FirstPromoter vs Rewardful: costs, caps and who should pick which

FirstPromoter vs Rewardful: the main difference

Both tools are built for subscription businesses, both price by the monthly revenue your affiliates generate, and both start with a 14-day free trial. The main difference is reach and plan limits. FirstPromoter connects natively to five billing systems and offers multi-level commissions and unlimited team members on every plan. Rewardful centers on Stripe, with Paddle also supported, and lists unlimited affiliates on every plan.

Each vendor's pages favor its own product, so this comparison takes facts about each tool from that tool's own pages, read on October 23, 2026. FirstPromoter's compare page names itself the better choice, and Rewardful's pages make similar claims about itself. Both are treated here as positions, not findings.

Key differences in billing support, commissions and payouts

• Billing: FirstPromoter lists Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree. Rewardful's pages describe Stripe and Paddle, plus more than twenty other integrations for platforms and plugins.
• Affiliates: Rewardful lists unlimited affiliates on every plan. FirstPromoter's Starter plan lists up to 1,000, while Business and Enterprise list no limit.
• Campaigns and team: Rewardful's Starter plan allows 1 campaign and up to 2 team members. FirstPromoter's Starter allows 3 campaigns and unlimited team members.
• Branding: Rewardful puts the branded affiliate portal, custom domain and private invite-only campaigns on Growth and above. FirstPromoter's Starter includes a brandable dashboard and puts the custom dashboard domain on Business and above.
• Commission rules: both support percentage or flat commissions, recurring or one-time, that can end after a set number of months or payments. FirstPromoter adds up to three levels of sub-affiliates on every plan, and Rewardful puts custom rewards on Growth and above.
• Payout path: Rewardful's help center says Rewardful does not process commission payments on your behalf. It exports a file for PayPal mass pay or Wise batch payments, and you mark payouts as paid. Rewardful also offers optional Managed Payouts, where you fund one invoice and Rewardful distributes the money. FirstPromoter lists mass payouts on every plan, one-click direct PayPal payouts on Business and above, and managed auto payouts on Enterprise only.

Cost: how each vendor prices and what sits outside the plan

Both pages tie plans to monthly affiliate-driven revenue, and on the pages as read, Rewardful's Starter ceiling is higher than FirstPromoter's Starter ceiling. Rewardful says it takes no percentage of affiliate-attributed revenue and that commissions, optional Managed Payouts fees and payment-provider fees are separate. FirstPromoter's compare page says neither tool takes a cut of that revenue.

No dollar amounts appear in this guide. Compare the live plan cards for each plan and each billing toggle, using the break-even method in the FirstPromoter pricing guide. One cost difference shows in the details: Rewardful's Managed Payouts carries a processing fee on payouts, while FirstPromoter places managed auto payouts on its top plan with approval required.

Setup and workflow: what launch looks like on Stripe

Rewardful's launch guide describes five steps: start the free trial, connect Stripe, set the payout currency and method, create a campaign, then confirm setup. Its Stripe page says you click Connect with Stripe and grant permission to monitor the account. FirstPromoter's quickstart lists four: create an account, connect the billing provider, add the tracking script to your site, then test clicks, referrals and sales.

Both also support coupon codes as a way to track affiliates without links. The routine work differs mainly at payout time. With Rewardful's standard path you export a file and pay through PayPal or Wise, while FirstPromoter's pages describe mass payouts from its dashboard.

Who should choose FirstPromoter and who should choose Rewardful

• Choose FirstPromoter if your billing runs on Chargebee, Recurly or Braintree, because Rewardful's pages list only Stripe and Paddle as billing systems.
• Choose FirstPromoter if you want multi-level commissions, tax-form collection in the affiliate portal or unlimited team members on the entry plan.
• Choose Rewardful if Stripe is your only billing system and you want a Stripe-first setup with unlimited affiliates from the start.
• Choose Rewardful if you expect to need a higher monthly revenue ceiling on the entry plan, as the pages read.
• Ask both vendors who handles tax forms for affiliates. FirstPromoter's compare page says Rewardful does not collect W-9 or W-8BEN forms, while Rewardful's Managed Payouts page says it reduces tax-form paperwork.
• If neither fits, the software shortlist names five more tools, and the FirstPromoter review covers one tool in depth.