Referral and partner programs · October 2026 Edition
GrowSurf vs ReferralCandy
Zero of fourteen models named GrowSurf first on the direct prompt; zero named ReferralCandy. GrowSurf was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and ReferralCandy by fourteen and GrowSurf carries 23 labels and ReferralCandy 39, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share6%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate17%31%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#5A position in a field of 15; printed, not drawn.
Labels2339A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, GrowSurf reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Referral Rock was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. PartnerStack vs GrowSurf · PartnerStack vs ReferralCandy · Referral Rock vs GrowSurf
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the referral and partner programs page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
GrowSurfFirst choices, of fourteen modelsReferralCandy
Direct00
Paraphrase00
Comparative23
Budget-constrained331 against GrowSurf · 1 against ReferralCandy
Scale-constrained00
Negative003 against GrowSurf · 11 against ReferralCandy
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, GrowSurf and ReferralCandy were named in the same answer fifty-six times, of the 91 answers naming GrowSurf and the 178 naming ReferralCandy. In those answers ReferralCandy took the first choice nine times and GrowSurf three.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where GrowSurf and ReferralCandy stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | ||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | |||
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | |||
| Kimi K2 | | | | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | |||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | |||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
GrowSurf ReferralCandy first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, GrowSurf on the left and ReferralCandy on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where GrowSurf and ReferralCandy stood in it.
Neither was the first choice, one was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashReferral Rock alternatives: GrowSurf, PartnerStack, Referral Factory, impact.com Advocate
Perplexity SonarReferral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, CustomerGauge, GrowSurf, Referral Factory
DeepSeek V4 FlashCello, Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, GrowSurf, PartnerStack
Neither was named
11 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Cello alternatives: Friendbuy, PartnerStack, Referral Rock
GPT-5.4 miniReferral Factory alternatives: Ambassador, PartnerStack, Referral Rock, impact.com
Grok 4.1 FastAmbassador alternatives: PartnerStack, Referral Rock
Mistral SmallReferral Rock alternatives: SaaSquatch
Llama 4 MaverickFriendbuy alternatives: Partnero, Referral Rock, SaaSquatch
Qwen 3.7 FlashPartnerStack alternatives: Cello.so, Partnero
Kimi K2Referral Rock alternatives: FirstPromoter, PartnerStack
GLM 4.7 FlashXCello alternatives: Ambassador, Extole, Referral Factory, Referral Rock
MiniMax M2.5Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, Friendbuy, PartnerStack
GPT-6 LunaSaaSquatch alternatives: PartnerStack, Referral Rock
Muse Glimmer 30BAmbassador alternatives: Extole, PartnerStack, Partnerize, Referral Rock
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
ReferralCandy leads by ten points.
ReferralCandy12%#3 of 10GrowSurf2%#8 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
GrowSurf6%#4 of 15ReferralCandy6%#5 of 15Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
GrowSurf0%#– of 12ReferralCandy0%#12 of 12What the models said about GrowSurf
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Examples: Viral Loops, GrowSurf ... Avoid highly technical, developer-centric platforms (like GrowSurf) unless you have dedicated in-house engineers” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“One of the most expensive solutions; lacks native ecommerce integrations; requires you to pair it with a separate email/CRM platform” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · soft negative
“GrowSurf is one of the most expensive referral software solutions and lacks ecommerce platform integrations” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“If your priority is lowest upfront cost, the best pick is GrowSurf Affiliate because it offers a free starting plan and charges only a success fee.” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
“B2B SaaS or subscription business → GrowSurf (API-first, custom triggers, server-side tracking)” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“SaaS? GrowSurf. ... Server-side attribution (handles ad-blockers/ITP) ... Great for startups.” Grok 4.1 Fast · comparative prompt · first choice
What the models said about ReferralCandy
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“"Consumer-first tools like ReferralCandy and Viral Loops fail B2B programs because they track by user ID, not org, and have no CRM integration for sales-led funnels."” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“be especially cautious. ReferralCandy records a reward when a transaction is confirmed and stops there—no subscription event model exists” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“ReferralCandy's published plans combine a monthly fee with a success fee, so model the total cost at your expected referral revenue—not just the starting price.” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“the best referral software is usually ReferralCandy if you run an ecommerce store, or GrowSurf if you want a lower-cost, more flexible referral/affiliate option” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · first choice
“If you have an online store (Shopify/WooCommerce): Start with ReferralCandy for simplicity” Qwen 3.7 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“start with ReferralCandy or FirstPromoter for their low monthly costs and free trials” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
PartnerStack vs GrowSurfPartnerStack vs ReferralCandyReferral Rock vs GrowSurfReferral Rock vs ReferralCandySmile.io vs GrowSurfSmile.io vs ReferralCandyGrowSurf vs CelloGrowSurf vs FriendbuyGrowSurf vs AmbassadorReferralCandy vs CelloReferralCandy vs FriendbuyReferralCandy vs AmbassadorAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full referrals standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.