Referral Nexus vs Referral Rock: a Referral Rock alternative with no monthly fee
Run partner, customer and affiliate referral programmes, sync them to Salesforce and pay rewards through PayPal. No monthly fee and no setup fee: you pay a 1% platform fee on the rewards you pay out.
No card needed to sign up. You add a card through Stripe when you take a programme live. Early-access pricing for the first 250 businesses. PayPal's own fees are charged on top for PayPal payouts.
At a glance
| Referral Nexus | Referral Rock | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None | $250/month (Operator Plan), or 10% off if paid annually1 |
| Usage-based fee | 1% platform fee on rewards paid, including rewards you pay outside PayPal (PayPal's fees on top for PayPal payouts) | None listed. Priced on members, not referrals1 |
| Setup fee | None | None. Program advisor included, no onboarding fee1 |
| Trial | Free to set up and use. You pay only when you pay rewards | 14-day free trial1 |
| Contract | None, cancel any time | Month to month, no long-term contract1 |
| Programmes | Unlimited | Extra programmes $100/month each1 |
| Members | Unlimited | 10,000 base members included, then $125/month per extra 10,0001 |
| Referrals | Unlimited | Unlimited1 |
| Admin users | No per-seat fees | Up to 10 included, then $50/month per extra 101 |
| Salesforce | Included at no extra cost, with stage mapping | Native integration available3 |
| Other integrations | Zapier, REST API and PayPal. Shopify coming soon | Native HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Pipedrive and HighLevel, plus 50+ integrations overall2 |
| Reward payouts | PayPal (automated), or pay your own way and mark the reward as paid | Coupons, gift cards, cash/credit or custom rewards2 |
| Setup help | Setup and migration help available on request | Program advisor for one-to-one setup1 |
1. https://referralrock.com/pricing/ · 2. https://referralrock.com/ai-information/ · 3. https://referralrock.com/integration/salesforce/
What it costs: a worked example
Say you pay out £2,000 a month in referral rewards on one programme.
| Referral Nexus | Referral Rock | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | 1% × £2,000 = £20 | $250 ≈ £187 |
| Yearly cost | £240 | $3,000 ≈ £2,250 paid monthly, or $2,700 ≈ £2,025 paid annually |
| A month with no rewards paid | £0 | Still $250 ≈ £187 |
| Adding a second programme | No extra charge | +$100/month ≈ £75 |
US dollar prices converted at about $1 = £0.75 (mid-market rate, 19 October 2026, source) and rounded down. Your bank's rate will differ. Referral Nexus figures are our 1% platform fee only. PayPal's own payout fees are charged on top whenever you pay rewards through PayPal, whichever tool you use.
When does Referral Rock work out cheaper? At 1% of rewards, Referral Nexus costs the same as Referral Rock's $250 (about £187) a month once you're paying out roughly £18,750 a month in rewards on a single programme. Below that, Referral Nexus costs less. Above it, Referral Rock's flat fee works out cheaper.
Where Referral Rock is stronger
- A program advisor for one-to-one setup, with no onboarding fee.
- Many more integrations, including native HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive and HighLevel.
- More reward types out of the box: coupons, gift cards, cash/credit and custom rewards.
- A predictable flat monthly price that doesn't grow with the rewards you pay.
Why teams choose Referral Nexus
Pay for results, not a licence
There's no monthly or setup fee. The fee is linked to the rewards you pay out, so the cost grows only when referrals are working.
Salesforce included
Referrals sync into Salesforce with stage mapping, at no extra cost. Your sales team works them in the CRM they already use.
Everything unlimited from day one
Run as many partner, customer and affiliate programmes as you need, with as many members as you like. You won't get a bill for adding a second programme or crossing a member limit.
No contract, no lock-in
There's no minimum term. Close your account whenever you like.
Moving from Referral Rock or a spreadsheet?
Migration help available on request. There's no automatic import from Referral Rock, so we'll work through it with you:
- getting your existing members and open referrals into Referral Nexus
- recreating your programmes, reward rules and referral stages
- connecting Salesforce and mapping your stages
- running a test referral with you before you switch over.
Frequently asked questions
Is Referral Nexus free to use?
It's free to set up and use: there's no monthly fee and no setup fee. We charge a 1% platform fee on every reward you mark as paid, whether you pay it through PayPal or yourself outside the platform. If you pay no rewards in a month, you pay us nothing.
What does “1% of rewards paid” mean?
It's our platform fee. If you pay £2,000 in rewards in a month, we charge £20. There's no fixed monthly fee on top.
Are PayPal's fees included in the 1%?
No. The 1% is the Referral Nexus platform fee. When you pay rewards through PayPal, PayPal charges its own payout fees on top, under your own agreement with PayPal.
What's the early-access pricing?
The first 250 businesses to sign up keep the 1% rate for life. The only exception is normal price rises to cover cost increases, which we'd give at least 30 days' notice of.
Can I move my programme from Referral Rock?
Yes. Migration help is available on request: we'll work through your members, open referrals and programme setup with you. There's no automatic import from Referral Rock.
Is Salesforce included?
Yes. The Salesforce integration, with stage mapping, is included at no extra cost.
Is there a contract?
No. There's no minimum term and you can close your account at any time. Fees already incurred remain payable.
Stop paying a monthly fee for a programme that's still warming up
Sign up free and set up your programmes today. You pay 1% only when rewards go out.
Prices as listed on vendors' websites, checked October 2026. Prices and features change, so check each vendor's own page before you decide. Sources: Referral Rock pricing, Referral Rock AI information page, Referral Rock Salesforce integration, USD/GBP rate.
Referral Rock is a trademark of its owner. Referral Nexus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Referral Rock. This comparison uses their publicly listed prices and features, which may change. See our Terms for full pricing terms.