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In this article
WordPress affiliate marketing plugins help ecommerce merchants launch affiliate programs and track their performance. While many affiliate plugins are available, a few stand out with their high-quality features.
In this article, we will review the best WordPress affiliate marketing plugins for running your affiliate program. Some plugins cover the all-in-one needs of managing an affiliate program; some help you create affiliate links, and some help track affiliate performance. For each plugin, we will highlight who it is best for to make choosing easier for you.
Before we review the plugins, let's look into what WordPress affiliate plugins are, why you need one, and what features you should look for.
What is a WordPress affiliate marketing plugin and why do you need one
A WordPress affiliate marketing plugin is a tool designed to help merchants start, manage, and optimize their affiliate marketing programs. These plugins include various features that simplify creating, managing, and tracking affiliate links and programs.
One example of such a tool is ReferralCandy. Not only can ReferralCandy help create affiliate programs, but also referral programs.
The main reasons why you should invest in an affiliate plugin include:
- Cost-effective marketing option. To start your affiliate program, it is possible to do so with as little investment as investing in an affiliate marketing plugin.
- Grow your audience. Affiliate marketing plugins enable you to grow your audience by tapping into the power of affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers usually have an existing audience, which you can tap into by starting an affiliate program.
- Build credibility. Affiliate marketing plugins allow you to partner with experts, influencers, and bloggers within your niche, which can help you build credibility.
- Improve your website SEO. When affiliate marketers link to your affiliate landing page from their own blog or a website, the backlinks you gain improve your website's SEO. The top affiliate plugins enable you to create linkable affiliate landing pages.
What features to look for in a WordPress affiliate marketing plugin
The top WordPress affiliate marketing plugins include specific features essential for creating a successful affiliate marketing program. You should look for the following features:
- User-friendly dashboard. Your affiliate plugin should have an easy-to-use interface that allows merchants and affiliates to manage their information quickly.
- Link management. The ability to shorten and cloak affiliate links is beneficial for protecting them against hijacking and making the links look cleaner.
- Automation. Automation features, such as the ability to send emails, fraud protection, and automated enrollment, save you time from repetitive tasks.
- Ready-to-use templates. Ideally, your affiliate plugin should have templates for sending emails and creating landing pages.
- Third-party integrations. Third-party integrations help extend the capabilities of your affiliate plugin. Integrations with different ecommerce platforms and marketing tools can be essential for scaling ecommerce brands.
- Analytics and reporting. You should be able to track the performance of your affiliate program, which is possible through analytics and reporting.
- Cost-effectiveness. Ensure that the affiliate plugin you choose fits within your budget. Ideally, there should be a free trial available to test out the platform's features first.
11 best WordPress affiliate marketing plugins in 2024
Next, let’s review the top WordPress affiliate plugins. For each plugin, we will break down the key features, customer reviews, who it is suitable for, and the pros and cons. This will help you make more informed decisions when choosing your own software.
1. ReferralCandy
![Home page of ReferralCandy](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3ddb9f63a83c28b7577_AD_4nXdUuuxsAX3BegXbJHFASkhH6k3CUPX8e5bLf1s4XuWHYW5UGZ1tsavn5phdzixlfEfBMaJSeksMBAKdzuwpH9H8_nlpMg1UEeTti0S6PEMfvblxqQLCJPnyDXc40kd1ELCgYTs971IL9bMuKVQaZHtSnedj.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $59/month, and a 14-day free trial is available.
Best for: Best WordPress affiliate management plugin for starting an affiliate program
ReferralCandy offers an affiliate program plugin for WordPress. With it, merchants can create, manage, and automate their affiliate and referral programs for their WooCommerce stores. ReferralCandy's key features include all-in-one affiliate and referral management, post-purchase popups and emails, automated customer rewards, and fraud detection.
You can also use ReferralCandy's editor to design affiliate and referral programs to match your brand colors. ReferralCandy offers extensive analytics and tracking for following the performance of your affiliate and referral programs. You can also compare your performance against industry benchmarks.
ReferralCandy is available in the WordPress Plugin Directory as well as in the Shopify App Store. It also offers various other third-party integrations, such as with Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Google Analytics, and ReCharge.
Pros and cons
- All-in-one affiliate and referral marketing solution
- Easy integration with WooCommerce, Shopify, and other ecommerce platforms
- Automation tools to detect fraud referrals, send emails, and invite new customers
- Admin dashboard with customer insights and industry benchmark for tracking the results
- Templates for affiliate and referral landing pages and emails
- Integrations with marketing tools like Klaviyo, ReCharge, Mailchimp, and more
2. Pretty Links
WordPress rating: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars (1,200+ reviews)
![Home page of Pretty Links](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd610be5516d642e76_AD_4nXdcW3Lsekv6UE7hCQB60ElfU1HmnENra9ZGQQhwIkbxH0kmN70rdUJ8lqBCF8DvnkXPCxRbqUvGj6c0pIAjjGZX2yuulNa-YhbXdqhK6Gxfk7KTmRDULC7vdUXVC8B-0hF3cIb3L1f71uv5g3BdNq3CleE1.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $99.60/year, no free trial is available
Best for: Displaying affiliate links in a clean, short, and cloaked way
Pretty Links is an affiliate marketing tool for WordPress store owners. With it, you can turn long and unclean URLs into short, cloaked affiliate links using your own domain name. The links can be added to any page you want, including emails, websites, social media, and more.
Here is an example of how the cloaked links look with Pretty Links:
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dc111bf3556f885de4_AD_4nXff_O0FKxiQCMstUzmUbmER8uZg5BXNN1cLFVK7F_K0vcdKwUZGjJr-grykZk9CvKllRZptyv8gCtl-B44hOksrl0JrgBMiwNdqNQ12WinCrKCa3z_sbdnPQHRv1__4ijtD-oxR_LqsOYb6pdn3F7oLFRDv.png)
Pretty Links automatically creates 3-4 random characters to the cloaked link, but you can create your own custom slug if you want. In addition to link cloaking, Pretty Links provides tracking and analytics features. You can see where the link traffic comes from, the browser, OS, and the host. You can also create reports showing the number of clicks per day in a configurable chart.
Pretty Links is available in the WordPress Plugin Directory. While it can be used on any other ecommerce platform, it does not offer specific apps for them, such as for Shopify.
Pros
- An easy-to-use platform for creating clean and on-brand affiliate links
- Simple admin dashboard to manage the affiliate links
- Reporting and analytics for following the performance
- Supports three link redirect types: 301, 302, and 307 redirects
- A centralized platform for managing and copying all of the links
- Ability to create Stripe-integrated links for selling affiliate products
Cons
- Only offers yearly plans, which may be too long for some brands to commit to
- Doesn't have more extensive affiliate program management features
3. ThirstyAffiliates
WordPress rating: 4.7 out of 5.0 stars (200+ reviews)
![Home page of ThirstyAffiliates](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd3e15c8b56951df2e_AD_4nXcCGac11nZS3gqCtIhPiKmXCh6q7E0bQij3VLHIJHB-A3hcbtlMWmE2XHbI5MV-srzcZ-jz40j5vP4njoIZ5FzLJzAzUTK5vr7L_MEApZU2T_3kKlZlgtq33GL-SLdeGWJMZPCvkb28V8vuF6tp4gwepq-C.png)
Pricing: Paid plans starting from $99.60/year, free plan available
Best for: Affiliate link cloaking and management for WordPress store owners
ThirstyAffiliates is a free affiliate plugin solution for managing affiliate links and cloaking them into shorter and cleaner formats. While the platform also has a paid plan, the free version suits ecommerce brands and bloggers who want simple features for utilizing cloaked affiliate links.
ThirstyAffiliates comes with a dashboard to manage existing affiliate links and create new ones. If you want, it is also possible to add images and banners to the affiliate links. ThirstyAffiliates also has reporting and analytics, where you can see how many clicks your links have gotten over time.
As for integrations, ThirstyAffiliates can be integrated with MonsterInsights to push data into Google Analytics.
Pros
- Free basic plan available
- Affiliate link management and cloaking capabilities
- Statistics and reports for following the link performance
- Integrates with MonsterInsights for pushing link data to Google Analytics
- You can choose from 301, 302, and 307 redirects
- Ability to geo-target visitors with links based on their location
- Link health checker for automatically notifying about broken links or 404s
Cons
- Made mainly for link cloaking and doesn't include more comprehensive affiliate management tools
- Only offers yearly plans for the paid plans
4. SliceWP Affiliates
WordPress rating: 4.9 out of 5.0 stars (80+ reviews)
![SliceWP affiliates home page](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd2cc369d16c548c94_AD_4nXfuw1kwjonNIL5fUFcWgPBxNQEzAA5OFsKUI59yOKimVLznaMuZMQfgqrw0EM6jlVq1i1FqcAYQWXg6Kw2rggelXID0EBEJ4SPIjM83YqNaz-9nznpUb4vThy3rVl3mYRXKbF3Fsv38aCcY04UZbZ3TSkjX.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $229/year, no free trial available
Best for: WordPress store owners looking for an all-in-one affiliate management plugin
SliceWP aims to be an all-in-one plugin for managing your affiliate program on a WordPress site. Some of its key features include an affiliate dashboard for managing affiliate signups, real-time tracking for clicks, referrals, and conversions, and scheduled automatic payouts to affiliates.
SliceWP makes the setup process easy, and you can create and customize custom pages for affiliates to sign up on. The commissions of affiliates can either be set at a percentage or at a fixed rate.
Many of SliceWP's features are available as add-ons, which you have to pay extra for. The add-ons include third-party integrations, PayPal payouts, custom affiliate slugs, affiliate landing pages, and recurring and lifetime commissions. The extra cost is a slight disadvantage compared to competitors, such as ReferralCandy, who offer many of the features as part of the standard plan.
Pros
- A wide range of affiliate management features
- Advanced reports and analytics for understanding affiliate program performance
- PayPal payout option for paying the affiliates
- Affiliate dashboard for managing affiliate links and other parts of the program
- A variety of automation features are available, including automated emails, affiliate approvals, and social sharing
- You can customize the affiliate registration form to match your brand colors
Cons
- Many of the available add-on features, such as third-party integrations, come with an extra cost
- No monthly plans are available, unlike with solutions like ReferralCandy
- Provides an all-in-one platform but doesn’t have referral program capabilities
5. MonsterInsights
WordPress rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars (2,900+ reviews)
![MonsterInsights home page](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd00e5532c95a367c6_AD_4nXeY9DdXy69uCh-w2zyqVuTVeSNcT_3_88-MIUoW730JWMG87mI1UOY5zXYd5twXS-ortJo6F3eWb9VJuIwVbACNX8ha-b0wNBy5MASq8ZIHlQv_8clNTP_SgYoFJuAeJkzeRCUE-v2UPRyqZ_l_s31pEZ_2.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $99.60/year, free plan available
Best for: Brand owners wanting to set up Google Analytics for their affiliate program
MonsterInsights is a WordPress plugin designed to simplify the integration and management of Google Analytics on your WordPress website. While it isn't designed only for affiliate programs, it is a great option for tracking affiliate link performance.
The integration process to Google Analytics is simple. After that, you can track the performance of your affiliate links, as well as your customers' age, device, gender, and other information that can help improve your affiliate performance. You can also see more conversational statistics, such as top revenue sources, conversion rate, average order value, and top referrals.
All of the data is available in the numerous reports MonsterInsights provides you, such as ecommerce reports, audience reports, publishers reports, content reports, landing page reports, and more. MonsterInsights has a Pro version available, but the free version gives you access to many of its beneficial features.
Pros
- Easy Google Analytics integration available
- Free plan that gives access to most features
- Affiliate and link tracking
- 10+ reports available for data about your customers and affiliate link performance
- Integrations with other WordPress plugins, like AffiliateWP, Pretty Links, and WooCommerce
Cons
- Only an annual subscription option available for the paid plans
6. Coupon Affiliates
WordPress rating: 4.9 out of 5.0 stars (60+ reviews)
![Home pafe](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd487f06f0128c7c8f_AD_4nXfCvae2Tp0ihTHiqJcESkgBF6FSni8pUzLzc3RyMtgYU1AowCmar8unEopTZjo6DZMzaStnJ8uy_2Aw-VySZ2RmgvHAsnkD4MAA2ZtSs_zqBaF5lvy1xXRFubrPtcYuhskY_Iq9HYiVQtgcafv8XFDbXw4.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $19.99/month, 7-day free trial available
Best for: Managing a coupon-based affiliate program on a WooCommerce store
Coupon Affiliates is a WordPress affiliate platform designed to help merchants create and manage affiliate programs. It's unique in that it focuses specifically on coupon-based affiliate marketing, allowing store owners to assign unique coupon codes to their affiliates. To manage the affiliate program, you get access to an admin dashboard.
Affiliate users can track and submit payout requests through the available affiliate dashboard. From the same page, affiliates can generate referral URLs, set up link tracking, create referral campaigns, do link cloaking, and share links on social media.
Coupon Affiliates also offers different reports and analytics to track affiliate coupon performance. Although Coupon Affiliates does not have the most advanced referral program features, you can still create one with them.
Pros
- Affiliate dashboard for tracking performance
- Affiliate statistics, such as sales, commissions, recent orders, and more
- Commission and payout tracking for affiliates
- One-click Stripe and PayPal payout option
- Also possible to run referral and influencer programs
Cons
- Offers only basic referral and influencer program capabilities, as compared to alternatives, like ReferralCandy
7. BetterLinks
WordPress rating: 4.9 out of 5.0 stars (50+ reviews)
![Home page of BetterLinks](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3ddbfbe8ef228d2762d_AD_4nXfM7YEVeWhQbLwxE-afQR4ektW0GFpbZtq8jwqhnX8T4qixPHHz55LSXNzgB3v3N5LQfveUZoRKn_BB-QSxO6-bZOmWNdOJHJU2dAwolCa5POTNW1Tkl5JHZpUSgWyzWP0tck-Sw3olVKCIyohEtrrd-jXJ.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $79/year, free plan available
Best for: Shortening and tracking the performance of affiliate links
BetterLinks is a URL-shortening solution for WordPress sites. With it, you can create, shorten, and track the performance of any URL, including affiliate link URLs. The platform isn't made specifically for affiliate links, but it works great for them as well.
You can split-test different links with dynamic redirects, create 301, 302, and 307 redirects, check broken links, and track your performance. BetterLinks provides reports on the click-through rate, top referral links, top social media links, and more.
If you want more advanced features, BetterLinks has a Pro version that includes more advanced analytics, Google Analytics integration, Facebook Pixel tracking, the broken link checker, and the ability to control and manage user roles.
Pros
- Free plan available
- Admin dashboard to track affiliate links
- Ability to shorten links easily
- Multiple link direct options are available
- Offers migration from third-party apps, like PrettyLinks and ThirstyAffiliates
Cons
- It isn't specifically made for affiliate programs, so it misses features such as an affiliate dashboard, customizable affiliate landing pages, and fraud protection
8. Skimlinks
WordPress rating: n/a
![Home page of Skimlinks](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd0238a55220916653_AD_4nXeLoXrIfd61qnXJsWhtI6tVO3ogy5QzbMFOhEy_T1WDPqLTNF7PDymO1jX9YfgU0nPFAoYNeqo2s5pKNkwqgw2Z6yIru-_ToIY5UqGpGrPhpoq6upY8t94P9uho8FIN9tB72k1Sz83incvYfcB1n_T0mXSD.png)
Pricing: Free to join, Skimlinks retains a specific percentage on every sale you get
Best for: Turning regular product links into affiliate links for content creators
Skimlinks is a content-to-commerce platform designed to help merchants monetize their content through affiliate marketing. It converts regular product links into affiliate links, allowing content creators to earn commissions on sales generated through their content.
Its key features include automatic product link converter, reporting and analytics, content monetization tools, geotargeting, and integrations with third-party software.
Skimlinks is unique in that it is free to use, but they charge a percentage of the sales you make. This can be a disadvantage for brands with high sales volumes, but it can also be advantageous for merchants with low sales volumes.
Pros
- Fast and easy way to convert regular product links into affiliate links
- Affiliate dashboard for affiliate partners to manage affiliate links
- Extensive analytics for tracking affiliate link performance
Cons
- Skimlinks charge a commission, which can get expensive quickly
9. Post Affiliate Pro
WordPress rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 stars (20+ reviews)
![Home page of Post Affiliate Pro](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd633a337c16f6288b_AD_4nXdZWLdaP5FN3x7FJHFb1phfYZ452L69-KvFj6WbYDh9DYbLqcl5FA-x7xOmrGno7zzIVusDo-Pcjncwl78_shIueMLBoEstqJSON8aaG1cnjRcztxS_QQKTsQeKlQ6tGI-lF9m6FB97CHCu9IqlXqYtzeo.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $139/month, 30-day free trial is available
Best for: Starting and scaling an affiliate program through WooCommerce
Post Affiliate Pro is an all-in-one affiliate marketing software for WordPress store owners. It helps them to create, manage, and optimize affiliate programs through features, such as an affiliate dashboard for management, tracking, reporting and analytics, and commission and fraud protection.
One of Post Affiliate Pro's standout features is the marketing materials it provides to all new customers. The marketing materials include ready-to-use banners, discount coupons, and smartlinks, which all aim to increase your sales.
Post Affiliate Pro has automation features, including email sending, social media posting, and automated commissions based on your commission settings. For analytics, you can see impressions, click-through rates, conversions, sales, and more.
Pros
- Highly customizable affiliate program solution
- Email, social media, and commission automation
- Robust reporting to follow the affiliate program performance
- Offers integrations with multiple different ecommerce platforms
- Extra features, such as the available marketing materials for affiliate partners
Cons
- The pricing plans can be too expensive for smaller businesses with limited budgets
- Long setup process, and the available tools have a long learning curve
10. Easy Affiliate
WordPress rating: 4.2 out of 5.0 stars (30+ reviews)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd6f2d839e33041855_AD_4nXd9u9h5jOOVNws3W5NAZjYzZ9ZDc4kbZ7RhBm8mbWBTl9L6ng9MdTs9nMJ0QkSb89HrT1I0jMoKL3nVwBzeOlLf7NzbVn2BbafeOgx5Cc8ZmzImGJR78se3WaohuTlEp3nRo9BEr1khSr9AkATQYZsAT8hE.png)
Pricing: Paid plans start from $99.60/month/year,
Best for: Creating and managing a WordPress-based affiliate program
Easy Affiliate is an affiliate program plugin for WordPress store owners. According to their team, their features include all the necessary tools to manage the entire affiliate program process. The key features are affiliate and commission management, tracking and reporting, fraud protection, custom link generation, and affiliate payout management.
One unique feature of Easy Affiliate is the ability to create an affiliate application process. It requires visitors to apply for your affiliate program before they are eligible to join.
Pros
- Affiliate dashboard to add affiliate links and manage them
- Real-time reports for tracking the performance
- Custom dashboard for administrators and affiliates
- 1-click PayPal payout for affiliates
- Integrates with WordPress and other major ecommerce platforms
Cons
- Doesn't include the tools to send affiliate emails. It has to be integrated with third-party software for that functionality
11. Goaffpro
WordPress rating: 4.8 out of 5.0 stars (30+ reviews)
![Home page of Goaffpro](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6185b708a2657014268d2eaf/6687b3dd5bfdc01fbd86faf4_AD_4nXczw5WsU2s-Qjt4YKBFl2kLaF3uQfn_lOZRbfLpcl-uEpTN5omS4fCo5SJw3Vl3tl4TU45haJI_gm_Aquuerb0Xg5L1hdqh9ghjd8slh2F0it6mg6UwnFYudM3ve8bRZtENXa7ifFEdraQL8c_mnAMCmltb.png)
Pricing: Paid plans starting from $29/month, free plan available
Best for: Ecommerce store owners who want to run affiliate and influencer marketing campaigns
Goaffpro is an affiliate marketing app for ecommerce stores and it offers a WordPress plugin. With it, ecommerce merchants can launch and manage their affiliate programs. The platform has features such as a custom-branded affiliate portal, different commission options, affiliate tracking, and link sharing.
Goaffpro not only offers affiliate marketing tools for WordPress stores, but it is also one of the most downloaded Shopify apps. From the affiliate dashboard, affiliates can share their links and coupons on different social media platforms.
The available real-time tracking shows data such as clicks, sales, new signups, net and gross revenue, cost per conversion, and more. The data is quite extensive and one of Goaffpro's standout features.
Pros
- Affiliate portal for affiliates to see their earnings
- Extensive analytics to see how your affiliate program performs
- Easy one-click PayPal payout for affiliates
- Free plan for small-scale affiliate programs
- Integration with WordPress and other ecommerce platforms, such as Shopify and BigCommerce
- Customers mention that Goaffpro has reliable support
Cons
- A few G2 users mention that the free plan is limited and you quickly need to upgrade to one of the paid plans
Starting your own affiliate program with ReferralCandy
Affiliate programs are known for bringing high ROI for ecommerce brands who already have an existing customer base. While there may be additional costs if you scale your affiliate program, the only real cost in the beginning is the selection of your affiliate marketing plugin.
ReferralCandy is mainly known as a referral program software for ecommerce merchants, but we also have strong affiliate program tools built in. With ReferralCandy, you can easily set up your first affiliate and referral program and enable post-purchase pop-ups, emails, and pages to enroll new customers.
Compared to many other solutions, one of ReferralCandy's strengths is its all-in-one solution for managing referral and affiliate programs. Plus, ReferralCandy has a 14-day free trial with no credit card required to test out the platform.
P.S. If you enjoyed reading this article and want to grow your affiliate and referral programs, subscribe to our newsletter to get our latest articles and roundups.