February 23, 2021
12min Read
Klara R.
Affiliate marketing is an excellent business strategy for increasing online sales. It is also an income-generating opportunity for individuals who want to make money online.
Business owners and bloggers can use WordPress affiliate plugins to automate affiliate marketing tasks and track performance.
In this article, you will discover the best affiliate plugins for tracking performance and increasing sales conversion rates. You will be able to choose from a list of free and paid plugins suitable for all levels.
Affiliate marketing is a process where businesses or merchants encourage people to market their products or services online in exchange for a commission.
Each business establishes its promotion and payment rules, developing an affiliate program. The people participating in the program are called affiliates.
Usually, affiliates create content such as articles, videos, and product reviews to promote the business. To keep track of the traffic and sales generated, each affiliate receives a unique referral link.
Depending on the program, the affiliate marketer will earn a commission for every sale or click made through the referral link.
But, as the number of affiliates and products in your program grows, it will be more and more challenging to monitor them. If you are an affiliate, you might also need tools to keep up with your referral links and market different products.
That’s where affiliate plugins come in handy.
Businesses can use affiliate plugins to track referrals, link clicks, and sales conversion rates. They are also useful for analyzing data and automating commission payouts.
For affiliates, installing plugins can help monitor referrals and provide marketing collateral such as banners and coupon codes.
Here are the best affiliate plugins available for WordPress websites.
Thirsty Affiliates is a popular WordPress plugin for managing affiliate links from different merchants.
Features and Pricing
A free version is available for anyone who wants a plugin for link cloaking and tracking.
For advanced features, users can upgrade to a premium version, starting at $49 per year. Premium plans come with a 14-day refund guarantee, WooCommerce integration, and advanced statistics reports.
This plugin is ideal for beginners with no coding experience and WordPress bloggers looking for an easy-to-use affiliate marketing tool.
Pretty Links is an affiliate link management tool that is ideal for affiliate marketers and bloggers of all levels. It allows users to customize link settings and make them more presentable.
Features and Pricing
One of the best WordPress affiliate plugins available, it is free to download with an option to upgrade to a Pro plan, starting at $49 per year.
With the Pro version, users can integrate Google Analytics, get sales reports, and customize link settings. It also includes content automation, which analyzes website content and automatically adds affiliate links to keywords, saving you time and effort.
Affiliates Manager is a WordPress plugin that focuses on increasing sales through affiliate programs.
Features and Pricing
You can download this tool for free. To access technical support and tutorials, you can upgrade to a premium plan, starting at $39 per year for a single site.
If you want to use this software for multiple WordPress websites, the Developer License is available for $97 per year.
This is one of the best WordPress plugins for beginners, as it is easy to set up and offers robust services at an affordable price.
Ideal for small to medium enterprises, the Affiliates plugin offers robust features to manage your affiliate program. It is also suitable for those who want a free WordPress affiliate plugin with upgradable resources.
Features and Pricing
This is a free WordPress affiliate plugin. However, users can upgrade to a premium version, which starts at $49 per year for a single site. It offers customizable commission rates, discount codes, and automated commission payouts.
YITH WooCommerce Affiliates is one of the best affiliate plugins for eCommerce businesses. It is an excellent option for store owners looking for a user-friendly yet powerful affiliate management tool.
Features and Pricing
YITH WooCommerce Affiliates is available for download at no cost, but it also offers a premium version, starting at $99.99 per year.
The premium plan includes custom commissions, social sharing of affiliate links, and coupon creation in addition to the free features. Moreover, affiliate managers can access detailed statistics such as page views, link clicks, and conversion data.
Auto Affiliate Links is a plugin that lets users automatically add affiliate links to keywords of their choice.
It is one of the few WordPress plugins supporting affiliate networks like Amazon, Clickbank, ShareASale, and eBay.
Features and Pricing
You can download Auto Affiliate Links for free, with an option to upgrade to Auto Affiliate Link Pro starting at $29 per year. The premium version provides affiliate link statistics and full control over link display settings.
This affiliate WordPress plugin is best for marketers who are part of multiple affiliate programs.
WordPress Affiliates by SliceWP is one of the best WordPress tools to help you manage your affiliate program.
Features and Pricing
This plugin is free to download with an option to upgrade to a premium plan, starting at $99 per year.
Premium plans offer access to a dedicated support team and a 30-day refund guarantee. It also provides tools such as social share buttons for affiliate links, coupon creation, and real-time data reporting.
The Affiliates plugin by SliceWP is an efficient affiliate management system that will help small to medium enterprises grow their business. It is among the best WordPress affiliate plugins due to its comprehensive services.
Affiliates Coupons is a plugin suitable for users of all levels, especially for affiliates looking to increase their gains with coupon programs.
Features and Pricing
The plugin is free to download with an option to upgrade to premium plans, which start at $29 per year and can be canceled or upgraded at any time.
Premium plans come with automatic plugin updates, email support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can also customize the coupon settings and access affiliate statistics.
Users who require advanced features for their WordPress website might need to buy premium plugins. Here are some of the best paid WordPress affiliate plugins you can use to grow your business.
AffiliateWP offers a variety of tools to help increase sales through an affiliate marketing program.
Features and Pricing
Users can choose from three paid plans that come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Starting at $149 per year plans also include regular updates and email support. Besides, users can offer a registration bonus and pay affiliates with store credit.
AffiliateWP is ideal for agencies and businesses looking for a robust affiliate management system, as it also provides custom plans.
Amazon Auto Links helps marketers automatically place their Amazon affiliate links on their WordPress site.
Features and Pricing
Amazon Auto Links is free to download, but users can upgrade to Amazon Auto Links Pro. Starting at $57.98 per year, the plans give access to an unlimited number of categories and products.
The Pro version also comes with a multiple-column template, advanced search options, and one year of technical support and plugin updates.
This plugin is ideal for Amazon affiliate members looking for an easy way to add products to their WordPress site.
AdSanity is one of the best WordPress affiliate plugins for displaying ad banners on your WordPress site.
Features and Pricing
This plugin has three paid plans, with prices starting at $49 per year. Users can begin with the basic plan and upgrade to access all additional add-ons, such as ad-block detection, a rotating ad widget, custom ad sizes, and ad impressions.
AdSanity is best for individuals looking for a lightweight yet powerful ad management tool for affiliate marketing.
ReferralCandy for WooCommerce is an affiliate plugin that allows customers to refer people to your store through social channels.
Features and Pricing
There are two paid plans available with a 30-day risk-free trial. Note that the rates start at $49 per month but do not include the plugin’s commission.
ReferralCandy is perfect for large eCommerce stores looking to reward their customers by offering referral incentives.
Post Affiliate Pro is a WordPress affiliate plugin ideal for tracking and managing affiliate referrals.
Features and Pricing
Post Affiliate Pro plans start at $97 per month with a 14-day free trial. There are no set up fees and subscription plans can be canceled anytime. They all come with customer support and can accommodate unlimited affiliates.
Post Affiliate Pro is ideal for enterprises that need a robust affiliate manager plugin.
Affiliate Royale is a popular WordPress tool for tracking affiliate performance.
Features and Pricing
Users can choose between two paid plans starting at $85 per year, with no transaction or affiliate payment fees. The plans also come with one year of customer support and plugin updates.
This plugin is best for affiliate managers and eCommerce site builders.
Refer a Friend for WooCommerce is an affiliate WordPress plugin that encourages customers to promote your website.
Features and Pricing
This plugin is available for free but with limited options. Users can upgrade to one of the premium plans to access more features, with prices starting at $47 per year.
The premium plans include customizable coupons, free plugin updates, one year of customer support, and advanced statistics reporting.
Refer a Friend for WooCommerce is ideal for eCommerce store owners looking to increase their sales and develop customer loyalty.
To get started with affiliate plugins, here’s what you need to do.
The best WordPress affiliate plugin will depend on the objectives and requirements of your affiliate program. Some WordPress affiliate plugins offer a comprehensive affiliate manager system, while others focus on link management and marketing collaterals.
The main goal of affiliate marketing is to increase online visibility and generate revenue, so choose an affiliate plugin that provides real-time data analytics for tracking affiliate referrals and sales conversion rates.
Before committing to a yearly fee, it’s a good idea to explore what the free WordPress affiliate plugins have to offer.
Upload the affiliate plugin to your WordPress dashboard and activate it. Most WordPress affiliate plugins offer one-click installation to make this process more convenient.
Configure settings for affiliate registration, cookie duration, affiliate links, and commission payouts. Some plugins even allow you to customize the affiliate manager dashboard.
Depending on the plugin, remember to integrate tools such as Google Analytics for proper link monitoring.
Build an affiliate network by asking previous customers to refer people to your website. Customers are ideal affiliates because they already have experience with your brand and can offer personal insights when promoting products.
Another way to find new affiliates is by partnering with social media influencers in your niche. Since the influencer’s audience trusts their opinion, they can also be effective marketers. Moreover, influencers create engaging content, which is useful for increasing brand reach.
There are many WordPress plugins available, but to narrow down your choices, here are some features to look for.
We have learned about great WordPress affiliate plugins you can use for your business, ranging from management to tracking tools.
To recap, here are the best free affiliate plugins:
For premium services, here are the top seven affiliate plugins:
We hope that this list will help you find the perfect plugin for your marketing strategy.
Looking for more guides on WordPress plugins? Check out these:
15+ of the Very Best WordPress Plugins
15 Best WordPress Donation Plugins
13 Best WordPress Search Plugins
Don’t have a WordPress website yet? Create it with Hostinger, it’s simple.
June 30 2020
Can a single affiliate program plugin be used for different websites?
Tomislav T.
Replied on July 07 2020
Hey Dev! The capabilities of each plugins may differ a bit, so I'd recommend checking the details of each plugin you are interested in with the plugin creator :) All of the plugins have contact list which you can use for this purpose.