OpenPartner vs PartnerStack
PartnerStack is the right tool for a specific shape of B2B SaaS: formal partner programs with resellers and referral partners alongside affiliates, a partner team, and budget for an annual contract. OpenPartner is for everyone else — SaaS at any stage that wants partner program software at a published price, without the annual contract.
| OpenPartner | PartnerStack | |
|---|---|---|
| Product framing | Partner program software + marketplace, sized for SaaS at any stage | Partner platform for B2B SaaS: affiliates, referral partners and resellers in one program |
| Open-source core | MIT-licensed, full source on GitHub | Closed source |
| Self-host option | Available — Docker Compose template | Not available |
| Getting started | Self-serve signup, no demo; integration takes about an hour | Every plan starts with a demo, then guided onboarding; PartnerStack says most teams are up and running in weeks, depending on program complexity |
| Pricing shape | Published: 3% of partner-attributed revenue on Revshare, or $49/month + 1.5% on Flex. Where 10% of the commission (5% on Flex) is higher, as on commissions above 30% or bounties, that's the fee. No annual contract | Not published. Its SaaS Agreement sets an annual subscription plus a monthly percentage of partner commissions. It auto-renews yearly, with the subscription up 7% at each renewal |
| Attribution scope | Click → identity → revenue: once your app calls identify, later events count on any device | 90-day first-party cookie; the customer has to sign up or buy on the same browser and device they clicked from |
| Attribution models | Last-click, first-click, linear or position-based, per program; every attribution traces back to its click | Last click: the most recently clicked referral link is credited. No other models documented |
| Compound commission rules | First-sale bonus + recurring + trigger bonuses as one campaign | Link tracking or lead and deal registration on Launch; all of them on Enterprise |
| Partner discovery | OpenPartner Network — creator-focused marketplace | PartnerStack Network: B2B affiliate, referral, co-sell and influencer partners, included from the Launch plan |
| Direct payouts | Brand-to-partner (your own rail on hosted, Stripe Connect on self-host), no platform skim on creator earnings | PartnerStack invoices you monthly and pays partners, who pay a fee to withdraw. All partner payments go through it |
| Data portability | CSV per table; a JSON or SQL bundle that restores into a self-hosted instance | Report exports and an API; 30 days to download your data after the contract ends |
| Managed services | Self-serve; support by email, priority support on Enterprise | Guided onboarding on every plan; a designated CSM on Enterprise |
| Best fit | SaaS that wants software, not services — at any stage | B2B SaaS with resellers, referral partners and affiliates, and a partner team to run them |
PartnerStack details come from its public pages, help center and SaaS Agreement, as of October 2026. They change, so check them before you sign anything.
If you're enterprise B2B, PartnerStack is genuinely the right tool.
Reseller and agency workflows
Lead and deal registration (Launch makes you pick it or link tracking; Enterprise has both), MDF (marketing development funds) management and advanced partner segmentation from the Growth plan — the things you need when partners are companies, not creators. OpenPartner has none of the reseller workflow.
Payouts and onboarding handled
PartnerStack pays your partners by PayPal, Stripe or direct deposit, from one monthly invoice to you, and partners put their tax details on file with it before they withdraw. Every plan includes guided onboarding, and Enterprise adds a designated CSM. On OpenPartner's hosted plans you pay partners yourself.
A B2B partner network
The PartnerStack Network is built around B2B partners: affiliate, referral, co-sell and influencer partners who already apply to programs, with marketplace access from the Launch plan. If those are the partners you're recruiting, it's real distribution.
Compliance and procurement
PartnerStack says its platform is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, with the report available on request. That's a box an enterprise security review will want ticked.
OpenPartner is the accessible alternative when PartnerStack is overkill.
Self-serve, not CSM-led
Sign up, connect your site, ship a program the same day. There's no demo to book and no onboarding project to schedule.
A price you can see
$0/month on Revshare or $49/month on Flex, published, with no annual contract. PartnerStack doesn't publish prices: you get an annual subscription plus a monthly fee on partner commissions, and Vendr's self-reported buyer data (February 2026) puts the median contract at about $19,600 a year.
Open-source and self-hostable
MIT-licensed, run it on your infrastructure if you want. PartnerStack is closed hosted-only.
Creator-focused marketplace
The OpenPartner Network is built for individual creators and small-shop affiliates — the partners B2C and prosumer SaaS actually recruit. Creators can also list priced packages, like a sponsored video, on a storefront, and you book them through your program. PartnerStack's network is a B2B one, influencers included.
Auditable attribution
Raw clicks and events are append-only, and every attribution traces back to the click behind it. The raw events export with the rest of your data, for your own analysis. Change the model later and it applies from then on; past attributions stay as they were.
Data portability as architecture
Export the raw layers in CSV, JSON, or SQL whenever you like, with no end-of-contract deadline. Re-import into a self-hosted copy. Migration off OpenPartner is a supported path, not a support ticket.
How to choose
Pick PartnerStack if many of your partners are companies (resellers, agencies, referral partners) rather than individual creators, you need deal registration, you have or want a partnerships team, and an annual contract is in budget. It's the right tool for that shape of program.
Pick OpenPartner for everything else. Early stage, B2C or prosumer SaaS, creator partners, programs where the founder or marketing lead is the partner manager, anything that should launch without a sales call.
Looking at other tools? Compare against Rewardful, Dub Partners, Tapfiliate, or Post Affiliate Pro.