Rewardful vs Tolt vs FirstPromoter vs Dub: Which Affiliate Platform Fits an AI Startup?
Disclosure: Speria Scaling is an agency that builds affiliate programs and produces UGC for SaaS and AI startups. We wrote this, and we've tried to keep it neutral. No vendor paid to be included, and this page has no affiliate links.
Prices and terms checked: October 6, 2026
For most early-stage AI tools, start with Tolt or FirstPromoter. Tolt ($69–$199 a month) files 1099s on Growth plans and up. FirstPromoter ($49–$149) supports the most billing systems. Rewardful ($49–$149+) charges no transaction fee. Dub ($90–$300) handles payouts and 1099-NEC forms for a 5% bank payout fee. Prices checked October 6, 2026.
Key takeaways
- Pick by billing system first. FirstPromoter connects to Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree. Tolt and Rewardful fit Stripe and Paddle.
- Tolt, FirstPromoter and Rewardful cap plans by affiliate-attributed revenue, not total MRR. Dub caps partner payouts.
- If you want US tax forms handled for you, look at Tolt Growth or Dub.
- The software is the easy part. In Rewardful's 2026 report, 56% of programs have fewer than 50 affiliates.
- Prices change often. Recheck each vendor's page the day you buy.
Quick pick by situation
| Your situation | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe only, want the lowest fee load | Rewardful | 0% transaction fee on every plan |
| Stripe or Paddle, want payouts and 1099s handled | Tolt Growth ($99) | Collects W-9/W-8 forms and files 1099s; 2% auto-payout fee |
| Billing on Chargebee, Recurly or Braintree | FirstPromoter | All five billing systems on every plan |
| Want a branded affiliate portal on a budget | FirstPromoter Business ($99) | Own dashboard domain, custom CSS, powered-by link removed |
| Want payouts, tax forms and risk tools in one place | Dub | W-9, W-8 and 1099-NEC handled; 5% bank payout fee |
| Sales-led B2B with resellers and a partner team | PartnerStack or impact.com | Built for larger partner programs |
Side-by-side comparison
| Tolt | FirstPromoter | Rewardful | Dub Partners | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $69 / $99 / $199 / custom | $49 / $99 / $149 | $49 / $99 / $149+ | $90 / $300 / custom |
| Plan cap | $10k / $20k / $50k affiliate revenue a month | $5k / $15k / above $15k affiliate revenue a month | $7.5k / $15k / $30k (entry Enterprise) affiliate revenue a month | $2.5k / $15k partner payouts a month; unlimited on Enterprise |
| Extra fees | 2% on auto payouts | None listed | 0% transaction fee; optional managed payouts at 3% | 5% payout fee by bank, 8% by card (Enterprise 3% / 6%) |
| Billing systems | Stripe, Paddle (Chargebee: see Tolt section) | Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly, Braintree | Stripe, Paddle | Stripe and Shopify native; others via server-side SDK |
| Tax forms | Collects W-9/W-8, files 1099s (Growth and up) | Affiliates upload W-9/W-8BEN in the portal | Not listed on pricing page | Collects W-9/W-8, issues 1099-NEC |
Tolt
Tolt costs $69 a month for up to $10,000 of affiliate revenue, $99 for $20,000 and $199 for $50,000 (Tolt pricing). Basic is manual payouts only. Growth adds automatic payouts by PayPal, Wise, local bank, crypto or wire at a 2% processing fee, plus "Collecting W-9/W-8 forms and filing 1099s." White-label starts on Pro. Customers shown on Tolt's homepage include OpusClip, Exa, OpenArt, Vapi and Retell.
One caveat. Tolt's homepage says you can "Integrate Stripe, Paddle or Chargebee," but its pricing FAQ says you "can only integrate Tolt if your SaaS/app is using either Stripe or Paddle." On Chargebee, confirm with Tolt first.
FirstPromoter
FirstPromoter costs $49 (up to $5,000 a month of affiliate revenue), $99 (up to $15,000) and $149 (above $15,000) (FirstPromoter pricing). Every plan connects to Stripe, Paddle, Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree, with historical Stripe import when you migrate. The $99 Business plan adds your own dashboard domain and two workspaces.
Rewardful
Rewardful costs $49 (up to $7,500 a month in affiliate-attributed revenue), $99 (up to $15,000) and $149+ (up to $30,000 on the entry Enterprise tier) (Rewardful pricing). Every plan has a 0% transaction fee. Payouts run through PayPal or Wise; managed payouts are optional at 3%. Its integrations page names Stripe and Paddle. The pricing page doesn't mention tax forms, so ask how 1099s work before you choose it.
Dub Partners
Dub prices by partner payouts: $90 a month covers $2,500 in payouts and $300 covers $15,000 (Dub pricing). Payout fees are 5% by bank transfer and 8% by card (Dub payouts help). Dub collects W-9 and W-8 forms and issues 1099-NEC forms. Its help page still cites a $600 threshold; the IRS threshold is $2,000 for payments made in 2026 and later. Sale tracking is native for Stripe and Shopify; other billing systems use Dub's server-side SDK (Dub conversions).
What about PartnerStack and impact.com?
PartnerStack doesn't publish prices: "Your final plan and pricing are confirmed during your demo" (PartnerStack pricing). Vendr reports a median of $19,616 a year across 62 purchases (Vendr). impact.com has three plan tiers, starting at $30, $500 and $2,500 a month, plus a 2.5% fee on partner-driven transactions and a one-time setup fee (impact.com plans). Both suit sales-led B2B more than self-serve tools.
Also worth a look: PromoteKit (free up to 3 referrals, $29 Pro, Stripe only, 5% bank or 8% card on its one-click payouts) and Partnero ($59 or $199 monthly, no revenue caps, 7% on managed payouts).
Plan caps count affiliate revenue, not your MRR
Worked example. A tool at $50,000 MRR gets $7,500 a month from referred customers (15%, the low end of Rewardful's benchmark for established AI programs). At 25% commission, affiliates earn $1,875 a month.
| Platform | Plan that fits | Plan cost | Platform payout fee | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolt | Growth (auto payouts, 1099s) | $99 | 2% of $1,875 = $37.50 | $136.50 |
| FirstPromoter | Business ($15k cap) | $99 | None listed | $99 |
| Rewardful | Growth (the $49 plan's $7,500 cap leaves no headroom) | $99 | $0, or $56.25 with managed payouts | $99–$155.25 |
| Dub | Business ($2.5k payouts) | $90 | 5% of $1,875 = $93.75 | $183.75 |
So a $50k-MRR tool fits a plan around $99. Payment-provider fees are extra. For rates, see our commission benchmarks.
How we chose
We used only terms published on each vendor's pricing page and help docs on October 6, 2026. No ratings. We weighted billing fit, cost at small scale and tax handling. We recheck quarterly.
FAQ
It depends on billing. Tolt and Rewardful fit Stripe and Paddle. FirstPromoter adds Chargebee, Recurly and Braintree. Dub fits teams that want payouts and tax forms handled.
No. Tolt, FirstPromoter and Rewardful caps count affiliate-attributed revenue, so a tool with much larger MRR can sit on a mid-tier plan. Dub caps partner payouts.
Tolt (Growth and up) collects W-9/W-8 forms and files 1099s. Dub collects W-9s and issues 1099-NEC forms. FirstPromoter collects forms in its portal. Rewardful's pricing page doesn't list tax forms.
PartnerStack is quote-only, and Vendr reports a median of about $19,600 a year. It suits sales-led B2B more than self-serve tools.
Tolt's homepage lists Chargebee, but its pricing FAQ says Stripe or Paddle only. Confirm with Tolt before choosing it for a Chargebee setup.
Talk to us about scaling your tool with creators
Picking a platform takes an afternoon. Getting creators to promote through it is the real work, and it's where most programs stall (see how to start an affiliate program). Speria Scaling sets up the platform you choose, designs commissions and recruits the creators who already teach your users. See what's included or request a free teardown of your program.