Referral and partner programs · November 2026 Edition
PartnerStack vs Referral Rock
Five of fourteen models named PartnerStack first on the direct prompt; six named Referral Rock. Both were named by all fourteen models and PartnerStack carries 28 labels and Referral Rock 42, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in five categories this edition.
Named in four categories this edition.
First-choice share35%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate11%10%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 13; printed, not drawn.
Labels2842A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, PartnerStack reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Referral Factory was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. PartnerStack vs Referral Factory · PartnerStack vs Smile.io · PartnerStack vs Viral Loops
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 referral and partner programs page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
PartnerStackFirst choices, of fourteen modelsReferral Rock
Direct56
Paraphrase130
Comparative00
Budget-constrained002 against Referral Rock
Scale-constrained00
Negative003 against PartnerStack · 2 against Referral Rock
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 PartnerStack and Referral Rock 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 | | | |
PartnerStack Referral Rock first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, PartnerStack on the left and Referral Rock on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where PartnerStack and Referral Rock stood in it.
PartnerStack first, Referral Rock an alternative
5 of 14 modelsReferral Rock was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniPartnerStack alternatives: Friendbuy, Referral Rock
Gemini 3.5 FlashPartnerStack alternatives: Influitive, Referral Factory, Referral Rock, SaaSquatch
Mistral SmallPartnerStack alternatives: GrowSurf, Referral Factory, Referral Rock
Qwen 3.7 FlashPartnerStack alternatives: Ambassador, FirstPromoter, Referral Factory
GLM 4.7 FlashXPartnerStack, Referral Factory alternatives: Ambassador, FirstPromoter, Referral Rock
Referral Rock first, PartnerStack an alternative
6 of 14 modelsPartnerStack was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, Cello, Referral Factory
Perplexity SonarReferral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, GrowSurf, Referral Factory
Llama 4 MaverickReferral Factory, Referral Rock
Kimi K2Referral Rock alternatives: FirstPromoter, PartnerStack, Referral Factory
GPT-6 LunaReferral Rock alternatives: PartnerStack, impact.com Advocate
Muse Glimmer 30BReferral Factory, Referral Rock alternatives: Ambassador, PartnerStack
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Grok 4.20Referral Factory alternatives: Cello, FirstPromoter, GrowSurf, PartnerStack, Referral Rock
DeepSeek V4 FlashReferral Factory alternatives: Cello, Friendbuy, PartnerStack, Referral Rock
Neither was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.MiniMax M2.5Ambassador, Referral Factory alternatives: UpPromote
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 twelve points.
Referral Rock24%#1 of 9PartnerStack12%#2 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: PartnerStack leads at mid-market.
PartnerStack35%#1 of 13Referral Rock12%#2 of 13Enterprise
PartnerStack leads by four points.
PartnerStack12%#2 of 14Referral Rock9%#6 of 14What the models said about PartnerStack
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“Frequent Trustpilot complaints (overall ~1.8/5 rating) about delayed or missing payouts... Some users label it a "scam" for advertisers.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“PartnerStack is built specifically for B2B... Best For: Mid-market B2B SaaS and tech companies scaling customer, affiliate, and channel partner programs in one ecosystem.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“PartnerStack is my top recommendation for a mid-sized B2B company looking for a partner ecosystem and referral tracking tool.” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about Referral Rock
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“G2 reviews highlight a steep learning curve, clunky UI, integration issues... can be frustrating for complex programs” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Referral Rock starts at $250/month, which may be steep for a tight budget.” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · soft negative
“pricing for Referral Rock starts at $200 per month for its Starter plan” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · soft negative
“Referral Rock serves mid-market companies wanting customizable referral programs without enterprise complexity.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
PartnerStack vs Referral FactoryPartnerStack vs Smile.ioPartnerStack vs Viral LoopsPartnerStack vs ReferralCandyPartnerStack vs FirstPromoterPartnerStack vs AmbassadorReferral Rock vs Referral FactoryReferral Rock vs Smile.ioReferral Rock vs Viral LoopsReferral Rock vs ReferralCandyReferral Rock vs FirstPromoterReferral Rock vs AmbassadorAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full referrals standing
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.