Q: What is FirstPromoter and what does it do?
FirstPromoter is an affiliate, referral, and influencer program management platform built for subscription and SaaS businesses. It tracks referrals, calculates commissions against real billing events, and handles partner payouts, all from one dashboard. The same platform runs affiliate programs (publisher-to-audience), referral programs (customer-to-customer), and influencer or creator partnerships (brand-to-creator), each configured for its use case. You connect your billing provider, define your commission logic, and give partners the links, coupon codes, and portal they need to start driving revenue.
Q: How do affiliate payouts work in FirstPromoter?
Payouts are handled inside the platform. You can run one-click and mass payouts through PayPal, Stripe Payouts or export to Wise via CSV. On the Enterprise plan, managed autopayouts are available through Dots. Commissions become payable based on the billing events you define, so you pay out on confirmed revenue rather than unverified signups. Every payout action is logged with a timestamp and the user who approved it.
Q: How much does FirstPromoter cost?
FirstPromoter has three plans: Starter at $49/month, Business at $99/month, and Enterprise from $149/month. Every plan starts with a free 14-day trial, no credit card required. Managed autopayouts via Dots are available on the Enterprise plan.
Q: What does FirstPromoter integrate with?
FirstPromoter connects natively with the major billing providers: Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, Recurly, and Braintree, so commissions fire on your real billing events. It also integrates with a range of third-party platforms including Ghost, GoHighLevel, ClickFunnels, Calendly, SamCart, Kajabi, ThriveCart, Kartra, Thinkific, and more. For automation, it works with Zapier, Make, Albato, and n8n (which has a dedicated FirstPromoter node). Any provider that isn't natively supported can be connected through the FirstPromoter API with a custom integration.
Q: Does FirstPromoter work with Stripe?
Yes. Stripe is a native billing integration. Commissions fire on real Stripe billing events, coupon codes are auto-created in Stripe (a single Stripe coupon can carry multiple promotion codes assigned to different partners), and Stripe is the one provider that also supports retroactive commission generation through a CSV import of past billing events.
Q: Does FirstPromoter work with Paddle?
Yes. Paddle is a native billing integration, alongside Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, and Braintree. Commissions are calculated against your Paddle billing events automatically once the integration is connected.
Q: How does coupon code tracking work in FirstPromoter?
Each partner gets a unique coupon code as an alternative or supplement to their tracking link. When a customer redeems the code at checkout, the sale is attributed to that partner and a commission is logged. Coupon tracking is especially useful where links are unreliable, such as podcasts, social media, offline content, or at the point of checkout. Codes are auto-created in Stripe, and a single Stripe coupon can have multiple promotion codes mapped to different partners. Link, coupon, and direct URL attribution can all run simultaneously for the same partner, feeding the same commission record.
Q: Does FirstPromoter have an API, and where are the docs?
Yes. FirstPromoter offers a full API for tracking commissions, building custom integrations, and connecting billing providers that aren't natively supported. The API also powers webhooks, so any program event can trigger an automation you build around FirstPromoter. Documentation is available at docs.firstpromoter.com.
Q: How do affiliates access their dashboard and referral portal?
Affiliates log in to a dedicated partner portal, separate from the operator dashboard. The portal is white-label, embeds on your domain, and carries your brand, so partners see your program rather than the software vendor's. From there they access their tracking links, coupon codes, performance stats, payout history, and, where enabled, their own postback configuration. For referral programs, the portal auto-authenticates existing customers, so referrers reach their referral link without a separate signup.
Q: How does FirstPromoter track affiliate sales and referrals?
FirstPromoter supports three attribution methods that can run at the same time for the same partner: referral or vanity links (unique tracking links available in multiple formats, with no redirects or short-links to preserve SEO value), coupon codes, and direct URL tracking (where any visitor who lands on an assigned page is attributed to that partner). Attribution can be set to first-click or last-click per campaign or per individual partner, with a configurable cookie window. Every referral carries entry source, traffic source, and referrer URL data. When a tracked visitor converts, the commission fires on the real billing event you define rather than on signup, so rewards tie to actual revenue.
Q: Is FirstPromoter a good fit for SaaS and subscription businesses?
Yes, FirstPromoter is purpose-built for subscription and SaaS businesses. Commissions are connected directly to billing events, so they fire on real charges and renewals rather than on signups that may churn. It supports recurring percentage commissions, the most common SaaS affiliate model, along with flat-fee, lifetime, tiered, and performance-bonus structures. With native integrations for Stripe, Chargebee, Paddle, Recurly, and Braintree, it slots into the billing stack most SaaS companies already run.
Q: How do I set up an affiliate program with FirstPromoter?
Setup takes about 15 minutes and no engineering team. Connect your billing provider, create your program, and define your commission logic (percentage, flat fee, recurring, lifetime, tiered, or performance bonuses). From there you invite affiliates or open applications, and each one receives a unique tracking link and optional coupon code. Once a referred visitor converts and the billing event you chose fires, the commission is calculated and logged automatically, ready for payout.
Q: Does FirstPromoter have an AI assistant for managing your program?
Yes. An AI assistant is built into the dashboard. It reads live program data and handles operational tasks on confirmation: approving commissions, surfacing inactive partners, querying performance and commission cost against revenue, sending broadcasts, creating campaigns, and drafting email sequences. It has read and write access across your program. Financial actions such as payouts and invoices stay in the dashboard for direct operator control.
FirstPromoter also offers MCP server that supports read and write access across partners, campaigns, commissions, referrals, emails, and promo codes, so you can manage your program conversationally from your preferred AI tool.
Q: How does FirstPromoter's built-in fraud protection work?
Fraud protection runs automatically before a commission fires. Self-referrals, suspicious signups, and ad fraud are flagged so they can be reviewed before any payout is approved. For paid traffic specifically, you can choose per campaign whether to track ad-driven conversions normally, hold them as pending for manual review, or block them entirely. The result is that commissions are paid on legitimate referrals, not on fraudulent ones.
Q: How long does it take to set up FirstPromoter?
Most programs go live the same day. A standard setup takes around 15 minutes: connect your billing provider, configure your commission structure, and you're ready to invite partners, no developer required. Custom or JS-based integrations vary with your setup, and support is available throughout either way.
Q: What other applications or services does FirstPromoter integrate with?
FirstPromoter integrates with: Braintree, Chargebee, Claude, Make, n8n, Paddle, PayPal, Recurly, Stripe, Wise, and Zapier.
