Affiliate Networks & Partnership Platforms
Compare the major networks and platforms used to recruit partners, track affiliate activity, manage commissions and payments, and scale programmes internationally.
Affiliate network comparison
| Platform | Positioning / reach | Partner discovery | Commission & measurement | Public advertiser pricing | AMA agencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awin | Global affiliate network; 30,000+ brands and 1M+ approved partners | Publisher, creator, technology and other partner discovery | Flexible rules; enhanced reporting; Advanced adds attribution/custom rules | Access £99 + VAT/month + 3.5% tracking fee; Accelerate from £199 + VAT/month + 2.5%; Advanced custom | Compare Awin agencies → |
| impact.com | Partnership management platform spanning affiliates, creators and broader partnerships | Marketplace plus automated discovery/recruitment | Flexible contracts/payouts, multi-event tracking, cross-device and advanced enterprise measurement | Starter from $30/month; Essentials $500; Pro $2,500; Enterprise custom | Compare impact.com agencies → |
| Rakuten Advertising | Global affiliate network positioned around curated premium partners and full-funnel affiliate | AI-driven Partnership Discovery and partner recommendations | Commissioning suite, forecasting, benchmarking and affiliate intelligence | Pricing on request | Compare Rakuten agencies → |
| Partnerize | End-to-end partnership automation platform with global payment infrastructure | Discovery and recruitment automation | Flexible commissioning, real-time analytics and partner payments | Pricing on request | Compare Partnerize agencies → |
| CJ | Large global affiliate ecosystem with reach across 240+ countries and territories | Partnership Discovery by model, footprint, audience, category and more | Situational Commissioning, omni-channel tracking and customer-journey/incrementality data | Pricing on request | Compare CJ agencies → |
| Webgains | Global affiliate network reporting 1,800+ advertisers, 250,000+ publishers and 150+ countries | AI-assisted publisher discovery and recommendations | Smart Commissions, customer-journey reporting, post-view reporting and performance reporting | Pricing on request | Compare Webgains agencies → |
What does an affiliate network actually do?
An affiliate network or partnership platform provides the infrastructure between an advertiser and its partners. Depending on the platform, that can include recruitment and discovery, tracking, contracting, commissioning, transaction validation, payments, reporting, fraud/compliance tools and strategic support.
What should brands compare?
Start with the partners you need to recruit and the countries you intend to operate in. Then compare tracking and attribution, commissioning flexibility, reporting, integrations, payments, account-management options, creator/influencer support and the total commercial model rather than looking only at the monthly platform fee.
Network vs agency
The network provides the technology and partner ecosystem; an affiliate agency can provide strategy and day-to-day programme execution across that technology. These are separate costs and roles. Some platforms also offer managed-service options.
Can you change affiliate network?
Yes. Migration normally requires a tracking implementation, partner migration and communication plan, new programme terms and careful overlap/cutover management so tracking and publisher relationships are not unnecessarily disrupted.