Rakuten vs Frak: refunding shoppers vs paying for new customers
Rakuten hands cashback to whoever shows up, new or repeat. Frak pays a customer real cash for bringing in a new one. It still gives that new buyer cashback too.
TL;DR
- Rakuten refunds any shopper who checks out through it: no tie to whether the customer is new.
- Frak pays real cash only when a recommendation brings a new paying customer, plus cashback for that buyer.
- Rakuten sets the cashback rate; Frak lets brands define custom rewards per conversion.
- Rakuten requires a contract and account setup to start; Frak goes live in under an hour.
- Rakuten is a destination shoppers visit; Frak reaches people where they already talk: WhatsApp, Instagram, messaging apps.
Pricing and model at a glance
Rakuten's consumer cashback product and Frak's recommendation economy platform both pay on performance. Rakuten refunds a purchase; Frak pays for a new customer that a recommendation actually brought in.
| Frak | Rakuten | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | €0 — no subscription, no setup cost | $0 — no subscription, no fixed monthly fee |
| Success fee / commission | 20% commission on campaign spend (rewards paid out) | Set by the advertiser as a cashback rate; standard 50/50 split doubles it as commission on total referred revenue |
| Advertiser-side network fee | None — 20% is the only cost | ≈25–30% of commission value (industry estimate, not published by Rakuten) ≈ |
| Who earns the reward | The sharer and the buyer both earn from the same campaign | The buyer earns cashback; the sharer earns nothing unless they join the separate affiliate network |
| Buyer-side reward | Cashback on every purchase made via a shared Frak link | Cashback when the buyer shops through Rakuten's site, app, or browser extension |
| Who can promote you | Any of your customers, or any Frak user — no application, no follower minimum | Rakuten promotes to its own member base; affiliate publishers apply separately, increasingly through impact.com |
| E-commerce integration | One-click Shopify app, SDK for WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix | Rakuten Advertising requires an account and contract; Shopify tracking app available, but the platform is migrating to impact.com |
| Contract | None — stop any time, nothing to cancel | Requires a signed contract and account setup before tracking goes live |
Values marked with ≈ are estimates not confirmed by the vendor — see the pricing disclaimer below.
Most platforms pay one side. Frak pays both.
Rakuten pays the buyer real cash. The person who actually recommended the product earns nothing, unless they separately join Rakuten Advertising's affiliate network. Frak pays both from the same campaign: cash to the person who shared, cashback to the friend who bought.
Based on the reward structure compared above — see the comparison table and sources below.
The math, with real numbers
Rakuten charges on total referred revenue, whether the buyer is new or a repeat shopper. Frak charges on the reward the brand sets for bringing in a new customer. The two bases aren't identical, so here is a worked example with every assumption stated.
- 1 Assumption: 100 sales generated, average order value €50 → €5,000 referred revenue.
- 2 Assumption: brand wants to offer a meaningful incentive to drive word-of-mouth.
- 3 Frak: €5 reward per conversion, split between sharer and buyer — the buyer receives €2.50. 100 conversions → €500 campaign spend. Frak's 20% commission = €100. Brand total = €600.
- 4 Rakuten at 5% cashback (same €2.50 buyer value): under the 50/50 split the advertiser pays ≈10% of €5,000 referred revenue = €500. Plus ≈25% network fee ≈ €125. Rakuten total ≈ €625.
- 5 Doubling the buyer cashback to 10% under the 50/50 split means a ≈20% commission = €1,000, plus ≈€250 network fee — Rakuten total ≈ €1,250.
- 6 Caveat: the 50/50 split and network fee are industry estimates, not published Rakuten rates — see the disclaimer.
Where Frak wins
Where Rakuten wins
Frequently asked questions
Is Frak cheaper than Rakuten?
It depends on the incentive level. At low cashback rates (2–3%), Rakuten's 50/50 commission can be cheaper than Frak's 20% on a larger reward. But Rakuten's cashback pays out on any purchase, new or repeat. Frak's spend only ever buys a new customer, with the buyer's cashback and the sharer's cash both in one campaign budget.
How does Frak's 20% commission work?
You set a reward per conversion: say €8 per sale, split between sharer and buyer however you like. Frak takes 20% of the campaign spend. No flat fee, no subscription, nothing to pay until a conversion is validated, and every euro is tied to a real new customer, not a refund on an existing one.
Is Frak better than Rakuten?
If you just want to refund shoppers regardless of who brought them and capture existing intent, Rakuten is a strong cashback destination. If you want acquisition spend to reward the actual customer who brought in someone new (while that new buyer still gets cashback), Frak's model is built for that.
Does Rakuten reward the person who shares a link?
Not in its consumer cashback product. Rakuten Rewards pays only the buyer, whether or not anyone recommended the purchase. The person who shared the product must join Rakuten Advertising's separate affiliate network to earn (a different application and approval process). Frak pays that person by default, in the same campaign as the buyer's cashback.
Which platforms does each integrate with?
Rakuten Advertising offers a Shopify tracking app but requires an existing RAd account and contract. Frak ships a one-click Shopify app and an SDK for WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix, and WordPress, no contract needed.
Do I need a contract with either platform?
Rakuten Advertising requires a signed contract and account setup before tracking goes live. Frak has no contract and no fixed fee: install the app and launch a campaign.
When does Rakuten pay out cashback?
Quarterly (February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15), as long as the member has earned more than $5. Payouts are via PayPal, Bilt Points, or check.
Turn your customers into an acquisition channel
Set your rewards, pay only on performance. Live in under an hour.
Methodology, sources and disclaimers
- In April 2026 Rakuten and impact.com announced a strategic alliance under which Rakuten Advertising stops operating its own software and dashboard, and brand and publisher relationships migrate to the impact.com platform. The comparison below describes Rakuten Advertising as it still operates during that transition; terms, fees and tooling are expected to change as the migration completes.
- Rakuten's advertiser-side network fee (≈25–30% of commission value) is not published by Rakuten. This figure comes from industry analysis (Affiliate Times, 2026), predates the impact.com migration, and may vary by program — request a quote for exact terms.
- Rakuten's standard 50/50 commission/cashback split is cited from Rakuten's own advertiser materials (via Revit Digital) and confirmed by Rakuten's official FAQ referencing the split. Specific rates vary by advertiser agreement.
- Rakuten's cashback rates are set per advertiser; the 5% and 10% rates in the math example are illustrative, not published defaults.
- Rakuten quotes in US dollars; the euro figures in the math example are an approximate conversion for comparison only.
- Rakuten's 17M active members figure comes from Rakuten's own advertiser materials via third-party reporting (Revit Digital) — current member counts may differ.
- Frak's commission applies to campaign spend (the rewards paid out), not to total referred revenue — see the math example for an apples-to-apples comparison.
Facts last verified on 2026-04-24. Pricing and promos change — always check the vendor's official site before deciding.