ReferralCandy vs Frak: real cash or a subscription for coupons?
Both turn customers into a referral channel. ReferralCandy bills a subscription for a program that mostly pays in coupons; Frak charges nothing until a sale lands, and pays real cash to both sides.
TL;DR
- ReferralCandy bills a monthly plan plus a success fee, on top of coupon or store-credit rewards.
- Frak has no fixed cost: one 20% commission, charged only on validated conversions.
- Frak pays real cash to both sides: sharer earns, buyer gets cashback, not points or coupons.
- ReferralCandy charges only net-new customers, on their first 3 orders.
- If you exceed $50k/mo of referred revenue, ReferralCandy's low-fee tiers can win.
Pricing and model at a glance
Both platforms are performance-based, but they charge at different points and pay in different currencies. ReferralCandy adds a fixed subscription on top of its success fee, largely to fund coupons; Frak's 20% commission is the only cost, and it buys real cash for both sides of the referral.
| Frak | ReferralCandy | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | €0 — no subscription, no setup cost | $39–$799/mo subscription, all plans |
| Success fee / commission | 20% commission on campaign spend (rewards paid out) | 0.25%–10.5% of referred revenue, depends on plan |
| What triggers a payment | Any validated conversion you configure: sale, opt-in, visit | Net-new customers only, on their first 3 orders |
| Buyer-side reward | Cashback for the buyer, on every purchase via a shared link | ≈ Friend offer (coupon or discount), varies by store ≈ |
| Who can promote you | Any of your customers, or any Frak user — no application, no follower minimum | Your existing customers, plus affiliates you recruit |
| Reward format | Real cash, withdrawable to a bank account | Store credit, coupons, or cash payouts via providers |
| E-commerce integration | One-click Shopify app, SDK for WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix | One-click Shopify, plugins for BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento |
| Contract | None — stop any time, nothing to cancel | Month-to-month, cancel anytime from the dashboard |
Values marked with ≈ are estimates not confirmed by the vendor — see the pricing disclaimer below.
Cash beats coupons — the data says so
ReferralCandy supports coupons and store credit by default. Cash payouts run through third-party providers and carry pass-through fees. Its own 500-store study found coupon-only programs are the weakest reward design, and coupons don't solve the real problem: most products are bought once or twice a year, so a coupon that expires in months never gets used. Frak skips the debate entirely: every reward is real cash, paid instantly to a wallet and withdrawable straight to a bank account, for the sharer and the buyer alike.
Across 500+ Shopify stores tracked from June 2025 to May 2026, cash, store-credit and commission reward programs were ≈2.2× more likely than coupon-only programs to turn referrals into a meaningful share of revenue — and ≈3.7× more likely to reach top-tier performance.
The math, with real cash numbers
The two fee models charge at different points, so here is a worked example on equal footing. Every assumption is listed so you can swap your own numbers. Remember: ReferralCandy's total is mostly coupons, while Frak's is cash in a bank account.
- 1 Assumption: campaign budget €1,000, target CAC €10 → 100 paying customers.
- 2 Assumption: average order value €50 → referred revenue €5,000.
- 3 Frak: 20% commission on the €1,000 campaign spend → €200 total.
- 4 ReferralCandy Grow plan: $79/mo (≈€68) + 3.5% of €5,000 (≈€175) → ≈€243 total.
Where Frak wins
Where ReferralCandy wins
Frequently asked questions
Is Frak cheaper than ReferralCandy?
Usually at low volume: Frak has no fixed cost, ReferralCandy starts at $39/mo. At very high referred volume, ReferralCandy's 0.25%–1.5% success-fee tiers can be cheaper than Frak's 20% commission on rewards, though that fee still buys coupons, not cash. Compare with your own numbers above.
How does Frak's 20% commission work?
You set a reward per conversion: say €5 per sale. Frak takes 20% of the campaign spend, so €4 of every €5 goes straight to your ambassador as real cash. No flat fee, no subscription, and you pay nothing when no conversion is generated.
Is Frak better than ReferralCandy?
For most brands, yes: Frak has no fixed cost, pays real cash to both the sharer and the buyer, and turns every customer into a recommender instead of just the ones enrolled in a referral program. ReferralCandy still wins on mature integrations and lower success fees at very high volume. Both are honest performance models.
Which platforms does each integrate with?
ReferralCandy is Shopify-first with plugins for BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento and custom stores. Frak ships a one-click Shopify app plus an SDK for WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Wix and WordPress.
Do I need a contract with either platform?
No. ReferralCandy is month-to-month and cancels from the dashboard. Frak has no contract and no fixed fee at all — campaigns simply stop when you stop paying rewards.
Why does Frak pay cash instead of coupons or points?
Because cash is what actually gets used. A coupon that expires in six months is close to worthless for a product people buy once or twice a year, and points require a conversion table to mean anything. Frak pays real cash, instantly, so both the sharer and the buyer see the reward land the moment it's earned. That instant proof is what makes people share again.
Can I run both platforms at the same time?
Yes, and some brands do: ReferralCandy for recruited affiliates and store-credit rewards, Frak for word-of-mouth in the Frak app with cash rewards. Attribution is per-link on both sides.
Turn your customers into an acquisition channel
Set your rewards, pay only on performance. Live in under an hour.
Methodology, sources and disclaimers
- ReferralCandy pricing ($39/$79/$249/$799 per month and success fees) was verified on ReferralCandy's official pricing page on 2026-04-23. Pricing may change — check their site before deciding.
- ReferralCandy quotes fees in US dollars. The euro figures in the math example are an approximate conversion at about $1 = €0.87 and move with the exchange rate.
- ReferralCandy's friend-side offer was not confirmed on their pricing page at the time of writing; it is marked as estimated.
- 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 2026-09-17. Pricing and promos change — always check the vendor's official site before deciding.