Referral Factory vs ReferralCandy
Six of fourteen models named Referral Factory first on the direct prompt; zero named ReferralCandy. Referral Factory was named by twelve of the fourteen models and ReferralCandy by fourteen and Referral Factory carries 29 labels and ReferralCandy 46, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in two categories this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
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
Referral FactoryFirst choices, of fourteen modelsReferralCandy
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Referral Factory and ReferralCandy were named in the same answer sixty-six times, of the 159 answers naming Referral Factory and the 204 naming ReferralCandy. In those answers ReferralCandy took the first choice eleven times and Referral Factory six.
Every model, every framing
| 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 Factory ReferralCandy first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Referral Factory on the left and ReferralCandy on the right.The direct prompt
Referral Factory first, ReferralCandy not the choice
6 of 14 modelsReferralCandy was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.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
ReferralCandy5%#4 of 9Referral Factory3%#8 of 9Referral Factory12%#3 of 13ReferralCandy6%#6 of 13Referral Factory12%#3 of 14ReferralCandy0%#14 of 14What the models said about Referral Factory
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“Referral credits may not always update, and there's no manual option to correct referral records” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Predictable flat pricing and templates, though generally more expensive than Smile.io.” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · soft negative
“Referral Factory stands out as the best overall referral program software for a mid-market B2B company” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · first choice
“The best referral program software for a mid-market B2B company is Referral Rock or Referral Factory.” Llama 4 Maverick · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about ReferralCandy
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Why to Avoid: If you sell high-ticket items (e.g., $1,000+ courses or furniture), paying a % commission can be incredibly expensive” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid ReferralCandy (despite its popularity) if your margins are very thin” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Criticized for being consumer-first and unsuitable for B2B programs” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“ReferralCandy is the "plug-and-play" standard for online stores... Extremely low maintenance; seamless dashboard for tracking payouts” Qwen 3.7 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Shopify store and want the absolute lowest monthly cost: ReferralCandy $9/mo + success fee, or Joy free plan.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“For Small E-commerce: Start with ReferralCandy or Friendbuy—quick ROI with minimal effort.” Grok 4.20 · comparative prompt · first choice
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.