UpPromote

Overview

UpPromote is a Shopify affiliate-marketing app for merchants who want to manage partners and referrals within their store platform. It is a strong fit for Shopify-first businesses, but the ongoing percentage fee on paid plans deserves as much attention as the monthly charge.

Key features

Referral attribution can use links, coupons, connected customers, and connected products, with last-click attribution and a 3,652-day cookie window. That breadth gives merchants ways to credit more than link-driven sales, while the long window can capture conversions long after a referral visit.

Affiliates get a partner portal, and merchants can schedule payouts through PayPal or store credit. Fraud detection flags spam signups and suspected referrals, a useful safeguard as a program grows. Integrations include Wise, email marketing and subscription apps, Shopify customer accounts, API, and postback URLs; the product also advertises 24/7 support.

Shopify Plus is supported. Creator Discovery is an optional add-on starting at $39/month, searching more than 380 million creators across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Enterprise adds API and webhook customization and unlimited staff accounts; Professional allows up to four staff accounts.

Pricing

UpPromote has a free tier and four paid plans. The paid plans combine a recurring charge with a percentage of successful referral sales, so the monthly price alone does not show the full cost.

• Free: free. It allows one affiliate program, one coupon per affiliate, and $3,000 in referral reviews per month, with 100 bulk emails per day and a 50 MB media gallery. This is a sensible way to start a small program, but the program, review, and media caps constrain expansion.
• Growth: $29.99 a month, plus 2% of successful referral sales. It raises the review allowance to 300 per month and bulk email limit to 300 per day, while retaining one coupon per affiliate and the 50 MB gallery. This suits a modest program that needs more review capacity; the sales fee can add up as referrals grow.
• Professional: $89.99 a month, plus 1.5% of successful referral sales. It includes 600 referral reviews per month, unlimited programs and coupons per affiliate, 400 bulk emails per day, and unlimited media gallery space. The lower fee rate and expanded program controls better suit a growing operation, though four staff accounts may be restrictive for a larger team.
• Enterprise: $199.99 a month, plus 1% of successful referral sales. It adds unlimited referral reviews, programs, coupons per affiliate, and media gallery space, with 500 bulk emails per day and unlimited staff accounts. This is the clearest fit for high-volume teams that need room to scale and a lower performance-fee rate.

Yearly billing is advertised as saving 17%. Creator Discovery starts at $39/month as an optional add-on with any plan. A 14-day trial is advertised, but no refund policy is stated.

Platforms

UpPromote is built for Shopify and supports Shopify Plus. Its platform listing also includes API access, with API and webhook customization called out for Enterprise. It is not a general-purpose affiliate platform for stores outside Shopify.

Who it's for

Choose UpPromote if your business runs on Shopify and you want referral tracking, partner tools, scheduled payouts, and fraud detection in one Shopify-focused setup. A smaller merchant can begin on Free, while stores with multiple programs or greater review volume have a clear upgrade path. Merchants who need broader platform compatibility or want to avoid a percentage of referral sales should compare alternatives.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Tracking covers links, coupons, connected customers, and connected products, giving Shopify merchants several ways to attribute referrals.
• Pro: Scheduled PayPal or store-credit payouts and fraud detection address practical partner-program operations, rather than tracking alone.
• Pro: Higher plans increase review limits and remove program and coupon caps, with the percentage fee falling from 2% on Growth to 1% on Enterprise.
• Con: Paid plans charge a percentage of successful referral sales in addition to the monthly fee, making costs rise with sales volume.
• Con: Free and Growth both limit merchants to one affiliate program; Free also caps reviews at $3,000 monthly, and Growth at 300 reviews.
• Con: Professional's four-staff maximum may not suit larger teams, leaving unlimited staff accounts to Enterprise.

Alternatives

OpenPartner is worth considering if self-hosted or web access matters; its Revshare plan is $3 a month, billed at 3% of GMV with no monthly fee, and includes unlimited partners, links, and campaigns.

Refport may suit a team seeking a free starting tier with explicit link, click, and seat limits: its Free plan includes 100 links, 5,000 clicks per month, and one seat. Endorsely is another freemium option, with a Pro plan at $39 a month and an affiliate-revenue cap of $5,000.

Sprout Affiliate is a relevant comparison for readers who want Android or iOS availability; its free plan supports one program and up to 200 referral orders monthly. Sentalong offers a free Starter tier for 10 active affiliates and $2,000 per month in tracked revenue.

Revshare is another freemium affiliate option. For a WooCommerce store, Affiliates for WooCommerce is the platform-specific alternative, with a free plan that includes affiliate registration and approvals, referral tracking, a self-service dashboard, manual payouts, and admin reports. Affilyn has a permanent free tier with no recurring app charge, limited to five active partners and one VIP storefront.

Browse Affiliate Marketing Software and Affiliate Analytics Software for more options.

Verdict

UpPromote is a strong choice for Shopify merchants building a partner program who value varied referral tracking, scheduled payouts, and a progression from a capped free tier to enterprise controls. Its Shopify focus is also its boundary, and the additional sales-based charge is the key reason to look elsewhere or calculate expected costs before committing.