program and coupon limits, and Enterprise also provides unlimited staff accounts and API/webhook customization.
Cons: Paid plans charge a percentage of successful referral sales in addition to the subscription, so higher sales can raise total costs.
Cons: The free tier is capped at one program and $3,000 in monthly referral reviews; Growth also permits only one program.
Cons: Shopify focus limits its fit for merchants using other commerce platforms, and Professional caps staff accounts at four.

Alternatives

OpenPartner is worth considering if you want a freemium option with API, self-hosted and web platforms; its Revshare plan has no monthly fee and charges 3% of GMV.

Refferq is another option if you need API, self-hosted and web support, with a free self-hosted plan and a $29.00 USD per month Managed Cloud plan.

Post Affiliate Pro may suit teams that need Android, iOS, API and web support and are comfortable with paid pricing; its Starter plan is $89.00 USD per month, or $79 per month with yearly billing.

CAKE is an alternative paid platform for teams that need Android, iOS, API and web support.

Simple Kuma is a free-plan option for those considering an API, self-hosted or web platform.

Trackdesk is a paid API and web alternative; its Business plan is $299.00 USD per month and includes five seats, 10 active offers and 100 coupon tracking.

Solid Affiliate is a paid self-hosted and web option, with a Starter plan at $149.60 USD per year that renews at the regular price.

Tracknow is a paid API and web alternative, with a Pro plan at $999.00 USD per month.

Browse more options in Affiliate Analytics Software and Affiliate Marketing Software.

Verdict

UpPromote is a strong fit for Shopify merchants who want a clear path from a capped free program to expanded affiliate operations, with payouts and fraud detection built in. Its Shopify focus is also its boundary, and the percentage charges on every paid plan are the key reason to compare alternatives before referral sales scale.

	Rakuten LinkShare	UpPromote
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Paid from	Free	$29.99/mo
Platforms	Android, api, iOS, Web	api
Partner portal	Yes	Yes
Fraud prevention	Yes	Yes
Attribution models	multi_touch	last_click
API access	Yes	Yes
Free plan		Yes
Paid from		$29.99/mo
Automated payouts		Yes
Cookie window		3,652 days

Rakuten LinkShare vs UpPromote

Rakuten LinkShare

UpPromote