Affiliate marketing can boost earnings for both merchants and affiliates but platforms like ShareASale can be costly. That’s why affiliate plugins shine as a great alternative! These plugins allow businesses to create custom affiliate programs on their WordPress sites.

Bloggers and promoters can also use them to manage and track their affiliate links. In this article, we’ll cover what makes a good affiliate plugin and share the best options for everyone.

By the end, you’ll be ready to pick the right plugin and avoid common affiliate marketing mistakes!

This section highlights the best WordPress plugins for businesses to set up and manage their affiliate programs. Some plugins have free plans, while others are premium options.

1. Easy Affiliate Links

Easy Affiliate Links is a great plugin that will enable you to manage and trace affiliate links with ease. It shall help you to easily create, organize and share links with ease to ensure there is no hassle in maximizing your earning potentials.

Key Features of Easy Affiliate Links

• Click statistics and charts
• Automatic tooltip disclaimer
• Automatic text disclaimer
• Gutenberg Block Editor
• Import affiliate links from XML and CSV
• Ability to export your links to XML and CSV

Pros and Cons

Easy Affiliate Links is a user-friendly plugin Which makes managing and tracking affiliate links simple. It organizes links, allows for customizable pretty links and provides useful analytics.

However, it may lack some advanced features found in premium plugins and the free version has limitations. Additionally, customer support can be limited for free users.

2. ThirstyAffiliates

ThirstyAffiliates is a WordPress plugin which is very simplifies affiliate link management. It lets you cloak links, track clicks, and organize links easily, helping boost clicks and earnings. ThirstyAffiliates helps bloggers and marketers boost link clicks and revenue without hassle.

Key Features of ThirstyAffiliates

• Built In Affiliate Link Shortner/Link Cloaker
• Better Link Management
• Safe Redirects & Smart Uncloaking
• No Link Clashes or Database Bloat
• Click Statistics & Reports
• Automatic Keyword Linking
• Google Click Events
• CSV Import/Export
• Automatic Link Health Checker

Pros and Cons

ThirstyAffiliates helps WordPress users manage affiliate links by making them look clean and easy to track. It’s great for organizing links and boosting SEO. However, premium features need a paid version and it may not always work smoothly with other plugins.

3. WP Affiliate Manager

WP Affiliate Manager is a WordPress plugin that helps businesses run affiliate programs easily. It allows tracking affiliate performance, managing payments and integrates with popular e-commerce tools—making it a simple choice for boosting sales through affiliate marketing.

Key Features of WP Affiliate Manager Plugin

• Affiliate Tracking
• Referral Link Generation
• Affiliate Dashboard
• Unlimited Creatives and Ads for your Affiliates
• Referral Link Generator
• Set Cookie Duration

Pros and Cons

WP Affiliate Manager is great for setting up affiliate programs with easy tracking and e-commerce integration. However, advanced features may need technical skills and it might not fit very complex programs.

4. YITH WooCommerce Affiliates

YITH WooCommerce Affiliates Plugin runs an affiliate program inside a WooCommerce store, creating referral links, tracking sales, calculating commissions with ease and increasing sales.

Key Features of YITH WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins

• Commission Tracking and Management
• Affiliate Registration and Management
• Affiliate Dashboard
• Multilingual and Multicurrency Support
• Integration with Other YITH Plugins
• Detailed Reporting and Analytics
• Customizable Referral Settings

Pros and Cons

The YITH WooCommerce Affiliates Plugin offers strong tools for affiliate management, with easy commission tracking, real-time dashboards and flexible payouts. It integrates well with other YITH plugins, making it ideal for boosting sales.

However, it can be complex for beginners and some advanced features need other YITH plugins.

5. AffiliateWP

AffiliateWP is an easy-to-use WordPress plugin which allows a business to build manage and operate an affiliate program. It integrates very well with WooCommerce and MemberPress.

It’s extending the capacity of online stores to grow in visits and sales by simply using the way forward with affiliates promoting their products.

Key Features of AffiliateWP

• Real-Time Affiliate Tracking
• Customizable Affiliate Commissions
• Automatic and Manual Affiliate Approval
• Affiliate Management Dashboard
• Fraud Prevention and Security
• Add-On Support for Advanced Features

Pros and Cons

AffiliateWP is user-friendly and works smoothly with popular online stores. It tracks affiliate performance in real-time and allows you to customize commission rates. Affiliates get an easy-to-use dashboard and the plugin includes fraud protection.

However, it does require a subscription fee which can be expensive for small businesses. Some advanced features cost extra and new users might find the setup a bit challenging.

6. Post Affiliate Pro

Post Affiliate Pro is powerful customizable affiliate management software designed to help businesses grow their affiliate programs easily. With tools for tracking, managing and optimizing. It works well for both small startups and large enterprises.

Key Features of Post Affiliate Pro

• Advanced Tracking Options
• Customizable Commissions & Payment Options
• Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics
• Multi-Language and Multi-Currency Support
• Fraud Detection and Security

Pros and Cons

Post Affiliate Pro offers a highly customizable platform with detailed tracking, integration options and affiliate tools that suit businesses of all sizes. It integrates easily with popular eCommerce and CMS platforms, making setup straightforward for companies looking to scale.

The software’s extensive features may feel complex for beginners and require some time to learn. The interface can be overwhelming initially, which might slow down onboarding for new users.

7. SliceWp

SliceWP is a great WP plugin for affiliate marketing, through which one can easily create and manage affiliate programs. This plugin has been designed with an aim to look ahead towards unlocking the powers of affiliate marketing for both customer and sales acquisition.

Key Features of SliceWp

• User-Friendly Setup
• Comprehensive Tracking
• Customizable Commission Structures
• Reporting and Analytics

Pros and Cons

SliceWP is easy to use, with flexible commission options and strong tracking tools for monitoring affiliate performance. While effective for most needs, advanced features require a paid plan and as a newer plugin, it lacks some features of established competitors.

8. Solid Affiliate

Solid Affiliate is a comprehensive WordPress plugin designed for managing affiliate programs directly within WooCommerce. It’s known for its simplicity, powerful integrations and a one-time purchase pricing model.

Key Features of Solid Affiliate

• Seamless WooCommerce Integration
• Flexible Commission Structures
• Built-In Fraud Protection
• Real-Time Tracking
• One-Time Payment Model

Pros and Cons

Solid Affiliate is a WooCommerce-friendly plugin with a one-time fee. It has flexible commissions and easy integration. If it’s budget-friendly and simple to use, it lacks advanced features and non-WooCommerce integrations.

9. Ultimate Affiliate Pro

Ultimate Affiliate Pro is the most popular WordPress plugin which assists businesses in easily setting up and managing affiliate programs. Highly versatile with support for leading platforms such as WooCommerce.

It boasts a wide range of features that can be used to fit the different needs of the business in terms of creating affiliate programs.

Key Features of Ultimate Affiliate Pro

• Flexible Commission Structures
• Built-In Bonuses and Ranks
• Coupon Code Tracking
• Multi-Language Support and Integrations
• Advanced Referral Tracking

Pros and Cons

Ultimate Affiliate Pro provides extensive customization, robust tracking, and affordable one-time pricing, making it a solid choice for flexible affiliate management.

However, its range of features can lead to a complex setup for beginners and some users feel support could be more responsive.

10. Pretty Links

Pretty Links is a WordPress plugin designed to help you cloak and track affiliate links, keeping your URLs cleaner and branded. It’s ideal for managing your links but lacks many features offered by a full affiliate program, such as payouts.

Key Features of Pretty Links

• Link cloaking, redirection, and shortening.
• Tracking and reporting tools to see clicks and conversion rates.
• Automated link replacements within your content.
• Integrates well with WooCommerce.

Pros and Cons

Pretty Links cleans up affiliate links with cloaking, shortening, auto-linking and some very basic tracking.

On the flip side, it’s a link manager only and doesn’t have functionality to run a full affiliate program. Advanced features are only in the paid version, which may not be ideal for smaller sites.

11. Tapfiliate

Tapfiliate is an affiliate management tool on the cloud, integrated with WooCommerce, Shopify, offering customized links, multi-tier commissions and automatic payouts.

Key Features of Tapfiliate

• Performance Tracking
• Automated Payouts
• Referral Program Capabilities
• Customizable Dashboards
• Fraud Detection

Pros and Cons

With Tapfiliate, easy integrations are possible. It supports WooCommerce and Shopify for customizable links, multi-tier commissions and automated payouts that keep your affiliates in order.

This is not a free tool. it may be overbudget for smaller businesses. Some might find a bit of a learning curve with Tapfiliate.

Some Common FAQ about Affiliate Plugins

1. What is an affiliate plugin?

– It is called an affiliate plugin because it is designed to help run affiliate marketing. Examples include AffiliateWP, which handles tracking and organizing of affiliate programs.

2. How to Choose the Right Plugin for Affiliate?

– Consider your needs, for link management, Pretty Links is great, while ThirstyAffiliates is ideal for bloggers.

3. Can I use affiliate plugins on any website?

-Most are designed for specific platforms. For instance, YITH WooCommerce Affiliates works with WooCommerce sites.

4. Do I need technical skills to use an affiliate plugin?

– No, many plugins are user-friendly. SliceWP is easy to set up, even for beginners.

5. Are affiliate plugins expensive?

-The cost of affiliate plugins varies. Some, like Affiliate Manager are free while others, like Ultimate Affiliate Pro, can range from $50 to $200 or more for advanced features. Always consider your budget and needs when choosing a plugin.

6. Can I track affiliate performance with these plugins?

-Yes, plugins like Tapfiliate provide detailed tracking and analytics for performance monitoring.

7. Do affiliate plugins help with affiliate payments?

-Yes, many such as AffiliateWP, support automatic payouts for affiliates.

8. Can I manage multiple affiliate programs with one plugin?

-Yes, plugins like Post Affiliate Pro allow management of multiple programs from a single dashboard.

9. Do any plugins support recurring commissions?

-Yes, AffiliateWP offers options for recurring commissions on subscription products.

10. Is customer support available for affiliate plugins?

-Yes, most premium plugins, like SliceWP, offer customer support and documentation.

Final Thought

Affiliate plugins are going to help you create and manage affiliate programs or links. In choosing a plugin, think of ease of use customization options and cost.

For beginners, SimpleWP is user-friendly, while Solid Affiliate has good support. For more advanced needs, Post Affiliate Pro and AffiliateWP are great choices. If you just need to manage links, ThirstyAffiliates offers good features at a fair price.

We hope this helps you find the right WordPress affiliate plugin for your needs. Good luck!