# Referral Rock vs Cello: which do AI models recommend for referrals, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Referral and partner programs. Six of fourteen models named Referral Rock first on the direct prompt; three named Cello. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/partner/referral-and-partner-programs/referral-rock-vs-cello/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referral Rock | 13% | #2 of 15 | 17% | 36 | 13 of 14 |
| Cello | 6% | #6 of 15 | 0% | 13 | 9 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- DeepSeek V4 Flash: both first (first choices: Cello, Referral Rock) (alternatives: Ambassador, GrowSurf, PartnerStack)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: referral rock first (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: GrowSurf, PartnerStack, Referral Factory, impact.com Advocate)
- Perplexity Sonar: referral rock first (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: Ambassador, CustomerGauge, GrowSurf, Referral Factory)
- Mistral Small: referral rock first (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: SaaSquatch)
- Kimi K2: referral rock first (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: FirstPromoter, PartnerStack)
- MiniMax M2.5: referral rock first (first choices: Referral Rock) (alternatives: Ambassador, Friendbuy, PartnerStack)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: cello first (first choices: Cello) (alternatives: Friendbuy, PartnerStack, Referral Rock)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: cello first (first choices: Cello) (alternatives: Ambassador, Extole, Referral Factory, Referral Rock)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Referral Factory) (alternatives: Ambassador, PartnerStack, Referral Rock, impact.com)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: Ambassador) (alternatives: PartnerStack, Referral Rock)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither first, one named (first choices: Friendbuy) (alternatives: Partnero, Referral Rock, SaaSquatch)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither first, one named (first choices: SaaSquatch) (alternatives: PartnerStack, Referral Rock)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Ambassador) (alternatives: Extole, PartnerStack, Partnerize, Referral Rock)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither named (first choices: PartnerStack) (alternatives: Cello.so, Partnero)

## What the models said about Referral Rock

- ""starts at $175/month flat rate. There is a mandatory onboarding fee on top of that... The interface has been consistently described by users as dated."" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Users report cumbersome reward management, dated/clunky admin UI, and manual processes when integrations aren't available" (Kimi K2, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Locked-In Enterprise Tiers with High Setup Fees: Examples: Referral Rock, SaaSquatch" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Best For: Mid-market B2B service companies and traditional B2B SaaS looking for direct Salesforce/HubSpot integrations and robust workflow automation." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Referral Rock is often the top recommendation due to its B2B focus and proven track record" (Mistral Small, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Cello

- "Best Overall: Cello ... For most mid-market B2B companies, Cello offers the best balance of features, pricing, and B2B-specific functionality" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, direct prompt, first choice)
- "If you're a B2B SaaS company where referrals happen inside the product, Cello is the clear winner" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Cello - Best for B2B SaaS" (Claude Haiku 4.5, direct prompt, first choice)

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. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.