ChatGPT answers, unedited

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d start with Rewardful—especially if you use Stripe. It starts at $49/month, has 0% transaction fees, and is designed around SaaS/recurring subscriptions. Rewardful citeturn0search9

• Rewardful: simplest low-maintenance choice; strong Stripe integration.
• FirstPromoter: also $49/month, with a 14-day free trial; worth considering if you need broader billing/integration flexibility. FirstPromoter
• Tolt: starts around $69/month and gives more affiliate-revenue headroom, but charges 2% on automated payouts. thesubscriptionguide.com
• PartnerStack: I'd avoid at your stage; its pricing is geared toward substantially larger programs. docs.affitor.com

My pick: Rewardful until your affiliate channel is producing enough revenue that switching costs become meaningful.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d shortlist Rewardful, FirstPromoter, and Tolt. If you’re using Stripe, Rewardful would be my default starting point.

Current pricing is roughly as shown above, though these vendors change pricing fairly often. Rewardful FirstPromoter Affitor

My pick: Rewardful

If you're already on Stripe, Rewardful is particularly attractive because its integration is built around subscription billing. It can track upgrades, downgrades, renewals, cancellations and refunds rather than making you build that commission logic yourself. Rewardful Help Center Rewardful Help Center

It starts at $49/month, has a 14-day trial, and advertises 0% transaction fees. Rewardful Rewardful

For a tiny team, I'd value the time saved more than having 50 extra affiliate-program features. You can essentially:

1. Set 20–30% recurring commission.
2. Give affiliates their own links/codes.
3. Recruit a handful of existing customers and niche creators.
4. Let Rewardful handle attribution and commission tracking.
5. Pay affiliates monthly.

One interesting alternative: Affitor

If $49/month feels painful before you know whether referrals work, there's a newer model worth looking at: Affitor currently advertises $0/month until the first $10k of affiliate-driven revenue, then takes a percentage of attributed sales. Affitor Affitor

That's potentially more attractive for a genuinely cash-constrained startup, because you're trading fixed SaaS cost for a percentage of successful revenue.

So my decision rule would be:

• Already on Stripe + want simplicity → Rewardful
• Want lots of affiliate-program functionality → FirstPromoter
• Want more revenue headroom → Tolt
• Can't stomach $49/month until you've validated the channel → investigate Affitor

I wouldn't start with something like PartnerStack or impact.com for a two-person company unless you specifically need a larger partner/reseller ecosystem; their economics and complexity are generally aimed at a different stage. Affitor

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, and whether you mean customer referrals or external affiliates, I can narrow this to the cheapest sensible setup for you.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d start with rewardful.com—especially if you use Stripe.

My shortlist

• 🥇 Rewardful — best default

• Starts at $49/month, with a 14-day trial.
• Built specifically around SaaS + Stripe, including recurring commissions, refunds, upgrades/downgrades, and cancellations.
• 0% transaction fees, which matters once referrals start working.
• Designed for a very quick setup, so you aren't burning engineering time on affiliate plumbing. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• I'd pick this if: you're on Stripe and want something you can basically set-and-forget.
• 🥈 FirstPromoter — best if you aren't exclusively on Stripe

• Also starts at $49/month.
• Supports Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly, and Braintree, plus recurring commissions and affiliate/referral/influencer programs.
• Its Starter plan currently caps affiliate-generated revenue at $5,000/month. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter
• I'd pick this if: you expect billing complexity or want more flexibility than a Stripe-centric setup.
• 🥉 Tolt — worth considering

• A SaaS-focused option with unlimited affiliates on its plans, but its current pricing is higher and includes a fee on automated payouts. Affitor Documentation
• I'd pick this if: its particular partner/referral workflow is a better fit for you than Rewardful.

What I'd do in your shoes

Don't overbuild this. Start with:

20–30% recurring commission for 12 months + Rewardful + Stripe + a simple affiliate landing page.

You don't need PartnerStack, Impact, or an elaborate partner ecosystem yet. Those tools make more sense once you're running multiple partner motions and have enough revenue to justify the operational overhead. Current comparisons put PartnerStack at roughly $1,000+/month, versus ~$49/month for the lightweight SaaS-focused options. Affitor Documentation

One caveat: $49/month isn't necessarily the cheapest possible approach. If your referral revenue is currently close to zero, there are newer tools using performance-based pricing rather than a monthly subscription. But for a tiny team, I'd value reliable Stripe attribution + low admin overhead over saving the first $49.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), monthly MRR, and whether you want customer referrals or influencer/affiliate referrals, I can tell you which one I'd actually choose and what commission structure I'd launch with.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d start with rewardful.com—especially if you use Stripe.

My shortlist

• 🥇 Rewardful — best default

• $49/month on Starter, with a 14-day trial.
• No transaction fees.
• Unlimited affiliates and visitors.
• Particularly good for SaaS because it syncs with Stripe and handles upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, and recurring commissions. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• Setup is deliberately lightweight, which matters when your "growth team" is two people. Rewardful
• rewardful.com
• 🥈 FirstPromoter — best if you need broader billing integrations

• Also starts at $49/month.
• Supports Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree.
• Strong recurring-commission and referral functionality. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter
• I'd choose it over Rewardful if you're not Stripe-centric or expect to need more sophisticated affiliate/referral workflows.
• 💡 Don't overbuy with PartnerStack or impact.com

• They're aimed much more at companies running substantial partner ecosystems. Current comparisons put PartnerStack around $1,000+/month, while enterprise platforms can quickly get expensive. Affitor Documentation
• That's hard to justify when you're still validating whether affiliates will produce meaningful revenue.

What I'd actually do

If you're early, I'd spend $49/month + commissions, not months building a referral system yourself.

Start with something dead simple:

20–30% recurring commission for 12 months

• a unique referral link
• automatic attribution
• monthly payouts

Then recruit 10–20 people who already have your target customers' attention rather than opening a giant public affiliate program.

If you're on Stripe, I'd pick Rewardful. If you're on Paddle/Chargebee/etc., I'd lean FirstPromoter.

One caveat: there's also a newer class of tools that charge $0 upfront and take a percentage of affiliate-generated revenue, which can be attractive when you're really cash-constrained. A 2026 comparison lists Affitor in that category. Affitor Documentation If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, and roughly how many referrals you expect, I can tell you which pricing model is actually cheapest for you.

For a 2-person SaaS on a shoestring, I would avoid big partner platforms (PartnerStack, Impact, etc.) and pick something that is:

• cheap before you have revenue
• built for recurring SaaS commissions
• quick to integrate with Stripe/Paddle
• low-maintenance (you don't want to become an affiliate program operator)

My shortlist:

Affitor Track360## My recommendation by stage

If you have < $5k MRR

I would not buy a platform yet unless you already have potential affiliates lined up.

A scrappy setup:

• create referral codes in Stripe
• track referrals in Airtable/Notion
• pay monthly via PayPal/Wise
• move to software once you have ~10–20 active referrers

The bottleneck usually isn't tracking; it's finding people willing to promote you.

If you want a real affiliate program now

I’d pick:

#1: Rewardful if you're on Stripe.
It is the "boring but works" choice for a tiny SaaS. StartupHub

#2: Tolt if you care more about a polished founder-friendly experience. Affitor

#3: FirstPromoter if your billing stack is more complex than Stripe. Affitor Documentation

What I would avoid

• PartnerStack — excellent for mature B2B SaaS, but usually overkill for a two-person company.
• impact.com — powerful, but aimed more at companies with larger partnership operations.

A simple program beats a sophisticated one. For a tiny SaaS, I'd spend the saved money on recruiting the first 20 affiliates rather than optimizing the affiliate software.

If you tell me your stack (Stripe vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy, B2B vs B2C, and your MRR), I can narrow it to one choice.

#3: FirstPromoter if your billing stack is more complex than Stripe.

What I would avoid

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep this very simple: don’t buy an enterprise partner platform. You mainly need reliable attribution, recurring commissions, Stripe integration, and easy payouts.

My shortlist

Current comparisons put Rewardful and FirstPromoter at $49/month, Tolt at $69/month, while Affitor currently offers $0/month until the first $10K of affiliate-driven revenue, after which it charges a percentage. Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation

🥇 I'd probably pick Rewardful

If you're on Stripe, Rewardful is the one I'd start with. It's specifically geared toward SaaS, has a relatively painless Stripe setup, and its entry plan is $49/month with no transaction fee according to current comparisons. Affitor Documentation

The important caveat: its $49 tier has a $7,500/month attributed-revenue cap, so you'll eventually have to upgrade if the affiliate channel works really well. Affitor Documentation

rewardful.com

💰 If $49/month genuinely hurts: look at Affitor

This is the option I'd investigate hardest for a bootstrapped two-person company. Its current model is $0/month until affiliates generate their first $10K, then 3.5% on affiliate-driven sales. Affitor Documentation

That makes the economics attractive when you're still validating whether affiliates will produce anything.

The tradeoff is that it's a newer/smaller option, so I'd test the integration and payout workflow before committing your entire referral program to it.

When I'd choose FirstPromoter

Choose FirstPromoter instead if you expect to need more flexibility around billing providers or more sophisticated affiliate-program features. Its entry price is also $49/month, but the current entry-tier affiliate-revenue ceiling is lower at $5K/month. Affitor Documentation

firstpromoter.com

What I would not buy yet

I'd avoid PartnerStack, impact.com, etc. at your stage. They're valuable once you're running a substantial partner ecosystem, but they're solving a much bigger problem than "let people refer our SaaS and get paid."

For a two-person team, $500–$1,000+/month of tooling to run a referral program is backwards.

My recommendation

If I were in your shoes:

1. Stripe + Rewardful if $49/mo is fine and you want the safest/simple choice.
2. Affitor if keeping fixed costs near zero is the overriding priority.
3. FirstPromoter if you know you'll need more complex integrations/features.
4. Tolt if you expect the affiliate program to grow quickly and want more revenue headroom; its current Basic tier is $69/month for up to $10K/month of affiliate revenue. affitor.com

One other thought: don't launch with a giant affiliate marketplace or complicated partner program. For a tiny SaaS, I'd start with 20–50 hand-picked customers/creators, offer something like 20–30% recurring commission, and see whether you can get 5–10 genuinely productive affiliates before optimizing the machinery.

Current comparisons put Rewardful and FirstPromoter at $49/month, Tolt at $69/month, while Affitor currently offers $0/month until the first $10K of affiliate-driven revenue, after which it charges a percentage. Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation

🥇 I'd probably pick Rewardful

If you're on Stripe, Rewardful is the one I'd start with. It's specifically geared toward SaaS, has a relatively painless Stripe setup, and its entry plan is $49/month with no transaction fee according to current comparisons. Affitor Documentation

The important caveat: its $49 tier has a $7,500/month attributed-revenue cap, so you'll eventually have to upgrade if the affiliate channel works really well. Affitor Documentation

rewardful.com

💰 If $49/month genuinely hurts: look at Affitor

This is the option I'd investigate hardest for a bootstrapped two-person company. Its current model is $0/month until affiliates generate their first $10K, then 3.5% on affiliate-driven sales. Affitor Documentation

That makes the economics attractive when you're still validating whether affiliates will produce anything.

The tradeoff is that it's a newer/smaller option, so I'd test the integration and payout workflow before committing your entire referral program to it.

When I'd choose FirstPromoter

Choose FirstPromoter instead if you expect to need more flexibility around billing providers or more sophisticated affiliate-program features. Its entry price is also $49/month, but the current entry-tier affiliate-revenue ceiling is lower at $5K/month. Affitor Documentation

firstpromoter.com

What I would not buy yet

I'd avoid PartnerStack, impact.com, etc. at your stage. They're valuable once you're running a substantial partner ecosystem, but they're solving a much bigger problem than "let people refer our SaaS and get paid."

For a two-person team, $500–$1,000+/month of tooling to run a referral program is backwards.

My recommendation

If I were in your shoes:

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I would avoid the big partner-management suites. You probably need only:

• referral links
• recurring commission tracking
• Stripe/Paddle integration
• a basic affiliate dashboard
• payouts/export

My shortlist would be:

1. Rewardful — best default for tiny SaaS teams

rewardful.com

Pick this if you use Stripe subscriptions.

Pros:

• Very SaaS-focused
• Quick setup
• Handles recurring commissions well
• Simple enough that a founder can run it without a partner manager
• No revenue-share fee on commissions (pricing is subscription-based) Rewardful

Cons:

• You are paying monthly even if you have zero affiliates
• Less useful if your billing stack is not Stripe/Paddle

Typical fit: “We have 20–200 customers and want creators/customers to refer more.”

2. FirstPromoter — best if you need more billing flexibility

firstpromoter.com

Pros:

• Built for SaaS
• Works with more billing setups than some Stripe-only options
• Good for recurring revenue programs Rewardful

Cons:

• Slightly more setup/complexity
• Probably overkill if you just need a simple customer referral loop

Typical fit: “We’re growing and might have affiliates, ambassadors, and partners.”

3. Tolt — good low-cost alternative

tolt.io

Pros:

• Startup-friendly
• Unlimited affiliates on plans
• Simple SaaS referral workflows Affitor

Cons:

• Automated payouts can add fees depending on plan
• Less mature ecosystem than the bigger names

Typical fit: “We want something cheap and straightforward.”

4. Build it yourself (seriously consider this)

For a two-person SaaS, a custom referral system can sometimes be the cheapest and best first version.

A lightweight MVP:

• Generate referral codes in your database
• Store referred_by on signup
• Track conversions in Stripe webhooks
• Credit referrers monthly
• Pay via Stripe Connect, PayPal, Wise, etc.

You can build this in a weekend if your stack is already set up. The downside is handling edge cases:

• refunds
• chargebacks
• upgrades/downgrades
• attribution disputes

What I would do in your shoes

If you have < $5k MRR:
→ Build it yourself or use Rewardful.

If you have $5k–$50k MRR and want affiliates seriously:
→ Rewardful or FirstPromoter.

If you’re mostly doing customer referrals (not influencers/affiliates):
→ Don’t buy affiliate software yet. Add a simple “invite friends, get credit” system.

I would not touch platforms like PartnerStack or impact.com at your stage — they are aimed at companies with dedicated partnership teams and much larger budgets. StartupHub

If you tell me your stack (Stripe? Paddle? Lemon Squeezy? custom billing?) and whether you mean customer referrals or affiliate marketers, I can narrow this to one choice.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid the big partner platforms (PartnerStack, Impact, etc.) and pick something that gets you live in a day, handles recurring SaaS commissions, and doesn’t become another project. Affitor Documentation

My shortlist:

My recommendation by situation:

• You use Stripe subscriptions: Start with Rewardful. It’s the “don’t spend engineering time on this” choice. Rewardful
• You have almost no revenue and want the lowest commitment: Look at a pay-for-results option like Affitor (if its model fits your needs) rather than paying monthly before affiliates produce anything. Affitor Documentation
• You’re still proving whether referrals work: Don’t overbuild. Recruit 5–10 affiliates manually and track referrals with a lightweight system first.
• You expect creators/content marketers to become a real channel: Use a proper platform early so you don’t have to migrate partner histories later.

For a two-founder SaaS, I’d probably do:

1. Launch with Rewardful or Tolt.
2. Offer a simple recurring commission (e.g., 20–30% for 12 months).
3. Personally recruit your first 20 affiliates.
4. Only move to heavier partner software once affiliate revenue is meaningful.

If you tell me your stack (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee? B2B vs B2C? average subscription price?) I can narrow it to one pick.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d narrow it to Rewardful or Tolt, with one important caveat.

My pick: Rewardful

If you’re using Stripe, I’d start with rewardful.com.

• $49/month on the Starter plan
• 0% transaction fees
• Unlimited affiliates and visitors
• Stripe integration and recurring-commission tracking
• 14-day free trial
• Built specifically around SaaS subscriptions, including upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, and trials Rewardful Rewardful

For a tiny team, the big advantage is low operational overhead. You don't want to build attribution, affiliate dashboards, commission calculations, and payout workflows yourself.

If $49/month is too much right now

Look at tolt.com, which starts at $69/month, so it's actually not cheaper, but gives you unlimited affiliates and supports Stripe/Paddle. Its Growth plan adds automated payouts, with a 2% processing fee. Tolt

There are also newer pay-for-results options worth investigating if your constraint is specifically "I don't want to spend $49 before we've proven affiliates work." For example, Referralful currently advertises a free starting tier and $19.99/month Starter plan, while Affitor advertises $0/month until affiliate-generated revenue reaches its initial threshold. I'd evaluate these more carefully before committing because they're newer products. Referralful Affitor

What I'd do in your shoes

One other recommendation: don't overbuild the program initially. Give affiliates a simple 20–30% recurring commission, a unique link, a basic landing page, and monthly payouts. Recruit 10–20 relevant customers/creators manually before worrying about an affiliate marketplace.

At your stage, distribution is probably the bottleneck, not affiliate software.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d start with rewardful.com — assuming you use Stripe.

My shortlist

• 🥇 Rewardful — best default

• $49/month on Starter, with a 14-day trial.
• 0% transaction fee and unlimited affiliates.
• Particularly good for SaaS because it syncs subscription events with Stripe, including upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, and trials. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• You can have a basic program running without building much yourself.
• The main downside: the $49 tier caps affiliate-attributed revenue at $7,500/month. Rewardful
• 🥈 firstpromoter.com — best if you need broader billing support

• Also $49/month, but its Starter cap is $5,000/month in affiliate revenue. FirstPromoter
• Supports Stripe, Paddle, and Chargebee, so it's more interesting if you're not purely Stripe-based.
• I'd pick it over Rewardful if you expect to need its broader feature set rather than maximum simplicity.
• 🥉 tolt.io — worth considering

• Current Basic pricing is around $69/month, with a $10k/month affiliate-revenue limit and unlimited affiliates. Affitor
• Nice SaaS-specific product, but for a tiny team I'd rather keep the extra $20/month unless there's a Tolt feature you specifically need.

What I'd actually do

If you're pre-$10k MRR, don't over-engineer this. I'd spend the $49/month on Rewardful and launch with:

20–30% recurring commission for 12 months + a simple affiliate signup page + Stripe integration.

The bigger challenge at your stage is probably finding 10 good affiliates, not having sophisticated affiliate infrastructure. Rewardful's simple setup and Stripe integration make it a good fit for that. Rewardful

One caveat: if $49/month is genuinely painful right now, I'd hold off on paid affiliate software altogether and manually track a handful of referral partners with unique coupon codes/links until you have enough referral volume to justify the subscription.

If you tell me your current MRR, Stripe/Paddle/etc., and roughly how many affiliates you expect, I can tell you which option is actually cheapest for your numbers.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for low fixed cost + minimal engineering + reliable recurring-commission tracking.

My picks

• 🥇 Referralful — best if you're very early and use Stripe. It’s free until your first affiliate joins, then starts at $19.99/mo, with unlimited affiliates and 0% transaction fees. It syncs Stripe payments and recurring commissions. Referralful Referralful

referralful.com

• 🥈 Rewardful — my safer/more established choice if you're okay spending $49/mo. It has a very tight Stripe integration, supports recurring commissions and refunds/upgrades/downgrades, and claims setup can take ~15 minutes. Rewardful Rewardful

rewardful.com

• 🥉 Tolt — worth considering if you want a more polished partner/referral experience and expect the program to become substantial. It's $69/mo for up to $10k/month in affiliate revenue, with unlimited affiliates; auto-payouts are on the $99 plan and carry a 2% processing fee. Tolt

tolt.com

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're genuinely trying to keep burn near $0, I'd start with Referralful. The pricing model makes sense for an early startup: you're not paying $49–$69 every month while you're still figuring out whether affiliates will work. Referralful

Once you're generating enough affiliate revenue that a flat $49/mo is trivial, I'd consider moving to Rewardful for its mature Stripe/SaaS workflow. Its Starter plan allows up to $7,500/month in affiliate-generated revenue with 0% transaction fees. Rewardful

I wouldn't start with PartnerStack or impact.com for a two-person bootstrapped team—their economics and feature sets make much more sense once you're running a serious partner ecosystem. A recent 2026 comparison puts PartnerStack at roughly $1,000+/month and impact.com at $500+/month for SaaS. Affitor Documentation

One caveat: Referralful is newer, so if affiliate tracking is mission-critical and you already have meaningful revenue, I'd pay the extra $29/month for Rewardful rather than optimize for the absolute lowest bill.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, and whether you want customer referrals or influencer/affiliate partners, I can narrow this to one choice and suggest a sensible commission structure.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d start with rewardful.com if you use Stripe.

Why:

• $49/month on the Starter plan, with unlimited affiliates and 0% transaction fees. Rewardful
• It’s built specifically around SaaS subscriptions and Stripe, so recurring commissions, upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, and refunds are handled without you building that logic. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• Setup is designed to be very lightweight—Rewardful says many setups take roughly 15–20 minutes. Rewardful
• You can do either affiliate-style links or customer referrals, including two-sided incentives. Rewardful

My shortlist

FirstPromoter is particularly compelling if you aren't purely Stripe: it supports Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree, and its $49 Starter plan covers up to $5,000/month in affiliate revenue. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

One caveat: if by "referrals" you mean existing customers invite friends and both get rewarded, rather than recruiting affiliates/content creators, I'd optimize specifically for a customer referral program rather than buying a full affiliate platform.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), monthly revenue, and whether you mean customer referrals or affiliates, I can narrow this down to the cheapest 2–3 options and estimate your actual annual cost.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for low fixed cost + fast setup, rather than buying a full partner-management platform.

My shortlist

• Best if you can afford ~$49/mo: rewardful.com — probably my default choice if you use Stripe. It’s purpose-built for SaaS, supports recurring commissions, and is relatively straightforward to launch. The tradeoff is that its entry plans have revenue caps. Rewardful Affitor Documentation
• Best if you want more billing flexibility: firstpromoter.com — also starts at $49/mo, with support for Stripe/Paddle and a broader feature set. Its Starter tier currently covers up to $5k/month in affiliate revenue. FirstPromoter
• Best if $0 upfront is the priority: look at pay-on-results options — there are newer platforms that charge little or nothing until referrals actually generate revenue. That's economically attractive when you're not sure affiliates will produce anything yet, although I'd favor an established platform if you're expecting serious volume soon. Affitor Documentation
• Tolt is another good SaaS-focused option, particularly if you expect lots of affiliates. It starts around $69/mo and supports Stripe/Paddle, but that's harder to justify when every $50–70 matters. Tolt

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're pre-$10k MRR and just testing the channel, I'd actually avoid anything resembling PartnerStack/Impact—they're designed for substantially larger partner programs. PartnerStack, for example, is reported at roughly $1k+/month territory. Affitor Documentation

I'd choose:

Stripe + simple affiliate program → Rewardful.

Then give affiliates something uncomplicated like 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months and recruit manually from your existing customers, newsletter audience, consultants, YouTubers, and niche communities. You don't need an affiliate marketplace yet—the software is primarily there to handle attribution and commissions.

If $49/month feels painful right now, tell me roughly your MRR, Stripe/Paddle/other billing, and what commission you want to offer, and I can work out the cheapest setup (including whether you should just build the referral tracking yourself).

For a 2-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for (1) low/no fixed cost, (2) Stripe/subscription tracking, and (3) not creating another thing you have to maintain. I would not touch enterprise partner platforms yet. Affitor Documentation

My shortlist:

1. Rewardful — best default for Stripe SaaS

Pick this if you have Stripe subscriptions and want something boring that works.

Pros:

• Built specifically around SaaS recurring commissions
• Quick Stripe setup
• Good fit for affiliates/influencers referring paying customers
• No percentage of affiliate revenue on typical plans (check current pricing before committing) Affitor Documentation

Cons:

• You pay monthly even if your affiliate channel produces nothing
• May be overkill if you only have a handful of referrers

Good choice when you’re saying: “We need this live this weekend, not a custom system.”

2. Referralful — best if cash preservation is the priority

If you’re very early and don’t know whether affiliates will work, this kind of model is attractive because you avoid paying a meaningful subscription before the channel proves itself. Referralful

Good choice when:

• You have $0–$1k/month affiliate revenue
• You’re testing the channel
• You only need basic tracking + payouts

Tradeoff: newer/smaller ecosystem compared with established tools.

3. FirstPromoter — best if your billing is not just Stripe

Consider it if you use things like Chargebee, Recurly, or other billing setups where broader integrations matter. Affitor Documentation

4. Build it yourself (surprisingly viable early)

For a tiny SaaS, a lightweight referral program can be enough:

• Generate referral codes/links
• Store referred_by on signup
• Reward after first paid invoice clears
• Pay manually via PayPal/Wise once per month

You can get surprisingly far with:

• Stripe metadata
• A database table
• A simple dashboard
• A monthly payout spreadsheet

I would do this before paying $100+/month for tooling.

My recommendation by stage

• Pre-revenue / <10 customers: build a simple internal referral tracker or use a pay-as-you-grow tool.
• $1k–$20k MRR and you have people asking to promote you: Rewardful.
• Multiple partner types (agencies, resellers, affiliates): graduate later to something like PartnerStack. Affitor Documentation

For most two-founder SaaS teams, I’d start with Rewardful if you already have traction, or a lightweight DIY/referral-first setup if you’re still validating demand.

A couple details would change the answer:

1. Are you on Stripe Billing?
2. Do you want affiliate commissions (pay outsiders) or customer referrals (“invite a friend, get credit”)?
3. Roughly how many paying customers do you have today?

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid the big partner platforms entirely. You probably don’t need PartnerStack/Impact-level machinery yet.

My shortlist

*Pricing changes frequently; current comparisons put these around those levels in 2026. Affitor Affitor

What I'd actually do

If you're still validating the channel: I'd start with Affitor because its current model is $0/month until affiliates generate $10k in revenue, then takes a percentage of affiliate-driven sales. That aligns your software cost with the channel actually working. Affitor

If you're on Stripe and already have some traction: I'd pick Rewardful. It's deliberately simple, supports recurring SaaS commissions, and starts around $49/month with no percentage of affiliate revenue on the subscription itself. Rewardful Affitor

I'd skip PartnerStack for now. Current comparisons put it around $1,000+/month, which is difficult to justify for a two-person company unless you're specifically building a serious partner/reseller motion. Affitor

One important distinction: affiliate software doesn't magically recruit affiliates for you. At your stage, I'd spend $0 on a marketplace and personally recruit your first 10–20 affiliates—customers, consultants, creators, agencies, and people already recommending your category.

If you tell me your monthly revenue, billing provider (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), and roughly how much you'd pay an affiliate (e.g. 20% recurring), I can tell you which one is cheapest for your numbers.

For a 2-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for “prove affiliates work before paying for infrastructure.” You probably don’t need a full partner platform yet.

My shortlist:

Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation## My recommendation by situation

If you use Stripe subscriptions → start with Rewardful

Rewardful is where I’d start for most tiny SaaS teams. It’s designed around recurring SaaS commissions and is relatively quick to wire in. Entry pricing is commonly around the $49/month range, with no transaction fee on affiliate revenue. Rewardful Affitor Documentation

Why I like it for a 2-person team:

• Fast setup
• Handles recurring commissions
• Doesn’t require you to build dashboards/payout logic
• You can launch with 5–20 affiliates without engineering work

If $49/month feels painful → look at pay-as-you-grow options

A very early SaaS often has zero affiliate revenue for months, so a fixed subscription can feel backwards. Some newer tools focus on charging little or nothing until affiliates actually drive sales. Affitor Documentation

If you’re not sure affiliates will work → don’t overbuild

I’d avoid:

• PartnerStack — powerful, but aimed more at established companies with partner programs, not a two-person experiment. Affitor
• Enterprise affiliate suites
• Anything requiring weeks of integration

The shoestring setup I’d actually run

1. Pick Rewardful (or a similar lightweight tool).
2. Offer: - 20–30% recurring commission
3. 60–90 day cookie window
4. Lifetime commission only while the customer stays active (or cap it at 12 months)
5. Recruit manually: - Existing customers
6. Newsletter writers in your niche
7. Small creators
8. Agencies that serve your target market
9. Don’t chase hundreds of affiliates. Ten good partners beat 500 inactive ones.

One more thought: if your SaaS is B2B with a small number of high-value customers, a simple customer referral program may outperform a classic affiliate program. Paying a happy customer $200–$500 for a qualified intro can be more efficient than managing dozens of content affiliates.

If you tell me your stack (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee/etc.), MRR, and whether you want customer referrals vs influencer affiliates vs partner/reseller deals, I’d narrow this to one pick.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep this very simple:

My pick: Rewardful

rewardful.com is probably the best default if you’re using Stripe. It’s purpose-built for SaaS, relatively quick to launch, supports recurring commissions, and its entry plan is $49/month with 0% transaction fees. The main catch is that the entry tier covers up to $7,500/month in affiliate revenue. Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation

For a tiny team, I’d value not having to build/maintain the tracking and commission logic yourself more than saving another $10–20/month.

If $49/month feels painful

Look at Tolt if you can justify $69/month, particularly if you're using Stripe or Paddle. Its Basic plan includes unlimited affiliates/referrals, branded portal, manual payouts, and Stripe/Paddle integration. Tolt

There's also a newer crop of pay-on-results tools worth investigating. For example, Affitor currently advertises $0/month until $10K in affiliate-driven sales, then charges 3.5% on sales above that threshold. I'd consider this model particularly attractive when you're not sure the affiliate channel will work yet. Affitor Documentation

What I'd avoid at your stage

• PartnerStack — great when you're running a serious partner ecosystem, but current pricing starts around $1,000/month, which makes little sense for a two-person startup. Affitor Documentation
• FirstPromoter — solid product, but the $49 tier caps affiliate revenue at $5K/month, so Rewardful gives you more headroom at the same price. FirstPromoter Affitor
• Building your own system — tempting, but attribution, recurring commissions, refunds, cancellations, affiliate dashboards, and payout records become annoying surprisingly quickly.

My rule of thumb: if you have $0–$1k/month of affiliate revenue, optimize for the lowest fixed cost; if you're already seeing meaningful affiliate traction, optimize for reliability and automation.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, and whether you're thinking customer referrals or outside affiliates, I can narrow it down to the cheapest sensible option for your exact setup.

Look at Tolt if you can justify $69/month, particularly if you're using Stripe or Paddle. Its Basic plan includes unlimited affiliates/referrals, branded portal, manual payouts, and Stripe/Paddle integration. tolt.com

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep this very simple: don’t buy an enterprise partner platform. You mainly need referral links, Stripe attribution, recurring commissions, and basic payout tracking.

My shortlist

Rewardful would be my first choice if you're using Stripe. It has a very simple SaaS-oriented setup, recurring commissions, and a REST API even on the entry tier. Its current $49/month plan has a $7,500/month cap on affiliate-generated revenue. Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation

rewardful.com

FirstPromoter is probably my second choice. It's also $49/month, with no stated transaction fee, and gives you more marketing/affiliate-management functionality. The catch is that the $49 plan caps affiliate-generated revenue at $5,000/month, and some advanced capabilities are on higher tiers. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

firstpromoter.com

Tolt is attractive if you expect a large number of affiliates. Its current Basic plan is $69/month with a $10k/month affiliate-revenue allowance; automated payouts are on the higher tier and carry a 2% processing fee. Affitor

Affitor is the one I'd investigate if $49/month genuinely hurts right now: it currently advertises $0/month until affiliates generate their first $10k, after which it takes a percentage of attributed sales. That's a very different cost model from Rewardful/FirstPromoter. Affitor Documentation

What I'd do in your shoes

If you have < $5–10k MRR and are just testing whether referrals work:

1. Start with Rewardful if you're on Stripe.
2. Give affiliates 20–30% recurring commission rather than building elaborate tiers.
3. Recruit 10–20 relevant customers/creators manually rather than paying for an affiliate marketplace.
4. Don't worry about sophisticated fraud detection, partner discovery, or automated payouts yet.
5. Reassess once referrals are producing meaningful revenue.

I would not touch PartnerStack or impact.com at your stage; they're aimed at substantially more mature partner programs and can introduce hundreds/thousands of dollars in monthly cost. Affitor Documentation

One caveat: if by "referrals" you mean customers referring other customers (e.g. "Give $20, get $20") rather than influencers/affiliates earning commissions, I'd actually choose a somewhat different setup. If you tell me your Stripe/Paddle/etc. billing stack and roughly what your monthly revenue is, I can give you the cheapest sensible architecture.

FirstPromoter is probably my second choice. It's also $49/month, with no stated transaction fee, and gives you more marketing/affiliate-management functionality. The catch is that the $49 plan caps affiliate-generated revenue at $5,000/month, and some advanced capabilities are on higher tiers. firstpromoter.com firstpromoter.com

firstpromoter.com

Tolt is attractive if you expect a large number of affiliates. Its current Basic plan is $69/month with a $10k/month affiliate-revenue allowance; automated payouts are on the higher tier and carry a 2% processing fee.

Affitor is the one I'd investigate if $49/month genuinely hurts right now: it currently advertises $0/month until affiliates generate their first $10k, after which it takes a percentage of attributed sales. That's a very different cost model from Rewardful/FirstPromoter.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d shortlist these three:

Current 2026 pricing puts Affitor at $0/month until affiliate-driven revenue reaches $10k, after which it takes a 3.5% fee on attributed sales. Rewardful starts at $49/month with no transaction fee, while FirstPromoter also starts at $49/month. Affitor Affitor

My pick: Affitor if cash is really tight

If you're still validating whether affiliates will work, paying $0 until the channel produces meaningful revenue is compelling. The tradeoff is that once affiliates generate revenue, you're giving up a percentage rather than paying a predictable subscription. Affitor

If you're already doing enough revenue that $49/month is trivial, I'd actually choose Rewardful for a Stripe-based SaaS. It has a very straightforward setup, 0% transaction fees, and API access even on its entry tier. Rewardful Affitor

What I wouldn't buy yet

I wouldn't touch PartnerStack, impact.com, or similar enterprise platforms at your stage. They make sense when you're running a substantial partner ecosystem, but they're massive overkill for two founders testing an affiliate channel. PartnerStack, for example, is listed from around $1,000/month in current comparisons. Affitor

Rule of thumb:

• <$1k/month affiliate revenue: Affitor
• $1k–$10k/month + Stripe: Rewardful
• Need broader billing support: FirstPromoter
• Don't buy enterprise partner software yet

If you tell me your Stripe/non-Stripe stack, current MRR, and roughly how many affiliates you expect, I can narrow it down to the cheapest option for your specific situation.

My pick: Affitor if cash is really tight

If you're still validating whether affiliates will work, paying $0 until the channel produces meaningful revenue is compelling. The tradeoff is that once affiliates generate revenue, you're giving up a percentage rather than paying a predictable subscription. Affitor

If you're already doing enough revenue that $49/month is trivial, I'd actually choose Rewardful for a Stripe-based SaaS. It has a very straightforward setup, 0% transaction fees, and API access even on its entry tier.

What I wouldn't buy yet

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid the big partner platforms (PartnerStack, Impact, etc.). You probably don’t need a marketplace or enterprise partner management yet — you need simple tracking, recurring commissions, and low fixed cost. Affitor Documentation

My shortlist:

My recommendation by stage:

• You’re just testing whether referrals work: build a lightweight internal system first. Don’t pay $50/mo to manage three affiliates.
• You have customers asking for affiliate links already: start with Rewardful if you use Stripe. It’s the boring choice, which is usually good for a two-person team. Affitor Documentation
• You’re bootstrapped and watching every dollar: look hardest at Tolt or any pay-for-performance option you can find, because early programs often produce zero revenue for months. Tolt Affitor Documentation

A few things I’d prioritize over the platform itself:

1. Recurring commissions — e.g., 20–30% for the life of the customer, not just first payment.
2. Coupon-code attribution — creators often forget links; codes save deals.
3. Self-serve affiliate signup — don’t create admin work for yourselves.
4. Automatic refund/cancellation handling — avoid paying commissions on churned customers.
5. Simple payout process — monthly payouts are usually fine at your size.

If I were running a two-person SaaS today, I’d probably do:

• Stripe billing → Rewardful/Tolt
• 20% recurring commission
• invite your happiest 20 customers first
• ignore “affiliate recruitment” until you have proof that referrals convert

The bigger risk at your stage is not choosing the wrong affiliate platform — it’s spending weeks building a referral machine before knowing whether anyone wants to promote you.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d shortlist Rewardful, Tolt, and FirstPromoter—and I’d probably start with Rewardful if you’re on Stripe.

My pick: Rewardful

Rewardful is probably the best balance of cheap + simple + SaaS-native.

• $49/month Starter plan, with a 14-day trial.
• 0% transaction fee.
• Unlimited affiliates and up to 2 team members.
• Deep Stripe integration, including recurring subscription changes.
• Affiliate links, coupon tracking, commissions, fraud detection, etc.
• You don't need to build the tracking/payment infrastructure yourself. Rewardful Rewardful

rewardful.com

For a two-person team, that matters more than having a giant partner marketplace. You want something you can install and largely forget about.

The alternatives

Tolt is specifically positioned toward early-stage SaaS, while FirstPromoter is a stronger choice if you're not entirely Stripe-centric. Rewardful Affitor Documentation

One important caveat

If $49/month is genuinely painful right now, I'd actually not buy an affiliate platform yet.

At your stage, you can run a surprisingly effective referral program manually:

1. Give each partner a unique referral code/link.
2. Record referrals in Stripe/your database.
3. Pay commissions monthly.
4. Start with 5–20 hand-picked affiliates rather than opening the floodgates.

Once you're spending more than a couple of hours/month reconciling referrals, then pay the $49/month. The software is buying back founder time, not just providing tracking.

My rule of thumb: if you're already getting customers who could plausibly refer others, Rewardful at $49/mo is cheap enough to test. If you don't yet have potential referrers, I'd wait and validate the channel manually first.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, and roughly how many referrals you expect, I can tell you which of these is cheapest for your specific situation.

If $49/month is genuinely painful right now, I'd actually not buy an affiliate platform yet.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep this very simple: don’t buy an enterprise partner platform. You mainly need referral links, recurring commission tracking, and a painless way to see what you owe affiliates.

My pick: Referralful — if you're on Stripe

referralful.com is the most interesting option for a bootstrapped team right now.

• $0 to set up and free until your first affiliate joins
• Then starts at $19.99/month for up to $7,500/month in affiliate-attributed revenue
• Stripe-native tracking and recurring commissions
• Unlimited affiliates/clicks
• 0% transaction fees
• Branded affiliate portal
• PayPal/Wise payout support Referralful Referralful

That pricing model is particularly attractive when you're unsure whether affiliates will actually generate meaningful revenue. You're not paying $50–$100/month just to discover that nobody wants to promote you.

Runner-up: Rewardful

rewardful.com would be my choice if you value maturity and simplicity over minimizing the first few dollars of cost.

It's built specifically around SaaS + Stripe, has recurring commission tracking, and currently advertises a 14-day trial and 0% transaction fees. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center

The tradeoff is that you're paying a fixed monthly fee rather than tying your software cost to actual affiliate performance.

What I'd skip for now

• Tolt — good product, but starts at $69/month; better once your affiliate channel is proven. Tolt
• FirstPromoter — solid and inexpensive relative to enterprise tools, but its entry tier is around $49/month and has a relatively low affiliate-revenue cap. FirstPromoter Affitor Documentation
• PartnerStack / impact.com — massive overkill for a two-person SaaS unless you're deliberately building a much larger partner ecosystem. Current comparisons put them in a completely different cost tier. Affitor Documentation

The decision I'd make

If I were you:

Stripe + <$10k/month affiliate revenue → Referralful.
Stripe + you want the more established/simple option → Rewardful.
Already doing serious affiliate volume → revisit Tolt/FirstPromoter/etc.

One other piece of advice: don't overbuild the referral program itself. Start with one commission (e.g. 20–30% recurring for 12 months), one referral link per partner, and manual approval/payouts. The bottleneck for a two-person SaaS is almost certainly going to be finding 10 good affiliates, not affiliate software.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), approximate MRR, and whether you mean customer-to-customer referrals or a traditional affiliate program, I can narrow it down to the cheapest 1–2 options for your exact setup.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d shortlist Rewardful, FirstPromoter, and Tolt—and I’d probably start with Rewardful if you’re on Stripe.

Why I'd pick Rewardful

For a tiny team, the biggest cost isn't necessarily the $49/month—it's engineering and operational overhead. Rewardful is specifically built around SaaS subscriptions and has a deep Stripe integration, recurring commissions, coupon tracking, and API access. Its current Starter plan is $49/month, with a 14-day trial and no transaction fee. www.rewardful.com

It also supports self-referral fraud detection and automatically handles commission changes when customers upgrade, downgrade, cancel, or go through refunds/trials—useful things not to have to build yourselves. www.rewardful.com

When I'd choose the others

FirstPromoter — pick this if you want a somewhat more full-featured affiliate operation. Its $49/month Starter plan supports up to $5,000/month in affiliate-generated revenue, with a 14-day trial and no transaction fee. firstpromoter.com

Tolt — worth looking at if you want something deliberately aimed at early-stage SaaS. It's particularly appealing if you care about a polished affiliate portal and straightforward setup. One caveat: automated payouts require its higher tier, so the cheapest plan means more manual work. www.rewardful.com

One important distinction

If by "referrals" you mean existing customers get rewarded for inviting other customers, rather than recruiting bloggers/creators as affiliates, I'd actually keep the system much simpler.

For a two-person company I'd start with:

Customer → referral link → signup → paid conversion → 20–30% recurring commission or account credit

Don't build a giant partner program yet. Get 10–20 customers referring people successfully before worrying about affiliate marketplaces, tiered commissions, contests, etc.

My ranking for you:

1. 🥇 Rewardful — if you're Stripe-native
2. 🥈 FirstPromoter — if you want more program-management features
3. 🥉 Tolt — if simplicity/presentation is the priority

I would not touch PartnerStack/impact.com-type tooling at your stage; you're paying for complexity and scale you probably don't need.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), monthly MRR, and whether you mean customer referrals or traditional affiliates, I can narrow this down to the cheapest sensible setup for you.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep this very simple:

My pick: Rewardful

rewardful.com is probably the best default if you use Stripe.

• Starts at $49/month
• 0% transaction fee
• Stripe-native, so setup is relatively painless
• Handles recurring SaaS commissions
• REST API is available even on the entry tier
• Current entry tier reportedly supports up to $7.5k/month in affiliate revenue. Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation

For a tiny team, I'd value "works this afternoon" over a giant partner-management feature set.

If $49/month feels too expensive

I'd look at Affitor first. Its current model is $0/month, with a 3.5% fee on affiliate-driven sales after the first $10k. That can be attractive if you're just testing whether affiliates will work at all. Affitor Documentation

The catch is that you're trading a predictable subscription for a percentage of successful revenue, so Rewardful becomes cheaper once your affiliate channel has meaningful volume.

Two other good options

• FirstPromoter — firstpromoter.com — starts around $49/month and is worth considering if you use billing infrastructure beyond Stripe/Paddle. Its entry plan has a lower reported affiliate-revenue ceiling than Rewardful. Affitor Documentation
• Tolt — tolt.io — starts around $69/month, but allows unlimited affiliates and has a higher revenue ceiling at its $99 tier. There's a 2% fee on automated payouts. Affitor

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're pre-$5–10k/month in referred revenue: start with the cheapest viable option and validate demand before optimizing tooling.

If you're already getting customers asking for referral links: pay the $49/month for Rewardful and move on. The engineering time saved is probably worth more than the subscription.

I would not touch PartnerStack or impact.com yet. Their current pricing is aimed at substantially larger programs—PartnerStack starts around $1,000/month, while impact.com's SaaS offering starts around $500/month. Affitor Documentation

If you tell me your Stripe MRR, typical customer LTV, and what commission you want to offer (e.g. 20% recurring), I can calculate the cheapest option at your current scale and where the break-even points are.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d shortlist these:

1. rewardful.com — my default pick if you use Stripe

• Starts at $49/mo, with a 14-day trial.
• Very SaaS/Stripe-focused: recurring commissions, upgrades/downgrades/cancellations, and referral tracking are handled for you. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• 0% transaction fees, so you don't give up a percentage of every referral sale. Rewardful
• Best if you want to launch quickly without building much yourself.
• referralful.com — cheapest option worth investigating

• Currently free until your first affiliate joins, then starts at $19.99/mo.
• Includes Stripe sync, unlimited affiliates/clicks, affiliate portal, and PayPal/Wise payouts. Referralful
• For a genuinely cash-constrained startup, this is attractive because you're not paying $49/mo while you're still figuring out whether affiliates will work.
• firstpromoter.com — good if you're not purely Stripe

• Starts at $49/mo, with a $5k/month affiliate-revenue limit on the entry plan. FirstPromoter
• More billing-provider flexibility than Rewardful, so I'd favor it if you're using something beyond Stripe/Paddle. Affitor Documentation

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're Stripe + <$5–10k/month referred revenue, I'd start with Rewardful if saving engineering time is worth $49/month.

If $49/month genuinely matters to runway, I'd test Referralful first. The economics are much friendlier at the earliest stage.

I wouldn't touch PartnerStack or impact.com yet. They're designed for substantially more mature partner programs and can cost hundreds to thousands per month. Affitor Documentation

One other consideration: don't overbuild the program initially. Give 10–20 happy customers/creators a simple 20–30% recurring commission, see whether anyone actually sends customers, and only then invest in more sophisticated affiliate tooling.

If you tell me your payment stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), monthly revenue, and whether you want recurring or one-time commissions, I can narrow this to the cheapest sensible choice for your exact situation.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I would avoid big partner platforms entirely. You probably don't need a marketplace, partner managers, or enterprise workflows yet — you need:

• Stripe/subscription tracking
• recurring commissions
• simple affiliate links
• automated payouts (or at least easy payout exports)
• low fixed cost

My shortlist:

www.rewardful.comwww.startuphub.ai

My recommendation by situation

1. You use Stripe subscriptions → start with Rewardful

• Fastest path from zero to live
• Built around SaaS recurring revenue
• Minimal engineering work
• Flat monthly pricing rather than enterprise contracts

This is what I’d choose for a 2-person team unless you have unusual billing needs. www.rewardful.com

2. You want $0 upfront while validating → consider a pay-for-performance option
Some newer tools use a revenue-share model instead of charging a monthly fee, which can make sense if you have no affiliate revenue yet. affitor.com

3. You have a non-Stripe stack (Chargebee, Recurly, Paddle-heavy, etc.) → look at FirstPromoter
It tends to be a better fit when your billing system is more complicated. www.rewardful.com

What I would not buy yet

• PartnerStack
• impact.com
• custom-built referral infrastructure

Those are useful when you have a partner team and meaningful partner revenue. For two founders, they’re usually solving problems you don't have yet. www.startuphub.ai

A scrappy setup I’d run

1. Pick Rewardful/Tolt/FirstPromoter.
2. Offer 20–30% recurring commission for the first year.
3. Recruit 20–50 niche affiliates manually (customers, creators, consultants, newsletter owners).
4. Don’t build an affiliate marketplace — spend the effort finding good partners.

The software is rarely the bottleneck; getting the first 10 affiliates who actually send customers is.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for $0 upfront + minimal engineering, rather than buying the most feature-rich affiliate platform.

My pick: Referralful

Referralful is particularly interesting if you use Stripe. It currently lets you set up for free and only starts charging once your first affiliate joins; its Starter plan is $19.99/month up to $7,500/month in affiliate payout volume, with 0% transaction fees. It handles recurring commissions, Stripe syncing, affiliate portals, and PayPal/Wise payouts. referralful.com

For a tiny startup, that pricing model is compelling: you don't have to spend $49/month hoping the referral channel works.

Runner-up: Rewardful

Rewardful would be my choice if you value a more established, straightforward Stripe-focused product over minimizing your initial spend.

It's $49/month for Starter, with unlimited affiliates, up to $7,500/month in affiliate revenue, and 0% transaction fees. It has a 14-day trial. www.rewardful.com Its Stripe integration also automatically adjusts commissions for upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, refunds, etc., which is useful for subscription SaaS. help.rewardful.com

FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is another solid option at $49/month, with a 14-day trial and a $5,000/month affiliate-revenue limit on Starter. It's worth considering if you expect to need more sophisticated affiliate/referral functionality as you grow. firstpromoter.com

What I'd do in your shoes

Tolt supports Stripe, Paddle, and Chargebee and is specifically designed around SaaS affiliate programs. tolt.com

My recommendation: start with Referralful if you're genuinely bootstrapped and haven't proven referrals yet. Once you're generating meaningful affiliate revenue, reassess whether the economics/features justify switching to something like Rewardful.

One other thing: for a two-person company, I'd avoid PartnerStack/impact.com-type enterprise platforms entirely at this stage. You're paying for infrastructure and partner-network capabilities you probably don't need yet.

If you tell me your payment stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, and whether you mean customer-to-customer referrals or a true affiliate program, I can narrow this down to the cheapest setup for your specific case.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid the big partner platforms entirely. You want something that takes minutes to install and doesn’t become another system you have to babysit.

My picks

I'd start with Referralful if you're very early. Its current model is particularly friendly to a bootstrapped startup: setup is free, and its Starter plan is $19.99/mo for up to $7,500/month in affiliate-attributed revenue, with unlimited affiliates and 0% payout fees. referralful.com

The alternative I'd seriously consider is Rewardful. It's $49/mo, has a 14-day trial, 0% transaction fees, and very tight Stripe integration. If you expect the affiliate program to generate meaningful revenue fairly quickly, the predictable $49/month can actually be preferable to usage-based pricing. www.rewardful.com

FirstPromoter is also $49/month at the starter level, covering up to $5,000/month in affiliate revenue, and is worth considering if you need its broader integration/API capabilities. www.rewardful.comfirstpromoter.com

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're at $0–$5k MRR and just testing whether referrals work:

Referralful → launch → recruit 10–20 affiliates → see if anyone actually converts.

Don't spend $500+/month on something like PartnerStack or impact.com. Those make sense when you're operating a real partner channel, not when two founders are trying to prove that affiliates can acquire customers.

One other point: the software isn't the expensive part of affiliate marketing—the commission is. I'd start with something like 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months, rather than trying to build a complicated tiered program.

If you tell me what you charge per month, whether you're on Stripe/Paddle, and roughly how many customers you have, I can tell you which of these is likely to be cheapest at your current stage.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid enterprise affiliate platforms (PartnerStack, Impact, Everflow, etc.) and pick something that is:

• cheap enough before you have traction
• built for recurring SaaS commissions
• low-maintenance (you don’t want to become an affiliate ops manager)

My shortlist:

My recommendation by stage:

If you have <$5k MRR or just launching
→ Start with Rewardful or Tolt. Don’t overbuild. You mainly need:

• referral links
• coupon codes
• recurring commission tracking
• a partner dashboard
• payouts

If you’re using Stripe and want the least hassle
→ I’d lean Rewardful. It’s designed around subscription SaaS and recurring revenue tracking. www.rewardful.com

If your budget is truly near $0
→ Consider running a manual program for your first 10–20 affiliates:

• create referral codes in Stripe
• track referrals in Airtable/Sheets
• pay via PayPal/Wise monthly
• migrate once it becomes painful

A lot of startups make the mistake of buying affiliate software before they have affiliates. The harder part is usually finding and activating 10 people who can actually send customers, not the tracking.

For a two-person SaaS, I’d probably do:

1. Recruit 10–20 niche creators/customers manually.
2. Offer 20–30% recurring commission.
3. Use Rewardful/Tolt once you have enough activity that spreadsheets become annoying.

If you tell me your stack (Stripe vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy, B2B vs B2C, and your monthly price), I can narrow it to one pick.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid PartnerStack/impact.com-style platforms entirely. You probably want something that is:

• Stripe-native
• cheap before you have meaningful affiliate revenue
• simple enough that neither founder becomes “the affiliate ops person”
• capable of recurring commissions and basic coupon/link attribution

My shortlist

My pick: Referralful if you're genuinely bootstrapped. Its current pricing is free until your first affiliate joins, then $19.99/mo for up to $7,500/mo in affiliate revenue; it supports Stripe, recurring referrals, branded affiliate portals, and PayPal/Wise payouts. referralful.com

If you want the safer/more established choice and $49/mo is trivial for you, I'd go with Rewardful. It's specifically designed around SaaS/Stripe and is widely positioned as the straightforward “just get an affiliate program running” option. openpartner.dev

FirstPromoter is my choice if you already know you'll need more program management. Its Starter plan is $49/mo up to $5k/month in affiliate revenue, with Business at $99/mo up to $15k. firstpromoter.com

I'd skip Tolt initially unless you expect the affiliate program to become a meaningful acquisition channel quickly. It's $69/mo at the entry tier and $99/mo for automated payouts, although it gives you unlimited affiliates. tolt.com

What I'd actually do in your shoes

Start with Referralful, launch with something dead simple like 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months, and recruit 10–20 affiliates manually. Don't build a huge affiliate program yet.

Once you're generating enough affiliate revenue that the software cost is immaterial—or you need more sophisticated workflows—reevaluate.

One caveat: Referralful is a newer/smaller vendor than Rewardful, so if vendor maturity/reliability is worth $29/month to you, I'd pay the extra for Rewardful.

Referralful · Rewardful · FirstPromoter · Tolt

If you tell me your Stripe MRR and roughly how many affiliates you expect, I can tell you which one is cheapest in actual dollars for your situation.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep it simple and avoid the big partner-management platforms.

My shortlist

Current pricing is worth double-checking before signing up because these tools have been changing plans fairly frequently. As of July 2026, Rewardful and FirstPromoter start at $49/month; Rewardful's entry tier has a $7.5k/month affiliate-revenue cap, while FirstPromoter's is $5k. affitor.com

I'd personally choose Rewardful if you're using Stripe. It's inexpensive, specifically designed around subscription businesses, and the $49 tier includes its API rather than putting it behind a higher plan. It also has 0% transaction fees. affitor.com

The bigger point, though: don't overbuild the referral program. For a two-person team, I'd launch with:

• 20–30% recurring commission
• 60-day attribution window
• One referral link per partner
• Automatic commission tracking
• Monthly payouts
• A simple landing page explaining the program
• No multi-tier affiliate structure, marketplace, or elaborate partner portal

That gets you testing whether referrals actually work before spending engineering time on them.

One caveat: if you're not on Stripe/Paddle—e.g. you're using Chargebee, Recurly, or Braintree—I'd lean toward FirstPromoter instead because its billing integrations are broader. firstpromoter.com

If you tell me what you use for billing (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee/etc.), your approximate MRR, and whether these are customer referrals or external affiliates, I can tell you which one I'd pick and what commission structure I'd launch with.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d keep this very simple:

My pick: Rewardful

Rewardful is probably the safest default if you use Stripe.

• Built specifically for SaaS/subscription businesses.
• Stripe integration handles recurring commissions, upgrades, downgrades, cancellations and refunds. www.rewardful.com
• Supports affiliate links and coupon-code tracking.
• No transaction fee; you pay a predictable monthly fee. help.rewardful.com
• The setup is deliberately lightweight—Rewardful says you can launch in under 15 minutes. www.rewardful.com
• Current pricing starts at $49/month, with a 14-day trial. www.rewardful.com

Why I'd choose it for you: you're a two-person team, so the biggest cost isn't the software—it’s engineering and operational hassle. Rewardful takes most of that off your plate.

If $49/month feels too expensive

I'd seriously consider Referralful. It is particularly interesting for a bootstrapped startup because it's free until your first affiliate joins, then starts at $19.99/month for up to $7,500/month in affiliate payout volume. It also has Stripe sync and 0% transaction fees. help.rewardful.comreferralful.com

Referralful

The caveat is that it's a newer/smaller option, so I'd favor Rewardful if reliability and ecosystem maturity matter more than squeezing out every dollar.

Other reasonable options

FirstPromoter's current Starter plan is $49/month for up to $5,000/month in affiliate revenue. firstpromoter.com Tolt is more expensive and adds a 2% fee on automated payouts according to current comparison data. affitor.com

What I'd actually do

If I were running your two-person SaaS:

Start with Rewardful → offer 20–30% recurring commission → recruit 10–20 happy customers/creators manually → don't build a fancy referral system yet.

The mistake I'd avoid is paying for something like PartnerStack or a big partner-management platform before you've proven that affiliates actually produce meaningful revenue. Those tools make more sense once you have a real partner channel.

If you tell me your monthly price, Stripe/Paddle, and roughly how many customers you have, I can tell you which of Rewardful vs. Referralful vs. FirstPromoter is likely to be cheapest for your numbers.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for $0–$50/month, Stripe integration, recurring commissions, and minimal setup—not enterprise partner-management features.

My shortlist

Referralful is particularly interesting for your situation. It says there's no charge until your first affiliate joins, then the starter tier is $19.99/month for up to $7,500/month in affiliate revenue, with unlimited affiliates/clicks and Stripe integration. It also advertises 0% transaction fees. referralful.comwww.rewardful.comhelp.rewardful.com

Referralful

If you'd rather use a more established option, Rewardful is the one I'd pick. It's built specifically around SaaS/Stripe, starts at $49/month, and has no transaction fee. Its starter tier currently covers up to $7,500/month in affiliate-attributed revenue. www.rewardful.com

Rewardful

FirstPromoter is also $49/month, but its starter tier has a lower $5,000/month affiliate-revenue ceiling, so I don't see a compelling reason to choose it over Rewardful for a tiny team unless you specifically need one of its extra features. firstpromoter.com

FirstPromoter

What I'd actually do

If you're pre-affiliate / just testing the channel:

Start with Referralful. The economics match your situation: don't spend $49/month merely hoping affiliates eventually produce revenue.

If you're already getting meaningful affiliate interest and want something with a longer track record:

Use Rewardful. The $49/month is reasonable, the Stripe integration is the key advantage, and you avoid percentage-of-revenue fees. www.rewardful.comhelp.rewardful.com

I wouldn't touch PartnerStack or impact.com at your stage. You're paying for infrastructure and partner-management capabilities that a two-person SaaS probably doesn't need yet.

One important distinction: if by “referrals” you mean existing customers refer friends and receive account credit rather than recruiting affiliates/influencers, I'd actually consider a customer referral system rather than an affiliate platform. The cheapest/best architecture can be quite different.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d optimize for low fixed cost + Stripe-native tracking + recurring commissions, rather than buying a big partner-management platform.

My shortlist

FirstPromoter's current Starter plan is $49/month and covers up to $5,000/month in affiliate revenue. firstpromoter.com

For your situation, I'd start with Referralful if you're comfortable using a relatively new product. It is Stripe-native, has no charge until your first affiliate joins, then starts at $19.99/month, with 0% transaction fees. referralful.com

If you'd rather pay a little more for a more established, widely used SaaS affiliate product, Rewardful would be my pick. It's specifically built around subscription SaaS and Stripe, including recurring commissions and refund-aware tracking. openpartner.dev

What I'd actually do

Don't overbuild the program initially:

• 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months
• 30–60 day attribution window
• Pay only after the customer's refund/trial period
• Start with customer referrals + a handful of niche creators/agencies, rather than trying to build a huge affiliate network
• Avoid PartnerStack/impact-style enterprise platforms until you actually have a partner-management problem

For a sticky B2B SaaS, recurring revenue share is generally more attractive than a flat bounty because the affiliate participates in the value of customers they send. www.reddit.com

Bottom line:
$0 upfront → Referralful.
Best established SaaS option → Rewardful.
Cheapest conventional paid option → Tolt.

If you tell me your MRR, average customer value, Stripe/Paddle, and expected number of affiliates, I can tell you which one is likely to be cheapest over the next 12 months.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid the big partner platforms entirely. You probably don’t need a marketplace or sophisticated partner management yet—you need reliable recurring-revenue attribution with minimal fixed cost.

My picks

I'd start with Referralful if you're truly watching every dollar. Its current Starter plan is $19.99/mo for up to $7,500/mo in affiliate revenue, with unlimited affiliates/clicks, Stripe syncing, a branded portal, and PayPal/Wise payouts; it also says you can start free. referralful.com

The caveat is that it's a much newer/smaller product than the established options, so I'd do a little diligence before making it mission-critical.

If you want the safer, more established choice, I'd spend the $49/mo on Rewardful. Its Starter plan is $49/mo, supports up to $7,500/mo in affiliate-generated revenue, unlimited affiliates, two team members, Stripe and other integrations, and PayPal/Wise payouts. www.rewardful.com

What I'd actually do

For a two-person team:

1. Start with Referralful if you're validating whether referrals work at all.
2. Offer 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months rather than building a complicated commission scheme.
3. Recruit 5–20 affiliates manually—customers, niche creators, consultants, agencies, newsletter writers.
4. Don't worry about an affiliate marketplace yet. Finding good affiliates is a separate problem from tracking them, and a fancy platform won't solve that for you. www.reddit.com
5. Once you're consistently generating meaningful affiliate revenue, consider moving to Rewardful.

One important distinction: if by "referrals" you actually mean existing customers referring friends, rather than recruiting affiliates/creators, I'd choose a somewhat different tool and incentive structure.

If you tell me your billing provider (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), monthly price, and whether this is customer referrals or affiliates, I can narrow it down to the cheapest setup I'd use.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid heavyweight partner platforms and start with something tightly integrated with your billing.

My picks

Why I'd lean Referralful: it is Stripe-native and currently says it costs nothing until your first affiliate joins, then charges based on payout volume rather than a fixed monthly platform fee. That's a much better risk profile when you're still validating whether referrals will work. referralful.com

If you're comfortable spending $49/month, I'd choose Rewardful instead. Its Starter plan includes unlimited affiliates, Stripe-related integrations, recurring commission handling, fraud detection, coupon tracking, and 0% transaction fees. www.rewardful.com

FirstPromoter is also $49/month at the starter level and gives you a lot of flexibility around campaigns, tracking, payouts, and reporting. firstpromoter.com

What I'd do in your shoes

Don't overbuild the program. Start with:

• 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months or a simple one-time bounty
• 30–60 day cookie
• Automatic tracking through Stripe
• Manual affiliate approval
• Pay affiliates monthly
• Recruit your first 5–10 affiliates manually rather than paying for a marketplace

At your stage, the expensive part isn't the software—it's finding people who will actually send customers. A $0–$50/month tool plus 10 carefully recruited customers/partners is likely much better economics than a $500+/month partner platform.

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), monthly price, and whether you want customer referrals or influencer/affiliate partners, I can narrow this down to the cheapest setup I'd actually use.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d shortlist these:

1. Rewardful — my default pick
   • $49/month, no transaction fee, unlimited affiliates, and a 14-day trial. www.rewardful.com
   • Particularly good if you use Stripe and have recurring subscriptions; it tracks upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, etc. help.rewardful.com
   • Very little engineering/ops overhead, which matters a lot for a two-person team.
   • Downside: $49/month is still meaningful if you're only testing whether referrals work.

2. FirstPromoter — best if you need more flexibility
   • Also starts at $49/month, with a 14-day trial. firstpromoter.com
   • Stronger if you anticipate needing things like multiple campaigns, tiered commissions, more detailed reporting, or complex affiliate rules.
   • For a tiny team, though, I'd probably choose Rewardful unless you already know you need those features.

3. Tolt — worth investigating if minimizing monthly cost is the priority
   • Recent SaaS comparisons report it around $29/month, making it attractive for very early-stage companies. www.reddit.com
   • I'd verify its current pricing/integration support before committing, since pricing and plans can change.

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're on Stripe: start with Rewardful and run a deliberately tiny program—say 20–30 hand-picked affiliates/referrers rather than building a giant affiliate marketplace.

At your stage, I'd optimize for "zero engineering + zero affiliate administration", not maximum features. A $49/month tool that saves you several hours of development and payout headaches is probably cheaper than building it yourselves.

One important distinction: affiliate software doesn't solve affiliate acquisition. You still need to find people who have an audience that overlaps with your customers. So I wouldn't pay for an expensive platform like PartnerStack until you've demonstrated that affiliates actually produce revenue.

If you tell me what you use for billing (Stripe/Paddle/etc.) and roughly your MRR, I can narrow this to the cheapest sensible option for you.

For a 2-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid big partner platforms (PartnerStack, Impact, etc.) and pick something that is:

• cheap before you have traction
• built for recurring SaaS commissions
• easy enough that you don’t spend a week maintaining it

My shortlist:

My recommendation:

1. If you use Stripe subscriptions: start with Rewardful. It’s the boring, practical choice. You can launch a program quickly and track recurring commissions without building your own system. www.rewardful.comhelp.rewardful.com
2. If you have almost zero revenue and want to validate first: try Referralful or even a manual MVP (Stripe coupon codes + a spreadsheet + monthly payouts) before paying for tooling. referralful.com
3. If you expect lots of affiliates/influencers later: move up when the channel proves itself.

For a tiny SaaS, I’d also keep the first version simple:

• 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months (common SaaS incentive structure)
• recruit 10–20 affiliates manually
• don’t open a public affiliate marketplace yet
• pay only after the customer clears your refund window

The bigger trap is spending $200+/month on affiliate infrastructure before you’ve found affiliates who can actually sell. A $49/month tool is usually enough until the channel is producing meaningful MRR. firstpromoter.comwww.rewardful.com

If you tell me your stack (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee/custom billing) and whether this is customer referrals or external affiliates, I’d narrow it down further.

For a two-person SaaS on a shoestring, I’d avoid the big partner platforms and pick something that is:

• Stripe-native (if you use Stripe)
• handles recurring commissions
• takes minutes to set up
• doesn’t force you into a big monthly commitment before you have affiliates

My shortlist:

My pick for your situation:

1. Start with Referralful if you’re validating whether affiliates will work at all and every dollar of runway matters. referralful.com
2. Use Rewardful if you already have customers asking for referrals or you expect a serious affiliate channel soon. www.rewardful.com

I would not start with something like PartnerStack-type tooling yet. Your bottleneck as a two-person SaaS probably won’t be affiliate tracking — it’ll be finding 5–20 people who actually want to promote you.

A lean setup I’d run:

• 20–30% recurring commission for the first 12 months (or lifetime if margins allow)
• recruit existing happy users first
• give affiliates a simple landing page + swipe copy
• pay manually at first if needed; automate only once volume appears

If you tell me your stack (Stripe/Paddle/Lemon Squeezy, B2B vs B2C, and current MRR), I can narrow this to one choice.

For a two-person SaaS, I'd optimize for three things:

• 15–30 minute setup
• Recurring subscription commission tracking
• Low fixed cost until the program actually works

Here's how I'd think about the main options.

If I were in your shoes

Under $5k MRR: I'd probably choose Tolt.

It has the features most early SaaS companies actually need:

• Stripe integration
• recurring commissions
• affiliate dashboard
• coupon codes
• simple payout workflow

without paying for enterprise features you'll never touch. www.reddit.com

If you're already deeply invested in Stripe and want the most mature experience: I'd spend the extra money on Rewardful.

One thing I'd avoid

I wouldn't start on a giant affiliate marketplace like PartnerStack or Impact.

They're excellent later, but as a two-person company, your bottleneck is almost never software. It's finding the first 20 affiliates who actually care.

You'll usually get much better ROI by recruiting:

• existing happy customers
• consultants in your niche
• YouTubers with 2k–50k subscribers
• newsletter writers
• agencies implementing your product

rather than paying for a marketplace.

I'd also keep the program dead simple

A good starting program is:

• 30% recurring commission for 12 months (or lifetime if your margins allow)
• 60–90 day cookie
• Instant signup approval
• Monthly payouts
• One landing page explaining the program
• Swipe copy and images affiliates can reuse

You can always add tiers later.

One question that changes the recommendation quite a bit:

What do you use for billing—Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, or something else?

If you're a 2-person SaaS with limited budget, I'd optimize for three things:

• Fast setup (hours, not weeks)
• Native recurring subscription tracking
• Low fixed monthly cost without enterprise complexity

Here's how I'd rank the current options:

For a company your size, I'd probably choose Tolt unless you have a reason not to.

A few reasons:

• Built specifically around subscription SaaS.
• Handles recurring commissions.
• Quick implementation.
• Doesn't overwhelm you with enterprise partner-management features. tolt.com

One thing I'd encourage, though, is don't over-invest in software before validating the channel. Most early SaaS affiliate programs fail because they have no affiliates, not because the tracking is inadequate. Founder discussions consistently point out that recruiting quality partners is the harder problem than tracking commissions. www.reddit.com

For an early-stage SaaS, I'd launch something like:

• 25–30% recurring commission for 12 months (or lifetime if your margins support it)
• A simple affiliate dashboard
• Manual approval of affiliates
• Recruit your first 10–20 partners personally (customers, consultants, agencies, creators in your niche)

That will teach you far more than spending months perfecting the program.

One question that affects the recommendation:

What billing platform are you using?

• Stripe
• Paddle
• Polar
• Chargebee
• Something else

For a two-person SaaS, I'd optimize for three things:

• Launch in a day, not a sprint.
• Native recurring subscription tracking (upgrades, downgrades, churn, refunds).
• Keep monthly costs predictable until referrals actually work.

Here's how I'd think about the main options:

If I were bootstrapping

<$5k MRR

• Use Tolt if every dollar matters.
• Use Rewardful if you're already on Stripe or Paddle and want the smoothest experience.

The difference between them is much smaller than the difference between having an affiliate program and endlessly researching one.

Don't overbuild the program

Many founders spend weeks debating commission structures when the real bottleneck is finding partners. Industry data and founder experience suggest that only a small fraction of affiliates ever generate meaningful sales, so recruiting the right people matters more than having sophisticated tracking. www.reddit.com

I'd start with something simple:

• 25–30% recurring commission for 12 months (or lifetime if your margins support it).
• Instant approval for trusted creators you invite.
• A short "Getting Started" guide with messaging, screenshots, and demo videos.
• Pay monthly once commissions exceed a minimum threshold (e.g. $50).

An even cheaper approach

If you're extremely budget-conscious, you can avoid affiliate software for your first 10–20 partners:

• Give each partner a unique coupon code.
• Track referrals in Stripe.
• Pay commissions manually once a month.

You'll spend a couple of hours each month instead of $50–100/month. Once referrals become a meaningful acquisition channel, migrate to a dedicated platform.

A couple of questions that would change my recommendation:

1. What billing system do you use (Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, etc.)?
2. Are you targeting creators/YouTubers, agencies, or B2B consultants as affiliates?

For a two-person SaaS, I'd optimize for low fixed cost, Stripe integration, recurring subscription tracking, and minimal setup. You don't need enterprise partner management—you need something you can launch in an afternoon.

Here's how I'd rank the current options:

If I were in your shoes

I'd probably do one of these:

• Budget under $25/month: Referralful
• Need essentially free to start: Endorsely
• Want the nicest in-app experience: Refgrow

One thing I'd avoid

I'd stay away from enterprise platforms like PartnerStack until you're doing serious volume. They're fantastic once you have a mature partner program, but they're usually overkill for a two-person company.

I'd also keep the program simple

Many founders overcomplicate affiliates. I'd start with:

• 20–30% recurring commission for 12 months
• Instant signup (don't manually approve everyone initially)
• One referral link per affiliate
• Monthly payouts via Stripe/PayPal/Wise
• A simple dashboard showing clicks, trials, and paid conversions

You can always add tiers and bonuses later.

The bigger challenge isn't software

A common lesson from founders is that finding affiliates is much harder than tracking them. The tracking software is largely a solved problem; getting people who will actively promote your product is where most programs succeed or fail. www.reddit.com

If you're still under roughly $10k MRR, I'd spend more time:

• inviting your happiest customers,
• reaching out to niche creators,
• partnering with consultants who already serve your target market,

than worrying about advanced affiliate features.

One question: What billing platform are you using—Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar, or something else? That can narrow the recommendations further because the quality of the billing integration matters more than almost any other feature for a SaaS affiliate program.

For a two-person SaaS, I'd optimize for low fixed cost, Stripe integration, recurring subscription tracking, and minimal setup. You probably don't need an enterprise partner ecosystem yet—you need something you can launch in a weekend.

Here's how I'd rank the options:

If your budget is under $50/month

I'd go with Endorsely unless there's a feature it lacks.

It gives you:

• recurring commissions
• unlimited affiliates
• Stripe integration
• no transaction fees
• free until you actually have affiliate revenue

That's hard to beat for an early-stage SaaS. www.endorsely.com

More important than the software

One thing many founders discover is that software isn't the bottleneck—recruiting affiliates is. Several founder discussions point out that tracking is relatively easy, but finding people who will consistently promote your product is the real challenge. www.reddit.com

For a two-person startup, I'd avoid trying to recruit hundreds of affiliates. Instead:

• Invite your happiest customers.
• Reach out to 10–20 niche creators or newsletter authors in your market.
• Give them recurring commissions (20–30% is common for SaaS).
• Create a simple affiliate page explaining who it's for and how payouts work.

Ten engaged affiliates usually outperform hundreds of inactive signups.

I would avoid (for now)

• Enterprise platforms like PartnerStack—they're excellent, but typically make sense once you're doing significant revenue and have someone managing partnerships.
• Networks that charge large revenue shares when a flat monthly fee will do.

One last question that affects the recommendation:

What billing platform are you using—Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, or something else? That determines which affiliate tools integrate most smoothly.