# Friendbuy alternatives: what AI models name instead, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. 385 of the 432 answers in the 2 categories where Friendbuy holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/vendors/friendbuy/alternatives/

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Referral Rock: 41
- Smile.io: 41
- ReferralCandy: 24
- PartnerStack: 20
- Referral Factory: 18
- Ambassador: 17

## Referral and partner programs

**Small business**: 69 of 72 answers did not name Friendbuy (Friendbuy is #11 of 12 at 0%).

- ReferralCandy: first choice in 12 of those 69
- Referral Rock: first choice in 10 of those 69
- PartnerStack: first choice in 7 of those 69
- Referral Factory: first choice in 6 of those 69
- FirstPromoter: first choice in 5 of those 69
- Smile.io: first choice in 5 of those 69
- GrowSurf: first choice in 3 of those 69
- Kiflo: first choice in 2 of those 69

**Mid-market**: 58 of 72 answers did not name Friendbuy (Friendbuy is #9 of 11 at 0%).

- PartnerStack: first choice in 9 of those 58
- Referral Rock: first choice in 6 of those 58
- ReferralCandy: first choice in 6 of those 58
- Ambassador: first choice in 4 of those 58
- Smile.io: first choice in 3 of those 58
- JourneyBee: first choice in 2 of those 58
- ReferralHero: first choice in 2 of those 58
- Viral Loops: first choice in 2 of those 58

**Enterprise**: 58 of 72 answers did not name Friendbuy (Friendbuy is #8 of 13 at 0%).

- Ambassador: first choice in 9 of those 58
- Extole: first choice in 4 of those 58
- Impartner: first choice in 4 of those 58
- PartnerStack: first choice in 4 of those 58
- Impartner PRM: first choice in 3 of those 58
- Referral Factory: first choice in 3 of those 58
- Referral Rock: first choice in 3 of those 58
- ERIN: first choice in 2 of those 58

## Loyalty, advocacy and referrals

**Small business**: 67 of 72 answers did not name Friendbuy (Friendbuy is #9 of 11 at 0%).

- Smile.io: first choice in 23 of those 67
- Referral Rock: first choice in 13 of those 67
- Referral Factory: first choice in 7 of those 67
- ReferralCandy: first choice in 6 of those 67
- CustomerGauge: first choice in 3 of those 67
- Cello: first choice in 2 of those 67
- BON Loyalty: first choice in 1 of those 67
- FirstPromoter: first choice in 1 of those 67

**Mid-market**: 67 of 72 answers did not name Friendbuy (Friendbuy is #15 of 18 at 0%).

- Smile.io: first choice in 10 of those 67
- Referral Rock: first choice in 9 of those 67
- Influitive: first choice in 5 of those 67
- Ambassador: first choice in 2 of those 67
- CustomerGauge: first choice in 2 of those 67
- GrowSurf: first choice in 2 of those 67
- Referral Factory: first choice in 2 of those 67
- Base.ai: first choice in 1 of those 67

**Enterprise**: 66 of 72 answers did not name Friendbuy (Friendbuy is #14 of 18 at 0%).

- Influitive: first choice in 9 of those 66
- Open Loyalty: first choice in 8 of those 66
- Extole: first choice in 7 of those 66
- Talon.One: first choice in 7 of those 66
- Annex Cloud: first choice in 6 of those 66
- Base.ai: first choice in 3 of those 66
- Voucherify: first choice in 3 of those 66
- Ambassador: first choice in 2 of those 66

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.