# Impact.com vs Cello.so Source: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-cello-so Last updated: 2026-11-01 Choose Impact.com if you need to recruit and manage a broad mix of affiliates, creators, and customer advocates; choose Cello.so if you run a software product and want referrals embedded in its logged-in experience. Both support partner and customer referrals, but their starting plans differ: Impact.com’s $30-per-month Starter plan does not include its Advocate customer-referral product, while Cello offers separate plans for user referrals and partner referrals. ## At a glance | | Impact.com | Cello.so | | --- | --- | --- | | Primary scope | Affiliate, creator, and customer-referral management | User and partner referrals for software products | | Product eligibility | Starter limited to nine listed commerce platforms | Logged-in web or mobile software experience required | | Starting price | Starter: $30/month plus 2.5% of revenue | Partner Free: $0/month; User Start: $65/month | | Customer referrals | Advocate included from Essentials at $500/month | User-referral plans start at $65/month | | Partner recruitment | Partner Marketplace from Essentials | Partner portal and individual partner onboarding | | In-product experience | Embeddable Advocate referral widgets | Web and mobile SDKs for in-product referrals | | Published integrations | Shopify, WooCommerce, Salesforce, HubSpot | Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, Recurly, HubSpot, Salesforce | | Program limits | Essentials includes up to $2,500/month in partner payouts | Partner Free: one campaign, five transacting partners | | Transaction fees | Starter lists 2.5% of revenue | User: 0%; partner: 2%–5% by tier | | Payouts | Automated partner payouts | Automated referral payouts via PayPal or Venmo | | Support | Starter chat; dedicated support from Essentials | Slack on User Start; priority Slack on higher tiers | | Commitment | 12-month contract stated | Monthly plans cancellable anytime; annual plans 12 months | ## Which to choose ### Choose Impact.com if - Brands recruiting affiliates, publishers, and creators - Teams that want a partner marketplace - Companies combining affiliate and customer-referral programs - Teams needing multi-domain programs ### Choose Cello.so if - Software products with logged-in web or mobile users - Teams embedding referral sharing inside their product - Companies testing a partner program on a free plan - Teams tracking subscription-based referral revenue ## Verdict The deciding factor is where your program begins. Pick Impact.com when partner discovery and a wider partnership program matter most, particularly if you also need affiliate and creator management. Pick Cello.so when your priority is in-product referrals for authenticated software users or a partner program with a free entry plan. Compare the relevant tiers rather than the lowest advertised prices: Impact.com includes Advocate from Essentials, while Cello prices user and partner referrals separately. ## Questions ### Are Impact.com and Cello.so close enough to compare? Yes. Both offer customer and partner referral management. Impact.com also covers a broader mix of affiliate and creator partnerships, while Cello.so focuses on referrals for software products. ### Does Impact.com’s $30 Starter plan include customer referrals? No. Impact.com lists its Advocate customer-referral product from the Essentials plan, priced at $500 per month. Its Starter plan is priced at $30 per month plus 2.5% of revenue. ### Can I start a Cello.so partner program for free? Yes. Cello.so lists a free partner-referral plan with one campaign and five transacting partners. The plan also lists a 5% transaction fee. ### Which product helps me find partners? Impact.com includes a Partner Marketplace from its Essentials plan. Cello.so provides tools to onboard and manage partners but does not supply a partner recruitment network. ### Which supports referrals inside my software product? Cello.so offers web and mobile SDKs for in-product user referrals and requires a logged-in software experience. Impact.com offers embeddable widgets through its Advocate customer-referral product. ### Can both connect to Salesforce and HubSpot? Yes. Both Impact.com and Cello.so publish Salesforce and HubSpot integrations. Cello.so also lists payment-provider integrations including Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, and Recurly. ### Do the two products have the same pricing model? No. Impact.com lists a $30-per-month Starter plan plus 2.5% of revenue, with customer referrals included from its $500-per-month Essentials plan. Cello.so lists separate user-referral plans starting at $65 per month and partner-referral plans starting with a free tier that has a transaction fee. ### Is either product limited to a particular kind of business? Cello.so says eligible products must offer users a logged-in web or mobile software experience. Impact.com serves broader partnership programs, although its Starter plan is available only on the commerce platforms listed on its pricing page. ## Product pages - Impact.com: https://nachonacho.com/product/Impact - Cello.so: https://nachonacho.com/product/cello-so ## Related comparisons ### More Impact.com comparisons - Impact.com vs Affise: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-affise - Impact.com vs Awin: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-awin - Impact.com vs Everflow: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-everflow - Impact.com vs FirstPromoter: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-firstpromoter - Impact.com vs Impartner: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-impartner - Impact.com vs LeadDyno: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-leaddyno - Impact.com vs Partnerize: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-partnerize - Impact.com vs Referral Factory: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/impact-com-vs-referral-factory ### More Cello.so comparisons - Cello.so vs FirstPromoter: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/firstpromoter-vs-cello-so - Cello.so vs Partnerize: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/partnerize-vs-cello-so - Cello.so vs PartnerStack: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/partnerstack-vs-cello-so - Cello.so vs Tapfiliate: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/tapfiliate-vs-cello-so - Cello.so vs Tolt: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/tolt-vs-cello-so - Cello.so vs trackdesk: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/trackdesk-vs-cello-so - Cello.so vs TUNE: https://nachonacho.com/software-comparisons/tune-vs-cello-so