Sprout Affiliate

Sprout Affiliate is a Shopify-focused service for running affiliate programs and tracking referrals. Merchants can credit sales through affiliate discount codes or referral links and set percentage or flat-amount commissions, including tiers. Affiliates get a branded signup page and an account for their referral links, earnings, and discount codes. Merchants can manage multiple stores, programs, affiliates, orders, payouts, and messages. Suspicious orders are held for review rather than automatically rejected. Growth and higher plans support automatic PayPal payouts; Free payouts are manual. The service provides an API and signed webhooks for affiliates, programs, orders, and payouts. Integrations include PayPal, Shopify, REST API, webhooks, and an MCP AI assistant integration. Companion apps are available for iPhone and Android. The Free plan supports one program and up to 200 referral orders per month. Growth is $9.99 a month plus 2% of referral sales; Professional is $49.99 a month plus 1.5%; Enterprise is $119.99 a month plus 1%. Paid Growth, Professional, and Enterprise plans include a 14-day free trial and can be cancelled from the Shopify admin.

Sprout Affiliate provides Shopify merchants with referral tracking, affiliate management, and payout options across several plans. Consider the monthly order limit on Free and the additional referral-sales fees on paid plans.

It suits Shopify merchants who want to manage affiliate programs, referrals, commissions, and payouts. The free plan is suited to a single program with up to 200 referral orders per month.

Sprout Affiliate is a Shopify app for merchants building referral programs, especially those who want a branded affiliate portal and flexible commissions. Its strongest fit is a store with enough referral volume to justify paid features and the added sales fee; the free tier is a practical way to start, but its order cap is tight.

Overview

Referrals are credited through discount codes or referral links, using last-click attribution and a 365-day cookie window. Merchants can set percentage or flat-amount commissions, including tiers. That combination gives stores room to shape incentives, though last-click is the only attribution model specified.

Key features

Affiliates get a branded signup page and account where they can access referral links, earnings, and discount codes. Merchants can manage multiple stores, programs, affiliates, orders, payouts, and messages, making the service more than a link tracker. Fraud controls hold suspicious orders for review rather than rejecting them automatically, which preserves a human decision but requires merchants to follow up on flagged orders.

Automated payouts are supported, with automatic PayPal payouts starting at Growth; Free payouts are manual. The API and signed webhooks cover affiliates, programs, orders, and payouts. Integrations include Shopify, PayPal, REST API, webhooks, and MCP AI assistant integration. Companion apps are available for iPhone and Android. Bulk email allowances range from 50 messages daily on Free to 400 on Enterprise, a meaningful constraint for merchants who rely on outreach at scale.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, requires no card, and supports one program with up to 200 referral orders per month. It suits a small pilot or low-volume store, but the order ceiling can become a reason to upgrade quickly. Free payouts are manual, and the plan has the lowest bulk email allowance.

Growth costs $9.99 a month, plus 2% of referral sales past $9.99 after refunds. It includes unlimited programs and referral orders, a 14-day free trial, and automatic PayPal payouts. It removes the Free plan's volume cap, but the percentage fee means cost rises with successful referrals.

Professional costs $49.99 a month plus 1.5% of referral sales. Professional Annual costs $499.90 a year plus 1.5% of referral sales past the monthly equivalent; yearly billing is priced at ten months of monthly Professional pricing. Both plans offer unlimited programs and orders and include a 14-day trial. Professional is the better fit when referral volume makes Growth's higher fee less attractive, while the annual option favors merchants prepared to commit to a year.

Enterprise costs $119.99 a month plus 1% of referral sales. Enterprise Annual costs $1,199.90 a year plus 1% of referral sales past the monthly equivalent, with two months free. These plans also include unlimited programs and orders and a 14-day trial; Enterprise's lower referral fee can suit higher-volume stores, while its fixed subscription is a larger commitment. Paid plans can be cancelled anytime from the Shopify admin. Billing runs through Shopify and appears on the regular Shopify bill.

Platforms

Sprout Affiliate is built for Shopify stores and added through Shopify. The service also has a companion app for iPhone and Android, along with API access.

Who it's for

It is best suited to Shopify merchants who want to manage affiliate enrollment, tracking, commissions, and payouts in one workflow. A store just testing referral marketing can begin on Free; growing programs benefit from unlimited orders and programs on paid plans. Merchants who need a different attribution approach, or who want to avoid referral-sales fees on paid plans, should compare other options.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Tiered percentage or flat commissions and a branded affiliate portal support tailored programs and give partners a place to find their links and earnings.
• Pros: API access and signed webhooks cover key program and payout records, useful for merchants connecting their affiliate workflow to other systems.
• Cons: Free is capped at 200 referral orders monthly, and its payouts are manual.
• Cons: Every paid plan adds a referral-sales fee, so the subscription price alone understates the cost as affiliate revenue grows.
• Cons: Fraud flags require review rather than automatic rejection, and last-click is the only stated attribution model.

Alternatives

Affiliate Marketing Software is a useful place to compare more options. Choose Awin if a paid platform with a first month free and access to 1M+ partners is a priority; its Access plan costs £99 a month plus VAT and a 3.5% per-transaction tracking fee, with a three-month minimum. AffiliationSoftware is another paid option, with its Professional V3 plan at €29.95 a month for one campaign or website and unlimited affiliates.

Refersion is worth comparing if a free plan and a public marketplace listing for percent-of-sale offers matter more than Sprout's Shopify-specific workflow. UpPromote also has a free plan, with one affiliate program and a $3,000 referral review limit per month. OpenPartner offers a Revshare plan at $3 a month with 3% of GMV and no monthly fee, which may suit a merchant who prefers a lower fixed charge.

Refport has a free plan capped at 100 links, 5,000 clicks per month, and one seat; consider it when those limits better match a small program. Siren offers a free Lite plan with unlimited programs, affiliates, and conversions, plus basic e-commerce integrations and CSV payout export. AffRef is a paid alternative whose Starter plan costs $49 a month for one brand, 500 affiliates, unlimited clicks and conversions, Shopify tracking, and PayPal Mass Pay CSV.

Verdict

Choose Sprout Affiliate if you run a Shopify store and want a branded partner portal, flexible commissions, and referral operations that scale beyond a single small program. Its strongest reason to buy is the breadth of affiliate management around Shopify; its clearest reason to look elsewhere is the combination of a Free order cap and recurring referral-sales fees on every paid tier.