Comparison

AffiliateRail vs Refgrow

Refgrow and AffiliateRail are close. Refgrow is $29 a month for one program at any volume. AffiliateRail is $29 founding to $10,000 a month, then $59 and $99. Neither takes a cut of payouts. Both pay from your own PayPal or Wise. Refgrow reads five billing systems, including Polar and Dodo Payments. We read Stripe and Paddle. Refgrow steps up when you add programs or seats. We step up when affiliates earn you more. Pick by which of those you will do first.

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 6 September 2026. Updated 6 September 2026.

Run AffiliateRail beside Refgrow for 14 days and compare the bills

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The difference

What is the difference between AffiliateRail and Refgrow?

Not much, and this page says so. Both pay affiliates from your own PayPal or Wise, so neither takes a cut. Both read a ref tag on the link. Two things differ. Refgrow's plans count programs and team members: one program for $29, three for $49, ten for $99. AffiliateRail's plans count the revenue affiliates earn you, with two programs and three seats from $29. And Refgrow reads Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments, where we read Stripe and Paddle. If you bill through Polar, that settles it.

Where they differ	Refgrow	AffiliateRail
Entry price	$29 a month for one program. 7 days free	$29 a month founding for two programs, kept for as long as you stay. 14 days free, no card
Plan bands	By programs and seats. One program at $29, three at $49, ten at $99, thirty at $199. No revenue cap	By monthly affiliate revenue. Launch to $10,000, Grow to $20,000, Scale to $50,000
Fee on payouts	None. Their page says no transaction fees	0%. The money never reaches AffiliateRail, so there is nothing to take a cut of
Who holds the money	You. Refgrow pays from your own PayPal or Wise once it has verified your credentials	You. Your own PayPal or Wise pays your partner. AffiliateRail never holds it
The bill at $40,000 a month	$29, for one program	$99
When payouts run	When an affiliate requests one. You approve by hand, or let Refgrow pay at once	On a schedule you set, from the $59 plan
Billing systems	Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments	Stripe and Paddle
Finding partners	An AI recruiter on every plan, five searches a month on Starter	No finder. You bring your partners. The manual shows you where to look

Cost

What does each one 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
Refgrow Starter	no revenue ceiling; 1 program	$29 a month	Yes
Refgrow Pro	no revenue ceiling; 3 programs, 3 team members	$49 a month	Yes
Refgrow Business	no revenue ceiling; 10 programs, 10 team members	$99 a month	Yes
Refgrow Enterprise	no revenue ceiling; 30 programs, unlimited team members	$199 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.

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01 Custody

Who holds the money when affiliates get paid?

Here is the part that is the same, and it matters.

Refgrow's docs say "nothing leaves your account without your approval" in manual mode, and in automatic mode Refgrow "instantly processes the payment through your configured provider", PayPal first, then Wise. Its terms say payouts are processed through PayPal or Wise, and that Refgrow is not responsible for delays at either. So the money goes from your PayPal or Wise to your affiliate. Refgrow never holds it, and there is no cut.

AffiliateRail works the same way. It works out who is owed what, then logs into your own PayPal or Wise on a schedule and pays them. The money leaves your account and lands in theirs. The difference is when: Refgrow pays when an affiliate asks. We pay when it is due.

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.

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, 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.

The AffiliateRail app: the dashboard, then partners, commissions, payouts, commission rules and reports, one screen after another — Every screen, from its own menu. Recorded on a demo program.

In their words

What Refgrow's own terms say

Refgrow instantly processes the payment through your configured provider. PayPal is used first if configured, otherwise Wise.

Refgrow payouts docs, automatic mode, checked 6 September 2026

The same custody model as ours. The payment runs through your own PayPal or Wise credentials, which is why no fee is printed.

Credit where due

Where Refgrow is the better choice

No product wins on every axis. A comparison page that pretends otherwise is not worth reading. Refgrow is a peer, and for some programs the better peer. There are good reasons to pick it over us.

Five billing systems. Stripe, Paddle, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments. We read two. If you bill through Polar or Dodo, Refgrow is your tool.
A flat price that never moves with revenue. One program is $29 at $100,000 a month. Ours is $99 at $50,000 and custom above.
An AI recruiter on every plan, with more searches as you go up. AffiliateRail has nothing like it.
Embedded widgets, so affiliates can see their earnings and request a payout from inside your product.
Hold periods of any length and a minimum payout you set, with the payout paid the moment an affiliate asks, if you turn that on.

Switching

How do you move a program from Refgrow?

There is no Refgrow importer yet. So the move runs on CSV. Refgrow's docs do not describe an export, so ask their support for your data before you start, and do it while the account is open, because their terms keep data for 30 days after you close it. The importer does a practice run first. Published links keep working, because our script reads the ref tag Refgrow uses. The money barely changes. You paid from your own PayPal or Wise before, and you still do.

Read the Refgrow switch guide

Questions

Common questions

Is AffiliateRail cheaper than Refgrow?

At the start they cost the same: $29. Refgrow stays at $29 for one program at any volume. AffiliateRail moves to $59 at $10,000 a month and $99 at $20,000. Refgrow moves to $49 at three programs. Neither takes a cut of payouts. Run your own numbers on the calculator.

Does Refgrow hold my money?

No. Its docs say nothing leaves your account without your approval, and automatic payouts run through your own PayPal or Wise once Refgrow has verified the credentials. AffiliateRail works the same way and adds a schedule.

What does Refgrow do that AffiliateRail does not?

Read Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Dodo Payments. Find affiliates with an AI recruiter. Pay an affiliate the moment they ask. Hold a flat price at any revenue. If any of those decide it for you, Refgrow is the better buy.

Will my affiliates' links break if I move?

No. Refgrow links carry a ref tag. Our script reads ref, plus eighteen other platforms' tags. Every link your partners published keeps paying them from the day the script goes on. Nothing to re-publish.

Sources

Where these facts come from

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.

Start

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