Answers that do not mention impact.com

If you’re a solo founder selling subscriptions, I’d narrow it to Rewardful vs. FirstPromoter. Both are designed around SaaS/subscription affiliate programs rather than traditional one-time ecommerce.

My pick: Rewardful

Rewardful is probably the best fit if your priority is “set it up once and don't think about it.”

• Very simple Stripe integration — it’s built specifically around Stripe subscription billing. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• Recurring commissions can continue on every subscription payment until cancellation, or be limited to a number of payments/months. Rewardful Help Center
• Handles upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, refunds and free trials. Rewardful
• Affiliates get clean referral links such as ?via=affiliate, rather than ugly redirect URLs. Rewardful
• Payouts: PayPal/Wise bulk payouts and managed payouts are available. Rewardful Rewardful
• Current Starter pricing is $49/month, with no transaction fee, unlimited affiliates, and up to $7,500/month in affiliate-generated revenue. Rewardful

For a one-person company, that simplicity is valuable.

The one I'd choose if payouts are the priority: FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is arguably the more complete option.

It supports recurring commissions directly against Stripe billing events, including lifetime, fixed-duration, or fixed-number-of-payment commissions. FirstPromoter

More importantly for your use case, it has one-click automated payouts through PayPal or Stripe, as well as bulk payout workflows. It can also collect W-9/W-8BEN information. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

Current Starter pricing is also $49/month, although that tier caps affiliate-generated revenue at $5,000/month and affiliates at 1,000. FirstPromoter

Quick comparison

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're selling a straightforward Stripe subscription and have <100 affiliates, I'd start with Rewardful.

If your goal is specifically “affiliate signs up → gets link → earns recurring commission → platform calculates everything → I click one button and everyone gets paid”, I'd lean FirstPromoter, because its payout and commission-management workflow is particularly strong. Independent 2026 comparisons also tend to put FirstPromoter near the top for SaaS while positioning Rewardful as the simpler Stripe-first choice. The Digital Merchant FounderMag

My ranking for a solo founder:

1. FirstPromoter — best overall if payouts/commission administration matter most.
2. Rewardful — best if minimizing setup and ongoing complexity matters most.
3. Tolt — worth considering if you want another Stripe-focused startup option.

If you tell me what you use for billing (Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, etc.) and roughly what your subscription price is, I can tell you which one I'd actually choose and what the monthly cost would look like at your scale.

It supports recurring commissions directly against Stripe billing events, including lifetime, fixed-duration, or fixed-number-of-payment commissions. FirstPromoter

More importantly for your use case, it has one-click automated payouts through PayPal or Stripe, as well as bulk payout workflows. It can also collect W-9/W-8BEN information. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

Current Starter pricing is also $49/month, although that tier caps affiliate-generated revenue at $5,000/month and affiliates at 1,000. FirstPromoter

Quick comparison

What I'd do in your shoes

If you're selling a straightforward Stripe subscription and have <100 affiliates, I'd start with Rewardful.

If your goal is specifically “affiliate signs up → gets link → earns recurring commission → platform calculates everything → I click one button and everyone gets paid”, I'd lean FirstPromoter, because its payout and commission-management workflow is particularly strong. Independent 2026 comparisons also tend to put FirstPromoter near the top for SaaS while positioning Rewardful as the simpler Stripe-first choice.

My ranking for a solo founder:

If you're a solo founder selling subscriptions, I’d narrow it to Rewardful, FirstPromoter, and Tolt.

My pick: Rewardful

If you use Stripe for subscriptions, I’d choose rewardful.com.

Why it fits a one-person business particularly well:

• Very simple setup: it is built specifically around Stripe subscription businesses. Rewardful Help Center
• Recurring commissions: it automatically calculates commissions on paid invoices and adjusts for upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, and trials. Rewardful Help Center
• Affiliate links: straightforward referral-link tracking without needing a complicated partner platform.
• Payout management: it tracks what you owe and supports PayPal/Wise payouts; managed payouts are also available. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center
• No transaction fee: current comparisons put the entry plan at about $49/month, with no percentage-of-revenue fee. Affitor Documentation
• Low operational overhead: that's probably the most important criterion for a solo founder.

How I'd rank them

FirstPromoter is the one I'd choose instead if you expect to need things like multi-tier commissions, more complex attribution, or billing systems beyond Stripe. It supports Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Braintree and Recurly, plus recurring/custom commissions and PayPal/Wise payouts. FirstPromoter

Tolt is attractive if you want a very modern, lightweight affiliate experience. Its current pricing is around $69/month at the entry tier, with automated payouts on the $99 Growth tier; it also supports a broad range of payout methods. Affitor

The decision I'd make

If your setup is:

Stripe → subscription → affiliates get 20–30% recurring commission → automatic tracking → pay affiliates monthly

I'd go Rewardful.

If you're starting from zero, I wouldn't pay for something like PartnerStack or another enterprise partner-management platform. You're paying for complexity you probably don't need yet.

One caveat: Rewardful itself doesn't actually move the commission money for you by default; it calculates/tracks what you owe and facilitates the PayPal/Wise workflow. Rewardful Help Center If by "simple payout management" you mean literally click one button and have all affiliates automatically paid, Tolt or FirstPromoter may be worth the extra cost.

If you tell me (1) Stripe/Paddle/etc., (2) your subscription price, and (3) roughly how many affiliates you expect, I can tell you which of the three is cheapest and easiest for your exact setup.

For a growing SaaS with monthly + annual subscriptions, tiered partner commissions, and recurring payouts, I’d shortlist FirstPromoter first, then PartnerStack if you’re building a much larger partner ecosystem.

My recommendation

FirstPromoter stands out particularly well for your requirements: it supports tier rewards, automatic recurring commissions, and can connect to Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, Recurly, and Braintree. It also supports different commission rates as partners hit customer/revenue thresholds. FirstPromoter Track360

Why I'd pick FirstPromoter

You can structure something like:

• Standard partner: 20% recurring
• Silver: 25% after $5k referred revenue
• Gold: 30% after $15k
• Strategic partners: custom 35% rate
• Commission continues on renewals, including annual subscriptions.
• You can also create multi-tier/sub-affiliate structures if you want partners recruiting other partners. FirstPromoter says its tiered system supports up to three levels and recurring overrides. FirstPromoter

That's substantially closer to a real partner program than a basic "give everyone a referral link and pay 20%" affiliate system.

When I'd choose PartnerStack instead

Go with PartnerStack if you're expecting affiliates to evolve into a broader channel involving:

• referral partners
• agencies
• resellers
• technology/integration partners
• co-selling
• partner managers
• a large partner ecosystem

It's positioned much more toward B2B SaaS partner ecosystems than simple affiliate management. Current comparisons put it in the enterprise category, with pricing starting around $1,000/month, so I'd avoid it unless you're actually going to use those capabilities. Affitor Affitor

What I wouldn't choose

Rewardful is excellent if your priority is "get a Stripe affiliate program running quickly." But if complex tiering is one of your core requirements, I'd go straight to FirstPromoter rather than eventually migrating. Current comparisons characterize Rewardful as a simpler Stripe-native solution, while FirstPromoter has deeper recurring-commission functionality. Track360

Tolt is attractive for a lean SaaS and has strong recurring billing support, but its multi-tier capabilities are less suitable if you mean sophisticated commission tiers rather than simply different campaigns/rates. Track360

Bottom line

For your situation: FirstPromoter.

I'd only jump to PartnerStack if "partner" means more than affiliates—e.g. you're building a serious agency/reseller/referral channel.

One important distinction: if by "tiered commissions" you mean "partners earn 20%, then automatically move to 25% and 30% based on the amount of revenue they generate," FirstPromoter is especially compelling. If you mean "Partner A recruits Partner B and earns an override on B's sales," that's a different requirement, and FirstPromoter also explicitly supports that model. FirstPromoter

If you tell me your billing provider (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), current MRR, expected number of partners, and the commission tiers you're considering, I can narrow this down to the best 2–3 options and estimate the monthly cost at your current and projected scale.

For a SaaS product where you need to track referrals from both web signups and in-app signups and pay recurring commissions on subscriptions, you’ll want a platform that can:

• attribute the initial referral (cookie, link, coupon, UTM, or server-side event)
• connect the referral to the user account/customer ID
• receive subscription lifecycle events (trial → paid → renewal → upgrade/downgrade/cancel)
• calculate recurring commissions automatically
• handle payouts and affiliate reporting

The strongest options are:

My shortlist by architecture

If your SaaS uses Stripe Billing

Start with:

1. Rewardful — simplest path for a typical SaaS affiliate program. It is built around Stripe subscriptions and handles recurring commissions, upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations. Rewardful
2. FirstPromoter — better if you need more flexibility (multiple billing providers, custom commission rules, creator programs, customer referrals). FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

If you have a mobile app or logged-in product experience

Look for server-side attribution, not just browser cookies.

A common setup:

1. Affiliate link → landing page
2. Store affiliate ID in first-party cookie/local storage
3. User creates account → save affiliate ID on user record
4. User subscribes in app → send affiliate ID/customer ID to billing system
5. Affiliate platform receives payment events → generates recurring commissions

Example data model:

User
 ├── id: 12345
 ├── affiliate_id: abc789
 ├── signup_source: partner_x

Subscription
 ├── customer_id: stripe_123
 ├── plan: pro
 ├── affiliate_id: abc789

Commission
 ├── affiliate: partner_x
 ├── event: renewal
 ├── amount: 20%

What I would avoid

Generic affiliate platforms designed for ecommerce can struggle with SaaS because they often track only the first conversion and do not understand:

• monthly renewals
• churn
• upgrades
• seat expansions
• annual renewals

Recommended decision

• Small SaaS, Stripe, launching affiliates: Rewardful or FirstPromoter
• Need creators + affiliates + customer referral program: FirstPromoter
• B2B SaaS with channel partners/resellers: PartnerStack
• Complex in-app attribution: choose a platform with API/webhook support and store attribution internally

The key technical question is: where does the signup happen? If your in-app signup is iOS/Android, a web app, or both, the ideal integration pattern changes.

For a SaaS product, you’ll want affiliate/referral software that can track the full subscription lifecycle, not just the initial signup:

• visitor clicks referral link
• web signup or in-app signup occurs
• trial → paid conversion is attributed
• monthly renewals generate commissions
• upgrades/downgrades/cancellations adjust payouts

The strongest options to evaluate:

My shortlist by architecture

If you have Stripe subscriptions

1. Rewardful
2. FirstPromoter
3. Partnero
4. Trackdesk

These can usually map referral IDs into Stripe customer metadata or webhooks so renewals can be credited.

If you have a product-led SaaS where users invite other users

• Refgrow is worth looking at because it is built around embedding referral flows inside the app rather than only external affiliate links. refgrow.com

If you have enterprise/B2B partners

• PartnerStack or Trackdesk are usually closer to a channel-management system than a simple affiliate tracker.

Architecture I would recommend

For a SaaS with both website and app signups:

1. Generate affiliate ID/link:

   yourapp.com/signup?ref=affiliate123

2. Store referral attribution at signup:
   • user ID
   • affiliate ID
   • campaign ID
   • timestamp
   • first-touch / last-touch rules

3. Pass attribution into billing:
   • Stripe customer metadata
   • Paddle customer fields
   • internal subscription table

4. Trigger commissions from billing events:
   • subscription_created
   • invoice_paid
   • subscription_updated
   • subscription_cancelled

5. Pay commissions:
   • e.g. 30% recurring for 12 months
   • lifetime recurring
   • first payment only
   • tiered partner rates

A key requirement: avoid relying only on browser cookies. Modern browsers, ad blockers, and privacy settings can break attribution. Tools that use server-side events/webhooks are generally more reliable for SaaS. rekomi.comicodrip.com

If you share your stack (Stripe vs Paddle vs Lemon Squeezy, web framework, mobile app type, and whether referrals are affiliates or customer invites), I can narrow this to the best 2–3 choices.

Yes. What you’re describing is subscription-aware partner/affiliate software—the important requirement is that commissions follow the billing lifecycle rather than being calculated only at the original signup.

Best fits

My first choice would be FirstPromoter if your specific requirement is “pay partners a percentage of subscription revenue, and automatically adjust their earnings when the customer upgrades, downgrades, cancels, or gets refunded.” FirstPromoter says its commissions are tied to billing events and supports recurring commissions, upgrades, downgrades, refunds, cancellations, and reactivations. It also supports Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, Chargebee, and Braintree. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

Rewardful is probably the easiest alternative if you're entirely on Stripe. It supports recurring commissions and says it automatically adjusts commissions for upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, refunds, and other Stripe billing changes. Rewardful Rewardful

One important distinction: proration

Suppose:

• Partner refers Customer A
• Customer pays $50/month
• Partner gets 20% recurring commission
• Customer upgrades halfway through the month to $100/month
• Stripe generates a $25 prorated charge
• Next month Customer pays $100

You want the partner system to understand the actual billing events, rather than simply saying “this customer was originally a $50 subscription, so commission remains $10.”

That billing-event synchronization is the feature I'd test most carefully in a demo. FirstPromoter explicitly describes upgrade/downgrade adjustments against the new plan value, while Rewardful says it calculates based on what was actually paid. FirstPromoter Rewardful

How I'd structure your program

I'd configure something like:

Partner commission: 20% of collected subscription revenue
Duration: lifetime recurring
Upgrade: commission follows the upgraded amount
Downgrade: commission follows the reduced amount
Cancellation: stop future commissions
Refund: claw back the associated commission
Failed payment: don't commission until payment is actually collected
Reactivation: resume commissions if the customer returns
Payout: monthly, subject to a minimum threshold

For a straightforward Stripe SaaS, I'd shortlist FirstPromoter vs. Rewardful first. If you're building a much larger reseller/channel ecosystem with multiple partner types and sophisticated event-based commission rules, PartnerStack becomes more compelling; it explicitly supports recurring commissions tied to subscriptions, renewals, and expansion revenue. PartnerStack

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee/etc.), approximate number of partners, and the commission rule you want (e.g. 20% for 12 months vs. 20% lifetime), I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options and compare their actual pricing and implementation effort.

For a subscription business, you’ll want a SaaS-aware affiliate/partner commission platform, not a traditional affiliate tracker. The important capabilities are:

• Recurring revenue share (e.g., 20% of every monthly payment)
• Upgrade handling (commission increases when a customer moves from Basic → Pro)
• Downgrade handling
• Cancellation/churn stopping commissions
• Refund/chargeback clawbacks
• Proration support (partial-period subscription changes)
• Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee integration
• Partner portal + automated payouts

Good options to evaluate:

My shortlist by scenario

If you use Stripe and are launching your first partner program

• Start with Rewardful or Partnero. They’re closer to “connect billing → define rev share → pay partners.” marketplace.stripe.comwww.partnero.com

If your model is true SaaS revenue share
Example:

• Partner earns 30% of subscription revenue
• Customer upgrades from $49/mo → $199/mo
• Partner earns 30% of $199 going forward
• Customer cancels → commissions stop

Look at Rekomi, Partnero, Track360, or Tapfiliate, since they explicitly focus on subscription lifecycle events. rekomi.com

If you have agencies/resellers/integration partners (not just affiliates)
Consider PartnerStack or a partner-operations platform because you’ll likely need contracts, tiers, deal registration, and partner enablement—not just referral links. superframeworks.com

Things to verify before choosing

Ask vendors specifically:

1. Does commission calculate from invoices or subscription objects?

Invoice-level tracking is usually better for prorations.

2. How are mid-cycle upgrades handled?

Example:

• Customer pays $100/mo
• Upgrades halfway through the month to $200/mo
• Does partner get commission on the $50 prorated difference?

3. Can commissions be different by plan?

Example:

• Starter: 20%
• Pro: 30%
• Enterprise: custom

4. Can you cap the revenue share?

Example:

• 30% for first 12 months only
• Lifetime only for strategic partners

5. Does it support your billing stack?

Stripe Billing, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly, etc.

If you tell me your stack (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee/etc.), subscription model (monthly/annual), and whether partners are affiliates vs agencies/resellers, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 choices.

For a B2B SaaS with long trials, multiple funnel steps, and recurring revenue, I’d narrow it to PartnerStack vs. Rewardful—and my pick depends heavily on how complex your sales motion is.

My ranking

If your funnel looks like this

Affiliate click → signup → 30–90 day trial → sales call → qualification → contract → Stripe subscription → expansion

I'd choose PartnerStack.

Its big advantage is that it's designed around B2B rather than ecommerce-style affiliate attribution. It supports full-funnel tracking, CRM-connected attribution, event-based commissions, and recurring commissions tied to renewals and expansion. It also explicitly supports tracking when cookies are blocked and connecting billing systems such as Stripe and Chargebee. PartnerStack

That's important because with a long B2B trial, "last click before purchase" isn't necessarily the right attribution event. You want the affiliate relationship attached to the lead/account and carried through your CRM and eventual revenue event.

When I'd pick Rewardful instead

If you're a relatively small team and your funnel ultimately lands in Stripe, Rewardful is remarkably compelling.

It tracks the referred customer and then listens to Stripe billing events, automatically generating commissions on subsequent invoices and adjusting them for refunds, upgrades and downgrades. Rewardful Rewardful Help Center

It also supports recurring commissions indefinitely or for a specified number of payments/months, plus configurable cookie duration and first/last-touch attribution. Rewardful Help Center Rewardful

So:

• Simple-ish funnel + Stripe + founder wants low operational overhead → Rewardful
• Long enterprise-ish funnel + CRM + multiple conversion events + partner managers → PartnerStack

One caveat with Rewardful: its strength is billing attribution, but you shouldn't assume a Stripe-native affiliate tracker automatically solves complex CRM attribution. If your affiliate introduces someone who takes 60 days to close and passes through several sales stages, I'd validate the exact signup-to-customer identity handoff in a sandbox before committing.

What I'd optimize for

For your particular model, I'd test these five things before choosing:

1. Attribution survives a 60–90+ day trial.
2. Affiliate credit survives the prospect moving between marketing site, app, CRM and checkout.
3. Recurring commissions are triggered by actual paid revenue, not merely signup.
4. Upgrades/downgrades/churn/refunds automatically modify commissions.
5. You can override attribution manually when a strategic partner's deal goes through a sales-assisted process.

On those criteria, PartnerStack is my default recommendation for a scaled B2B SaaS; Rewardful is my default recommendation for a lean Stripe-based SaaS.

If you tell me your trial length, CRM (HubSpot/Salesforce/etc.), billing system (Stripe/Paddle/Chargebee), and whether affiliates or agencies are the main partners, I can tell you which one I'd actually deploy and what attribution model I'd configure.

That's important because with a long B2B trial, "last click before purchase" isn't necessarily the right attribution event. You want the affiliate relationship attached to the lead/account and carried through your CRM and eventual revenue event.

When I'd pick Rewardful instead

If you're a relatively small team and your funnel ultimately lands in Stripe, Rewardful is remarkably compelling.

It tracks the referred customer and then listens to Stripe billing events, automatically generating commissions on subsequent invoices and adjusting them for refunds, upgrades and downgrades.

If recurring payout accuracy tied directly to your billing system is the priority, I’d shortlist these:

1. firstpromoter.com — best overall for SaaS

• Native integrations with Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, Recurly, and Braintree.
• Tracks recurring charges, upgrades, downgrades, refunds, and cancellations so commissions stay aligned with actual billing events. FirstPromoter Stripe App Marketplace
• Supports lifetime recurring commissions, capped recurring periods, or a fixed number of charges.
• Particularly attractive if finance wants an auditable connection between the billing event and affiliate payout. FirstPromoter
• partnerstack.com — best for larger B2B SaaS

• Stronger if you're building a broader affiliate + referral + reseller/partner ecosystem.
• Supports recurring and expansion commissions and integrations with billing platforms such as Stripe and Chargebee. PartnerStack
• Better suited to enterprise-scale partner programs, but likely more infrastructure than you need for a straightforward affiliate program.
• rewardful.com — best for a lean Stripe/Paddle SaaS

• Simpler option if your billing stack is primarily Stripe or Paddle.
• Designed around recurring SaaS commissions and relatively quick deployment. Rewardful

My recommendation

I'd start with FirstPromoter if your main requirement is "whatever happens in billing should automatically determine what the affiliate is owed." Its billing-provider integrations and commission rules are specifically designed around that problem. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

If you tell me which billing system you use (Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, Paddle, custom, etc.), plus roughly how many affiliates/customers you expect, I can narrow it to the best 1–2 options and compare integration architecture, recurring commission handling, clawbacks/refunds, and payout reconciliation.

If recurring payout accuracy tied to your billing system is the priority, I’d shortlist FirstPromoter first, with Rewardful as the simpler alternative if you’re Stripe-only.

My recommendation

1. FirstPromoter — best overall for subscription SaaS

It is particularly strong when commission calculations need to follow the billing lifecycle rather than just the initial conversion. It supports billing events such as renewals, upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, refunds, and reactivations, and says commissions are updated from those events. It also supports Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, Chargebee, and Braintree. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

That makes it my pick if your requirement is essentially:

“Whatever our billing system says happened, the affiliate commission should reflect it.”

firstpromoter.com

2. Rewardful — best if you're entirely on Stripe

Rewardful is very attractive for a Stripe-native SaaS because it integrates directly with Stripe and handles recurring commissions, upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations. Rewardful

rewardful.com

3. PartnerStack — best for a larger partner ecosystem

I'd consider PartnerStack if you're not just doing affiliates but expect resellers, agencies, referrals, and multiple partner types. It's more of a broader partner-management platform than a lightweight affiliate tracker, so it makes more sense as your partner program gets sophisticated. Affitor

partnerstack.com

What I'd choose

The key thing I'd test in a technical evaluation is not just “does it integrate with our billing system?” Ask whether commissions are recalculated from the actual settled billing events after prorations, refunds, failed payments, upgrades/downgrades, cancellations, and reactivations. That's where seemingly good affiliate integrations can create finance reconciliation problems. Rewardful

If you tell me which billing system you use (Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, Paddle, Zuora, etc.), I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options and compare their integration architecture and payout/reconciliation model.

For a niche SaaS with low-volume, high-value subscriptions, I’d optimize for accurate recurring attribution + the ability to approve/control payouts yourself, rather than marketplace reach or sophisticated affiliate recruitment.

My pick: FirstPromoter

firstpromoter.com is probably the best fit.

Why:

• Strong recurring-commission model: commissions can follow subscription changes—upgrades, downgrades, refunds, cancellations, etc.—rather than treating the initial sale as the whole relationship. FirstPromoter Affitor Documentation
• Good fit for high-ticket SaaS: you don't need hundreds or thousands of affiliates to justify an enterprise partner platform.
• Flexible commission rules: useful if you want different arrangements for a handful of valuable partners.
• Billing-aware tracking: particularly attractive if your SaaS isn't exclusively Stripe-based. Current comparisons list Stripe, Paddle, Recurly, Braintree and Chargebee support. FirstPromoter
• No stated payout fee on its current plans, which matters when individual commissions are large. FirstPromoter

The shortlist I'd use

Rewardful Track360### When I'd choose Rewardful instead

If you're 100% on Stripe and want the least operational overhead, rewardful.com is arguably the cleaner choice. It's specifically optimized around Stripe SaaS, supports recurring commissions, and has a relatively simple setup. Current pricing comparisons put it at $49/month to start with no transaction fee. Rewardful Affitor Documentation

For a low-volume program, that's compelling: you probably don't need PartnerStack's ecosystem or enterprise machinery.

One interesting alternative: Tolt

tolt.io deserves a look if payout mechanics are particularly important. Current comparisons describe it as Stripe-native, with configurable attribution and broad payout options; its entry tier can use manual payouts, while automated payouts incur an additional fee. Affitor Documentation Affitor Documentation

That can actually be advantageous for your model: if you have, say, 10 partners generating $5k–$20k customers, you may prefer to review commissions and release payments yourself rather than paying for automation on every transaction.

What I'd avoid

I wouldn't start with PartnerStack or impact.com unless you're deliberately building a broader partner channel. They're powerful, but your stated economics don't require an enterprise partner ecosystem. PartnerStack in particular is positioned more toward companies running affiliates plus referrals/resellers/other B2B partner motions. Track360 Startup Hub

Bottom line:
FirstPromoter if commission logic and billing flexibility are the priority.
Rewardful if you're Stripe-only and want maximum simplicity.
Tolt if manual/controlled payouts and payout flexibility are unusually important.

For your specific model, I'd lean FirstPromoter 60/40 over Rewardful, assuming you're comfortable with its UI and your billing stack is supported.

For a niche SaaS with low-volume, high-value subscriptions, I’d shortlist Rewardful and FirstPromoter, with Rewardful as the default pick if you’re on Stripe.

My pick: Rewardful

For your particular model, Rewardful's simplicity is an advantage. It tracks recurring Stripe invoices, so a referred customer continuing to subscribe keeps generating commissions according to your campaign rules. You can also set a minimum payout threshold and a custom delay before commissions become payable—useful when each customer is worth a lot and you want to protect against refunds/chargebacks. help.rewardful.comhelp.rewardful.com

The big thing for you is payout control: Rewardful does not require you to let the platform automatically send money. You can export the due payouts as a CSV, pay affiliates yourself through PayPal, Wise, bank transfer, etc., and then manually mark the selected payouts as paid. help.rewardful.comhelp.rewardful.com

That makes it particularly attractive if you have, say, 10–50 serious partners generating substantial commissions rather than thousands of low-value affiliates.

Rewardful

When I'd choose FirstPromoter instead

I'd lean FirstPromoter if your partnership economics are more sophisticated—for example:

• Different recurring rates for different partners
• Multiple campaigns
• Plan-specific commissions
• Commission duration limits
• Multi-level commissions
• Manual commission adjustments

Its current documentation explicitly supports recurring commissions, plan-based rewards, manually added commissions, and limiting recurring commissions to a specified number of months. help.firstpromoter.com

Its payout system also lets you use custom payout terms, including a custom schedule where there isn't a fixed due date, giving you substantial control over when you actually pay. help.firstpromoter.com

FirstPromoter

One important distinction

I'd avoid choosing based on "automated payouts" for your use case. You actually seem to want the opposite: automated tracking/calculation, but human approval of the cash leaving your company.

A good setup would be:

Stripe → affiliate attribution → recurring commission accrual → refund/chargeback waiting period → you review → manually approve/pay

For a high-ticket SaaS, I'd probably configure something like 30–90 days before commissions become payable, plus a meaningful minimum payout threshold. Rewardful explicitly supports customizing the commission delay to match your refund policy. help.rewardful.com

Bottom line:
Stripe + relatively simple affiliate economics → Rewardful.
Complex partner-specific commission rules → FirstPromoter.
Enterprise reseller/channel program → PartnerStack.

If you tell me your average subscription price, commission %, Stripe vs. another billing system, and roughly how many affiliates you expect, I can narrow it down to the cheapest/best setup for your economics.

For a marketplace SaaS, you’ll usually want a partner management platform that understands subscription revenue, not just a basic affiliate tracker. The key features to look for are:

• recurring revenue share (e.g., 20% of every subscription payment)
• attribution that survives trials and upgrades
• commission adjustments for churn, refunds, and plan changes
• partner portals with earnings visibility
• Stripe/billing integration
• support for multiple partner types (affiliates, agencies, marketplace suppliers, integrations)

Some platforms that support recurring commissions:

For a marketplace SaaS, I’d think about the partner model first:

• Marketplace supply partners (agencies, vendors, service providers): look for PRM features, deal registration, partner tiers, and revenue attribution.
• Referral partners (consultants, creators, affiliates): look for recurring affiliate commissions and simple links/codes.
• Integration partners: prioritize co-selling, account mapping, and partner portals.

A common setup:

• 20–30% recurring commission for referral partners
• lifetime or 12–24 month commission window
• higher tiers for partners who bring retained customers
• clawbacks only for refunds/fraud/early churn

If you’re early-stage and using Stripe subscriptions, I’d shortlist Rekomi, PartnerPulse, Partner.io, or Partnero. If you expect a large ecosystem with agencies/resellers, evaluate a more full PRM-style tool like PartnerStack. PartnerPulse Partner

I’d also check whether your marketplace revenue is subscription-based, transaction-fee-based, or both—that changes which platform is the best fit.

Yes. For a marketplace SaaS where partners should earn ongoing commission on subscription revenue from each referred customer, several platforms support this.

Best fits

• partnerstack.com — probably the strongest choice if you want a full partner-management/PRM platform, rather than just affiliate tracking. It supports recurring commissions tied to subscriptions, renewals, and expansion revenue, plus referrals, resellers, co-selling, partner tiers, automated payouts, and CRM/billing integrations. PartnerStack PartnerStack
• firstpromoter.com — particularly good if your model is primarily affiliates/referrals. It supports recurring, lifetime, and tiered commissions and tracks renewals, upgrades, downgrades, cancellations, and reactivations. FirstPromoter
• rewardful.com — a simpler option, especially if you're Stripe-centric. It automatically generates commissions on subsequent subscription payments and adjusts for upgrades, downgrades, and refunds. Rewardful
• Tolt — worth considering for an early-stage SaaS if you want something more lightweight than PartnerStack; it's specifically aimed at SaaS affiliate programs. Rewardful

What I'd choose for your marketplace

If "partner" means businesses that refer customers to your marketplace, I'd shortlist:

PartnerStack → best if you expect a serious partner ecosystem with agencies, resellers, referral partners, tiers, and potentially different commission rules.

FirstPromoter → best if it's primarily a referral/affiliate program and you want relatively straightforward recurring commissions.

Rewardful → best if you're building on Stripe and want the simplest implementation.

One important distinction: decide whether you want lifetime recurring commission or recurring commission for a fixed period (e.g. 12 months). PartnerStack explicitly supports models ranging from one-time to limited recurring to unlimited/lifetime recurring. PartnerStack

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/etc.), approximate partner count, and whether partners are affiliates vs. agencies/resellers, I can narrow this to the best 1–2 options and compare pricing/API/integration effort.

Yes. For an EU-facing SaaS, I’d shortlist FirstPromoter, Rewardful, and PartnerStack, but they fit different levels of complexity.

My recommendation

Start with FirstPromoter if you're a normal subscription SaaS and want recurring affiliate revenue without buying an enterprise PRM. It supports Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree, and lets you tie commissions to actual billing events rather than merely signup. It also supports server-to-server postbacks, configurable attribution and role-based access. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

Rewardful is compelling if you're entirely on Stripe and want the simplest implementation. Its Trust Center explicitly addresses GDPR, processor/controller responsibilities, subprocessors and technical/organizational measures. One caveat: its DPA is described as available on request, so I'd get that signed before processing EU customer/affiliate data. Rewardful

PartnerStack is the stronger choice if "affiliate" is really the beginning of a broader B2B partner program. It supports recurring/expansion commissions and automated global payouts, and its published DPIA specifically addresses GDPR, data transfers, processor status and SCCs. PartnerStack PartnerStack

Important GDPR distinction

No affiliate platform is automatically "GDPR-compliant" merely because the vendor says so. For EU customers, I'd require:

• A DPA with clear controller/processor roles.
• Documented subprocessors and international-transfer mechanism (e.g. SCCs where applicable).
• A way to minimize the customer data sent to the affiliate system—ideally pseudonymous IDs rather than names/emails.
• Server-side/S2S attribution where possible, rather than relying exclusively on third-party cookies.
• Configurable retention/deletion and assistance with data-subject requests.
• Clear consent/legal-basis handling for any non-essential affiliate cookies.
• Contractual restrictions preventing affiliates from receiving unnecessary customer PII.

That last point matters: GDPR compliance is as much about how you configure the integration as which platform you buy.

If you tell me whether you're on Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, or something else, and roughly whether you're SMB, mid-market, or enterprise, I can narrow this to the best 1–2 choices and compare their DPA, EU data transfers, cookie/S2S tracking, recurring commission rules, and pricing.

PartnerStack is the stronger choice if "affiliate" is really the beginning of a broader B2B partner program. It supports recurring/expansion commissions and automated global payouts, and its published DPIA specifically addresses GDPR, data transfers, processor status and SCCs.

Important GDPR distinction

No affiliate platform is automatically "GDPR-compliant" merely because the vendor says so. For EU customers, I'd require:

Yes. For an EU-focused SaaS affiliate program, I’d shortlist FirstPromoter, Rewardful, and PartnerStack.

My recommendation: FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is particularly interesting for your requirement because its GDPR implementation explicitly addresses affiliate tracking: you can pass a UID without the customer's email, it provides mechanisms for access, erasure, portability and rectification, and it supports marketing-consent and affiliate privacy/terms checkboxes. FirstPromoter

It also handles recurring billing events, including upgrades, downgrades, refunds and cancellations. FirstPromoter

firstpromoter.com

If you're on Stripe/Paddle: Rewardful

Rewardful is probably the easiest implementation. Recurring commissions are the default, and you can limit them to a particular number of payments or months. Rewardful Help Center Rewardful Help Center It also advertises customizable cookies and GDPR compliance. Rewardful

One caveat: its DPA is available on request rather than automatically provided, according to its trust center, so I'd get that contractual paperwork reviewed before committing for EU enterprise customers. Rewardful

rewardful.com

For a larger B2B program: PartnerStack

PartnerStack is the stronger choice if this is more than a basic affiliate program—e.g. agencies, resellers, technology partners, and affiliates all need to coexist. It supports recurring commissions tied to renewals and expansion revenue, plus automated global payouts and tax handling. PartnerStack

Its GDPR documentation covers data-subject rights, DPAs and international transfers using SCCs. One thing to examine carefully is its current subprocessor/data-transfer architecture: PartnerStack says its subprocessors are currently located in the US. PartnerStack PartnerStack

partnerstack.com

Bottom line: If your priority order is EU privacy controls → recurring SaaS commissions → reasonable implementation complexity, I'd start with FirstPromoter. If you're already deeply invested in Stripe/Paddle and want the simplest deployment, Rewardful is compelling. If you're building a substantial B2B partner ecosystem, choose PartnerStack.

One important distinction: “GDPR compliant” by the vendor doesn't make your affiliate program automatically GDPR compliant. You'll still need to configure consent/cookie behavior, establish your controller/processor roles and DPA, document the lawful basis for tracking, and handle data-subject requests appropriately.

If you're technical and specifically want self-hosted + recurring commissions, the field is surprisingly thin. A lot of projects called “open source affiliate software” are really link trackers or abandoned demos rather than production-grade affiliate ledgers.

I’d divide the options into three tiers:

1. RefearnApp — the one I'd investigate first

github.com

This is probably the closest match to what you're asking for. It's an AGPL-3.0 open-source, self-hostable alternative to Rewardful/FirstPromoter/Tolt, built around Next.js, PostgreSQL/Drizzle, Docker, Cloudflare Workers and Redis. It advertises Stripe and Paddle integration, coupon tracking, affiliate portals, analytics and payouts. GitHub

The important caveat: it's young. The repository currently has only a small community footprint, so I'd treat it as something to audit rather than automatically trust with your commission ledger.

For a technical operator, I'd specifically inspect:

• webhook idempotency
• subscription → affiliate attribution persistence
• refund/chargeback handling
• upgrades/downgrades/proration
• cookie/link attribution
• commission reversals
• payout accounting
• database migrations
• test coverage around duplicate Stripe events

Those details matter considerably more than whether the UI looks good.

2. Cliq — interesting lightweight OSS option

github.com

Cliq describes itself as self-hosted affiliate software for startups, with APIs, a promoter portal and a scalable architecture. The repository includes Docker Compose and separate API/frontend components. GitHub

I'd put this in the “inspect the code before committing” category rather than calling it production-ready outright. In particular, verify that its commission model actually handles subscription renewals the way you need.

3. Post Affiliate Pro — boring, but much more mature

postaffiliatepro.com

This is the interesting option if self-hosting matters more than open-source licensing.

It's proprietary rather than OSS, but it has a self-hosted deployment and a very extensive affiliate feature set. Most importantly for you, it has an explicit recurring-commission implementation supporting subscription renewals, configurable recurrence periods and limits. Its “accurate” mode can create commissions based on actual recurring-payment notifications rather than blindly generating them on a schedule. Post Affiliate Pro Post Affiliate Pro

It also has integrations for Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Chargebee, Recurly, Chargify, FastSpring and others, plus REST/S2S tracking and webhooks. Post Affiliate Pro

The downside is that it feels like enterprise affiliate software from the previous generation rather than something you'd expect a developer to get excited about. And self-hosting means you inherit the operational burden.

For a serious revenue-generating program where commission correctness is more important than having an OSS license, I'd actually choose this over a young GitHub project.

4. PNLCS — worth considering if you're also building billing

github.com

PNLCS is an MIT-licensed, self-hosted WHMCS alternative covering billing, recurring invoicing, customer management and affiliate tracking. GitHub

This is particularly interesting if you're operating something like hosting/infrastructure/SaaS where billing is the core system and affiliates are a feature of it.

I wouldn't select it purely as an affiliate platform, though. Its affiliate functionality isn't the reason I'd deploy it.

5. Custom build — surprisingly reasonable for a technical team

If your stack is already something like Stripe + Postgres + your own application, I'd seriously consider implementing the affiliate ledger yourself rather than bending generic affiliate software around your business.

The minimum architecture I'd want is:

Affiliate
   │
   ├── tracking link / coupon
   │
   ▼
Attribution
   │
   ├── customer_id
   ├── affiliate_id
   └── attribution timestamp
          │
          ▼
Payment events ───────► Commission ledger
Stripe webhook             │
                          ├── pending
                          ├── approved
                          ├── reversed
                          └── paid

The key design decision is don't model “recurring commission” as a cron job.

Instead:

subscription.created
       ↓
affiliate attribution
       ↓
invoice.paid
       ↓
commission.create
       ↓
refund / chargeback
       ↓
commission.reverse

That makes recurring commissions an accounting consequence of actual successful payments.

I'd give every commission a unique key such as:

(subscription_id, invoice_id, affiliate_id, commission_rule_id)

and enforce uniqueness at the database level. Stripe webhook retries then become harmless.

You can build the affiliate UI, tracking and reporting around that ledger later.

What I'd choose

For your particular description, my shortlist would be:

If OSS is mandatory:
RefearnApp → Cliq → custom build

If self-hosting is mandatory but OSS isn't:
Post Affiliate Pro → custom build

If you're already building your own SaaS/billing system:
custom build the commission ledger, and possibly borrow tracking/UI ideas from the OSS projects.

One particularly important distinction: don't confuse “recurring commissions” with “recurring affiliate tracking.” You want the latter tied to the actual subscription/invoice lifecycle. Post Affiliate Pro, for example, explicitly supports subscription IDs so renewal transactions can be attributed back to the original affiliate, including refunds and cancellations. Post Affiliate Pro

And I would not put much weight on projects merely advertising themselves as “open-source affiliate software.” The current ecosystem has a lot of small/incomplete projects; even recent surveys note that genuinely mature, fully open-source affiliate platforms are rare. refgrow.com

If you tell me your billing stack (Stripe/Paddle/Lemon Squeezy/etc.), framework, and whether you need affiliate payouts automated, I can narrow this to 2–3 architectures and compare their actual webhook/commission models.

Yes. If you’re technical and specifically want self-hosting + recurring commissions, I’d focus on a fairly small set. The open-source ecosystem is still much thinner than the hosted SaaS market, so I’d separate production candidates from projects you may end up extending yourself.

My shortlist

1. RefKit — probably the first one I'd investigate

refkit.net is unusually close to what I'd want for a modern SaaS affiliate system.

It explicitly supports recurring commissions, has a REST API/SDK/CLI, and is designed around sending conversion/payment information from your backend rather than depending entirely on browser cookies. The application/API is AGPL-3.0, while its SDK/CLI/MCP components are MIT. It can be deployed with Docker Compose. RefKit

The architecture is particularly appealing if you're technical:

your app → identify referral → Stripe/payment event → RefKit → commission ledger → affiliate portal/payouts

It also supports reporting transactions through an API, so you're not necessarily locked into Stripe as your billing system. RefKit

Caveat: it appears relatively young, so I'd inspect the repo's issue history, test coverage, migration strategy, and webhook/idempotency implementation before putting substantial money through it.

2. RefearnApp — interesting if you want to own the whole stack

github.com is another genuinely self-hostable OSS option.

It's AGPL-3.0 and uses Next.js, Drizzle, Docker and Cloudflare Workers, with PostgreSQL-oriented infrastructure. The project specifically positions itself as an open-source alternative to Rewardful, FirstPromoter and Tolt. GitHub

Its selling point is more infrastructure-oriented: edge click tracking, conversion tracking, analytics and payout management, while keeping the data on your infrastructure. GitHub

I'd consider this if you want something you can fork and materially customize.

One warning: it currently has a relatively small GitHub footprint, so I'd classify it as promising rather than battle-tested. GitHub

3. Refferq — worth evaluating as a customizable base

github.com is MIT licensed and built with Next.js/PostgreSQL.

It has:

• affiliate/partner management
• referral tracking
• commission calculation
• affiliate portal
• payout management
• flexible percentage/fixed commission rules
• automated workflows
• APIs
• Docker/self-hosting potential

GitHubThe attractive part for you is probably MIT licensing + relatively conventional TypeScript/Postgres architecture. If you expect to modify the commission engine yourself, that's a meaningful advantage over AGPL projects.

I'd specifically inspect whether its commission engine models subscription renewals as independent commission events rather than merely calculating a commission on the initial conversion. That's the key distinction for your use case.

4. Numok — particularly interesting for Stripe SaaS

numok.com is explicitly an open-source affiliate platform for SaaS and connects to Stripe. Its repo describes Docker deployment and PHP/MySQL requirements. Git Hubp Numok

If your architecture is basically:

Stripe → subscription → recurring affiliate commission

I'd put this on the test list.

The tradeoff is the technology stack: if you're a TypeScript/Go/Python shop, PHP may be less attractive than RefKit/RefearnApp/Refferq.

5. Cliq — good if you're comfortable finishing the product

github.com is a self-hosted affiliate platform using NestJS + TypeScript + PostgreSQL + Redis.

It already covers affiliate/promoter management, referral tracking, commission calculation, reporting and a promoter portal, and provides Docker deployment. GitHub

I'd regard it more as a developer-friendly foundation than a proven affiliate product. That's not necessarily bad if your attitude is "I'd rather own the system and fill in the missing 20% myself."

If you don't require open source

This changes the recommendation considerably.

iDevAffiliate

idevaffiliate.com is one of the more interesting choices if your requirement is actually "I want the software/database on my servers", rather than "I require OSS."

It's a mature PHP/MySQL product with a self-hosted edition sold as a one-time purchase. The vendor currently lists it at $499, with no monthly fee. iDevAffiliate

I'd seriously consider this if you're running a business where affiliate payouts are material and you don't want to bet the accounting layer on a young GitHub project.

Post Affiliate Pro

This is another mature commercial/self-hosted option. It has considerably more of the traditional affiliate-network feature set—multi-tier commissions, fraud controls, campaign management, integrations, etc.—but you give up the benefits of an open-source codebase.

For a sophisticated affiliate operation, that's sometimes the better trade.

The thing I'd scrutinize most: recurring commission semantics

Don't just check whether a product says "recurring commissions."

You want to establish that it correctly handles something like:

Affiliate A refers User 123
        ↓
User 123 starts $49/mo subscription
        ↓
$14.70 commission
        ↓
month 2 → $14.70
month 3 → $14.70
        ↓
upgrade to $99/mo
        ↓
$29.70 commission
        ↓
downgrade → commission decreases
        ↓
refund → commission clawback
        ↓
subscription canceled
        ↓
future commissions stop

And, crucially, the system should be ledger/event based and idempotent.

I'd want to see entities/events resembling:

affiliate
affiliate_link
customer
referral
conversion
subscription
transaction
commission
commission_adjustment
payout

rather than simply:

affiliate_id
customer_id
commission_percent

For a recurring SaaS program, that distinction becomes extremely important once you have refunds, upgrades, downgrades, coupons, annual plans, failed payments, chargebacks and manual adjustments.

What I'd choose

For someone technical, I'd narrow it to:

1. RefKit — best first prototype if you want a modern SaaS-native architecture and recurring commissions.
2. RefearnApp — best if owning/customizing the tracking infrastructure is a major priority.
3. Refferq — attractive if MIT licensing and modifying the code are important.
4. Numok — investigate if you're heavily committed to Stripe and don't mind PHP.
5. iDevAffiliate — my choice if you decide mature self-hosted commercial software > immature OSS.
6. Build on top of your own event/ledger system — surprisingly compelling if affiliate revenue is strategically important and you already have a good engineering team.

I would not recommend old "open source affiliate scripts" just because they appear in Google results. For example, eLitius is genuinely open source, but its own GitHub repository says the project is dead and explicitly recommends against using it. GitHub

The bigger picture is that genuinely mature OSS affiliate-management software remains scarce in 2026; many of the products marketed as "self-hosted" are actually proprietary software that you install yourself. iDevAffiliate Refgrow

If you tell me your stack (Stripe/Paddle/Lemon Squeezy/custom billing, language, Docker/K8s, and whether you need automated PayPal/Stripe/Wise payouts), I can narrow these to the 2–3 I'd actually deploy and compare their commission/ledger architectures.

I'd put this on the test list.

The tradeoff is the technology stack: if you're a TypeScript/Go/Python shop, PHP may be less attractive than RefKit/RefearnApp/Refferq.

5. Cliq — good if you're comfortable finishing the product

github.com is a self-hosted affiliate platform using NestJS + TypeScript + PostgreSQL + Redis.

It already covers affiliate/promoter management, referral tracking, commission calculation, reporting and a promoter portal, and provides Docker deployment. GitHub

I'd regard it more as a developer-friendly foundation than a proven affiliate product. That's not necessarily bad if your attitude is "I'd rather own the system and fill in the missing 20% myself."

If you don't require open source

This changes the recommendation considerably.

iDevAffiliate

idevaffiliate.com is one of the more interesting choices if your requirement is actually "I want the software/database on my servers", rather than "I require OSS."

It's a mature PHP/MySQL product with a self-hosted edition sold as a one-time purchase. The vendor currently lists it at $499, with no monthly fee. iDevAffiliate

I'd seriously consider this if you're running a business where affiliate payouts are material and you don't want to bet the accounting layer on a young GitHub project.

Post Affiliate Pro

This is another mature commercial/self-hosted option. It has considerably more of the traditional affiliate-network feature set—multi-tier commissions, fraud controls, campaign management, integrations, etc.—but you give up the benefits of an open-source codebase.

For a sophisticated affiliate operation, that's sometimes the better trade.

The thing I'd scrutinize most: recurring commission semantics

Don't just check whether a product says "recurring commissions."

You want to establish that it correctly handles something like:

Affiliate A refers User 123
        ↓
User 123 starts $49/mo subscription
        ↓
$14.70 commission
        ↓
month 2 → $14.70
month 3 → $14.70
        ↓
upgrade to $99/mo
        ↓
$29.70 commission
        ↓
downgrade → commission decreases
        ↓
refund → commission clawback
        ↓
subscription canceled
        ↓
future commissions stop

And, crucially, the system should be ledger/event based and idempotent.

I'd want to see entities/events resembling:

affiliate
affiliate_link
customer
referral
conversion
subscription
transaction
commission
commission_adjustment
payout

rather than simply:

affiliate_id
customer_id
commission_percent

For a recurring SaaS program, that distinction becomes extremely important once you have refunds, upgrades, downgrades, coupons, annual plans, failed payments, chargebacks and manual adjustments.

What I'd choose

For someone technical, I'd narrow it to:

1. RefKit — best first prototype if you want a modern SaaS-native architecture and recurring commissions.
2. RefearnApp — best if owning/customizing the tracking infrastructure is a major priority.
3. Refferq — attractive if MIT licensing and modifying the code are important.
4. Numok — investigate if you're heavily committed to Stripe and don't mind PHP.
5. iDevAffiliate — my choice if you decide mature self-hosted commercial software > immature OSS.
6. Build on top of your own event/ledger system — surprisingly compelling if affiliate revenue is strategically important and you already have a good engineering team.

I would not recommend old "open source affiliate scripts" just because they appear in Google results. For example, eLitius is genuinely open source, but its own GitHub repository says the project is dead and explicitly recommends against using it.

Yes. For an enterprise B2B SaaS with annual contracts, I’d narrow the field to PartnerStack, FirstPromoter, and Rewardful, with PartnerStack the strongest fit if your sales cycle is high-touch and contract values are large.

1. PartnerStack — probably your best match

PartnerStack explicitly supports one-time, limited-recurring, and unlimited-recurring commissions. It also supports commission triggers based on events such as contract signing, recurring revenue, renewals and expansion. partnerstack.com

That matters for your model because you can construct something like:

• 10% of first-year contract value, paid once
• 5% of renewal revenue for years 2–3
• Or $X on signed contract + Y% of collected revenue
• Different commission structures by partner tier
• Drip/installment payouts as revenue is realized

PartnerStack specifically says its commission system supports flat fees, revenue share, and drip/ installment payouts tied to recurring revenue, which is unusually relevant for enterprise SaaS. partnerstack.com

It also has CRM-connected tracking, so you're not limited to a Stripe-style "customer paid invoice → commission" model. partnerstack.com

I'd choose this if your affiliates are really channel/referral partners, consultants, agencies, or enterprise influencers rather than traditional content affiliates.

2. FirstPromoter — strong if billing is the source of truth

FirstPromoter supports:

• percentage or flat-dollar commissions
• recurring commissions
• lifetime recurring commissions
• recurring commissions for a defined number of months
• one-time commissions by setting the number of charges to 1
• different commission rates over time. help.firstpromoter.com

So, for example, you could do 20% of the first annual invoice, or 10% on every annual renewal.

Its native integrations include Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree; other billing systems can be handled through its API. help.firstpromoter.com

The caveat is that enterprise contract-value attribution can be more complicated than subscription billing. If a $100k annual contract is negotiated in Salesforce and then invoiced manually, I'd verify exactly how you want the commission event/value passed into FirstPromoter before choosing it.

3. Rewardful — excellent for Stripe, less compelling for complex enterprise deals

Rewardful supports both percentage and fixed-amount commissions, and lets you make them recurring, limited to a number of payments/months, or one-time. help.rewardful.com

It's particularly good if your enterprise contracts ultimately flow through Stripe invoices. Rewardful calculates the commission from the amount actually paid on the invoice, including one-off invoices. help.rewardful.com

So if your model is:

Referral → $120k annual contract → Stripe invoice → pay partner 10% = $12k

Rewardful is attractive.

But if your model is:

Partner refers account → sales team negotiates $120k ACV → contract signed in Salesforce → commission based on ACV → payment occurs later → renewal/expansion has separate rules

I'd lean toward PartnerStack.

The important distinction for your use case

I wouldn't actually frame your requirement as "affiliate software that supports recurring commissions."

For enterprise SaaS, the more important requirement is:

Can the platform calculate commissions against contract value/ACV rather than merely against an ecommerce transaction or monthly subscription invoice?

That's where PartnerStack stands out.

For example, suppose your program is:

Referral partner: 10% of first-year ACV
Renewal: 5% of renewal ACV
Expansion: 5% of incremental ACV
Payment: 50% when contract is signed, 50% when first invoice is collected

That's much closer to a B2B partner commission system than a conventional affiliate program. PartnerStack is designed around that sort of workflow, including deal registration, contract-signing triggers, recurring revenue and expansion. partnerstack.com

My ranking for your specific model:

1. PartnerStack — best overall for enterprise/ACV-based partner programs
2. FirstPromoter — best simpler option if billing events drive everything
3. Rewardful — best if you're heavily Stripe-based
4. Rekomi — worth evaluating if you want a simpler high-ticket SaaS affiliate model; it explicitly supports one-time, time-limited, and lifetime revenue-share commissions. rekomi.com

If you tell me your typical ACV (e.g. $20k/$50k/$100k+) and whether contracts are tracked in Salesforce/HubSpot vs Stripe/Chargebee, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 platforms that actually fit and compare their pricing, commission mechanics, CRM integration, and payout handling.

If you mean affiliate/partner commissions for a SaaS, rather than internal sales commissions, I’d shortlist these:

• rekomi.com — probably the best fit for a subscription-first SaaS. It supports recurring revenue share, different rules for monthly vs. annual plans, plan upgrades/downgrades, churn/refunds, and add-ons, with commissions recalculated as the subscription changes. Rekomi
• firstpromoter.com — strong SaaS/Stripe-oriented option if you also need multi-tier affiliates and performance-based level-ups. Recurring commissions can continue through renewals. FirstPromoter
• affixo.dev — strongest if your priority is a genuinely flexible commission rule engine: per-product/Stripe-price rules, one-time vs. recurring, caps, lifetime commissions, declining rates, and automatic repricing after upgrades/downgrades. affixo
• heldsway.com — worth considering if your rules get unusually complicated: per-product/SKU, recurring/lifetime, performance tiers, multi-tier commissions, and affiliate-specific overrides. HeldSway

For your specific case

If your model looks something like:

Starter = 20% recurring
Pro = 25% recurring
Enterprise = 10% recurring
Add-on A = 30% one-time
Add-on B = 15% recurring
Upgrade Starter → Pro = commission on incremental revenue
Affiliate hits $50k → rate increases
Commission stops after 12 months or on churn

I'd start with Rekomi or affixo.

Rekomi is particularly attractive if your billing lifecycle is the hard part—subscriptions, upgrades, add-ons, refunds, churn, annual plans, etc. Rekomi

affixo looks better if the commission logic itself is the hard part and you want rules mapped directly to individual Stripe prices/products, with caps, declining rates, and different rules by billing cadence. affixo

If by “commission” you instead mean sales-rep commissions (AE/AM compensation on subscription tiers + expansions/upsells), that's a different category—I'd recommend a different set of platforms.

If you mean partner/affiliate commissions for a SaaS with multiple plans, add-ons, upgrades, and recurring billing, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: FirstPromoter

For the scenario you described, FirstPromoter is probably the best balance of flexibility and SaaS-specific billing support. It supports recurring commissions, commissions that vary by plan/price ID, product exclusions, multi-tier structures, and billing lifecycle events such as upgrades and downgrades. It also integrates natively with Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly, and Braintree. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

For example, you can model something like:

• Basic plan → 20% recurring
• Pro plan → 25% recurring
• Enterprise → $500 initial + 10% recurring
• Add-on A → 15% commission
• Add-on B → no commission
• Upgrade → commission on the incremental revenue
• Commission lasts 12 months for one partner group, lifetime for another
• Top-performing partners → higher rate
• Cancellations/refunds → clawback

That's much closer to a commission rules engine than a simple affiliate-link tracker.

If the rules are really complicated

I'd look particularly closely at Track360. It explicitly supports per-plan rates, recurring/first-month/lifetime models, hybrid CPA + recurring deals, partner-specific overrides, upgrades/downgrades, refunds, churn-aware clawbacks, and segment-based rules. Track360

PartnerStack is the stronger choice if you're building a broader B2B partner ecosystem—affiliates + agencies + resellers + integration partners. It supports recurring and expansion revenue, event-based commission triggers, partner-specific structures, and automated payouts. PartnerStack PartnerStack

So I'd rank them:

1. FirstPromoter → best for sophisticated SaaS affiliate/referral commissions
2. Track360 → best if commission logic itself is exceptionally complex
3. PartnerStack → best for enterprise B2B partner programs
4. Rewardful → best when you want simplicity with Stripe

If you tell me what your actual commission rules look like (e.g. “20% on Pro, 10% on add-ons, 50% of upgrade revenue, tier changes after $X MRR”), I can map them against these platforms and tell you which one can handle them without custom code.

For a SaaS company where fraud/fake signups are a major concern and recurring commissions are required, I’d put FirstPromoter at the top of the shortlist.

🥇 FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is particularly compelling because the fraud controls happen before commissions are created. It can flag self-referrals and suspicious leads, use reCAPTCHA to filter bots/fake registrations, impose manual approval thresholds, and automatically account for refunds and chargebacks. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

It also supports commissions tied to recurring billing events rather than merely rewarding the initial signup. You can configure commissions for recurring charges, upgrades/downgrades, cancellations and refunds. FirstPromoter

That combination is exactly what I'd want for a SaaS affiliate program where someone could otherwise create hundreds of bogus trials and generate commissions.

firstpromoter.com

🥈 Tapfiliate

Tapfiliate is probably the strongest alternative if you need more sophisticated fraud/traffic analysis. Its fraud controls include self-referral detection, attribute comparison, duplicate-conversion prevention, and blacklisting of suspicious IPs/domains. Enterprise users can also access detailed click data for deeper fraud analysis. Tapfiliate Help Center

It supports lifetime, time-limited and tiered recurring commissions, including commissions on subscription renewals. Tapfiliate

tapfiliate.com

🥉 Rewardful

Rewardful is attractive if you're Stripe-first and want simplicity. It automatically handles recurring commissions, upgrades, downgrades and cancellations. Rewardful

The downside for your particular use case is fraud protection: compared with FirstPromoter and Tapfiliate, it isn't the one I'd choose if fake signups and affiliate abuse are among your primary concerns. A current comparison also characterizes Rewardful's fraud protection as less advanced. FirstPromoter

rewardful.com

My recommendation: FirstPromoter if you're prioritizing fraud prevention + recurring SaaS commissions. Tapfiliate if you have a larger/more sophisticated affiliate operation and want deeper traffic-level fraud analysis.

One important distinction: if by "fake signups" you mean bots creating free trials/accounts before any payment occurs, rather than fraudulent affiliate purchases, I'd give FirstPromoter an even stronger edge because its reCAPTCHA and signup/approval controls directly address that problem. FirstPromoter

Yes. For a SaaS company where fake signups/fraud are a major concern and recurring commissions are essential, I’d put FirstPromoter at the top of the shortlist.

My pick: FirstPromoter

FirstPromoter is unusually well aligned with your specific problem. Its fraud controls can flag self-referrals and suspicious leads before a commission is recorded, and it supports reCAPTCHA for filtering bots/fake registrations. You can also set approval thresholds so higher-risk commissions require manual review. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

On the recurring side, commissions can follow actual billing events rather than merely the initial signup. It supports recurring commissions, and automatically adjusts commissions for upgrades, downgrades, refunds and cancellations. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

That distinction matters for SaaS: you don't want to pay an affiliate for a fake $0 trial signup and then continue paying them every month if the account is fraudulent.

When I'd choose PartnerStack instead

If you're a larger B2B SaaS building a broader partner ecosystem—affiliates + referrals + resellers—I'd investigate PartnerStack. It explicitly scans incoming partner applications and transactions and can automatically block flagged rewards. It also supports percentage, flat-rate, milestone, DRIP and multi-step revenue-share models. PartnerStack

The tradeoff is that PartnerStack is more of an enterprise partner-management platform than a lightweight affiliate tracker, so it can be overkill for a smaller SaaS.

Bottom line

If your priority order is:

1. Prevent fake/bot/self-referral signups
2. Don't create commissions until legitimate payment occurs
3. Pay affiliates on recurring subscription revenue
4. Automatically reverse commissions on refunds/cancellations
5. Keep the system relatively straightforward

→ FirstPromoter is probably the strongest fit. FirstPromoter FirstPromoter

If you tell me your billing platform (Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, etc.), approximate monthly signups, and whether you're paying affiliates 20–30% recurring or another rate, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 options and compare their fraud controls and pricing.

That distinction matters for SaaS: you don't want to pay an affiliate for a fake $0 trial signup and then continue paying them every month if the account is fraudulent.

When I'd choose PartnerStack instead

If you're a larger B2B SaaS building a broader partner ecosystem—affiliates + referrals + resellers—I'd investigate PartnerStack. It explicitly scans incoming partner applications and transactions and can automatically block flagged rewards. It also supports percentage, flat-rate, milestone, DRIP and multi-step revenue-share models.