AffiliateWP Alternative: Meet AffiliatePress (Is It Really Better?)

AffiliateWP is a great choice when you want to automate affiliate registration and payments on your WordPress site, whether it’s a store or online school.

But in the modern economy, things develop quickly. New, smarter, and more powerful tools are emerging at a more acceptable cost.

AffiliatePress, the brand new, revolutionary affiliate manager for WordPress, has reasonable grounds to make to your list for 2026 and beyond. Here I explain why it solves some affiliate management tasks and issues better and quite often easier than plugins like AffiliateWP.

Let’s dive into the key capabilities of one of the best AffiliateWP alternatives in the WordPress market.

Before that, we’re starting with…

Limitations of AffiliateWP – Does AffiliatePress Solve Them?

Well, the AffiliateWP plugin’s got tons of tools we like. However, you already know that AffiliateWP license levels can be confusing, let alone expensive to pay each year, especially if you manage several sites. To be more precise, we find the following AffiliateWP limitations to be real obstacles for a small company to start an affiliate program:

• Many conversion boosting features are locked in more expensive plans.
• The affiliate dashboard and designs/default UI settings are not made for the current day.
• Caching and tracking sometimes need special configuration to work properly with AffiliateWP accurately.

Modern affiliate programs need more flexible dashboards, powerful commission and tracking options, and a cost a small business can afford!

To get deeper into the details of how it compares to AffiliatePress, let’s compare these popular affiliate management WordPress plugins with a magnifying glass in the next part.

What Makes AffiliatePress a More Attractive Option?

Before we compare more features, AffiliatePress needs a bit of a more detailed intro.

AffiliatePress is already packed with all types of integration, flexible commission control, instant payouts, and real-time tracking from the initial version.

It’s made to work well with WooCommerce, LearnDash, MemberPress, SureCart, and 20+ other WordPress plugins. I‘m sure one of them most likely powers your WordPress site. You don’t need to rebuild your store or courses.

1. More flexible control over commission strategies

Set per-product, tiered, performance-based, or lifetime commissions, and motivate affiliates with custom reward systems.

2. Automated payouts

Be on good terms with your affiliates, thanks to affiliate payouts directly through PayPal or Stripe in just a few clicks.

3. Benchmark tracking and fraud detection

Affiliates can monitor their clicks, sales, and commissions in real time. You just need to track top performers and let the plugin automatically detect suspicious activity with fraud detection.

4. Branded promo materials & consistent messaging

AffiliatePress gives you a dashboard to upload pre-made banners, coupon codes, manage QR codes, and run branded landing pages. It’s not just for automated affiliate registration, but for smoother marketing.

5. Beautiful onboarding

New affiliates receive instant access to a professional dashboard with links, creatives, and detailed performance data. Automated welcome emails and personalized sign-up forms make onboarding really professional.

You get all that with no hidden fees – all the essentials packed in affordable and clear pricing, with a free version available. Let’s now take a look at AffiliatePress as one of the AffiliateWP alternatives by comparing key features.

AffiliateWP vs AffiliatePress: Key Tools Compared

Let’s compare the most significant tools in these WordPress affiliate plugins and analyze the cost of these functionalities. So, will you get the essentials at the right cost?

1. Key Features

Real-time reporting, customizable affiliate registration, and smooth onboarding are all provided by both plugins, although sometimes at different pricing levels.

Both affiliate manager plugins support:

• Coupon tracking.
• Cookies.
• Direct links tracking.
• Tiered affiliate rates.

Key Features	AffiliateWP	AffiliatePress
Unlimited affiliates & referrals	Yes	Yes
Affiliate approval	Manual or automatic	Manual or automatic
Affiliate groups	Yes	Yes
Affiliate accounts	Yes	Yes
Affiliate registration	Admin-added, self-registration	Admin-added, self-registration
Automated emails	Yes	Yes
Commission setup	Multi-level, tired, recurring, performance-based (Some are only for PRO)	Multi-level, tired, recurring, performance-based
Tracking	Direct link (Only in PRO)	All types
Performance bonus	No	Yes
Signup bonus	Yes	Yes
Per-affiliate settings	Yes	Yes
QR codes	Yes (Only in PRO)	Yes
Affiliate landing pages	Yes (Only in PRO)	Yes
One-click payouts	Stripe and PayPal	Stripe and PayPal
Manual payout	Yes	Yes
Affiliate forms	Yes	Advanced customization
Fraud prevention	Varies by plan	Built-in
Free version	No	Yes

When you create a new user, you can set up commission rates, affiliate onboarding, and tons of other settings with either plugin. Both also offer tools to create affiliate registration forms and allow people to register by themselves.

Payouts are quite similar, although the experience may vary slightly due to differences in the user interface.

Multi-tier commissions and discounts on AffiliateWP are only accessible through premium affiliate growth add-ons bundled with the most expensive plans, while there are no limitations or hidden costs in AffiliatePress.

2. Integrations Comparison

Moreover, this type of plugin is highly dependent on the ecosystem of integrations with other tools to be truly called the powerhouse for affiliate management!

First of all, it should be easily connected to your e-commerce solution, whether you sell handmade items with WooCommerce or content subscriptions with ARMember.

Above that, to upsell, establish communications, and take payments, you need further reliable connections. Can AffiliateWP alternatives like AffiliatePress perform better here? Of course – compare integrations below.

Integration type	AffiliateWP	AffiliatePress
E-Commerce	WooCommerceWP EasyCartEasy Digital DownloadsUpsell Plugins	WooCommerceSureCartEasy Digital DownloadsWP EasyCart
Membership Plugins	MemberPressPaid Member SubscriptionsARMemberPaid Memberships PRO	ARMemberMemberPressPaid Memberships ProUltimate Membership ProRestrict Content ProSimple MembershipPaid Member Subscriptions
LMS (Learning Management Systems)	LearnDashTutorLMSLifterLMS	LearnDashLifterLMSMasteriyo LMSLearnPress
Form Builder Plugins	WPFormsGravity FormsFormidable FormsNinjaForms	WPFormsGravity FormsNinjaFormsARForms
Payments	WP Simple PayPayPalGiveWPSendOwl	StripeWP Simple PayGetPaidGiveWPPayPal
Others	GamiPressElementorNovashareActiveCampaignAdvancedStatisticsConvertKitSproutInvoicesSendyMailchimpIf-SoEventEspresso	BookingPressDownload ManagerAWeber (with paid plan), Mailchimp (with paid plan), Mailerlite (with paid plan), Omnisend (with paid plan)

Luckily, in AffiliatePress, these integrations are available in all plans (including the free plugin) of the compared affiliate manager plugins.

You may notice small differences in the integration availability.

AffiliatePress is better optimized for content sellers, memberships, educational platforms, and subscriptions. On the contrary, given the long history of development, AffiliateWP provides more specific integrations that only a few scenarios might need.

AffiliateWP vs AffiliatePress: Pricing Compared

The difference between the features of these two affiliate management plugins is almost negligible. But the real game changer is the pricing. That’s what can either hold back a new business from launching its affiliate program or give it the perfect push to get started. Here’s a quick pricing comparison to show you what we mean.

Plan Detail	AffiliateWP	AffiliatePress	Sites Allowed
Free Plan	Not Available	Available	Unlimited
Entry-level Plan	Offer Price: $149.50/year Renewal Price: $299/year	Offer Price: $79/year Renewal Price: $79/year	1
Mid-tier Plan	Offer Price: $199.50/year Renewal Price: $399/year	Offer Price: $129/year Renewal Price: $129/year	3
Top-tier Plan	Offer Price: $299.50/year Renewal Price: $599/year	Offer Price: $249/year Renewal Price: $249/year	10
Money-Back Guarantee	14 days	14 days	–
Core Features Available	Paid plans only	Many in Free	–

As we’ve seen, even though there isn’t much difference in features, there’s a significant price gap between AffiliateWP and AffiliatePress, especially in the entry-level plan, which is the most crucial for any business starting its affiliate program.

Also, AffiliateWP has a higher renewal price, and most of its core features are only available in the higher-tier plans. Now the choice is yours, which one truly offers better value for your business?

Concluding: AffiliateWP Alternatives Worth Giving a Try

At first glance, AffiliatePress, the newer AffiliateWP alternative, is very similar to its competitor in terms of how well it handles the entire circle, from affiliate registration to tracking, payouts, and commission setup. Even the list of e-commerce and payment gateway integrations is very similar. This means you can build your affiliate empire with all the cards in your hands using either plugin.

But the most important difference is, all the features and integrations are not that costly with AffiliatePress, giving tons of the same opportunities to budget-friendly businesses, smaller stores, and solo entrepreneurs.

In fact, even the AffiliatePress Professional plan for $129, which covers 3 domains, includes all the features that AffiliateWP unlocks only in high tiers, starting at $299 per year (a costly investment even for developers). What’s more, AffiliatePress even gives you a plain sailing with a free version, which you can run and test on your WordPress starting today.

AffiliatePress is made to empower creators and stores on WordPress to scale up easier, making getting started with the affiliate program at a more affordable cost.

So, Try AffiliatePress Now.

Related articles:

• How to Start Affiliate Program for Digital Products (Guide)
• Top 7 Free WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins to Grow Sales
• Affiliate Marketing vs. Referral Marketing: See The Difference