ReferralCandy vs Friendbuy
Zero of fourteen models named ReferralCandy first on the direct prompt; one named Friendbuy. Both were named by all fourteen models and ReferralCandy carries 39 labels and Friendbuy 23, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in three categories this edition.
Palos Verdes Estates, United States, founded 2010. Named in two categories this edition.
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
ReferralCandyFirst choices, of fourteen modelsFriendbuy
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, ReferralCandy and Friendbuy were named in the same answer sixty-seven times, of the 178 answers naming ReferralCandy and the 127 naming Friendbuy. In those answers Friendbuy took the first choice six times and ReferralCandy seven.
Every model, every framing
| 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 | | | |
ReferralCandy Friendbuy first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, ReferralCandy on the left and Friendbuy on the right.The direct prompt
Friendbuy first, ReferralCandy not the choice
1 of 14 modelsReferralCandy was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Neither was named
11 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.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
ReferralCandy12%#3 of 10Friendbuy0%#10 of 10ReferralCandy6%#5 of 15Friendbuy4%#7 of 15Friendbuy6%#5 of 12ReferralCandy0%#12 of 12What 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
What the models said about Friendbuy
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“Use Referral Factory or Friendbuy if you want a customer referral program that is relatively easy to launch and optimize.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“Friendbuy - Best for mid-market and enterprise eCommerce brands that want customization and testing.” Llama 4 Maverick · direct prompt · first choice
“Popular picks like Friendbuy or Talkable excel for enterprises” Grok 4.1 Fast · scale prompt · first choice
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.