Loyalty, advocacy and referrals · November 2026 Edition
Referral Rock vs Smile.io
Five of fourteen models named Referral Rock first on the direct prompt; zero named Smile.io. Referral Rock was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Smile.io by fourteen and Referral Rock carries 34 labels and Smile.io 38, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in four categories this edition.
Named in four categories this edition.
First-choice share21%19%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%21%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels3438A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Referral Rock reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Referral Rock vs Referral Factory · Referral Rock vs Influitive AdvocateHub · Referral Rock vs Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the loyalty, advocacy and referrals page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Referral RockFirst choices, of fourteen modelsSmile.io
Direct501 against Smile.io
Paraphrase601 against Smile.io
Comparative01
Budget-constrained010
Scale-constrained00
Negative116 against Smile.io
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Referral Rock and Smile.io stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | ||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | | |||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | ||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Referral Rock Smile.io first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Referral Rock on the left and Smile.io on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Referral Rock and Smile.io stood in it.
Referral Rock first, Smile.io not the choice
5 of 14 modelsSmile.io was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashInfluitive AdvocateHub, PartnerStack, Referral Rock alternatives: Base, Cello, FirstPromoter, SaaSquatch, UserEvidence
Perplexity SonarReferral Rock alternatives: CustomerGauge, GrowSurf, Influitive AdvocateHub
Mistral SmallEnable3, Referral Rock alternatives: Cello, Referral Factory
DeepSeek V4 FlashReferral Rock alternatives: CustomerGauge, Enable3, GrowSurf, Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Kimi K2Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, Influitive AdvocateHub, PartnerStack, impact.com Advocate
Neither was the first choice, one was named
7 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Enable3 alternatives: Annex Cloud, Influitive AdvocateHub, PartnerStack, Referral Rock
Grok 4.20Referral Factory alternatives: Annex Cloud, Exchange Solutions, PartnerStack, Referral Rock, Salesforce Loyalty Management, Voucherify, impact.com Advocate
Qwen 3.7 FlashAmbassador alternatives: PartnerStack, Referral Factory, Referral Rock
GLM 4.7 FlashXInfluitive AdvocateHub alternatives: Annex Cloud, Exchange Solutions, GrowSurf, Referral Rock, Salesforce Loyalty Management
MiniMax M2.5Referral Factory alternatives: Cello, CustomerGauge, Enable3, GrowSurf, Referral Rock
GPT-6 LunaSaaSquatch by impact.com alternatives: Influitive AdvocateHub, Referral Rock
Muse Glimmer 30BCello, Referral Factory alternatives: Exchange Solutions, Friendbuy, Influitive AdvocateHub, Referral Rock, Yotpo Loyalty & Referrals
Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniReferral Factory alternatives: Benepik, Talkable
Llama 4 MaverickCustomerGauge, Enable3, Referral Factory
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Referral Rock leads by ten points.
Referral Rock42%#1 of 13Smile.io32%#2 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
Referral Rock leads by two points.
Referral Rock21%#1 of 13Smile.io19%#3 of 13Enterprise
Referral Rock leads by eleven points.
Referral Rock11%#2 of 18Smile.io0%#17 of 18What the models said about Referral Rock
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“For most mid-sized B2B companies, Referral Rock offers the best balance of affordability, ease of use, and B2B-specific features.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“the best customer advocacy and referral program tool for a mid-sized B2B company would be Referral Rock or Referral Factory” Llama 4 Maverick · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“the strongest default recommendation is Referral Rock if the primary goal is a measurable, turnkey referral program” Perplexity Sonar · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about Smile.io
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“Criticized for billing complaints (such as charges after cancellation) and outdated customer service.” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Basic versions of *Smile.io*, *ReferralCandy*, or light referral plugins... Why be cautious: These apps work well for small e-commerce stores” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“I wouldn’t avoid it outright: its Shopify listing shows a high overall rating. Still, read recent low-rated reviews” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“Start with Smile.io's free plan if you have under 200 orders/month - it's the only platform offering genuine referral functionality at zero cost.” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · first choice
“Smile.io (now known as Smile: Loyalty Program Rewards) stands out as the best overall choice for a company with a limited budget.” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.