Last updated November 2026
Roster beats GRIN on cost and on what you can run today. GRIN adds a 5% to 20% management fee to every dollar you deposit to pay creators, caps gifts and creator searches by plan, and lists boosting creator content as ads and social listening as not available yet. Roster is one flat monthly price, takes no percentage of your sales or creator payouts, and runs Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads now.
GRIN is built for influencer outreach, with an AI agent that finds and contacts creators. Roster is built around your community: customers, fans already posting about you and new creators found through Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok, in one program rewarded automatically with commissions, cash rewards, points, milestones and leaderboards.
Updated November 2026: Roster is the ambassador and creator marketing platform for DTC and ecommerce brands, with flat pricing and zero cut of your sales. It includes Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok, Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads, social listening, cash rewards, leaderboards and anytime product gifting.
Roster vs GRIN at a glance
Both platforms help ecommerce brands find creators, gift product and pay for results. The difference is what you pay on top of creator spend, which limits apply, and whether your best content can run as ads today.
| Roster | GRIN | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | DTC and ecommerce brands building lasting creator and ambassador programs from their own customers | Brands running influencer outreach, gifting and paid partnerships with an AI agent |
| Pricing | FLAT One flat monthly price, full core platform on every plan | Free, $200, $500 or $1,500 a month, plus a management fee on wallet deposits |
| Fee on money you set aside for creators | ZERO None | 20%, 10%, 7% or 5% by plan, added on top of each wallet deposit |
| Product gifting | ✓ Anytime, no campaign required | 10 gifts in total on Free, then 100, 300 or 1,000 a month by plan |
| Creator search | ✓ Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok | 1,200 to 120,000 creators a month by plan |
| Meta partnership ads | ✓ Creator permission tracked in Roster | On the roadmap, not available yet |
| TikTok Spark Ads | ✓ Authorization codes tracked in Roster | On the roadmap, not available yet |
| Social listening | ✓ | On the roadmap, not available yet |
Checked November 7, 2026 against grin.co/pricing (plans, compare table, "What's next" roadmap and fees section) and getroster.com. Not published means the capability is not described on those public pages, not that the product lacks it.
Why brands switch from GRIN to Roster
- No management fee on creator payouts, so every dollar you set aside reaches creators.
- Meta partnership ads, TikTok Spark Ads and social listening available today.
- Customers and fans in the same program as creators, with points, milestones, leaderboards and cash rewards that keep them posting.
How Roster and GRIN differ
Outreach to strangers versus a program built on your community
GRIN centers on Gia, an AI agent that searches its creator database, drafts and sends outreach, builds campaigns and reports on results, plus a marketplace where creators apply to your programs. That suits brands whose main job is recruiting new influencers.
Roster starts with the people who already love your brand. Customers are invited into your program after they buy, fans already tagging you are found through social listening, and new creators are found through Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok using official Meta and TikTok APIs. Everyone joins a branded portal and private community with automated milestones, points, leaderboards, cash rewards and product gifting. That is how Caraway built $2.1M in referred revenue and 8x more tracked ambassador UGC posts with Roster.
What you pay on top of creator spend
GRIN publishes its plans: Free, Starter at $200 a month, Growth at $500 and Scale at $1,500, with Enterprise priced by its team. Every plan adds a management fee when you fund the wallet used to pay creators: 20% on Free, 10% on Starter, 7% on Growth and 5% on Scale. GRIN's own example: on Starter, a $1,000 deposit costs $1,100. At $20,000 a month in creator spend on Growth, that is $1,400 a month in fees on top of the plan.
Roster is one flat monthly price with the full core platform on every plan. Roster never takes a percentage of the sales your program drives and charges no percentage on creator payouts, so the cost does not grow as you invest more in creators.
Plan limits
GRIN limits product gifting and creator search by plan: 10 gifts in total on Free, then 100, 300 or 1,000 gifts a month, and between 1,200 and 120,000 creators searched a month. Reaching a limit prompts an upgrade.
Roster does not meter gifts. Product gifting runs anytime, with welcome gifts and one-off drops fulfilled through Shopify and no campaign required.
From creator content to partnership ads
GRIN lists boosting creator content as ads on its roadmap as not available yet, for Growth plans and up, and lists social listening the same way.
With Roster, UGC posts come with usage rights recorded against each creator, and your paid media team runs the best of them as Meta partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads from your own accounts today, with every creator permission and Spark Ads authorization code tracked in Roster.
Signs you have outgrown GRIN
- Management fees grow every time you put more into creators
- Your best content comes from customers who already love the brand, and nothing invites them in
- Your gift or search limit decides how big a launch can be
- Your best UGC is waiting for an ads feature that is not available yet
- Your ambassadors, creators and ads live in three different tools
One platform for your social, brand and paid media marketers
GRIN is an influencer outreach and campaign tool. Roster is the single platform your ecommerce marketing team works from, so social, brand and paid media marketers share one record of every ambassador and creator.
Social media marketers
Recruit ambassadors and creators, run campaigns and briefs, discover creators on Instagram and TikTok, and see every tagged UGC post through social listening.
Brand marketers
Build a lasting community, reward it with cash, points, leaderboards and product, and collect UGC with usage rights.
Paid media marketers
Get creator permission in Roster and run the best UGC posts as Meta partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads from your own accounts.
Growth and ecommerce marketers
Track links and codes, attribute every order and pay out automatically, on one flat price with zero cut of your sales.
What Roster added in 2026
If you compared Roster and GRIN before, these are the additions that change the comparison:
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 rewards
Pay for the work, not only the sale, with flat cash rewards alongside commissions. Cash rewards
Leaderboards
Live, privacy-safe rankings that keep members posting. Leaderboards
Product gifting, anytime
Welcome gifts and one-off drops with no campaign required, fulfilled through Shopify. Product gifting
Works in Claude and ChatGPT
Ask questions about your program and take action from Claude or ChatGPT with the Roster MCP server. Roster MCP server
Feature comparison
Every row below is drawn from what each vendor publishes on its own site as of November 2026. Where a capability is not described publicly, the cell says so rather than guessing.
| Roster | GRIN | |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting and discovery | ||
| Recruit ambassadors from your Shopify customers | ✓ Email list recruiting | Not published |
| Online recruiting form and branded portal | ✓ | ✓ Creator marketplace where creators apply |
| Social listening to find fans already posting | ✓ | On the roadmap, not available yet |
| Creator Discovery | ✓ Instagram and TikTok, official Meta and TikTok APIs | ✓ Creator search, limited by plan |
| Rewards and engagement | ||
| Commissions and flat fees | ✓ | ✓ Paid partnerships and affiliate commissions |
| Cash rewards | ✓ Pay for the work, not only the sale | Not published |
| Points, milestones and leaderboards | ✓ | Not published |
| Product gifting | ✓ Anytime, no campaign required, fulfilled through Shopify | ✓ Limited by plan |
| Content and ads | ||
| UGC with usage rights | ✓ | ✓ UGC campaigns |
| Meta partnership ads | ✓ Creator permission tracked in Roster | On the roadmap, not available yet |
| TikTok Spark Ads | ✓ Authorization codes tracked in Roster | On the roadmap, not available yet |
| Tracking and payouts | ||
| Referral links and discount codes | ✓ Leak-resistant codes | ✓ Affiliate commissions |
| Sales attribution by creator | ✓ | Not published |
| Fraud protection | ✓ | Not published |
| Venmo and PayPal payouts | ✓ | ✓ Escrow wallet, paid out through Stripe |
| Pricing and platform | ||
| Plans and features published | ✓ On the pricing page | ✓ Published plans |
| Percentage of your sales or creator payouts | ZERO None | 5% to 20% management fee on wallet deposits |
| Works in Claude and ChatGPT (MCP server) | ✓ | Not published |
| Shopify | ✓ Built on Shopify | ✓ Shopify in one click |
Sources, checked November 7, 2026. Roster rows from getroster.com. GRIN rows from grin.co/pricing, including its compare table and "What's next" roadmap. Not published means the capability is not described on that public page as of the date above, not that the product lacks it. Confirm anything decision-critical with each vendor.
Switching from GRIN to Roster
Export your creators and contacts from GRIN and import them into Roster from CSV, with commission structures. Each creator gets new Roster links and codes. Withdraw unspent wallet funds from GRIN before you cancel, keeping in mind that GRIN does not refund the management fee on withdrawals.
Then widen the program: invite your customers, find fans already posting through social listening, and add new creators through Creator Discovery. Roster's onboarding covers program design, rewards and how your best UGC posts flow into Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads.
Frequently asked questions
What is GRIN?
GRIN is an influencer marketing platform with an AI agent called Gia that finds creators, sends outreach, builds campaigns and reports on results. It includes a creator marketplace, gifting, paid partnerships, affiliate commissions, an escrow wallet for payouts and a Shopify integration.
How much does GRIN cost?
GRIN's published plans are Free, Starter at $200 a month, Growth at $500 and Scale at $1,500, with custom Enterprise pricing. Each plan adds a management fee of 20%, 10%, 7% or 5% on money you deposit to pay creators. Roster is one flat monthly price, with plans shown on its pricing page.
What is the GRIN management fee?
GRIN adds a management fee on top of every wallet deposit you make to pay creators: 20% on Free, 10% on Starter, 7% on Growth and 5% on Scale. On Starter, a $1,000 deposit costs $1,100, and the fee is not refunded if you later withdraw unspent funds. Roster charges no percentage on creator payouts.
Does GRIN support Meta partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads?
Not yet. GRIN lists boosting creator content as ads on its roadmap as not available yet. Roster supports Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads today, with creator permission and authorization codes tracked in Roster.
Does GRIN have social listening?
Not yet. GRIN lists social listening on its roadmap as not available yet. Roster includes social listening to find customers and creators already posting about your brand.
What are the best GRIN alternatives?
Roster is the strongest GRIN alternative for DTC and ecommerce brands: one flat monthly price with no fee on creator payouts, ambassadors and creators in one platform, Creator Discovery on Instagram and TikTok, social listening, and Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads. See pricing or book a demo.
Can I move my creators from GRIN to Roster?
Yes. Creator lists and commission structures import into Roster from CSV, and your creators get new Roster links and codes. Withdraw any unspent wallet funds from GRIN before you cancel.
Is Roster better than GRIN?
Yes, for DTC and ecommerce brands that want a lasting program they own. Roster has no management fee on creator payouts, no limits on gifting, social listening and Meta partnership ads and TikTok Spark Ads available today, and adds ambassadors from your own customers with points, milestones, leaderboards and cash rewards.
How Roster works
- Turn customers into ambassadors with email list recruiting, an online recruiting form, and social listening
- Grow a creator program with 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 your community creates
- 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 customer case studies
Comparing other tools? Roster vs Aspire, Trybe, Upfluence, CreatorIQ, ShopMy, Archive, Brandbassador, Superfiliate, Social Snowball, UpPromote, Shopify Collabs, GoAffPro, Refersion, impact.com, Awin and LeadDyno. Or see Roster as a creator marketing platform, Roster as a Shopify ambassador app, the best brand ambassador software and Ambassador Marketing Benchmarks 2026.
Comparison based on publicly available information as of November 2026, drawn from grin.co/pricing and getroster.com. Confirm current figures, terms and capabilities with the vendor. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.