Your happiest customers are already recommending you. A referral program gives them an easy way to do it, a reason to keep doing it, and gives you a way to track which recommendations turn into sales.
In a study published in the Journal of Marketing, researchers followed about 10,000 customers of a German bank and found that referred customers were worth at least 16% more than similar customers acquired other ways.
Referral program software handles unique links and codes, sharing by email, SMS, and social, tracking that holds up when people switch devices, fraud checks, and automatic rewards. I picked tools for different kinds of businesses, from Shopify stores and SaaS apps to local service companies.
Referral Program vs. Affiliate Program
They look similar, since both reward people for sending you customers, but they’re built for different people:
| Referral program | Affiliate program | |
|---|---|---|
| Who promotes | Existing customers and users | Partners: bloggers, creators, publishers, agencies |
| Typical reward | Discount, store credit, gift card, or account credit, often for both sides | Commission, usually a percentage of each sale |
| Relationship | Casual, based on a good experience | Ongoing business relationship, often with a contract |
| Scale | Many people sending a few referrals each | Fewer partners sending many sales each |
Plenty of companies run both. If you’re mainly paying partners commissions, see our guide to the best affiliate marketing software.
What Makes a Referral Program Work
→ The best programs let customers share in a click from wherever they already are like a post-purchase page, an in-app widget, an email, or a QR code at checkout.
→ Customers won’t put their name behind a recommendation for a token reward. Double-sided rewards, where both the referrer and the new customer get something, usually perform best.
→ Look for customizable widgets, emails, and landing pages, and integrations with your store, CRM, and email platform.
→ You need to know which referrals converted.
| Software | Type | Best for | Starting price | Free trial | Best for | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 ReferralCandy | Ecommerce referral software | Shopify and ecommerce stores that want referrals running in an afternoon | $9/mo + success fee | 7 days | Ecommerce stores | Visit |
| 02 Referral Factory | Referral program platform | Businesses running customer referrals online and offline, plus affiliates | $200/mo | 15 days | Mid-size and enterprise | Visit |
| 03 Friendbuy | Referral and loyalty platform | Fast-growing consumer and subscription brands | Custom quote | Demo | DTC and subscriptions | Visit |
| 04 Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals | Loyalty and referral app | Shopify brands that want loyalty points and referrals together | Free; Pro $199/mo | Free plan | Shopify brands | Visit |
| 05 Referral Rock | Referral software for B2B and services | Service businesses and B2B companies with referrals from staff and customers | $250/mo | 14 days | B2B and services | Visit |
| 06 GrowSurf | Referral software for SaaS and apps | SaaS and app companies building referrals into their product | $179/mo ($125 billed yearly) | 14 days, no card | SaaS and apps | Visit |
| 07 Cello | In-product referrals for B2B SaaS | B2B SaaS companies turning users into a referral channel | $65/mo | Start free | B2B SaaS | Visit |
| 08 ReferralHero | Referral, waitlist, and contest software | Startups running waitlists, launches, and referral contests | $249/mo | 7 days | Startups and launches | Visit |
| 09 Viral Loops | Referral and launch campaigns | Startups, newsletters, and stores running launch or giveaway campaigns | $35/mo (billed yearly) | 14 days | Launches and giveaways | Visit |
| 10 NiceJob | Reviews and referrals for local businesses | Local and home service businesses | $125/mo (with referrals) | 14 days | Local services | Visit |
Best Referral Program Software
01. ReferralCandy
Ecommerce referral softwareShopify and ecommerce stores that want referrals running in an afternoon
ReferralCandy is one of the easiest ways for an online store to start a referral program. It works with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, and custom stores, and every plan includes every feature, so you choose by sales volume rather than unlocking capabilities.
Advocates can be rewarded in cash through PayPal, Venmo, bank transfer, or Tremendous virtual debit cards, or in store credit and coupon codes.
It also runs affiliate programs from the same app and connects to Klaviyo for referral emails. One brand it highlights, Branch Basics, earned more than $1.5 million in referral revenue.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
Plans combine a monthly fee with a success fee on referred customers.
- Basic is $9 a month plus 10.5%
- Grow $79 plus 3.5%, Scale $249 plus 1.5%
- Enterprise $799 plus 0.25%
02. Referral Factory
Referral program platformBusinesses running customer referrals online and offline, plus affiliates
Referral Factory is the flexible tool for online and offline referral. Beyond links and codes, customers can refer through QR codes and lead-submission forms, which suits fintech, services, education providers, and sales-led businesses where a referral turns into a conversation rather than a checkout.
You build programs with a no-code, AI-assisted builder and promote them through email, website widgets, pop-ups, and customer portals. Rewards include more than 200 gift cards, cash through PayPal, discounts, Stripe credits, and double-sided rewards, triggered by events in HubSpot, Salesforce, Stripe, and 50+ other tools.
You can also run affiliate programs, and it’s SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
Basic costs $200 a month for 20,000 users, and Pro $400 a month for 40,000 users with white-labeling and SSO.
Enterprise starts at $1,000 a month.
03. Friendbuy
Referral and loyalty platformFast-growing consumer and subscription brands
Friendbuy powers referral programs for well-known consumer brands such as Sam’s Club, AG1, Away, FIGS, and Eight Sleep, and says it has driven more than $3 billion for its clients. It handles referrals, loyalty, and influencer programs, and understands subscription events like skips, pauses, and plan changes.
Integrations cover the consumer platform like Shopify, Salesforce, Klaviyo, Attentive, Braze, Iterable, Recharge, Ordergroove, and Stripe. It adds fraud prevention, AI recommendations for improving your program, and access for AI agents over MCP.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
04. Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Loyalty and referral appShopify brands that want loyalty points and referrals together
Yotpo combines referrals with a points-based loyalty program, so customers earn rewards for purchases, reviews, and referrals in one place. It’s widely used by Shopify brands, including names like Glossier, UGG, and Pandora, and pairs naturally with Yotpo’s reviews product if you use it.
The free plan includes a basic points campaign and referrals, which is enough to test the waters. Pro adds more loyalty visibility features, and Premium adds VIP tiers. Pricing scales with your store’s monthly order volume.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
The free plan covers a basic campaign and referrals. Pro starts at $199 a month, and Premium and Enterprise are custom.
05. Referral Rock
Referral software for B2B and servicesService businesses and B2B companies with referrals from staff and customers
Referral Rock is built for businesses that earn referrals through their work, such as home services, financial services, real estate, solar, healthcare, and B2B software. Its recruiter portal lets frontline staff and sales reps sign customers up for the program on the spot.
The single Operator plan includes unlimited referrals with no caps or overage fees, up to 10 admins and 10 recruiters, and a hosted member portal. Customers share by link, code, QR code, or email invites that Referral Rock sends for you, and rewards can be coupons, gift cards, or custom.
It connects to HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zapier, and also runs affiliate and brand ambassador programs.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
The Operator plan costs $250 a month. You can take a 14-day free trial.
06. GrowSurf
Referral software for SaaS and appsSaaS and app companies building referrals into their product
GrowSurf is mainly for SaaS products. You can embed the program in your app with JavaScript, iOS, and Android SDKs, and choose double-sided, single-sided, milestone, or leaderboard rewards, including gift cards through Tango Card and Tremendous.
It takes fraud seriously, auto-blocking suspicious referrals and detecting burner emails and data center IPs. AI suggests rewards and promo copy, and integrations include HubSpot, Salesforce, Stripe, Klaviyo, Chargebee, Braze, and Segment. It collects W-9 and W-8 forms and files 1099s for cash rewards.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
Startup costs $179 a month for up to 2,500 participants. Business costs $449 a month.
Yearly billing saves 30%, and the 14-day free trial needs no card.
07. Cello
In-product referrals for B2B SaaSB2B SaaS companies turning users into a referral channel
Cello puts the referral program inside your product, where users already are. A launcher and floating prompt invite users to share by email, LinkedIn, X, or QR code, and SDKs cover web, iOS, Android, Flutter, and React Native.
Companies like Miro, Typeform, Descript, and Smallpdf appear among its customers.
Cello handles the hard parts of paying people: recurring rewards, PayPal and Venmo payouts, and tax handling, with automated self-referral fraud detection.
Pricing is based on the yearly revenue your referrals bring in, with no transaction or currency conversion fees on user referral plans.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
User referral plans start at $65 a month for up to $10,000 in yearly referral revenue, then $200 a month up to $50,000 and $750 a month up to $100,000.
08. ReferralHero
Referral, waitlist, and contest softwareStartups running waitlists, launches, and referral contests
ReferralHero covers more campaign types than most: product waitlists, referral contests with leaderboards, affiliate programs, and classic refer-a-friend programs, including for crypto and Web3 projects.
Rewards are flexible, with more than 1,000 payout options from gift cards to PayPal, Venmo, ACH, and charity donations.
A five-layer anti-fraud system, SMS verification, and reCAPTCHA protect contests from fake signups, and it integrates with Shopify, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Salesforce, Stripe, WooCommerce, and Zapier.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
Basic costs $249 a month for 1,000 subscribers and one campaign, and Pro $399 a month with unlimited subscribers and campaigns.
You can take 7-day free trial.
09. Viral Loops
Referral and launch campaignsStartups, newsletters, and stores running launch or giveaway campaigns
Viral Loops is template-driven, which makes it quick to launch a prelaunch waitlist, a double-sided refer-a-friend program, a milestone campaign, a leaderboard, or a giveaway. It has a Shopify template too, and companies like Revolut have used it.
Rewards can go out automatically through Stripe and Tremendous on higher plans, and it connects to HubSpot, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Zapier. An AI campaign assistant helps set things up, and it offers an MCP server and JavaScript SDK for developers.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
Start-up costs $35 a month billed yearly for 1,000 participants. You can try the Growing plan free for 14 days.
10. NiceJob
Reviews and referrals for local businessesLocal and home service businesses
NiceJob is built for local service businesses like HVAC, plumbing, cleaning, dental, and salons, where referrals usually follow a good review. It automatically asks happy customers for reviews by SMS and email, then asks them to refer friends and family.
The Pro plan adds customer referral campaigns alongside repeat-customer campaigns, broadcasts, AI review replies, NPS surveys, and automatic thank-you gifts for businesses using Jobber or QuickBooks.
Pros & Cons
PROS
CONS
Pricing
Referral campaigns are included in Pro at $125 a month. The $75 Starter plan covers reviews only. You can get a 14-day free trial.
Other Referral Tools Worth a Look
A Shopify and BigCommerce loyalty app with referrals included. The free plan covers 200 orders a month, and paid plans start at $15 a month.
Advocate-based referral programs with single and double-sided rewards, from $149 a month with a 14-day free trial.
An enterprise referral and loyalty platform for banks, fintech, telecom, and travel companies, with web and mobile SDKs.
A referral platform for direct-to-consumer brands, known for Name Share, which lets referred friends simply enter the referrer’s name at checkout.
Waitlist and referral software for startup launches, from $49 a month with a 14-day free trial.
Referral contests and giveaways with two-way rewards and fraud detection, from $19 a month.
An enterprise promotions and loyalty engine that can run referral codes alongside coupons and discounts.
If you want to pay bloggers, creators, or resellers a commission rather than reward customers, tools like PartnerStack, Rewardful, FirstPromoter, and UpPromote are a better fit. Compare them in our guide to the best affiliate marketing software.
FAQ
What is referral program software?
Referral program software lets you run a refer-a-friend program. It gives each customer a unique link or code, tracks who they refer, checks for fraud, and automatically sends rewards such as discounts, store credit, gift cards, or cash when a referral converts.
What is the best referral software for Shopify?
ReferralCandy is a simple, popular choice for Shopify stores, and Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals is a good option if you also want a points program.
What is the best referral software for SaaS?
GrowSurf and Cello are built for software products and can embed the referral program inside your app. Cello focuses on B2B SaaS, while GrowSurf also suits consumer apps.
Are referral programs worth it?
Yes. Referred customers tend to trust you and stay longer, and a study in the Journal of Marketing found referred bank customers were worth at least 16% more than similar non-referred customers. Results depend on offering a reward worth sharing and making it easy to refer.
