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Index › Partner and channel › Referrals › Smile.io vs GrowSurf
Referral and partner programs · October 2026 Edition

Smile.io vs GrowSurf

Zero of fourteen models named Smile.io first on the direct prompt; zero named GrowSurf. Smile.io was named by ten of the fourteen models and GrowSurf by thirteen and Smile.io carries 10 labels and GrowSurf 23, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Smile.io

accepted challenger

Named in three categories this edition.

GrowSurf

accepted challenger

Named in two categories this edition.

First-choice share13%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 15; printed, not drawn.
Labels1023A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Smile.io 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 Smile.io · PartnerStack vs GrowSurf · Referral Rock vs Smile.io

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.
Smile.ioFirst choices, of fourteen modelsGrowSurf
Direct00
Paraphrase00
Comparative02
Budget-constrained731 against GrowSurf
Scale-constrained00
Negative003 against GrowSurf
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, Smile.io and GrowSurf were named in the same answer twenty-eight times, of the 125 answers naming Smile.io and the 91 naming GrowSurf. In those answers GrowSurf took the first choice four times and Smile.io fourteen.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Smile.io and GrowSurf stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
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
Smile.io GrowSurf first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Smile.io on the left and GrowSurf on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Smile.io and GrowSurf 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
Level: the same share of first choices.
Smile.io2%#– of 10
GrowSurf2%#8 of 10
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Smile.io leads by seven points.
Smile.io13%#3 of 15
GrowSurf6%#4 of 15
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
Smile.io0%#– of 12
GrowSurf0%#– of 12
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Smile.io

No label in this category carried a quote.

What 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
Also compared

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.