Affiliate & Referral Platform

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An AI-native, open-source affiliate and referral platform that combines program management, real-time fraud detection, and commission tracking without enterprise-tier pricing or revenue-share fees.

The Affiliate & Referral Platform is a partner-program management system designed for e-commerce brands, SaaS companies, and B2B operators that need accurate attribution, flexible commissions, and modern fraud controls. It targets teams underserved by either expensive enterprise platforms or basic Stripe-only tools, replacing fragmented point solutions with a single open-source stack.

Why Affiliate & Referral Platform?

Enterprise platforms like Impact.com and PartnerStack price out smaller teams at $500–$2,500+/month or take a revenue share on every attributed sale.
Mid-market tools (Refersion, ShareASale) layer 3–20% transaction fees on top of subscription costs, eroding affiliate ROI at scale.
Fraud detection is either basic (Tapfiliate, Rewardful, Reflio) or locked behind specialised, costly point solutions (SpiderAF, Scaleo).
Self-hosted options (Post Affiliate Pro, Reflio, Weferral) lack modern UX, partner marketplaces, or AI-driven capabilities.
Compliance with FTC endorsement rules, GDPR, and IAB affiliate frameworks remains largely manual across the incumbent landscape.

Key Features

Tracking & Attribution

Real-time conversion tracking via referral links and coupon codes
Multi-device and cross-session attribution with cookie and fingerprint persistence
Email-matching and non-link-based tracking for influencer and offline channels
Server-side attribution to reduce reliance on third-party cookies

Commission & Payouts

Flexible commission models: fixed, percentage, tiered, recurring, and DRIP-style installment payouts
Automatic adjustments for upgrades, downgrades, refunds, and cancellations
Automated monthly invoicing and bulk payout orchestration
Multi-tier commission structures for agency, MLM, and partner-of-partner programs

Fraud Detection & Compliance

Self-referral blocking, duplicate conversion filtering, and suspicious IP flagging at MVP
Behavioural ML scoring on velocity, device entropy, geographic clustering, and intent signals
Compliance-ready audit trails with automated FTC and GDPR disclosure checks
Real-time auto-blocking of flagged traffic before commissions settle

Partner Management

Affiliate self-service portal with earnings, performance metrics, and asset generation
Multi-program support consolidating affiliates, influencers, and customer referrals
Partner marketplace for discovery and recruitment
Dynamic tier assignment driven by performance rules
White-label customisation for agencies and enterprise deployments

Analytics & Integrations

Real-time analytics for clicks, conversions, and revenue by affiliate and campaign
Custom segmentation and cohort analysis
REST API and webhook support for billing, CRM, and e-commerce integrations
Native integrations with payment processors such as Stripe, PayPal, and Wise

AI-Native Advantage

AI is applied where incumbents still rely on rules or post-hoc audits. Real-time ML scoring evaluates every conversion event for click fraud, cookie stuffing, and synthetic leads before payout. LLMs auto-generate localised affiliate creative briefs, compliance disclosures, and promotional copy across partner tiers. Predictive lifetime-value models support quality-weighted commission tiers, and causal-inference techniques separate genuine affiliate influence from last-click attribution gaming. Unsupervised anomaly detection surfaces unusual timing, geographic clustering, and device-fingerprint mismatches before financial exposure builds up.

Tech Stack & Deployment

The platform is intended to support both self-hosted and cloud deployments, giving operators data sovereignty when needed. Integration is API-first, exposing a REST API and webhooks for event-driven workflows, with native connectors for Stripe, PayPal, Wise, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Open standards referenced include the IAB Performance Marketing Advisory Group standards, IAB Australia's Affiliate Program Compliance Framework (2025), IAB GIVT/SIVT invalid-traffic classifications, FTC Endorsement Guidelines (16 CFR Part 255), and GDPR / ePrivacy consent requirements.

Market Context

The global affiliate marketing industry is valued at roughly $17–18.5 billion in 2025 (US market ~$12 billion), growing at a 15.2% CAGR and projected to exceed $71 billion by 2034 (research.md). Incumbent pricing ranges from $29–$59/month entry tier (Rewardful, Tapfiliate) through $500–$2,500+/month enterprise tiers (Impact, PartnerStack), with networks such as ShareASale charging a $625 setup fee plus 20% transaction fees. Primary buyers are e-commerce growth and partnership managers at DTC brands, SaaS CMOs building channel programs, B2B performance marketers, affiliate network operators, and iGaming or fintech operators with high-fraud-risk requirements.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase.
Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.