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GrowSurfvsCello

Considering referral software? Try GrowSurf, the Cello alternative for product and marketing teams that want to launch an in-product customer referral program with minimal dev time

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Trusted by marketing and product teams at fast-growing tech startups

Compare GrowSurf vs Cello

GrowSurf is the referral platform that growth and product teams choose when they need speed, control, and results. Launch multi-step, multi-channel campaigns in hours, automate rewards and payouts, and use AI-guided recommendations to tune programs that actually move the needle.

Cello is more suitable for launching an affiliate program that lives in your SaaS product. It’s a low-risk way to validate programs — but if you want more native integrations, deeper campaign logic, and advanced analytics from day one, GrowSurf is the clearer path.

Quick Overview

GrowSurf

  • Startup: $179/mo → up to 2,500 participants, 2 campaigns, 2 team members

  • Business: $449/mo → up to 10,000 participants, 5 campaigns, 5 team members

  • Custom: 150,000+ participants with enterprise features:

    • Custom campaign & participant limits

    • Custom team member limits & granular roles

    • Volume discounts & security questionnaire support

    • Expert onboarding program & priority support

  • Built-in fraud prevention, API, webhooks, and AI features

  • Exclusive partner perks valued at $234k+

Cello

  • Free: $0 → Up to $5k referral ARR (Unlimited referrals & features)

  • Grow: $250/mo → Up to $50k referral ARR

  • Scale: $750/mo → Up to $100k referral ARR

  • Enterprise: Custom → Unlimited referral ARR (contact sales)

  • All plans include unlimited referrals, integrations, and compliance

  • Success-based pricing reduces upfront risk for early-stage tests

Feature by Feature

  • Campaign Flexibility: GrowSurf supports multi-step, multi-channel referral flows, dynamic rewards, automated payouts, and offline/manual triggers — built for programs that grow in complexity. Cello focuses on embedded, in-product affiliate workflows.

  • Advanced Analytics: GrowSurf provides granular dashboards, participant & reward metadata, and automated reporting so teams can iterate quickly at scale.

  • Developer & Integration Tools: GrowSurf includes a full REST API, webhooks, SDKs, and many integrations out of the box for marketing and CDP tooling.

  • Enterprise Controls: GrowSurf offers enterprise-grade features (security questionnaire support, audit logs, granular access control, and priority onboarding) available on custom plans.

  • AI-Driven Optimization: GrowSurf goes beyond suggestions — it recommends rewards, helps write promotional copy, and audits landing pages to improve conversion across your referral funnels.

  • Fraud & Compliance: GrowSurf includes burner-email detection, IP thresholds and data-center IP blocking, manual fraud tagging, and GDPR/CCPA support to keep programs healthy as they scale.

Why Marketing and Product Teams Choose GrowSurf Over Cello
Willful

" I had about ten other referral software providers I looked at. We chose GrowSurf because it was something we could customize without having to get developers to build the whole thing out. The price was another big plus for us."

Tracy Laranjo
Tracy Laranjo
Growth Manager at Willful
MainStreet

"We use Growsurf to track ALL of our referrals, from paid acquisition channels to newsletters. GrowSurf is responsible for 15% of our new ARR from the last six weeks."

Nick Abouzeid
Nick Abouzeid
Head of Marketing at MainStreet
Keyring

" No need to compare other referral marketing solutions. I've compared them all, and we went with GrowSurf.…Their quick-campaign creation and super fast customer support are amazing. Value for price is also unmatched."

Chino Lex
Chino Lex
Founder, CEO at Keyring
Choose Cello for affiliates. Choose GrowSurf for referrals.
Cello is a good choice for powering in-product affiliates with recurring cash commissions. But GrowSurf is the platform you pick when you want an in-product referral program that scales your revenue confidently.
Organic growth
Easy scaling
Amazing returns
Our features

Explore what makes GrowSurf the
perfect referral program solution

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  • Automatic unique links for all signed-in users
    Don't make your users sign up to join your referral program. When they're logged into your user portal, they'll see their unique link and can share it right away through social media, email, and more.
    Automatic unique links for all signed-in users
  • One-liners to copy and paste anywhere
    Get short lines of code that you can embed into your user portal and emails to promote your referral program exactly where your users are.
    One-liners to copy and paste anywhere
  • Campaign analytics to reveal what works
    Get more insight into your word-of-mouth marketing efforts than you've ever had before. Discover your top-performing campaigns and referrers so you can take strategic action that will maximize your results.
    Campaign analytics to reveal what works
  • Cuts referral program setup time from days to hours
    Our users report that the time to set up a referral program manually is a few weeks. To create it with standard referral software takes days. But to set it up with GrowSurf takes less than one day.
    Cuts referral program setup time from days to hours
  • Integrations with popular tools
    Plug and play into the tools you already use. GrowSurf connects to your CRM, email marketing tools, and dozens of other apps.
    Integrations with popular tools, Zapier, and API

Set up your refer a friend program with customer referral program software that lowers your acquisition costs, increases customer loyalty, and saves you gobs of time.

Trusted by marketing and product teams at fast-growing B2C, fintech, and SaaS companies