Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGC vs Roster: Ambassador Marketingfor Shopify (2026)
Both Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGC and Roster: Ambassador Marketing aim to help Shopify merchants leverage word-of-mouth marketing, but they approach it with slightly different focuses. Rave emphasizes a flexible, automated approach offering diverse incentives like cash and free items within a unified platform encompassing referrals, affiliate marketing, and User Generated Content. They highlight ease of configuration and robust reporting. Roster, on the other hand, concentrates on building and managing a structured brand ambassador community, complete with recruitment tools, campaign management, reward systems, and comprehensive analytics. The key difference lies in the nature of relationships fostered: Rave aims for broader incentivized sharing, while Roster prioritizes cultivating committed brand advocates.
At a Glance
Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGC
14 reviews
Roster: Ambassador Marketing
13 reviews
Detailed Overview
Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGC
No more boring incentives! Maximize your referral, affiliate, and UGC efforts with cash + free items
Key Features
- Cash rewards + free gifts for successful referrals
- Gamified and ladder based referral and affiliate incentives
- Touch points throughout the entire user journey increase sharing
- End-to-end UGC collection and management
- Simple configuration + robust reporting
Roster: Ambassador Marketing
Create a brand ambassador community. Engage your most passionate fans to drive awareness and sales.
Key Features
- Recruit. Discover & grow your ideal community with a suite of recruiting tools.
- Engage. Professional campaigns to generate UGC & drive brand awareness.
- Reward. Motivate & incentivize ambassadors with rewards & payments.
- Measure. Optimize influencer marketing with engagement data & ROI reporting.
Feature Comparison
| Rating | 5/5 | 5/5 |
Rating Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGC5/5 Roster: Ambassador Marketing5/5 | ||
| Reviews | 14 | 13 |
Reviews Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGC14 Roster: Ambassador Marketing13 | ||
| Focus | Referrals, Affiliates, UGC | Brand Ambassador Community |
Focus Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCReferrals, Affiliates, UGC Roster: Ambassador MarketingBrand Ambassador Community | ||
| Incentives | Cash & Free Items | Rewards & Payments |
Incentives Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCCash & Free Items Roster: Ambassador MarketingRewards & Payments | ||
| Automation | High; End-to-end automation | Includes ambassador portal & communication |
Automation Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCHigh; End-to-end automation Roster: Ambassador MarketingIncludes ambassador portal & communication | ||
| UGC Management | End-to-end collection & management | Collection and organization of UGC |
UGC Management Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCEnd-to-end collection & management Roster: Ambassador MarketingCollection and organization of UGC | ||
| Target Merchant | Merchants seeking broad reach via various incentivized sharing | Merchants focused on long-term relationships with brand advocates |
Target Merchant Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCMerchants seeking broad reach via various incentivized sharing Roster: Ambassador MarketingMerchants focused on long-term relationships with brand advocates | ||
| User Journey | Touchpoints throughout user journey | Emphasis on ambassador recruitment |
User Journey Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCTouchpoints throughout user journey Roster: Ambassador MarketingEmphasis on ambassador recruitment | ||
| Program Structure | Gamified/Ladder based incentives | Campaign-based ambassador actions |
Program Structure Rave: Referral, Affiliate, UGCGamified/Ladder based incentives Roster: Ambassador MarketingCampaign-based ambassador actions | ||
Our Verdict
For merchants prioritizing a quick setup and diverse incentives across referral, affiliate, and UGC campaigns, Rave is the stronger choice. Its emphasis on cash and free items, along with its integrated approach to all three marketing methods, offers versatility. However, if a merchant is committed to building a dedicated community of brand ambassadors for long-term engagement and advocacy, Roster's tools for recruitment, communication, and reward fulfillment are more suitable. While both apps have excellent ratings, the choice hinges on whether the goal is broad incentivized sharing or deep ambassador relationships.
Common Questions
Which app is easier to set up and manage?
Rave advertises 'simple configuration' while Roster includes more specific functionality relating to ambassador communication. Setup ease will depend on how many ambassadors you have, if you plan on leveraging them, or if you're starting from scratch.
Which app offers more comprehensive reporting?
Both apps highlight robust reporting and analytics. Rave mentions 'robust reporting', and Roster refers to 'ROI reporting' and 'engagement data'. This indicates they both provide substantial insights into campaign performance. A deeper feature comparison would be needed to evaluate comprehensive reporting metrics.
Which app is better for generating User Generated Content?
Both apps support UGC collection. Rave has end-to-end collection and management, suggesting broader capabilities. Roster offers UGC collection and organization, which is geared towards ambassador created content.
Which app focuses more on long-term relationships?
Roster: Ambassador Marketing clearly focuses on building and nurturing long-term relationships with brand ambassadors. Rave's model seems more transactional, incentivizing immediate actions.
Which app is more suitable for small businesses with limited resources?
This is hard to evaluate without pricing information. However, Rave's claim of quick setup may be advantageous for small businesses looking for immediate results with limited resources, so if they lack the time to spend on ambassador recruitment and management, it could be a good option.
Get More From Your Shopify Store
Run audits for SEO, CRO, PageSpeed, and AI visibility. Get a clear report and actionable fixes.
Try Fix My Store