Your Lemon Squeezy affiliates,
beyond the Hub.
Lemon Squeezy is a merchant of record with a built-in Affiliate Hub: zero-setup affiliate tracking inside its own checkout, with Lemon Squeezy paying affiliates out of the MoR flow. Rekomi tracks Lemon Squeezy stores through its Lemon Squeezy integration, so this comparison is not about leaving your store. It is about where the affiliate program lives, what each option costs per sale, how much control you get, and one thing unique to this page: what Lemon Squeezy's own post-acquisition messaging means for a program you are building on top of it.
When to pick which.
You want to invite and import your own affiliates instead of waiting for applications, shape commissions beyond a flat rate (tiers, delays, caps, documented recurring rules), attribute sales to coupon codes, screen clicks and leads for fraud, give affiliates a portal on your own domain, and keep the program portable: across Lemon Squeezy today, and across whatever your checkout becomes next.
You sell only through Lemon Squeezy, you want literally zero setup and zero extra vendors, and a flat commission with LS handling affiliate vetting, payouts, and tax forms end to end is your whole program. The Affiliate Hub is genuinely the shortest path from nothing to a working program inside one checkout.
The full comparison.
How we keep this honest
Every row reflects real product behavior on the date above. We update this page when either product ships material changes. Nothing here is invented to make Rekomi look better.
Which one fits your situation.
Affiliate platforms are not one-size-fits-all. Here is a straight read on which tool wins for each profile we see.
LS-only store that wants a program running this afternoon with zero vendors
The Affiliate Hub is already inside your dashboard: set a rate, share your signup URL, and LS handles vetting, payouts, and tax forms. If a flat rate and apply-only recruiting fit your program, use it; that is the honest answer.
LS store whose affiliate program is becoming a real growth channel
The Hub's ceiling arrives fast: no invites or imports, no tiers, no coupon codes, undocumented recurring behavior, a read-only three-endpoint API, and a shared LS-branded portal. Rekomi's native LS integration is one pasted API key, and the program gains every lever the Hub lacks.
Store planning for the Stripe Managed Payments transition
Lemon Squeezy's stated goal is an easy migration of its users to Stripe Managed Payments. A program inside the Affiliate Hub is welded to LS checkout; a Rekomi program is checkout-independent, and Rekomi is Stripe-native on the other side, so your roster, links, and history survive the move.
Seller on Lemon Squeezy plus other channels (Stripe, Gumroad, own site)
The Hub only sees LS sales, and your other checkout gets nothing. Rekomi supports all of those platforms with the same commission engine, fraud screening, and payout rails: each billing platform runs as its own workspace (one conversion source of truth each), so every channel gets the same program quality instead of one channel getting a feature.
Where the modern build pays off.
The pillars below summarise the side-by-side above. We keep the read honest by including the cases where Lemon Squeezy still wins today.
Our case.
Control and portability. You recruit actively (invites, imports, open signup, a curated network) instead of waiting for applications LS pre-screens. Commissions get the full engine: tiers, delays, caps, documented recurring rules, churn-aware reversal, coupon-code attribution, CPC and CPL with real-time fraud scoring. Affiliates get a branded portal on your domain and real analytics. Developers get a full API and MCP server instead of three read-only endpoints. And the program is not welded to one checkout, which matters twice here: once for multi-channel sellers today, and once for every LS store watching the Stripe Managed Payments transition.
What both ship.
Stripe-native tracking, refund-aware attribution, signed S2S hooks, and standard commission models. Both tools clear the bar on the table-stakes. The differences live in everything built on top of that foundation.
No spin.
Zero setup inside a checkout you already run, and a real end-to-end story: Lemon Squeezy vets applicants, tracks cookielessly with a configurable window and first- or last-click choice, pays affiliates out of the MoR flow twice a month with W-9/W-8 collection, and voids referrals automatically on refunds. The Programs directory gives you passive discovery among LS's vetted affiliates. For a single-store program with a flat rate, that is a complete and honest answer at no monthly cost.
Our straight answer.
If Lemon Squeezy is your only checkout and a flat-rate, apply-only program fits, use the Affiliate Hub; it is built in and it works. Move to Rekomi when the program matters enough to manage: when you want to recruit rather than receive applicants, shape commissions rather than set one number, and own a program that survives checkout changes. That last point is specific to this comparison: Lemon Squeezy's own 2026 update names migrating users to Stripe Managed Payments as the goal, and Rekomi is the affiliate layer that works on both sides of that move. The importer pulls your roster through the LS API in one pass, since no CSV export exists.
Common questions.
What does the Lemon Squeezy Affiliate Hub actually cost?
Two fees, per Lemon Squeezy's current published docs: 3% of each affiliate-referred order added to the merchant's platform fee, and 2% deducted from affiliate commissions at payout. (You may see 10% cited elsewhere; Lemon Squeezy's live documentation says 3% + 2%.) These sit on top of the normal MoR fees: 5% + $0.50 on the tax-inclusive total, plus 1.5% for international cards, 1.5% for PayPal, and 0.5% on subscription payments where applicable.
Is Lemon Squeezy shutting down?
No, and we will not claim otherwise: signups are open and no sunset has been announced as of our fact-check. What is verifiable from Lemon Squeezy's own posts: Stripe acquired it in July 2024; the January 2026 update acknowledges slower support and less frequent product updates; Stripe Managed Payments is the new merchant-of-record product, with public access described as coming very soon; and the stated goal is giving LS users an easy migration to it. Plan your affiliate program with that trajectory in mind.
Can I keep selling through Lemon Squeezy and run affiliates on Rekomi?
Yes; that is the intended setup. Rekomi supports Lemon Squeezy natively: paste one API key and Rekomi validates it, creates the webhook on your store subscribed to exactly the order, subscription, and refund events it needs, and confirms it registered. LS API keys expire after one year, so Rekomi also watches the connection and emails you if it stops working. See /integrations/lemonsqueezy.
How do affiliate payouts compare?
Affiliate Hub: Lemon Squeezy pays affiliates directly, in USD to bank or PayPal, on payouts created the 1st and 15th and paid the 14th and 28th, after a 30-day commission hold, with a merchant-set minimum (default $10) and provider fees passed to the affiliate. Rekomi: Stripe Express and PayPal rails across 150+ countries, automatic daily, weekly, or monthly schedules plus on-demand runs, configurable minimums at org and campaign level, and US 1099-NEC prep handled at year end.
Why can't I add my own affiliates to the Affiliate Hub?
By design: Lemon Squeezy's docs state affiliates always apply and cannot be manually added, and every affiliate is first vetted by Lemon Squeezy centrally before applying to any program. That protects their MoR network, but it means your existing partners must pass someone else's intake to promote your product. On Rekomi you invite, bulk-import, or approve applicants under your own rules.
How does migration from the Affiliate Hub work?
Lemon Squeezy has no affiliate CSV export, so Rekomi pulls your roster (names, emails, statuses) through the LS API: one click if your store is connected via Lemon Squeezy Connect, or paste an API key once. Referral history and per-affiliate rates are not exposed by the API. Each affiliate's ?aff= code is only visible on their individual LS profile, so paste any email,aff_code pairs you want preserved; those links keep attributing on Rekomi when they land on your own site where the snippet runs (links pointing straight at your *.lemonsqueezy.com storefront cannot be carried over by any tool). Everyone else gets a fresh link. See /docs/brands/migrations/lemonsqueezy.
Does the Affiliate Hub handle recurring commissions on subscriptions?
It is not documented. Lemon Squeezy's affiliate docs describe a referral as created when a customer visits an affiliate link and then buys; there is no published behavior for renewal payments. If recurring revenue share is core to your program, that ambiguity is itself a reason to run commissions somewhere the rules are explicit; Rekomi's recurring options (one-time, capped months, lifetime, delays, churn-aware reversal) are documented and configurable per campaign.
What does Lemon Squeezy's Affiliate Hub do better than Rekomi?
Honest list: it is zero-setup inside a checkout you already have, has no monthly software cost, includes central applicant vetting you do not have to think about, ships cookieless tracking with a first-click or last-click choice, and its network-wide Programs directory can bring applicants passively. If those outweigh control and portability for you today, use it; when that changes, the move is a single API pull.
What an affiliate-referred sale costs on each.
Lemon Squeezy publishes a worked example we can borrow: a $20 product sold to an EU customer with a 30% affiliate commission. Here is that exact math, next to the same program on Rekomi.
| Line item | Affiliate Hub | Rekomi on the same store |
|---|---|---|
| Order total (VAT included; LS is MoR) | $24.00 | $24.00, checkout unchanged |
| VAT remitted by Lemon Squeezy | $4.00 | $4.00 |
| LS platform fees | $2.78 (incl. the 3% affiliate surcharge) | $2.06 (no affiliate surcharge) |
| Affiliate commission (30%) | $6.00 | $6.00, or whatever your campaign rules say |
| Affiliate-side fee | $0.12 (2% of commission) | $0 |
| Affiliate takes home | $5.88 | $6.00 |
| Rekomi payout fee (3%) | n/a | $0.18 |
| Merchant nets | $11.22 | $11.76, before the flat plan (from $19/mo) |
At small volume the Hub's pay-per-use shape is cheaper than $19/mo. The crossover comes quickly with scale: Lemon Squeezy charges 3% of the full order total plus 2% of the commission, while Rekomi's fee is 3% of the commission paid out, never a cut of the order total. Run your own numbers at your volume; both fee schedules above are published.
Your program should survive your checkout.
Unique to this comparison: Lemon Squeezy itself is mid-transition. Everything below is from Lemon Squeezy's own published posts, with dates.
Switching from the Affiliate Hub, step by step.
Lemon Squeezy has no affiliate CSV export, so this is the one importer with no file upload at all: Rekomi pulls your roster straight through the LS API.
- Store connected via Lemon Squeezy Connect? One click on Pull affiliates. Otherwise paste an API key once; it is never stored.
- Names, emails, and statuses import. Referral history and per-affiliate rates cannot be exported from Lemon Squeezy at all.
- Each affiliate's ?aff= code is only shown on their individual LS profile, so paste any email,aff_code pairs you want preserved; those links keep attributing on Rekomi for traffic landing on your own site (aff is a recognized parameter; links aimed straight at your *.lemonsqueezy.com storefront cannot carry over). Everyone else gets a fresh link.
- Your LS store keeps selling throughout; the native integration tracks new sales from the moment it is connected.
Looking at someone else?
Side by side, always
Every comparison page on Rekomi is fact-checked the same way. Pick the affiliate platform you are auditing and read the honest read.
Switch from Lemon Squeezy this week.
Self-serve importers ship for 13 platforms: Rewardful, Tapfiliate, FirstPromoter, PartnerStack, Dub Partners, Tolt, Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad, impact.com, PromoteKit, LeadDyno, Trackdesk, and Partnero; most of the API pulls also bring leads, lifetime click counts, and commission history. White-glove sales and payout backfill included for early adopters. You stay in control.
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