Choosing an Affiliate Tracking Network: Awin, Impact.com, Everflow and Refersion Compared

Choosing an affiliate tracking network: the short version

Choosing an affiliate tracking network comes down to three things: how the network charges for itself, on top of the commission you agree with your own affiliates; which ecommerce and CRM systems it actually plugs into; and how long its default attribution window runs, and whether you can adjust it. This article compares four concrete examples — Awin, Impact.com, Everflow and Refersion — directly against their own public pricing pages, named as unranked examples of the affiliate-tracking-network/-app category, not as a ranked recommendation of one over the others.

It assumes you've already decided the setup type (open network, an app in your own store, or a platform-managed program) — see how to set up an affiliate program, step by step for that decision. This article goes one level deeper: once you know the setup type you want, which specific vendor should run the technical infrastructure behind it.

What the four actually are

Awin is an open, global affiliate network where many advertisers and publishers share the same marketplace — the advertiser sets up a program, and publishers (including influencers) apply to join. Awin is also the only one of the four with a documented Danish/Nordic platform, live since 2019, per the research in affiliate influencer marketing in Denmark.

Impact.com describes itself as a "partnership management platform" — broader than a pure affiliate network, because it's built to bring affiliates, influencers and other partner types together in one dashboard, not just classic publishers.

Everflow is a tracking and partner-marketing platform aimed at brands, networks and agencies that want to follow clicks and conversions across several channel types — affiliates, influencers, paid advertising, organic — in the same system, per Everflow's own homepage, which describes it as giving "attribution for every channel and user activity."

Refersion sits closest to the "app in your own store" setup type from the setup article: a dedicated affiliate app for Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento, where commission is calculated as a percentage of affiliate-driven sales, not of the store's total revenue. Shopify's own native equivalent of this same setup type is Shopify Collabs — see Shopify Collabs for how its fee model and creator sign-up status compare.

Comparison: price, fee model and minimum commitment (own pricing pages, read live)

Two fee philosophies: a percentage of every sale vs. a flat subscription

Awin, Impact.com and Refersion all charge a percentage of the sale itself as their own fee, on top of whatever commission you agree with the affiliate — Awin and Impact.com call it a transaction/tracking fee, Refersion calls it a percentage of affiliate-driven sales, but the principle is identical: the more you sell through the program, the more you pay the network, beyond the commission itself. Everflow is structurally different: there's no per-sale percentage fee at all — you pay a flat, quote-based subscription regardless of volume, which in practice makes Everflow relatively cheaper at very high volume and relatively more expensive at low volume, compared with a percentage model.

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that the network's fee always sits on top of the affiliate's commission, never instead of it — see step 2 of how to set up an affiliate program for how to set the commission rate itself from your own contribution margin, before you even start comparing network fees.

Attribution window: what do the four actually say?

According to Awin's own help documentation, the industry standard is 30 days, but it's a recommendation the advertiser can adjust per program — not a fixed, non-negotiable number from Awin. Refersion's own pricing page mentions "customizable attribution windows" without stating a default figure. Neither Impact.com's nor Everflow's own pages reviewed here state a specific default attribution window. That's exactly the kind of question worth asking the vendor directly before you choose — see attribution windows in influencer marketing for why the window's length has a real practical effect on how much sales actually get credited to an affiliate.

Decision framework: which network fits you?

IF you want access to the broadest, already-existing pool of affiliates and aren't put off by a per-sale percentage fee → Awin is an open network with that reach, and the only one of the four with a documented Danish/Nordic platform.

IF you already run several partner types at once — affiliates, influencers, other collaborators — and want them in one dashboard → Impact.com's positioning as a partnership management platform fits better, but budget for the jump in price from Starter to Essentials/Pro as you grow.

IF you run a Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce or Magento store specifically and want the fastest, least binding self-serve setup → Refersion's percentage-of-sales model matches the "app in your own store" setup type best.

IF your program is already large enough to negotiate a custom quote, and you want a flat cost regardless of volume, with attribution across several channel types in one system → Everflow's positioning and 6-month commitment reflect that scale — it's not a natural starting point for a new, small program.

Worked example: what does each network cost on top of a given sale?

The figures below are hypothetical and for illustration only — not data from a Make Influence customer, and not figures from Awin, Impact.com, Everflow or Refersion themselves about what any actual customer pays.

Assume a store generates $10,000/month in tracked, affiliate-driven sales, and pays affiliates a flat 15% commission ($1,500/month in commission). What does the network/app itself charge on top, at entry level?

• Awin Access: $49/mo + 3.5% of $10,000 = $350 → total network cost $399/month
• Impact.com Starter: $30/mo + 2.5% of $10,000 = $250 → total cost $280/month
• Refersion Launch (monthly billing): $39/mo + 3% of $10,000 = $300 → total cost $339/month
• Refersion Growth (monthly billing, at higher volume): $199/mo + 2% of $10,000 = $200 → total cost $399/month — in this example exactly the same as Awin Access, because both the percentage rate and the flat price change together as volume grows.
• Everflow: no public self-serve price — quote-based with a 6-month minimum commitment, positioned as an enterprise option rather than a starting point at this volume.

At this specific hypothetical volume, Impact.com Starter is cheapest on paper, while Awin Access and Refersion Growth land on the same total. But the fee only tells part of the story: the network's reach (Awin), breadth of partner types (Impact.com), depth of ecommerce integrations (Refersion) and cross-channel attribution (Everflow) aren't interchangeable properties — the cheapest fee at one month's volume can still be the wrong tool for what the program actually needs to do.

Are the four confirmed to work in Denmark?

Only Awin has, per the research in the separate article affiliate influencer marketing in Denmark, a documented Danish/Nordic platform, with Danish-language support since 2019. Impact.com's, Everflow's and Refersion's own pages, as reviewed here, don't specifically confirm Denmark or DKK as a supported market or currency — that doesn't rule out use by a Danish brand, but it isn't the same as a confirmed, locally supported program. Treat the other three as global options without a documented Danish presence until checked directly, rather than assuming either way.

Common mistakes

• Comparing only the visible percentage rate without checking which plan tier and minimum fee it belongs to — as the worked example shows, the real cost changes significantly with volume.
• Assuming "no public price point" means no commitment — Everflow's own page explicitly states a 6-month minimum commitment before you ever see a number.
• Conflating the network's own fee with the commission paid to the affiliate. The two stack on every sale — see step 2 of the setup article for how to set commission yourself.
• Choosing a network before confirming your specific market is actually supported — see the Denmark section above.
• Confusing an affiliate tracking network with a full influencer marketing platform. A tracking network solves tracking and payout; it doesn't source or manage individual creator relationships the way a curated platform does — see how to choose an influencer marketing platform for that distinction.

Make Influence's perspective

Make Influence doesn't run an open program through any of the four networks covered here — our model is curated, with the brand, or Make Influence on the brand's behalf, selecting and briefing each individual creator. So we don't have a direct recommendation on which of the four to pick if you go the open-network route. But the same discipline we apply in every curated deal we set up ourselves — understanding the full cost structure and confirming market coverage before locking in a budget — applies just as much regardless of which network or app you end up choosing.

FAQ

Are Awin, Impact.com, Everflow and Refersion all priced the same way?

No. Awin, Impact.com and Refersion all charge a percentage of the sale on top of a flat or tiered base price. Everflow charges a flat, quote-based subscription with no per-sale percentage fee — see the comparison table and worked example above for what that means in practice.

Which of the four is confirmed to work in Denmark?

Only Awin, per the research in affiliate influencer marketing in Denmark — Awin has run a Danish-language platform since 2019. Impact.com's, Everflow's and Refersion's own pages don't specifically confirm Denmark as a supported market.

Is a longer attribution window always better?

Not necessarily — it depends on your own contribution margin and sales cycle, not just what the network sets as a default. See attribution windows in influencer marketing for the full walkthrough.

Is an affiliate tracking network the same as an influencer marketing platform?

No. A tracking network solves tracking, approval and payout, but typically doesn't source or manage individual creator relationships for you. An influencer marketing platform can do both — see how to choose an influencer marketing platform for that distinction.

Can you switch tracking networks later?

Yes, and it happens regularly as volume and needs change. The practical friction is typically in migrating historical tracking data and existing affiliate relationships to the new network, not in the cancellation itself.

Is one of the four cheapest once you account for everything?

It depends entirely on your volume and which plan tier you land in — the worked example above shows the ranking can shift significantly with volume, because the percentage rate and the flat price change together. There's no single answer that holds for every brand.

Do individual retailers like Zalando or Boozt run their own affiliate programs, separate from these four general-purpose networks?

Yes — Zalando and Boozt are two Nordic fashion retailers that each list an affiliate program of their own through Awin (one of the four networks compared above), alongside Zalando's separate Collabary tool for managed creator campaigns. See that comparison for the confirmed commission rate, cookie window, and how reliable the sourcing actually is for each program.

Is Shopify's own Collabs app one of these four networks?

No. Shopify Collabs is a native app that runs inside a single merchant's own Shopify store, not a standalone third-party network with its own marketplace of advertisers and publishers like the four compared here — see Shopify Collabs: how Shopify's native affiliate tool works for its fee model and current eligibility.

Is there a Nordic-specific alternative to these four networks?

Yes — see Nordic affiliate networks: Adtraction, Tradedoubler and Adservice compared for how those three names actually work in 2026, including the finding that Adservice no longer runs its own platform.

Do marketplaces like Etsy run their own affiliate setup, separate from these four networks?

Yes — Etsy runs its own marketplace-wide affiliate program and a separate, application-based Creator Collective for social creators, both administered, per independent sources, through Awin, one of the four networks compared above. See Etsy's Creator Collective and Affiliate Program for commission, cookie windows and creator eligibility.

Is a Kickstarter or Indiegogo crowdfunding referral program the same as one of these four networks?

No. A crowdfunding affiliate program (typically run through a third-party tool like Kickbooster, layered on top of the campaign itself) pays commission on a validated pledge inside a fixed-length campaign, and pays nothing at all if the campaign misses its funding goal — a structurally different, higher-risk model than any of the four ongoing ecommerce networks compared here. See crowdfunding campaigns and influencer marketing: a different kind of affiliate program for the full comparison.

Does Whop's built-in affiliate feature replace one of these four networks?

No, not for a seller outside Whop. Whop's own affiliate feature only covers products already sold through Whop itself, automatically attached to every product with no separate application — a structurally different, marketplace-native mechanic from these four independent tracking networks, which any seller can use regardless of where the product is sold. See Whop and the rise of creator-owned digital commerce for the full comparison.

Does a browser coupon extension like Honey pose the same risk as one of these four networks?

No — a coupon extension is a different layer entirely, and not one of your own network's or app's official integrations. Active US litigation alleges that PayPal's Honey extension overwrites an affiliate's tracking cookie with its own affiliate ID right at checkout, diverting commission away from the creator or affiliate. See the PayPal Honey lawsuit: what "commission hijacking" means for affiliate creators for the case status and how Rakuten, Impact.com and Awin each reacted.

Are there other global affiliate networks besides these four?

Yes — Rakuten Advertising and CJ Affiliate are two of the oldest global affiliate networks, but neither publishes a public advertiser pricing page like Awin, Impact.com and Refersion do here, and a third historically well-known name, ShareASale, is no longer a separate, live network at all — Awin acquired it in 2017 and completed the migration in 2025. See Rakuten Advertising and CJ Affiliate compared for the full picture, including who actually owns each network.

Do Kajabi, Teachable or Podia's built-in affiliate features replace one of these four networks?

No, not fully — they only cover sales of the course creator's own product on that specific platform, the same limitation as Whop's built-in affiliate feature. See Kajabi, Teachable and Podia: how course creators run their own affiliate programs for how their built-in tools compare to these four independent networks.

Do Notion or Canva templates get sold through one of these four networks?

No — Notion's and Canva's own template-selling and affiliate mechanics are a separate category entirely, not run through Awin, Impact.com, Everflow or Refersion. See Notion, Canva and the template economy for how their own affiliate programs and marketplace fees actually work.