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Comparison

AffiliateRail vs Partnero

Partnero and AffiliateRail share the payout model: your own PayPal or Wise account pays the affiliate, and neither platform takes a cut on that route. Partnero says so on its pricing page. Partnero charges $59 a month, or $49 billed yearly, with no revenue ceiling. AffiliateRail starts at $29 a month founding, banded by revenue, with automated payouts from $59. Partnero's optional managed route adds 7%.

Written by Jimi Barkway, who built AffiliateRail. Jimi has run affiliate programs from both sides of the link. Corrections go to support@affiliaterail.com. Published 3 September 2026. Updated 3 September 2026.

The difference

What is the difference between AffiliateRail and Partnero?

The honest answer is that these two are close. Both read Stripe and Paddle. Both automate payouts from your own PayPal or Wise account with nothing taken. Partnero's pricing page states that plainly, and it is true. The differences are price shape and scope. Partnero is $59 a month for one program and one seat with unlimited revenue. AffiliateRail is $29 founding to $10,000 a month, $59 to $20,000, and $99 to $50,000, with two programs and three seats on the first plan.

Where they differPartneroAffiliateRail
Entry price$59 a month, or $49 a month billed yearly, on their Starter plan$29 a month founding, held for the life of the subscription
What bands the plansPrograms and seats: one of each on Starter, three on Partner, $29 a month per extra seat. Revenue, partners and transactions are unlimitedMonthly affiliate revenue: $10,000, $20,000, $50,000. Affiliates and referrals unlimited
Payout fee on your own accountNone. "No additional Partnero fees", in their pricing page's words0%. AffiliateRail never takes a cut of a payout
Managed payoutsOptional, PayPal only, a 7% payout processing fee, funded from a card you give themNone. There is no route where the money passes through us
Automated payoutsOn every plan, PayPal and Wise, from your own accountFrom the $59 Grow plan, PayPal and Wise, from your own account
Existing affiliate links on a migrationStandard links carry the aff parameter, which our tracker readsOld Partnero links keep crediting from the day the script goes on, where the program kept the default parameter

Cost

What does each one cost?

Published plan prices on both sides, 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.

PlanCeilingPriceAutomated payouts
AffiliateRail Launchto $10,000 a month$29 founding, $59 afterNo
AffiliateRail Growto $20,000 a month$59 founding, $89 afterYes
AffiliateRail Scaleto $50,000 a month$99 founding, $179 afterYes
Partnero Starterno ceiling on revenue, partners or transactions$59 a month, $49 a month billed yearlyYes
Partnero Partnerno ceiling on revenue, partners or transactions$199 a month, $159 a month billed yearlyYes

Plan price is not the whole bill. Payout fees and a good month change it. The true-cost calculator does the arithmetic on your own numbers.

01 Custody

Who holds the money when affiliates get paid?

On the standard route, you do. Partnero connects your own PayPal or Wise account, and their pricing page says payouts are fully automated with no additional Partnero fees. That is the same non-custodial model AffiliateRail is built on, and this page says so plainly.

Partnero also offers a managed route. Their help centre says Partnero charges a card you provide and then distributes the money to your partners, with an additional 7% fee. On that route the money passes through them. It is optional and PayPal only.

Who holds the money in betweenMoney leaves your account and arrives with your affiliate. Between the two there is a gap with a question mark: who is holding it, and for how long.Your PayPal or WiseYour account, your credentialsYour affiliateReceives what you send?Who is holding it in between, and for how long?Almost no vendor says, anywhere on their site.

02 On AffiliateRail

Where does the money go 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.

How a payout moves on AffiliateRailMoney goes from your PayPal or Wise account straight to your affiliate. AffiliateRail works out the amounts and tells your account to pay; it never receives the money.Your PayPal or WiseYour account, your credentialsYour affiliateReceives what you sendAffiliateRailworks out who is owed whatthe money, all of ittells your account to payAMoney never enters AffiliateRail

03 The product

What does the product look like?

One dashboard for the program: affiliates, referrals, commissions and payouts. Your affiliates get a portal on your own domain, in thirteen languages, from the $29 plan.

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.

The AffiliateRail dashboard: referrals, commissions and payouts for one program

Credit where due

Where Partnero is the better choice

No product wins on every axis, and a comparison page that pretends otherwise is not worth reading. Partnero has been at this longer, and there are good reasons a founder picks it.

  • No revenue ceiling. A program that grows from $5,000 to $50,000 a month stays on the same $59 plan. On AffiliateRail that program moves from $29 to $99.

  • Automated PayPal and Wise payouts on the entry plan, from your own account, with no Partnero fee. AffiliateRail's begin on the $59 plan.

  • More program types under one roof: affiliate, refer-a-friend, influencer and newsletter referral programs, on every plan.

  • A 30-day trial against our fourteen days.

Switching

How do you move a program from Partnero?

There is no Partnero importer yet. Partnero exports partners, customers and transactions to CSV, each row carrying the partner's key and email, and AffiliateRail's importer takes that CSV with a dry run first. Standard Partnero links carry the aff parameter, which the tracking script reads from day one. The switch guide covers the order, and what to do if your program renamed the parameter.

Read the Partnero switch guide

Questions

Common questions

Is AffiliateRail cheaper than Partnero?

At the start, yes: $29 a month founding against Partnero's $59, or $49 billed yearly. Above $10,000 a month of affiliate revenue AffiliateRail moves to $59, and above $20,000 to $99, while Partnero stays at $59 with no ceiling. Above $20,000 a month Partnero is the cheaper plan. Neither takes a cut of payouts on your own account. The true-cost calculator does the arithmetic at your revenue.

Does Partnero hold my money?

Not on the standard route. Your own PayPal or Wise account pays the affiliate, with no Partnero fee, per their pricing page. That is the same model as AffiliateRail. Partnero's optional managed route is the exception: their help centre says they charge your card and distribute the money, with a 7% fee. AffiliateRail has no equivalent route.

Will my affiliates' Partnero links keep working if I move?

Where your program kept Partnero's default parameter, yes. Their help centre says the default is aff, and our tracking script reads aff along with ref and via. If your program renamed the parameter, or uses direct links that need Partnero's script, those links are re-issued from the new portal. The switch guide says how to check.

Which one should a SaaS founder choose?

Running several program types, or expecting affiliate revenue well past $20,000 a month on one program? Partnero's flat $59 with no ceiling is the better price. Starting smaller, on Stripe or Paddle, and wanting the lowest entry price with the same own-account payouts? AffiliateRail is $29 a month founding.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every claim about another product here was read off their own pages on the date shown. 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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