Can You Run Referrals and Affiliates Together?

Written by Joran Hofman, Founder of Reditus

Affiliate vs Referral ProgramsCan you run referrals and affiliates together SaaSSaaS referral vs affiliate combinedReferral and affiliate program strategyB2B SaaS dual growth channelsRun affiliate and referral programs side by side

Yes, and on Reditus that is the normal setup. Your in-app referral program and your affiliate program run on the same tracking script and the same cookie. So one signup is credited to one person: whoever's link was clicked last before the signup.

Who goes into which program

Your users go into the in-app referral program and become advocates. They get a reward you choose: credits, an extra trial period, a discount, money, or anything custom you grant through webhooks.
Consultants, agencies, partners and others who reach clients in bulk go into the affiliate program and earn commission on the paying customers they bring. That includes agencies and consultants who use your product themselves. They often get their own private tier.
Don't push partners into the in-app referral program. A one-off reward does not pay for the work a partner puts in.

We recommend launching both programs together and starting with your own network: see should you start with referrals or affiliates first?

How attribution works when both programs run

The same rule applies to advocate links and affiliate links:

The last click before signup wins. The Reditus cookie remembers the last link someone clicked. If they click an advocate's link and later an affiliate's link, the affiliate gets the referral. The other way around, the advocate gets it.
After signup, the referral never moves. Once someone has signed up, the referral stays with that advocate or affiliate. A customer who churns and comes back stays with them too.
A link beats a coupon code. The link is recorded at signup, the coupon code only at purchase. Someone who signed up through one affiliate's link stays with that affiliate, even if they later pay with another affiliate's code. Coupon-code tracking works with Stripe only.
No credit across devices. The cookie sits in the browser where the link was clicked, so we don't promise credit when someone switches devices.

The rule is the same for every program on Reditus.

Why one platform keeps this simple

When your referral program and your affiliate program run in two different tools, each tool sets its own cookie. The same signup can then show up in both, and you end up hunting for duplicates by hand before you pay anyone. With both programs on Reditus there is one script and one cookie, so a signup only counts once.

Companies that run both on Reditus

involve.me runs its affiliate program and its in-app referral program together, after a zero-downtime migration from Rewardful. Read the involve.me story.
Snitcher built a fully custom in-app referral program on the Reditus API in days and has enrolled 2,600+ advocates. It also runs an affiliate program on Reditus for agencies and bloggers. Read the Snitcher story.
TimelinesAI started by inviting its own network, then added affiliate recruitment, an in-app referral program and the HubSpot integration. Read the TimelinesAI story.
Woodpecker moved its in-house affiliate program to Reditus, and later found that Reditus already offered the in-app referral program a competitor was pitching, so it runs both in one place.

Keep the two offers apart

Show the referral widget inside your product, to your users.
Invite agencies, consultants and partners to your affiliate program directly, so they join on commission terms that fit their role.
Reward each group in its own way: advocates get rewards, affiliates earn commission. Don't mix the two in one offer.

FAQ: referrals and affiliates together

Will running both programs confuse people?

Not if each group sees its own program. Users find the referral program inside your product. Affiliates join through your program's landing page, your invite, or the marketplace if your program is listed there.

Can one signup be credited to both an advocate and an affiliate?

No. Both kinds of links use one cookie, so the last click before signup decides who gets the referral.

Which program should I launch first?

Launch both together and start with your own network. Growth includes both programs, so there is no reason to wait with one of them.

Does it cost extra to run both?

No. Both programs are included in every paid plan, starting with Growth, and you can set up both during the 14-day free trial.

Do the same-IP and same-email checks cover advocates too?

No. Reditus flags affiliate referrals from the same IP address or the same email address, but those checks don't apply to the in-app referral program, because Reditus doesn't always receive that information for advocates. Google paid-ads detection should cover advocates too, marking their referrals from Google ads as potential fraud. Tie advocate rewards to a new paid client rather than a signup.

How are cash rewards for advocates paid?

Exactly like affiliate payouts. Reditus can put both programs on one invoice or send two separate invoices.

Can I build the referral side in my own interface?

Yes. Use the Reditus widget, or build a fully custom and fully branded in-app referral program on the API, as Snitcher did. The affiliate program keeps running on the same tracking.

For how to design the referral side, see the referral strategy guide. Want to try both? Start a 14-day free trial, no credit card needed.