Software Alternatives & Startups

PureRef VS Affise

Compare PureRef VS Affise and see what are their differences

PureRef

The simple way to view and organize your multiple reference images.

Rating
0 reviews
Affise

Affiliate marketing and mobile attribution platform built to manage, attribute, and scale performance marketing across web and mobile.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, PureRef seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 4 times since March 2021.

social mentions
4 vs 0
Productivity popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
120 vs 195

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

PureRef
Affise
Website pureref.com affise.com
Pricing —
Company — Startup from Lithuania · 100 - 249 employees · 2016
Listed in

About PureRef and Affise

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

PureRef
Affise

No description of PureRef yet.

Affiliate marketing and mobile attribution platform built to manage, attribute, and scale performance marketing across web and mobile. Trusted by 1,000+ companies since 2017, Affise offers two core products: Affise Performance – Built for affiliate networks to track, optimize, and scale with...

Read more about Affise

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

PureRef 6 features
Affise 7 features
  • User-Friendly Interface
    PureRef offers a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to organize and manage reference images. The minimalistic design allows users to focus on their work without unnecessary distractions.
  • Lightweight and Portable
    The software is lightweight and does not require installation, making it highly portable. Users can run PureRef from a USB drive or any location on their computer.
  • Flexible Canvas
    PureRef provides a flexible canvas that can be easily resized and adjusted to fit users’ needs. This allows for seamless scaling of images without quality loss and the ability to organize the workspace freely.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    PureRef is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing users to maintain a consistent workflow across different operating systems.
  • Customizable Shortcuts
    Users can customize keyboard shortcuts to fit their workflow, which increases efficiency and speeds up navigation within the software.
  • Multiple Image Formats
    PureRef supports a wide range of image formats, ensuring compatibility with most reference images beyond basic formats like JPG and PNG.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Editing Tools
    While PureRef excels in organizing and displaying reference images, it lacks advanced editing tools, which means users need to rely on other software for image adjustments or annotations.
  • No Cloud Integration
    PureRef does not offer built-in cloud storage or syncing options, which could be inconvenient for users who work across multiple devices and want seamless access to their reference boards.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic functionalities are easy to grasp, some advanced features and keyboard shortcuts may require time to learn and master, particularly for users new to PureRef.
  • Not Free for All Users
    Although PureRef offers a pay-what-you-want pricing model, users may face ethical dilemmas or budget constraints when deciding what to pay, especially if they plan to use it for professional purposes.
  • Occasional Performance Issues
    Some users report occasional lag or performance issues when handling extremely large collections of high-resolution images, which can disrupt workflow.
  • Comprehensive Tracking
    Affise offers robust tracking capabilities, enabling users to monitor a wide array of performance metrics, from clicks and conversions to detailed user behavior.
  • Customizable Interface
    The platform provides a highly customizable interface, allowing users to tailor dashboards and reports to suit their specific needs.
  • API Access
    Affise offers extensive API access for advanced integrations, making it easier to connect with other tools and systems used by businesses.
  • Affiliate Management
    The tool includes comprehensive affiliate management features, enabling easy onboarding, management, and payout of affiliates.
  • Real-Time Reporting
    Users can access real-time data and insights, which is essential for making timely and informed decisions in fast-paced marketing environments.
  • Customer Support
    Affise provides 24/7 customer support, ensuring that users can get help whenever they need it.
  • Fraud Detection
    The platform includes fraud detection mechanisms, helping to identify and mitigate fraudulent activities.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

PureRef
Affise

No analysis of PureRef yet.

Overall verdict

  • Affise is generally considered a good platform for those seeking in-depth analytics and customizable solutions in the affiliate marketing space. Its strength lies in its adaptability to different business needs and effective campaign management tools. However, the complexity of its features may present a learning curve for new users.

Why this product is good

  • Affise is a performance marketing platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing affiliate marketing, partnerships, and advertising campaigns. It is known for its robust tracking capabilities, customizable dashboard, and integration options, which can help businesses optimize their marketing efforts. The platform also provides analytics and detailed reporting features to give insights into campaign performance.

Recommended for

    Businesses and marketers who require advanced tracking, reporting, and customization abilities in their affiliate marketing campaigns will benefit most from Affise. The platform is particularly well-suited for medium to large enterprises and agencies looking to effectively manage a high volume of affiliate partnerships and campaigns.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

PureRef 3 videos + Add
Affise 2 videos + Add

The Best Free Tool for Artists - PureRef

More videos

  • - PureRef tutorial: a free, cross-platform virtual board for artists!
  • - PureRef Review

Affise, tracking platform for more than 1000 affiliate networks

More videos

  • - Affise - SaaS Marketing Platform, where you can grow your affiliate business

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
PureRef
Affise
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing PureRef and Affise.

What makes your product unique?

Affise's answer:

Affise distinguishes itself in the performance marketing space through four core differentiators:

  1. Conversion-Based Pricing: Unlike competitors that charge by clicks, impressions, or monthly tracked users (MTU), Affise uses a predictable model where you only pay for actual, successful conversions.

  2. Unified Ecosystem: It combines mobile measurement (MMP) and partner management into a single system, meaning app attribution data and affiliate payouts are managed natively in one place rather than across synced tools.

  3. All-Inclusive Capabilities: Essential tools like fraud filtering, advanced web attribution, and dynamic web-to-app tracking are built directly into the base platform, rather than sold as separate premium add-ons.

4.API-First Architecture: It provides a highly customizable REST API that allows teams to build custom automated workflows, export raw data seamlessly (to S3 or BigQuery without per-row meters), and manage complex multi-postback rules.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Affise's answer:

  1. Intuitive User Experience: Users consistently praise its smooth, easy-to-navigate interface, which reduces onboarding friction and simplifies daily campaign management.

  2. Comprehensive Built-In Tools: Essential capabilities like advanced conversion tracking, real-time reporting, and native fraud detection are included alongside robust targeting controls like GEO tracking and smart capping.

  3. Powerful API & Integrations: Affise provides a highly customizable API for offer syncing, automated workflows, and seamless connection to major third-party platforms like AppsFlyer, Google Ads, and HubSpot.

  4. Competitive Pricing: Many reviewers find Affise's cost structure to be fairer and more affordable than its immediate rivals, delivering strong value for performance marketing agencies and networks. Responsive Support: The platform backs its technology with fast, reliable chat support and extensive team training resources, including live sessions and self-paced video guides.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Affise's answer:

Affise primarily targets professionals and organizations operating in the performance and affiliate marketing spaces who need robust tools to track, manage, and scale their campaigns. Its core audience can be broken down into a few main segments:

  1. Performance Marketing Networks & Agencies: Ad networks and media buying teams that need to manage thousands of affiliates, automate billing, prevent fraud, and optimize offers using real-time data.

  2. Direct Brands & Advertisers: Companies looking to run their own in-house affiliate programs, track partner performance, and ensure maximum return on ad spend (ROAS) without relying on third-party networks.

  3. Mobile App Marketers & Developers: Teams focused on mobile attribution that need to track in-app events, user engagement, and the overall effectiveness of their mobile advertising campaigns across different channels.

  4. iGaming Operators: A specialized segment within Affise's user base that uses the platform to manage complex payout structures, track player deposits, and optimize partner commissions in the fast-paced iGaming and betting industries.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Affise's answer:

Based on Affise's engineering roles and infrastructure details, its platform is built on a modern, high-performance tech stack tailored for handling large volumes of traffic and real-time data:

  1. Programming Languages: The backend logic is primarily written in Golang and PHP. For the user interface, the frontend utilizes ReactJS and AngularJS.

2.Databases: To manage real-time analytics and massive data pipelines efficiently, Affise relies on a diverse database ecosystem that includes ClickHouse, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, ScyllaDB, Aerospike, and ElasticSearch.

  1. Infrastructure & Hosting: The platform operates using Google Cloud Platform (GCP) (utilizing Kubernetes Engine, Compute Engine, and Cloud SQL), alongside Amazon AWS components.

  2. DevOps & Containerization: Continuous integration and deployment are managed using Docker, Drone, Ansible, and Nomad.

  3. Message Queues & Monitoring: High-speed data messaging is handled by Kafka and NSQ, while system performance is tracked using Prometheus and Grafana.

What's the story behind your product?

Affise's answer:

The story of Affise begins around 2013, when co-founders Dmitrii Zotov (CTO) and Stanislau Litvinau (CEO) met while running their own affiliate networks. They experienced firsthand that existing tracking platforms were difficult to scale and lacked the technology to meet modern market challenges.

To solve their own operational bottlenecks, they built a new tracking solution designed to automate campaign data pipelines and introduce a transparent, cost-per-conversion pricing model. This allowed marketers to pay only for actual results, rather than raw clicks.

Realizing the broader affiliate marketing industry needed this exact solution, they officially launched Affise as a SaaS platform in 2016. Since its founding, the company has grown into a major global player, raising an $8M Series A funding round in 2021. Today, Affise has expanded beyond traditional affiliate tracking to offer a complete performance marketing ecosystem, launching specialized tools for influencer partnerships (Affise Reach) and mobile measurement (Affise MMP).

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Affise's answer:

Based on official case studies and success stories, here are some of the notable organizations and agencies that use Affise:

  1. AdStart Media
  2. Kismia
  3. AppricotAds
  4. ADXmaster
  5. Mobavenue Media Pvt. Ltd.
  6. Amundro
  7. GetApNGo LTD
  8. Kultra Agency
  9. Lumin Partners
  10. Leadfin.Tech
  11. 4.partners
  12. Roundler
  13. GameHub

User comments

Share your experience with using PureRef and Affise. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

PureRef 4 mentions
Affise 0 mentions
  • how do u guys organize your visual inspiration/refs digitally?
    I mainly use offline means: organising all my files in a hierarchy of folders and using pureref (which I highly recommend) to make moodboards, and ofc an external hard drive to save backups. The only online means I use is google drive... Source: about 4 years ago
  • HELP! So I want to trace this Image(704x702) into a Pixel art (32 x 32 or 40 x 40) but when I resize it, it gets like this (2nd picture) and if I don't, then the pixels are too small, What do i do?
    If you just want the image to be a transparent overlay while you draw 'through the image'(with it being unchanged) you can use something like Pureref(pureref.com) to set the image as always on top + turn opacity down a bit. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Hide user name in menu bar.
    If you can’t get it to work inside of max, I thought of a free easy workaround you could try. I use the software pureref to manage and quickly access reference images. You could just resize an empty pureref window to cover your username.... Source: over 4 years ago

View more

Tracking Affise since Mar 2021.

Alternatives to PureRef and Affise

When comparing PureRef and Affise, you can also consider the following products.