Affiliate and partner management
Asked as “affiliate marketing platform”, and as “affiliate program management tool”, on behalf of a mid-market B2B software company. 55 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, six models each.
Standing · first-choice share
49%
Clear leader
49PartnerStack13impact.com07GoAffPro31others
49% of first choices, clear leader.
Since September 2026▲+5Since September 2026: 42% → 47%, +5 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.PartnerStack held the lead, +5 points on 42%, inside the 12-point floor.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all six models, for a mid-market B2B software company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince September 2026
01
PartnerStack49%0%50endorsed leader▲+5Since September 2026: 42% → 47%, +5 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.42% → 47%
PartnerStack49%0%50endorsed leader▲+5Since September 2026: 42% → 47%, +5 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.42% → 47%02
impact.com13%19%52accepted challenger▲+3Since September 2026: 11% → 14%, +3 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.11% → 14%
impact.com13%19%52accepted challenger▲+3Since September 2026: 11% → 14%, +3 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.11% → 14%03
Amazon Associates4%9%22accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 4%
Amazon Associates4%9%22accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 4%04
Tapfiliate4%18%28accepted challenger▼−7Since September 2026: 11% → 4%, −7 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.11% → 4%
Tapfiliate4%18%28accepted challenger▼−7Since September 2026: 11% → 4%, −7 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.11% → 4%05
Refersion4%9%23accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 4%
Refersion4%9%23accepted challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 4%06
Awin2%25%32criticized challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%
Awin2%25%32criticized challenger▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 2%07
Rewardful2%8%12accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 2%
Rewardful2%8%12accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 2%Show the five products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
12
ClickBank0%45%20criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
ClickBank0%45%20criticized challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%08
ShareASale0%21%34accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
ShareASale0%21%34accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%09CJ Affiliate0%17%23accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
11
Post Affiliate Pro0%7%15accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 0%
Post Affiliate Pro0%7%15accepted challenger▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.2% → 0%10
Rakuten Advertising0%6%18accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%
Rakuten Advertising0%6%18accepted challenger=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 12-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.0% → 0%The floor is 12 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
0102030405060708C09
101112Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative60%
Key
01PartnerStack49%
PartnerStack49%02impact.com13%
impact.com13%03Amazon Associates4%
Amazon Associates4%04Tapfiliate4%
Tapfiliate4%05Refersion4%
Refersion4%06Awin2%
Awin2%07Rewardful2%
Rewardful2%08ShareASale0%
ShareASale0%09CJ Affiliate0%
10Rakuten Advertising0%
Rakuten Advertising0%11Post Affiliate Pro0%
Post Affiliate Pro0%12ClickBank0%
ClickBank0%What they warned about
A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
impact.com19%
10 of 52 labels negative · 7 of 6 models · 4 hard negative
“Platforms to Avoid Entirely ... Impact.com | Multiple serious complaints about payment theft and account closures” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt
ClickBank45%
9 of 20 labels negative · 7 of 6 models
“ClickBank is an industry pioneer and is entirely legitimate ... However, its open-marketplace model means it hosts thousands of low-tier, pseudo-scientific health supplements” Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt
Awin25%
8 of 32 labels negative · 6 of 6 models · 3 hard negative
“you should **avoid traditional "Affiliate Networks"** (like Awin/ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, or Impact.com)” Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt
ShareASale21%
7 of 34 labels negative · 4 of 6 models · 5 hard negative
“you should **avoid traditional "Affiliate Networks"** (like Awin/ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, or Impact.com)” Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt
What they cite
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list: fourteen of the six in this edition.
Sites the answers cite
76 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 6 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 1020 links across 257 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. None of the 36 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category.
vendor site · Post Affiliate Pro43 answers · 76 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Modash39 answers · 62 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Shopify29 answers · 41 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Tapfiliate28 answers · 45 citations · 11 models
24 answers · 24 citations · 11 models
vendor site · ReferralCandy18 answers · 18 citations · 9 models
17 answers · 19 citations · 9 models
15 answers · 20 citations · 8 models
14 answers · 24 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Digistore2414 answers · 20 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Ainfluencer12 answers · 18 citations · 7 models
12 answers · 16 citations · 10 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
30 answers · 12 models
23 answers · 10 models
19 answers · 10 models
17 answers · 9 models
17 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 8 models
12 answers · 7 models
11 answers · 8 models
9 answers · 6 models
9 answers · 7 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “affiliate marketing platform”, “best affiliate marketing platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PartnerStack partnerstack.com | 49% | 395 | 4,400 | 68 | 27,495 | 16 | 4 | |
| impact.com impact.com | 13% | 256 | 1,900 | 153 | 111,771 | $3,520 | 117 | 2 |
| GoAffPro goaffpro.com | 7% | 18 | 2,400 | 41 | 3,858 | 8 | ||
| Amazon Associates amazon.com | 4% | 38 | 90,500 | 1,060 | 1,681,997,879 | $106,125 | 115 | |
| Tapfiliate tapfiliate.com | 4% | 101 | 720 | 7 | 7,790 | $162 | 15 | |
| Refersion refersion.com | 4% | 58 | 1,600 | 23 | 3,436 | 13 | ||
| UpPromote uppromote.com | 4% | 24 | 1,600 | 48 | 10,646 | 0 | ||
| FirstPromoter firstpromoter.com | 4% | 66 | 590 | 9 | 797 | 12 | ||
| LeadDyno leaddyno.com | 4% | 17 | 260 | 0 | 1,233 | 0 | ||
| Awin awin.com Awin 2%, Awin Access 2%, ShareASale 0% | 4% | 76 | 12,100 | 154 | 15,163 | 14 |
Google's top ten for the two searches hold 16 sites; 3 of them are among the sites the models cited here (digistore24.com, g2.com, modash.io). The first result for “affiliate marketing platform” is clickbank.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best affiliate marketing platform for a mid-market B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which affiliate program management tool would you recommend to a mid-sized B2B company?”Comparative“What are the top affiliate marketing platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best affiliate marketing platform for a company with a limited budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 500 person company evaluating an affiliate marketing platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which affiliate marketing platforms should I avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Opus 5no first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Claude Opus 4.8no first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
GPT-6 Astrano first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
GPT-5.6 Solno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Gemini 3.1 Prono first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Perplexity Sonar Prono first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Bold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency. Full answer text is in the free responses file. Download the record
Zero rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
Rakuten read as Rakuten Advertising
Unresolved, counted raw
AD Trust Media
AdBlueMedia (ABM)
AdPump
Affiliate Networks
Affiliate Top (affiliate.top)
Affiliatecube CPA
Affilimate
Algo Affiliates
BitFree
CJ Affiliate – Commission Junction
CamzCash
Clickbooth
Datify
Dub.co Partners
Edu-Cash / Edu-Money
EpcEra
EssayPartner / EssayPro
Evoleads
Fiverr Affiliates
Golden Goose
Growfiliate
Impact Starter Edition
Mobionetwork / Mobipium
NativeAds
Nextadnet
Partners-Profits
Shopify-native apps
Targeleon
Trackier
TradeTracker
Warrior Forum (WSO Marketplace)
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.