ShareASale is one of the best free affiliate marketing apps available in 2025. It offers a comprehensive platform for connecting with bloggers, influencers and digital partners who can promote your products to engaged audiences. The app provides free installation with built-in partner discovery tools, comprehensive transaction tracking, and flexible commission options. While user reviews suggest some technical issues, the core functionality for affiliate program management remains valuable for store owners looking to expand their reach through partnerships.
Several strong alternatives to ShareASale are available in the Shopify app store. UpPromote Affiliate Marketing offers a 4.9-star rating with 2,584 reviews and provides influencer & affiliate program management. Shopify Collabs is another option with 3.7 stars, focusing on influencer partnerships. GOAFFPRO offers a free plan and has 4.8 stars with 859 reviews, providing powerful affiliate and referral marketing capabilities. These alternatives generally offer better user support and more modern interfaces compared to ShareASale's declining user experience.
To set up affiliate marketing with ShareASale, first install the free Shopify app from the app store. You'll need to create a separate ShareASale merchant account to sync with your Shopify store. The app will guide you through connecting your store to the ShareASale platform, where you can set up commission structures, manage affiliate partnerships, and track performance. Remember that ShareASale is transitioning to Awin, so new users may want to consider Awin directly for future-proofing their affiliate marketing strategy.
Common issues with ShareASale app configuration include blank app screens, pixel code saving errors due to technical glitches, and data feed synchronization problems. Some users report that the app may fail to work properly if product descriptions contain special characters like quotation marks. The platform also requires separate account setup outside of Shopify, which can create additional complexity. These technical issues have contributed to the app's low user rating and many merchants are considering alternatives due to configuration challenges.
ShareASale is being phased out and will close on October 6, 2025, with all users being upgraded to Awin. Awin offers several advantages over the legacy ShareASale platform, including higher quality partnerships with built-in compliance, smarter data-driven tracking for better accuracy, and improved reporting and commissioning tools. Awin also provides additional features and better support to help merchants manage and scale their affiliate activities more effectively. For new users, Awin is the recommended choice as it represents the future of the platform with enhanced capabilities.
