Comparison
AffiliateRail vs Tolt
Both run affiliate programs for SaaS on top of Stripe. The difference that shows up on the invoice is payouts: Tolt's published pricing lists a 2% fee on automated payouts plus $8 per bank invoice, and AffiliateRail takes 0% because the money never passes through AffiliateRail at all.
Written by Jimi Barkway, who built AffiliateRail and has run affiliate programs from both sides of the link. Corrections go to support@affiliaterail.com. Updated 1 September 2026.
What is the difference between AffiliateRail and Tolt?
Tolt and AffiliateRail solve the same problem and diverge on who touches the money. Tolt's automated payouts route funds through Tolt and carry a published percentage fee. AffiliateRail is non-custodial on every plan: the merchant connects their own PayPal Payouts or Wise Business account, and AffiliateRail calls that rail with the merchant's own credentials. AffiliateRail also starts lower, at $29 a month founding against Tolt's published $69 entry plan.
| Where they differ | Tolt | AffiliateRail |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $69 a month on their published Basic plan | $29 a month founding, held for the life of the subscription |
| Payout fee | 2% on automated payouts, plus $8 per bank invoice, per their pricing page | 0%. AffiliateRail never takes a cut of a payout |
| Who holds the money | Funds route through Tolt on automated payouts | Non-custodial. Money moves from the merchant's own PayPal or Wise account to the affiliate |
| Affiliate portal languages | English | Thirteen languages, on the merchant's own domain from the $29 plan |
| Existing affiliate links on a migration | Links carry Tolt's own referral parameter | The tracking script reads other platforms' referral parameters, so published links keep converting |
What does each one cost?
These are the published plan prices on both sides, read from the same verified figures that drive our true-cost calculator. AffiliateRail's founding prices are held for the life of the subscription. The list price is what the plan costs once the founding places are gone.
| Plan | Ceiling | Price | Automated payouts |
|---|---|---|---|
| AffiliateRail | to $10,000 a month | $29 founding, $59 after | No |
| AffiliateRail | to $20,000 a month | $59 founding, $89 after | Yes |
| AffiliateRail | to $50,000 a month | $99 founding, $179 after | Yes |
| Tolt | to $10,000 a month | $69 a month | No |
| Tolt | to $20,000 a month | $99 a month | Yes |
| Tolt | to $50,000 a month | $199 a month | Yes |
Plan price is not the whole bill. What a program actually costs depends on payout fees and what happens in a good month, so the arithmetic on your own numbers lives on one page: the true-cost calculator.
Who holds the money when affiliates get paid?
Tolt's automated payouts route the merchant's funds through Tolt, and their published pricing lists a 2% fee on those payouts plus $8 per bank invoice. That is a normal arrangement in this category and it is worth understanding rather than avoiding: it is what pays for the convenience, and it decides who is holding the money if something goes wrong mid-batch. The custody page sets out what each platform's own material says, with sources.
AffiliateRail is non-custodial on every plan. The merchant connects their own PayPal Payouts or Wise Business account, AffiliateRail computes the ledger and calls that rail with the merchant's own credentials, and the money moves from the merchant's account to the affiliate's without passing through AffiliateRail. AffiliateRail takes 0% of every payout.
Where Tolt is the better choice
No product wins on every axis, and a comparison page that pretends otherwise is not worth reading. Tolt has been at this longer than AffiliateRail has, and there are good reasons founders pick it.
- A longer track record and a larger base of live SaaS programs, which matters when you are choosing something to run your revenue through.
- A clean, well-known interface that many founders have already seen in a demo or a competitor's dashboard, so there is less to explain to a team.
- Automated payouts are included on their entry plan, where AffiliateRail's automated payouts begin on the $59 plan.
How do you move a program from Tolt?
The importer brings affiliates, their referral codes and their outstanding balances across, and the tracking script reads Tolt's referral parameter from day one, so links your affiliates published years ago keep converting to the right person while you run both side by side. The switch guide covers what carries, what does not, and the order to do it in.
Common questions
Is AffiliateRail cheaper than Tolt?
On published plan prices, yes at every tier: $29, $59 and $99 a month founding against $69, $99 and $199. The larger difference for most programs is the payout fee. Tolt's pricing page lists 2% on automated payouts plus $8 per bank invoice; AffiliateRail takes 0% of every payout on every plan. The true-cost calculator does the arithmetic on your own revenue.
Will my affiliates' existing links break if I move from Tolt?
No. AffiliateRail's tracking script reads the referral parameters other platforms use, including Tolt's, so a link an affiliate published two years ago still attributes to that affiliate from the day the script goes on your site. That is what lets you run both platforms in parallel during a cutover.
Does Tolt hold my money?
On automated payouts, funds route through Tolt, and their published pricing lists a fee on those payouts. AffiliateRail is non-custodial on every plan: the merchant connects their own PayPal Payouts or Wise Business credentials and the money never passes through AffiliateRail. The custody page has each platform's own published position with sources.
Which one should a new SaaS choose?
If you want automated payouts on the cheapest possible plan and you are comfortable with funds routing through the platform, Tolt's entry plan includes them and AffiliateRail's does not. If you would rather pay affiliates from your own PayPal or Wise account with no percentage taken, and you want the affiliate portal in your customers' languages, AffiliateRail is built around that decision.
Where these facts come from
Every claim about another product on this page was read off their own published pages on the date shown. Prices change, and when they do this page is wrong until we update it. If you find a stale number, email support@affiliaterail.com and we will correct it and move the date.
- Tolt pricing page, checked 1 September 2026
- AffiliateRail pricing, checked 1 September 2026