Last updated October 2026
Roster beats UpPromote for any brand whose affiliate program is becoming a real channel. Roster never takes a cut of your sales, includes creator discovery instead of selling it as an add-on, and runs Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads, which UpPromote does not publish.
UpPromote charges 2%, 1.5% or 1% of approved referral sales on its paid plans, on top of the subscription, so the bill grows every month the program works. Its Creator Discovery costs extra from $39 a month, it is built for Shopify only, and it does not publish UGC rights, points, leaderboards or a creator ads workflow.
Roster is the all-in-one brand ambassador, affiliate and influencer platform for ecommerce brands, with no cut of your sales.
Roster vs UpPromote at a glance
Of the 11 platforms we compare, Roster is the only one that publishes support for both Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads, alongside ambassador, affiliate and creator programs on one flat price with no cut of your sales.
| Roster | UpPromote | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | DTC and ecommerce brands running ambassador, affiliate and creator programs in one platform | Brands launching a first affiliate program on Shopify |
| Pricing model | FLAT One flat monthly price, from $599/month | Free, then $29.99 to $199.99/month |
| Fees on your sales or payouts | ZERO None on any plan | 2%, 1.5% or 1% of approved referral sales on paid plans |
| Creator discovery | ✓ Instagram and TikTok, official Meta and TikTok APIs | Add-on from $39/month (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube) |
| Meta partnership ads | ✓ With creator permission tracked in Roster | Not published |
| TikTok Spark Ads | ✓ With authorization codes tracked in Roster | Not published |
| Product gifting | ✓ Anytime, no campaign required | ✓ Gift feature |
| Rewards beyond commission | Cash rewards, points, milestones and leaderboards | Bonuses, tiered, lifetime and multi-level commissions |
| Ecommerce platforms | Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce | Shopify |
Checked October 19, 2026 against each vendor's public pricing and product pages and Shopify App Store listing. Not published means the capability is not described on those public pages, not that the product lacks it.
Why brands switch from UpPromote to Roster
- No performance fee: Roster is flat, while UpPromote takes up to 2% of every approved referral sale.
- Creator discovery on Instagram and TikTok is built in, not a paid add-on.
- Meta partnership ads, TikTok Spark Ads, UGC rights, community and leaderboards in the same platform.
How Roster and UpPromote differ
An affiliate app versus one platform for every program
UpPromote's core is affiliate infrastructure: links and coupons, commission rules including multi-level and lifetime commissions, a registration page, and PayPal or store credit payouts. It does that job well, and its feature list has grown to include bonuses, gifts, and a marketplace where affiliates can find brands.
Roster starts from the people who already buy from you and runs the full program around them: an ambassador app and community, commissions and cash rewards, points, milestones and leaderboards, product gifting you can send anytime, UGC with usage rights, and social listening. Affiliates, ambassadors, and creators share one record, so you are not running three tools that never reconcile.
Creator discovery
UpPromote sells Creator Discovery as an add-on from $39 a month on any plan. It searches a database of 380 million or more creators across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, with unlimited searches, more than 20 filters, and up to 75 profile views.
Roster includes Creator Discovery as part of the platform. It searches Meta's Instagram Creator Marketplace and the TikTok Creator Marketplace through official Meta and TikTok APIs, with no scraping. On TikTok you can weigh commerce signals like GMV band and units sold, and creator cards flag anyone who is already an ambassador or has already tagged your brand, so you start with the relationships you have.
Paid amplification
Roster lets you get a creator's permission and run their best posts as Meta partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads, with every request, code, and revocation tracked in Roster before you launch in Meta or TikTok. That is how paid media teams get a steady supply of authentic, permissioned creator content. UpPromote does not publish a partnership ads or Spark Ads workflow on its product pages.
What you pay as the program grows
UpPromote's Free plan reviews up to $3,000 in referral sales a month with no performance fee. Growth is $29.99 a month plus 2% of approved referral sales, Professional is $89.99 plus 1.5%, and Enterprise is $199.99 plus 1%, with about 17% off on annual billing. That is very cheap for a small program. The percentage is what changes the math as the program works.
Roster plans start at $599 a month billed annually, or $725 month to month. Every Roster plan is one flat monthly price, and we never take a cut of your sales.
| Roster | UpPromote | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $599/month billed annually | Free, then $29.99/month |
| Percentage of your sales | ZERO No revenue share on any plan | 2%, 1.5% or 1% of approved referral sales on paid plans |
| Creator discovery | Built in, no add-on | Add-on from $39/month |
| Free trial | 14 days | 14 days on paid plans |
Sources, checked October 2026. UpPromote plans, performance fees and the Creator Discovery add-on from uppromote.com/pricing and the UpPromote Affiliate Marketing listing on the Shopify App Store. Roster prices from the Roster listing on the Shopify App Store and getroster.com/pricing.
Where the costs cross over
Here is the yearly cost at three program sizes, using annual billing for both. Roster's number is its entry plan at $599 a month billed annually. UpPromote's number is the plan subscription plus its performance fee on approved referral sales.
| Roster | UpPromote | |
|---|---|---|
| $250,000 in referred sales a year | FLAT $7,188 | Growth $5,300, Professional $4,650, Enterprise $4,500 |
| $500,000 in referred sales a year | FLAT $7,188 | Growth $10,300, Professional $8,400, Enterprise $7,000 |
| $1,000,000 in referred sales a year | FLAT $7,188 | Growth $20,300, Professional $15,900, Enterprise $12,000 |
Illustrative. Roster Starter at $7,188 a year ($599/month billed annually). UpPromote annual plans at $299.90, $899.90 and $1,999.90 plus 2%, 1.5% and 1% of approved referral sales. Excludes add-ons, payout processing fees and taxes.
Below roughly $345,000 to $520,000 a year in referred sales, depending on the plan, UpPromote costs less. Above about $520,000, Roster's entry plan costs less than every UpPromote plan, and the gap widens every year the program grows. The bigger difference is scope: what you get for that price.
Want to see what your program would cost on a flat plan?
See Roster pricingOne platform for every team behind your brand
A growing program is no longer one person's affiliate spreadsheet. Social, brand, paid media, and ecommerce teams all touch it, and each tends to buy its own point solution. Roster gives them one platform and one record:
Social media teams
Recruit ambassadors and creators, run campaigns and briefs, discover creators on Instagram and TikTok, and see every tagged post through social listening.
Brand teams
Run ambassador programs and a private community, reward loyal customers with cash, points, leaderboards and product, and collect UGC with usage rights.
Paid media teams
Get creator permission in Roster and run the best posts as Meta partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads, with every agreement on record.
Ecommerce and growth teams
Track referral links and codes, attribute every order, and pay out automatically, on one flat price with no cut of sales.
What Roster added in 2026
If you last looked at Roster a while ago, these are the features that matter most next to an affiliate app:
Creator Discovery, Instagram and TikTok
Find and evaluate creators through official Meta and TikTok APIs, no scraping. How it works
Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads
Get creator permission in Roster, then launch in Meta or TikTok from the creator's own handle. How it works
Cash rewardsNew
Pay for the work, not only the sale, with flat cash rewards alongside commissions. Cash rewards
LeaderboardsNew
Live, privacy-safe rankings that keep members posting. Leaderboards
Product gifting, anytimeNew
Welcome gifts and one-off drops with no campaign required, fulfilled through Shopify. Product gifting
Flat pricing, zero cut of sales
One monthly price with the full core platform on every plan. We never take a percentage of the sales your program drives. Pricing
Feature comparison
Every row is drawn from what each vendor publishes on its own site or Shopify App Store listing as of October 2026. Where a capability is not described publicly, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Roster | UpPromote | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | FLAT One monthly price | Monthly plan plus a performance fee on paid plans |
| Percentage taken on referral sales | None | 2% / 1.5% / 1% by plan |
| Free plan | No, 14-day free trial | ✓ Up to $3,000 referral sales reviewed a month |
| Recruiting and discovery | ||
| Recruit customers from your email list | ✓ | Customer referral program |
| Branded recruiting form | ✓ | ✓ Registration page |
| Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok | ✓ Official Meta and TikTok APIs | Add-on from $39/month, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube |
| Social listening for posts that tag your brand | ✓ Posts that tag your brand, on every plan | Not published |
| Affiliate marketplace for inbound applicants | Not offered | ✓ UpPromote Marketplace |
| Rewards and engagement | ||
| Commissions, tiers and bonuses | ✓ | ✓ Including multi-level and lifetime |
| Cash rewards for the work, not just the sale | ✓ | ✓ Bonuses tied to targets |
| Points, milestones and leaderboards | ✓ | Not published |
| Product gifting anytime, no campaign required | ✓ Fulfilled through Shopify | ✓ Gift feature |
| Ambassador app and private community | ✓ | Affiliate portal, community not published |
| Content and paid amplification | ||
| UGC collection with usage rights | ✓ | Not published |
| Meta partnership ads with permission tracking | ✓ | Not published |
| TikTok Spark Ads with authorization tracking | ✓ | Not published |
| Tracking and payouts | ||
| Referral links and personal discount codes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Leak-resistant codes | ✓ Single-use codes on Shopify | ✓ Anti-leak discount, Professional+ |
| Fraud protection | ✓ | ✓ Fraud detection |
| PayPal payouts | ✓ | ✓ Auto-pay on Professional+ |
| Venmo payouts | ✓ | Not published |
| Automated tax documents (W-9, W-8BEN, 1099) | ✓ | Tax and invoices, 1099-NEC listed |
| Platform | ||
| Shopify | ✓ | ✓ Built for Shopify |
| BigCommerce and WooCommerce | ✓ | Not published, Shopify only on integrations page |
| Klaviyo | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI assistant | ✓ MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT, every plan | ✓ AI assistant, Sidekick and MCP |
Sources, checked October 2026. UpPromote rows from uppromote.com features, pricing, influencer marketing and integrations pages, and its Shopify App Store listing. Roster rows from getroster.com and the Roster Shopify App Store listing. Not published means the capability is not described on those public pages as of the date above, not that the product lacks it. Confirm anything decision-critical with each vendor.
Is UpPromote ever enough?
UpPromote is enough while you are testing whether affiliates work at all. Above roughly $520,000 a year in referred sales, Roster's entry plan costs less than every UpPromote plan, and it does far more.
Signs you have outgrown an affiliate app
- The performance fee is now one of your larger software line items
- Your best partners are customers and creators, not coupon sites, and nothing keeps them engaged between payouts
- You are buying separate tools for creator discovery, gifting, UGC rights, and paid amplification
- Your paid media team asks for creator content and nobody knows who agreed to what
- Social, brand, and paid teams each report a different number for the same program
Switching from UpPromote to Roster
Export your affiliates and commission history from UpPromote as CSV, and they import into Roster with your commission structure. Affiliates get new Roster links and codes, so plan a short announcement and a cutover date. Roster's onboarding also covers program design, such as which affiliates should become ambassadors with milestones and rewards, and which stay on straight commission.
Frequently asked questions
Is Roster better than UpPromote?
Yes, for DTC and ecommerce brands. No performance fee: Roster is flat, while UpPromote takes up to 2% of every approved referral sale. Creator discovery on Instagram and TikTok is built in, not a paid add-on. Meta partnership ads, TikTok Spark Ads, UGC rights, community and leaderboards in the same platform.
How much does UpPromote cost?
UpPromote has a Free plan, then Growth at $29.99 a month, Professional at $89.99, and Enterprise at $199.99, with about 17% off on annual billing. Paid plans also charge a performance fee of 2%, 1.5%, or 1% of approved referral sales. Creator Discovery is an add-on from $39 a month.
Does UpPromote take a percentage of sales?
Yes, on paid plans. UpPromote charges a performance fee on approved referral sales: 2% on Growth, 1.5% on Professional, and 1% on Enterprise. The Free plan has no performance fee.
Is UpPromote free?
UpPromote has a Free plan that reviews up to $3,000 in referral sales a month, with one program and one coupon per affiliate. It is a legitimate way to test an affiliate program before paying for software.
What is the UpPromote Marketplace?
It is a directory where affiliates browse brands and apply to their programs. Listing your program there is included from UpPromote's Growth plan.
Does Roster take a percentage of my sales?
No. Every Roster plan is one flat monthly price. We never take a cut of the sales your ambassadors, affiliates, and creators drive.
Does Roster have creator discovery?
Yes. Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok is built on official Meta and TikTok APIs.
What are the best UpPromote alternatives?
Roster is the strongest UpPromote alternative for DTC and ecommerce brands: one flat price with no cut of your sales, ambassadors, affiliates and creators in one platform, creator discovery on Instagram and TikTok, and Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads. See pricing or book a demo.
How Roster works
- Turn customers into ambassadors with email list recruiting, an online recruiting form, and social listening
- Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok, built on official Meta and TikTok APIs
- Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads, with creator permission tracked in Roster
- Commissions and cash rewards, points, milestones and leaderboards, and product gifting anytime, no campaign required
- UGC capture with usage rights, so you can run what advocates create
- Leak-resistant codes and links, sales attribution, fraud protection, and Venmo and PayPal payouts
- The Roster MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT, included on every plan
- See plans and pricing, the full feature set, or a case study
Comparing other tools? Roster vs GoAffPro, Social Snowball, Refersion, Shopify Collabs, Superfiliate, LeadDyno, GRIN, Brandbassador (Club), impact.com, and Awin. Or see the best brand ambassador software, the best Shopify affiliate apps, and what an ambassador program costs to run.
Comparison based on publicly available information as of October 2026, drawn from uppromote.com, the UpPromote and Roster listings on the Shopify App Store, and getroster.com. Confirm current pricing and capabilities with each vendor. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
