Comparison
The comparison turns on what happens as a program grows. Affonso's published overage is $19 per additional $1,000 of affiliate revenue, and its managed payouts add a per-invoice fee, a per-affiliate fee above 25 affiliates and a card surcharge. AffiliateRail has no overage and takes 0% of payouts, from $29 a month founding. Below $1,000 a month of affiliate revenue, Affonso is cheaper than anything AffiliateRail sells, at a published $15 a month, and this page says so.
No card. Your published affiliate links keep working.
The difference
Affonso wins on entry price and says so plainly at $15 a month. The difference appears as a program grows. Their published overage is $19 per additional $1,000 of affiliate revenue. Their managed payouts list a $25 per-invoice fee, $0.50 per affiliate above 25 affiliates, and a 3.25% card surcharge. AffiliateRail's founding prices are $29, $59 and $99. Payouts run through your own PayPal or Wise account with nothing taken.
| Where they differ | Affonso | AffiliateRail |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $15 a month, to $1,000 of affiliate revenue | $29 a month founding, to $10,000 of affiliate revenue |
| Going over the ceiling | $19 per additional $1,000 of affiliate revenue, per their published pricing | Move to the next plan. No per-thousand overage |
| Managed payout fees | $25 per invoice, $0.50 per affiliate above 25 affiliates, and a 3.25% card surcharge, per their payouts documentation. Their pricing page markets no transaction fees, which refers to the plan | 0%. AffiliateRail never takes a cut of a payout |
| Who holds the money | Managed payouts route funds through the platform | Non-custodial. Your own PayPal or Wise account pays the affiliate |
| Affiliate portal languages | English | Thirteen languages, on your own domain from the $29 plan |
Cost
Published plan prices on both sides. They come from the same verified figures that drive the calculator. Our founding price is held for the life of the subscription. The list price is what a plan costs once the founding places are gone.
| Plan | Ceiling | Price | Automated payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| AffiliateRail Launch | to $10,000 a month | $29 founding, $59 after | No |
| AffiliateRail Grow | to $20,000 a month | $59 founding, $89 after | Yes |
| AffiliateRail Scale | to $50,000 a month | $99 founding, $179 after | Yes |
| Affonso Launch | to $1,000 a month | $15 a month | No |
| Affonso Growth | to $10,000 a month | $39 a month | Yes |
| Affonso Elite | to $30,000 a month | $99 a month | Yes |
| Affonso Enterprise | no published ceiling | from $149 a month | Yes |
Plan price is not the whole bill. A payout fee is a slice the platform takes out of the money you send your partners. It is charged on top of your plan, and a good month changes it. The true-cost calculator does the arithmetic on your own numbers.
14 days free, no card. 0% of every payout.
01 Custody
Affonso's pricing page markets no transaction fees. For the plan itself, that is accurate. Managed payouts are the separate part. Their own payouts documentation sets out a $25 per-invoice fee, $0.50 per affiliate above 25 affiliates, and a 3.25% card surcharge. The funds route through the platform.
On a program paying $8,000 to 40 partners, those documented rates come to roughly $294 a month on top of the plan.
02 On AffiliateRail
AffiliateRail never holds it. You connect your own PayPal or Wise account. We work out who is owed what and tell your account to pay. The money goes from you to your affiliate and never passes through us.
So we take 0% of every payout, on every plan. There is no cut to take when the money never arrives. The custody page has every platform's own position, with sources.
03 The product
One dashboard for the program: affiliates, referrals, commissions and payouts. Your affiliates get a portal on your own domain, from the $29 plan. It comes in thirteen languages.
Tracking rides the Stripe or Paddle reference field. Not a cookie an ad blocker can drop. Payouts run from your own PayPal or Wise account on a schedule. The founder answers support.
Credit where due
No product wins on every axis. A comparison page that pretends otherwise is not worth reading. Affonso is the cheapest way into this category. For a program still finding out whether affiliates work at all, that matters.
The lowest published entry price in the category, $15 a month. A real advantage while a program is small and unproven.
An affiliate marketplace, so partners can find your program rather than only being recruited into it. AffiliateRail has no marketplace.
A modern interface and a fast setup, aimed at the same founder AffiliateRail is aimed at.
Managed payouts handle the administration for merchants who would rather pay a fee than connect their own PayPal or Wise.
Switching
The importer reads your Affonso account through their API, or takes a CSV. The tracking script reads Affonso's own parameters and the generic ones its programs use. So links keep crediting the right affiliate from the day it goes on. The switch guide covers the order, the parallel-running window and what does not carry across.
Questions
Below $1,000 a month of affiliate revenue, yes. Their published $15 plan is cheaper than anything AffiliateRail sells, and that is worth saying plainly. Above it the picture changes, with their published $19 per-thousand overage and their managed payout fees. The true-cost calculator compares the real monthly bill at your own revenue.
Their payouts documentation sets out $25 per invoice, $0.50 per affiliate above 25 affiliates, and a 3.25% card surcharge. On $8,000 paid to 40 partners that is roughly $294 a month on top of the plan price. Their pricing page markets no transaction fees. That is true of the plan and not of the managed payout service, so read both pages. AffiliateRail takes 0% because you pay from your own PayPal or Wise account.
No. The tracking script reads Affonso's own parameters. It also reads the generic referral parameters many Affonso programs use. So those links keep crediting the right affiliate from day one. Running both platforms in parallel for a period is the safe way through. The switch guide sets out how.
No. Affonso runs an affiliate marketplace and AffiliateRail does not. If you expect to find partners through a marketplace, that is a reason to choose Affonso. AffiliateRail is built around recruiting and paying partners you find yourself.
Sources
Every claim about another product here was read off their own pages. The date shown is the day it was read. Prices change, and then this page is wrong until we fix it. Email support@affiliaterail.com and we will correct it and move the date.
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