# Referral Factory alternatives: what AI models name instead, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. 358 of the 432 answers in the 2 categories where Referral Factory 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/referral-factory/alternatives/

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

- Smile.io: 35
- Referral Rock: 24
- PartnerStack: 23
- Extole: 22
- Ambassador: 18
- Influitive: 18

## Loyalty, advocacy and referrals

**Small business**: 46 of 72 answers did not name Referral Factory (Referral Factory is #3 of 11 at 11%).

- Smile.io: first choice in 20 of those 46
- Referral Rock: first choice in 5 of those 46
- ReferralCandy: first choice in 2 of those 46
- BON Loyalty: first choice in 1 of those 46
- CustomerGauge: first choice in 1 of those 46
- FirstPromoter: first choice in 1 of those 46
- Loop.fans: first choice in 1 of those 46
- LoyaltyLion: first choice in 1 of those 46

**Mid-market**: 65 of 72 answers did not name Referral Factory (Referral Factory is #6 of 18 at 5%).

- Smile.io: first choice in 11 of those 65
- Referral Rock: first choice in 9 of those 65
- Influitive: first choice in 4 of those 65
- CustomerGauge: first choice in 2 of those 65
- GrowSurf: first choice in 2 of those 65
- LoyaltyLion: first choice in 2 of those 65
- Ambassador: first choice in 1 of those 65
- Bubblehouse: first choice in 1 of those 65

**Enterprise**: 68 of 72 answers did not name Referral Factory.

- Influitive: first choice in 11 of those 68
- Talon.One: first choice in 10 of those 68
- Extole: first choice in 9 of those 68
- Open Loyalty: first choice in 9 of those 68
- Annex Cloud: first choice in 6 of those 68
- Base.ai: first choice in 3 of those 68
- Voucherify: first choice in 3 of those 68
- Ambassador: first choice in 2 of those 68

## Referral and partner programs

**Small business**: 50 of 72 answers did not name Referral Factory (Referral Factory is #5 of 12 at 9%).

- PartnerStack: first choice in 7 of those 50
- ReferralCandy: first choice in 7 of those 50
- Referral Rock: first choice in 4 of those 50
- Smile.io: first choice in 4 of those 50
- GrowSurf: first choice in 3 of those 50
- Kiflo: first choice in 2 of those 50
- Rewardful: first choice in 2 of those 50
- Ambassador: first choice in 1 of those 50

**Mid-market**: 65 of 72 answers did not name Referral Factory (Referral Factory is #7 of 11 at 2%).

- PartnerStack: first choice in 9 of those 65
- ReferralCandy: first choice in 7 of those 65
- Referral Rock: first choice in 6 of those 65
- Ambassador: first choice in 4 of those 65
- Cello: first choice in 3 of those 65
- Viral Loops: first choice in 3 of those 65
- Extole: first choice in 2 of those 65
- FirstPromoter: first choice in 2 of those 65

**Enterprise**: 64 of 72 answers did not name Referral Factory (Referral Factory is #5 of 13 at 6%).

- Extole: first choice in 11 of those 64
- Ambassador: first choice in 10 of those 64
- PartnerStack: first choice in 7 of those 64
- Impartner: first choice in 5 of those 64
- Impartner PRM: first choice in 3 of those 64
- Influitive: first choice in 3 of those 64
- Salesforce PRM: first choice in 3 of those 64
- Cello: first choice in 2 of those 64

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