Q: What is the best, free affiliate marketing program management software?
A: The simple answer is that there are none. Typically, best and free don’t go together when it comes to business products and services.
There are a lot of options out there at low price points for affiliate tracking software that you install on your own server.
However, I would advise anybody with the budget to go with an affiliate network. Get a demo from each one and examine their features to determine which is best for you.
But it concerns me that you are looking for a free vendor, which could indicate that your budget is so small that you are not ready to launch an affiliate program.
Bear in mind that the affiliate tracking is just one of the costs. You’ll also have the management of the affiliate program, as well as commissions to the affiliates. An affiliate program isn’t something where you can set it and forget it.
You have to cultivate relationships and work on the program day to day. Unless you are prepared for laying out money on the front end to do it right, you’re better off not doing it at all.