# Stoked vs ReferralCandy

Both help your customers bring you new customers — but they work on completely different people. ReferralCandy hands a referral code to someone who already bought, hoping they pass it to a friend. Stoked connects a hesitant buyer with a real owner for a private conversation _before_ they commit. If you sell a $1,000+ product people research for weeks, that difference decides the sale.

[Book a Demo](/demo/)

 ![A real SMS conversation between a prospect and a verified product owner inside Stoked](/images/product/conversation-detail.webp?v=809d5606)
 ![](/images/feature/effect-4.png)

## Two Tools, Two Different Buyers

ReferralCandy is a **referral and affiliate platform** — it gives your existing customers a coupon code and reward to share with friends, gives creators commissions on the sales they drive, and tracks the revenue. It’s genuinely good at that. Stoked is a **peer-to-peer advocacy platform** — it puts a prospect in a real 1:1 SMS, email, or web conversation with an actual owner, through a privacy proxy, and tracks which conversations drive sales. One rewards people who’ve already decided to buy; the other reaches the buyer who’s still on the fence.

## Feature-by-Feature Comparison

An honest side-by-side, last reviewed against ReferralCandy’s public website. Where ReferralCandy is the stronger choice, we say so.

| | Stoked | ReferralCandy | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1:1 private conversations (buyer ↔ real owner) | | | ReferralCandy is codes and links — there is no conversation between a prospect and an owner. |
| Reaches the hesitant, undecided buyer | | | Referral codes activate after someone already bought; they don't help the prospect still deciding. |
| Channels: SMS, email & web chat | | Partial | ReferralCandy distributes referral links and codes; sharing reach depends on the referrer, not a managed conversation. |
| Privacy proxy (no personal contact info shared) | | | Prospects appear as 'First L.' — no phone or email exposed on either side. |
| Interactive map of real owners | | | Prospects browse owners near them and start a chat. |
| Referrer / advocate rewards | | | Both reward. ReferralCandy: coupons, store credit, cash via PayPal, gift cards. Stoked: points or cash for conversations that help close sales. |
| Affiliate / creator commission tracking | | | This is ReferralCandy's strength — coupon codes, flat or percentage commissions, and tiered milestones for affiliates. |
| Conversation-to-sale ROI attribution | | Partial | ReferralCandy attributes revenue to codes and links; Stoked attributes individual conversations to sales. |
| Works on any website | | | Stoked is one script tag on any site. ReferralCandy supports Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, plus API. |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly, no success fee | Monthly + success fee | ReferralCandy adds a success fee (0.25%–10.5%) on a referred customer's first three orders. Stoked is flat — better when each sale is four or five figures. |
| Free trial | | | ReferralCandy offers a 7-day free trial; Stoked starts at $79/mo (annual) with a focus on high-ticket programs. |
| Best fit | High-ticket, high-consideration ($1,000+) | Repeat-purchase, share-friendly products | Codes work when friends buy on a recommendation; expensive, researched purchases need a conversation first. |

Comparison last reviewed June 2026 against ReferralCandy's public website. See something out of date? [Tell us](/contact/) and we'll correct it.

## Why Conversations Beat Codes for $1,000+ Products

A referral code is great when a happy customer texts a friend “buy this, here’s 10% off.” That works for a $40 supplement. It does almost nothing for the buyer agonizing over a $3,000 cargo bike, because their question isn’t “is there a discount?” — it’s “will this fit through my doorway?” and “how does the battery hold up in winter?” Stoked lets that buyer ask a real owner and get a real answer, with photos, in minutes. 90% of conversations are fully self-serve.

[Explore Features](/features/)

 ![Interactive map of real product owners with profiles a prospect can message](/images/feature/map-with-sidebar.webp?v=b69ac552)

 ![](/images/feature/effect-2.png)

## What Real Conversations Drive

Bunch Bikes — a premium cargo e-bike brand — runs peer-to-peer advocacy with Stoked.

40%

of sales driven by advocates

70 min

daily admin time saved

90%

conversations fully self-serve

## When ReferralCandy Is the Better Choice

We're not going to pretend Stoked is right for everyone. If you sell a lower-priced, repeat-purchase product — supplements, coffee, apparel, anything a happy customer can confidently recommend with a quick "you should try this" — ReferralCandy is a strong fit. It's purpose-built to turn that recommendation into a trackable code, reward both sides automatically, and run alongside an affiliate program with real commission tooling. If you want creators and partners earning percentage commissions on the sales they drive, that's squarely ReferralCandy's lane, not Stoked's.

If your product costs four or five figures and your buyers research for weeks before committing, the deciding moment isn't a coupon — it's a conversation with someone who already owns it. That's what Stoked is built for. Some brands even run both: ReferralCandy to reward the easy word-of-mouth, Stoked to close the buyers who need to talk to a real person first.

## Stoked vs ReferralCandy FAQs

The questions brands ask when choosing between the two.

01
## Does ReferralCandy connect prospects with real customers?

No. ReferralCandy is a referral and affiliate platform — it gives existing customers a coupon code and reward to share, and gives creators commissions on the sales they drive. It doesn’t put a prospect in a private conversation with a real owner before they buy. That direct buyer-to-owner conversation is the core of what Stoked does.

02
## Can I use both Stoked and ReferralCandy?

Yes, and it can make sense. ReferralCandy rewards the easy word-of-mouth from customers who already bought; Stoked closes the high-consideration buyers who need to ask a real person before spending $1,000+. Different stage of the funnel, different job.

03
## How is Stoked's pricing different from ReferralCandy's?

ReferralCandy charges a monthly fee plus a success fee — a percentage of a referred customer’s first three orders, ranging from about 10.5% on the entry plan down to 0.25% on Enterprise. Stoked is flat monthly with no per-sale cut, which matters when a single closed sale is worth thousands. [See full pricing →](/pricing/)

04
## Is Stoked an affiliate or commission platform?

No — and that’s deliberate. If you need creators and partners earning flat or percentage commissions on sales, ReferralCandy does that well. Stoked rewards real owners (points or cash) for conversations that help a hesitant buyer commit. It’s advocacy, not affiliate marketing.

05
## Which should a high-ticket brand pick?

If people research your product for weeks before buying, lead with conversations — a code rarely moves a five-figure decision. If you sell a lower-priced, share-friendly product, ReferralCandy’s referral and affiliate tooling is the better fit. When in doubt, [book a demo](/demo/) and we’ll tell you honestly whether Stoked is a fit. You can also [compare Stoked to other tools](/compare/) or see [Stoked vs Moast](/compare/stoked-vs-moast/).