Affiliate networkViralPayouts vs AvantLink
ViralPayouts has no monthly fee, pays your affiliates for you and pays recruiters on every program. You pay 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3%, and nothing in a month when nobody sells. AvantLink also pays affiliates for you and does not say it has two-tier recruiting. It costs $0 to $4,000 a month.
Every figure for AvantLink comes from its own pages or named review sites, checked 12 October 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.
Why brands pick ViralPayouts over AvantLink
Best fit: A brand (especially digital or subscription) that wants transparent fees, payouts handled and recruiter-driven partner growth.
- $0 a month
No plan and no setup fee. 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3% at $10,000 a month.
- Payouts done for you
One invoice per program. ViralPayouts sends every partner and recruiter their money and collects tax forms.
- Recruiters built in
Customer links and recruit links on every program, with the override set your way and reversed on refunds.
Side by side
| AvantLink | ViralPayouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 to $4,000 a monthTerm: None for the network itself; managed services have 3-month (Starter), 6/9/12-month (Plus) or annual (Premier) contracts | $0 a month. 10% of what you pay partners, falling to 3% at $10,000 a month. |
| Setup fee | FAQ: "Brands are responsible for a one-time integration free" (garbled; amount/meaning unclear) | None |
| Fee for paying affiliates | Not stated | Included in the fee above: no charge to the brand for sending payoutsPartners pay Whop's own fee when they withdraw to their bank |
| Pays your affiliates for you | Yesvia AvantLink ("AvantLink pays affiliates on your behalf") | Yes You fund by bank transfer; we pay every partner |
| Two-tier recruiting | Not stated | Yes Two levels on every program: share of commission, share of sale or fixed. Paid on approved sales, never sign-ups |
| Public program directory | Yes"more than 2,000 premium advertisers" claimed programs | Yes Partners browse and join with one account |
| Tracking | tracking scripts via e-commerce platform integration; AvantMetrics clickstream attribution; custom link builder, bookmarklet, link encoder; daily product data feeds | First-party links with click IDs, signed server-to-server events, Stripe Checkout webhook |
| Coupon tracking | Not stated | Yes A code per partner, per program |
| Mobile app tracking | Not stated | App installs, sign-ups and purchases reported from your server through the signed event API, with bounties on them. No SDK to ship in your app. |
| API, webhooks, MCP | API | REST API for brands and partners with an OpenAPI spec, an MCP server for AI agents, a signed event API and partner postbacks |
| Integrations | Requires integration with the brand's e-commerce platform (platforms not named), API for reports, campaigns and data feeds, Insights Tag Management for tech-partner scripts | Stripe Checkout, Shopify orders, any backend via the event API |
AvantLink plans in full
- Network (self-managed): $0 a month. FAQ: "There are no monthly fees or hidden costs." Brands pay commissions on sales; network fee/override not published
- Starter (Merchant Activation Program): $1000 a month. Optional launch support; 3-month minimum
- Plus (Ongoing Merchant Managed Services): $2000 a month. Optional managed services; 6/9/12-month blocks
- Premier (Annual Merchant Managed Services): $4000 a month. Optional managed services; annual contract
Where ViralPayouts comes out ahead of AvantLink
What AvantLink offers
US, Canadian and Australian e-commerce merchants (strongest in outdoor, sports and specialty retail such as REI, Trek, Stanley, Helly Hansen) that want a curated, vetted publisher network; plus affiliates/content sites in those niches.
Affiliate network · G2 4 (8 reviews)
Why ViralPayouts is the better choice
- Published fee (10% falling to 3% of partner payouts) versus an unpublished network fee
- Built-in recruiter overrides so partners can grow the programme; AvantLink describes none
- Server-to-server event API and Stripe Checkout webhook suit SaaS/digital brands, not just e-commerce carts
- Open to any vertical and region, not tied to outdoor/specialty retail
What AvantLink users say
Paraphrased from public reviews. Follow each link to read the original.
Praise
About AvantLink
- In their words:
- "The People Platform"
- Company:
- Founded Not stated exactly; site says it is "celebrating 20 years in business" · US-based (city not stated on fetched pages) · "Independently owned"; CEO Scott Kalbach
- Funding:
- Describes itself as consistently profitable; no outside funding stated
- Named customers:
- Nike (new advertiser, June), REI, Trek Bicycle, Stanley, Helly Hansen
- Website:
- avantlink.com
Try ViralPayouts on test money
Set your commission and recruiter override, see what each sale costs you, and run it on the test network before a real partner joins. No monthly fee.
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AvantLink is a trademark of its owner. ViralPayouts is not affiliated with AvantLink. Prices and features change: check avantlink.com before you decide. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.