The Best Affiliate Marketing Tools in 2023

Author: Georgia Brisco10 Min.May 11, 2023

Affiliate marketing is growing more impactful by the day. In fact, over the past five years, interest in it has increased by over 300%.

And regardless of which side of the game you’re on (hey advertisers, managers, and publishers ), finding the best tool is crucial. Be it an all-in-one affiliate marketing tool or a purpose-specific software — there’s a lot out there. And a lot of lists will list… well, a lot.

Below, you’ll find the best tools for affiliate marketing for managers or advertisers and publishers. (Note: some tools cover both sides, offering separate solutions depending on users’ needs. We’ve highlighted their leading service.)

From keyword research tools for affiliate marketing, ad campaign monitoring, competitor tracking, or making your links shine — I’ve rounded up the crème de la crème of tools used by the pros, plus my affiliate platform of choice, below.

(And if you’re newer around here, jump to our very mini affiliate marketing glossary below to brush up on what’s what in this wordy affiliate marketing world.)

The Best Affiliate Marketing Tools (Free and Paid)

Similarweb – best for identifying new affiliate partners and checking partner validity
Post Affiliate Pro – best for monitoring affiliate performance data
Similarweb extension – best free tool for affiliate vetting
Voluum – best for affiliate ad tracking
Pretty Links – best for link cloaking
AffJet – best for monitoring affiliate network performance
Bitly – best for free link shortening
Linktrack – best for free, limitless link tracking
CJ Affiliate – best for established publishers and brands to find partners and track performance

Best affiliate marketing tools for managers and advertisers

Affiliate managers manage online affiliate programs for advertisers. Affiliate advertisers sell their product or service through a publisher (also known as affiliates). Below are some of the best-in-class affiliate tool options for both.

Similarweb

Best for identifying and verifying affiliate partners

In a nutshell

Having to rely on self-reported affiliate data is no bueno. Similarweb is a great affiliate marketing tool that harnesses the most accurate data in the world — so you can see traffic numbers, engagement, and channel mix for any affiliate’s website and verify numbers. Because you’ll have the data to anticipate under-delivery in advance, you can dismiss affiliates that overpromise. You’ll also have clear data so you can negotiate partnership terms practically.

The stands-outs

Think of it as a digital truth serum of sorts that helps you check affiliate performances so you can ensure you’re working with the right ones. This accurate vetting makes affiliate recruitment smooth so you can create long-lasting, trustworthy relationships.
Track the top keywords of your affiliate partners (or potential partners!) so you have a full picture of their content specialization. When you understand what core material they’re known for, you can confirm if they’re entirely aligned with your offering or if you need to do some pruning ‍.
Easily find out which affiliates your competitors are partnered with and how successful those affiliates are at referring traffic to said competitors. Think granular detail: traffic distribution, engagement, traffic share over time, etc. This way, you can see affiliate publishers you might be missing out on.

What are the pros of Similarweb?

Delivers true website performance data so you can find the right affiliate partners fast
Exceptional tracking: monitor your affiliates and potential affiliates all in one view
One of the best spy tools for affiliate marketing
Tailored price plan

What are the cons of Similarweb?

The affiliate software isn’t for one-person bands or very small companies (counter pro: it’s specifically designed for SMBs to Enterprise)
No revenue tracking

How much does Similarweb cost?

Our plugin is free and our subscription is customized based on what you need.

Post Affiliate Pro

Best for creating and managing affiliate programs

In a nutshell

Post Affiliate Pro is a great affiliate software for advertisers to monitor and analyze affiliate performance data to increase sales. It’s also more accessible than many (whether you’re a start-up, SMB, or established enterprise). It’s especially great for tailored affiliate marketing plans or networks that make it easy for you to create and manage your own.

The stand-outs

The fully customizable commission structures are a huge plus. Incentivize affiliates to focus on driving high-quality traffic and conversions through action commissions.
The Lifetime Commissions feature allows purchases from the same customer to always give commission to the same affiliate, even if the customer clicks on a different affiliate’s link.
A variety of novel tracking methods deliver in-depth data you can use to increase sales. Track:

impression or actions (see every action a customer takes, from where they came from or what they clicked on throughout your site)
offline (via coupons), S2S (cookie-less), or pixel tracking.

What are the pros of Post Affiliate Pro?

Huge variety of tracking features
Flexible interface optimization
Tight fraud protection

What are the cons of Post Affiliate Pro?

Difficult to fully understand all features so learning time is needed
Customer support can be slow

How much does Post Affiliate Pro cost?

Post Affiliate Pro offers a 14-day free trial

Pro:
$139/month or
$129/month billed annually

Ultimate:
$269/month or

$249/month billed annually

Network:
$649/month or

$599/month billed annually

Best free affiliate marketing tools for managers and advertisers

Similarweb extension

Best for on-the-go traffic checking of affiliates partners and competitors

In a nutshell

Our Similarweb extension makes it wildly easy to instantly see key data for any site you visit. (And, as always, this data is the most accurate in the world.) For affiliate marketing, this helps you scope out current and potential partners’ performances, as well as competitors’ traffic source details.

The stand-outs

Check any website’s traffic, channel mix, and engagement stats for potential affiliates
See any website’s global ranking in its country and category

What are the pros of the Similarweb extension?

On-the-go website insights
Totally free and simple to install
Presentation of data is clear and easy to understand

What are the cons of the Similarweb extension?

Limited in granular data
No mobile offering

How much does the Similarweb extension cost?

The Similarweb extension/plug-in is 100% free.

Best affiliate marketing tools for publishers

Affiliate publishers (also known as affiliates) are website owners or content creators who promote an advertiser’s product or service to their online audience in exchange for commissions. We’ve rounded up some of the best tools for publishers below!

Voluum

Best for affiliate campaign tracking

In a nutshell

Voluum is an all-in-one performance marketing tool that helps publishers and marketers track, measure, and optimize their digital campaigns across every channel. It offers a rare amount of control over how you want to monitor and optimize campaigns (it’s got your back, Type As ).

The stand-outs

Customizable tracking features, manual conversion upload (manage campaign data directly to ensure accuracy), landing page scanning, and hyper-fresh trend reports are some of my favorites.
Track organic traffic, ad impressions, and measure all customer touchpoints throughout the conversion journey so you can improve it.
Optimize paid traffic with precise targeting and fine-tuned campaign parameters (again, sweet ✨control✨ where it matters). It automatically sends your traffic to different landing pages/offers based on your rules, so you can create specifically enticing content for visitors and increase conversion rates.

What are the pros of Voluum?

Helpful customer support options and great how-to examples
Track organic traffic and automate campaign optimization with “if/then” statements
One of the few affiliate marketing tools that offers a mobile app

What are the cons of Voluum?

Limited features on the lower-priced plans
Mobile app is missing a few of the important features

How much does Voluum cost?

Start-up:
$499/month

Agency:

$999/month

Enterprise:

$1999/month

Pretty Links

Best for link cloaking

In a nutshell

If you use WordPress and are in affiliate marketing, do yourself a favor and add Pretty Links to your kit. It’s a simple, handy tool that offers more than just link-shortening glow-ups

The stand-outs

Its pièce de résistance is its link-cloaking automation. Turn long (and, let’s be honest, aesthetically irritating) links into shorter, more memorable ones. And its PrettyBar feature is worth mentioning: add a brandable bar to the top of any link to remind people of your brand and build affinity passively.

It also centralizes link management, gives you granular unique click details (including IP addresses and referring sites), plus offers group-sorting and tracking options so you know how every one of your links is doing in real time.

You can also set up multiple, advanced URL redirects (including traditional permanent and temporary redirects) to boost CTR.

What are the pros of Pretty Links?

Effortless link-sharing via automation
Great-looking and easy-to-navigate dashboard

What are the cons of Pretty Links?

No option to schedule links
No automatic link health checker

How much does Pretty Links cost?

Pretty Links offers a free WordPress plugin, as well as:

Beginner:

$99.50/year

Marketer:

$149.50/year

Super Affiliate

$199.50/year

AffJet

Best for monitoring affiliate network performance from one interface

In a nutshell

Affjet combines your affiliate marketing sales and commissions so you can see all earnings in one platform (its dashboard gives you stats from over 100 affiliate networks). This makes demoting poor-performing links and spotting otherwise missed opportunities a breeze.

The stand-outs

Adding your affiliate networks and importing all your data is quick and easy. (The amount of time saved by skipping logging into multiple networks is great ). Then you can filter data the way you want and see it right across your networks.
Because of its centralized dashboard, tracking underperformers and bestsellers is seriously simple, so you can focus on maximizing ROI.

Like Voluum, it’s one of the few tools with a mobile-friendly platform – check important report updates on the go.

Affjet pros

Consolidates affiliate earnings across different networks into one report
Easy report-sharing
Mobile-friendly so you can check reports on the go

Affjet cons

Customer service could be better

How much does Affjet cost?

Standard Plan:

$5.79/month

Medium Plan:

$17.35/month

Large Plan:

$34.70/month:

Custom Plan:

Personalized

Best free affiliate marketing tools for publishers

Bitly

Best for free URL shortening and link management

In a nutshell

Affiliate links can be long and clunky. You want neat. Bitly’s a popular URL-shortening software and one of the best free affiliate marketing tools. It converts the cumbersome into the chic, creating more visually easy links to increase CTR.

The stand-outs

Bitly’s freemium version includes customizable link-in-bios, an easy-to-read, flexi way to arrange and share your most important affiliate links. You’ll also have access to the performance data for your link-in-bio.
The option to download a QR code for any one of your links.

What are the pros of Bitly?

Easy-to-use web browser extension makes shortening links quickly a breeze
Shorten links directly from your mobile with the iOS or Android app

What are the cons of Bitly?

The free version only offers 10 short links/month (these include QR codes and link-in-bio)
Custom-branded links are only available on a paid plan
No direct customer support for freemium users

How much does Bitly cost?

Bitly’s freemium version is entirely free. It also offers paid subscription options depending on what you need.

Linktrack

Best for free link tracking

In a nutshell

LinkTrack is a marketing tool that lets you track your affiliate links for free (via its freemium offering), so you can see how they’re performing and discern which sources are generating most affiliate traffic. All created links live in one place on your account, too!

The stand-outs

Track a limitless number of links (ad tracking, click tracking, and impression tracking) so you can see which are working well vs. which need reassessing.
Keep a check on commissions and see your link conversions at a glance through graphical monitoring (a rare feature to find without a subscription fee ).

Get real-time updates on your link performance via Linktrack’s website or through its API.

What are the pros of Linktrack?

Linktrack’s freemium service offers detailed tracking data for free
Straightforward and easy to set up

What are the cons of Linktrack?

Unique visitor tracking is only available on a paid plan
Links created using the free subscription expire after seven days/100 clicks
Custom or vanity URLs are only available on a paid plan

How much does the Linktrack cost?

Linktrack’s freemium version is entirely free. Otherwise, it offers paid subscription options depending on what you need.

Best affiliate marketing platform

CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction)

Best for established publishers and brands to find partners and track performance

In a nutshell

CJ Affiliate is an affiliate marketing network that connects publishers and brands. CJ’s been around for over 20 years — and with over 3,000 brands on its books, you can tell. Think big dogs, from Barnes & Noble to GoPro. Best suited for established publishers, CJ specializes in pay-for-performance. It makes it simple to discover and nurture quality partnerships.

The stand-outs

Great filter options across the tool. For instance: tailor partner results based on potential earnings (network, 7-day or 3-month EPC), or filter products based on category, promotion types, link types, etc.

CJ’s a great platform when it comes to real-time reporting. Up-to-the-minute analytics help you monitor your affiliate partnerships activity as it happens. Keep a finger on the pulse without… lifting a finger?
If you’re seasoned in affiliate marketing, you know the drill (and it can be as annoying as a real-life one ): most display advertising networks bunch up handfuls of products in one ad code. With CJ, you choose exactly which products you want to showcase and where.
Done the work and have a platform smashing it? Enter: CJ’s Content Certification program. Designed to make it easy for content-focused publishers to connect with over 600 advertisers automatically, it gives you the power to increase affiliate revenue without the legwork. More time for stellar content creation .

What are the pros of CJ Affiliate?

Trusted fraud protection software
Fast, human customer support

What are the cons of CJ Affiliate?

Limited to physical products
Advertisers are known to be picky (if you haven’t generated any sales on CJ, chances of being accepted are low)
Limited payment options available (no PayPal)

How much does CJ cost?

Customized subscription based on what you need.

Affiliate marketing: a mini glossary

You’re not in affiliate marketing unless you’re seeing 3+ terms for the same thing. Here’s a quick refresh/101:

Advertisers
Also known as merchants, brands, retailers. Basically, whoever’s selling the product or service being promoted and sold through the affiliate.

Networks
Also known as affiliate networks or affiliate intermediaries. An affiliate network is a platform that acts as the intermediary between publishers (affiliates) and advertisers. Advertisers establish affiliate programs on an affiliate network, while publishers register with and search the network for programs they want to promote. The affiliate network manages both publishers and advertisers.

Publishers
Also known as affiliates, affiliate marketers, or associates. OR sometimes just referred to directly: websites, influencers, content creators, bloggers. Publishers promote an advertiser’s products or services on their platforms (website, social media, etc.) in exchange for sales commissions.

Affiliate managers

The people responsible for managing online affiliate programs for advertisers.

Why affiliate marketing is important for advertisers and content creators

There’s a reason affiliate marketing is growing exponentially: it comes with less risks and (if you put in the work and think smart) high rewards. It’s also easy to set up and a generally cool way to connect with creators/publishers or brands in your industry

The top affiliate marketing tools will help you with this.

If you’re an advertiser, it’s a way to increase competitive advantage, build solid brand recognition and association, and increase traffic and ROI.

And if you’re on the other side of things, as a content creator, affiliate marketing enables you to ensure your content is infused with profit-generating partnerships.

Not only that, but working on your affiliate marketing strategy will see you naturally learning more about what your audience wants and doesn’t want – and you’ll likely capture brand-new followers alongside your incoming affiliate commissions, too.

As an affiliate advertiser or manager, accurately pinpointing and vetting affiliates for your brand (based on their industry relevance, traffic share, and audience engagement) is key. As is being able to analyze which affiliates are sending traffic to competitors so you can consider fostering partnerships with them. With Similarweb, you can do both with precision and speed, introducing your product or service to the right people and boosting sales.

Make your affiliate marketing strategy sing

With the world's most accurate data

Try Similarweb for free

Keen on more of the best digital marketing tools? Dive in:

FAQs

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a digital marketing method in which a publisher promotes a product or service and gets paid by an advertiser per conversion or lead.

Is Similarweb good for affiliate marketing?

Yes. Similarweb uses the most accurate data in the world to deliver accurate affiliate vetting, affiliate competitor tracking, and affiliate keyword research.

What is a good all-in-one affiliate marketing tool?

CJ Affiliate is a best-in-class affiliate marketing tool for networks and advertisers.