Top 10 Join Alternatives: Features, Pricing and Review [Updated 2025]

See Which Influencers Follow Your Instagram
They are 8X more likely to work with you
ACCESS FREE LIST

Top 10 Join Alternatives: Features, Pricing and Review [Updated 2025]

Join has carved out a strong niche in Europe with its AI-powered influencer matching, streamlined workflows, and deep regional creator pool. But for brands aiming to go global, users often point to its limited international reach, opaque pricing, and lack of verified reviews—three reasons many brands start hunting for better-fit alternatives.

That’s where Influencer Hero leads the pack, delivering an all-in-one platform with discovery, outreach, CRM, gifting, UGC, affiliate tracking, and storefronts—all backed by transparent pricing and support for 8 major social channels.

This guide covers the Top 10 Join Alternatives worth your attention:

  1. Influencer Hero
  2. Modash
  3. Sprout Social
  4. Upfluence
  5. Captiv8
  6. CreatorIQ
  7. HypeAuditor
  8. Grin
  9. Wednesday.App
  10. Social Cat

Why Look for Join Alternatives?

As much as Join is celebrated for its streamlined, AI-powered influencer marketing tools—especially within European markets—recent feedback from users point to four common challenges that brands encounter when using the platform:

Auto-Translation Limitations & Language Barriers

Join is predominantly designed for European markets, focusing heavily on languages like Dutch and English. For brands targeting global creators, limited support for other languages and cultures can pose a barrier to expansion and authentic influencer outreach.

Lack of Global Creator Reach

Users have noted that Join offers a strong network within Europe, but it lacks a broad global creator database. This limits options for brands looking to engage creators from regions like Asia, Latin America, or Africa—hampering truly global influencer strategies.

Opaque Pricing Structure

Join doesn’t publish pricing plans publicly, making budget planning difficult for mid-size or smaller brands. Without transparent or tiered options, teams must enter discovery calls to get custom quotes—adding friction and slowing decision-making.

Limited Third-Party Validation

While Join does emphasize its campaign success and user base, there are few independent user reviews on platforms like G2 or Capterra. This lack of verified feedback makes it challenging for brands to assess usability, customer satisfaction, and real-world performance through peer insights.

Criteria for Selecting Alternatives

Our comparison focuses on several key aspects:

  • Social Media Platform Coverage: The extent to which each platform supports major social networks such as Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest.
  • Reviews: G2/Capterra/Shopify
  • Pricing and Commitments: Understanding the cost and commitment levels can help brands choose based on budget and flexibility needs.
  • Ease of Use (UX/UI): The overall user experience, including dashboard design, navigation, and onboarding, especially important for teams with limited time or tech support.
  • Customer Support:  Availability and responsiveness of support channels, including live chat, email, onboarding assistance, and resolution speed for technical or billing issues.
  • Key Features: Including influencer discovery, outreach, CRM, reporting, gifting, UGC / content collection, affiliate & payments, storefronts, application page, and AI capabilities. 
  • Standout Features: Those unique or innovative features that differentiate each platform (e.g. live tracking dashboards, creator benchmarking, TikTok email finders, etc.).

Join Brand Overview

Best For: Join is best for European brands and agencies seeking an all-in-one, AI-powered influencer marketing solution that streamlines discovery, collaboration, and campaign management. It’s ideal for teams wanting fast influencer matching and efficient workflows without juggling multiple tools .

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Pricing: Join does not publicly list its pricing plans. It operates on a custom or tiered pricing model tailored to campaign scope and influencer volume. Brands must request a demo for a personalized quote.

Reviews: No verified public reviews available on major platforms such as G2, Capterra, or Trustpilot.

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users praise Join’s intuitive, unified interface that manages the full campaign lifecycle—from discovery and contracting to payments. Smart matching, centralized admin, and automated payouts make it easy to launch campaigns quickly.

Customer Support: Join emphasizes responsive support and practical campaign guidance, though specifics on channels (chat, email, phone) are not fully disclosed. The focus is on a frictionless experience for both brands and creators.

Join Standout Features: 

  • Smart AI Matching: Uses 120+ data points and insights from 42,000+ past campaigns to recommend ideal influencers in seconds.
  • Massive European Creator Pool: Over 2.1M searchable influencers with detailed audience data.
  • All-in-One Campaign Dashboard: Centralizes campaign setup, communication, and secure payments in one workspace.
  • Creator Pitch Feature: Lets influencers proactively apply to relevant campaigns for better-fit partnerships.
  • Instant Budget Matching: Matches influencers within budget parameters using algorithmic pricing recommendations.
  • Full Collaboration Lifecycle: Covers discovery, contracting, content delivery, and performance reporting end-to-end.
  • Extensive Regional Reach: Over 30,000 influencers and 800M+ cumulative reach in Europe.

Join Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Massive European Creator Network: 2.1M+ influencers for targeted campaigns. Limited Global Reach: Primarily focused on Europe, restricting global strategies.
Rapid Campaign Setup: AI matching and integrated admin tools save time. Opaque Pricing Model: No public pricing; requires a quote request.
Smooth Collaboration Workflow: End-to-end control in a single platform. Lack of In-Depth User Reviews: Few third-party ratings make evaluation harder.
Creator Pitch System: Encourages influencer-initiated partnerships. Unclear Support Access: Limited details on availability and contact methods.

Top 10 Join Alternatives

Platform Influencer Discovery CRM Outreach Reporting Gifting Content & UGC Affiliate Payments Storefront
Influencer Hero
Modash -
Sprout Social -
Upfluence -
Captiv8 -
CreatorIQ -
HypeAuditor -
GRIN -
Wednesday.App - - -
Social Cat - -

1. Influencer Hero 

Al text: img src="influencer-hero-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="Influencer Hero Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: Influencer Hero is best for eCommerce brands, agencies, and D2C businesses looking to scale influencer campaigns across multiple social platforms with advanced automation, CRM, and ROI tracking. Ideal for teams that want both self-service and full-service agency support under one roof. 

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • X (Twitter)
  • Twitch

Pricing: Influencer Hero offers flexible pricing plans to accommodate growing brands. All plans include core features and can scale as the influencer program grows.

  • Standard: $649/month for up to 1,000 creators
  • Pro: $1,049/month for up to 5,000 creators
  • Business: $2,490/month for up to 10,000 creators
  • Custom & Agency: Custom pricing tailored to brand needs

Reviews: 5.0 / 5.0 (Capterra)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Influencer Hero is known for its clean, intuitive design that lets users move quickly from discovery to campaign launch. Automated workflows, drag-and-drop setup, and customizable email templates streamline processes, making it easy for even small teams to run large-scale campaigns.

Customer Support: Influencer Hero offers 24/7 real-human live chat, responsive email support, and a full Help Center with video and written guides. Every plan includes a dedicated account manager, and Pro plan users gain access to a private Slack channel for faster, ongoing assistance. 

Influencer Hero Standout Features: 

  • AI-Powered Discovery: Advanced filters, fake follower detection, and “lookalike” creator suggestions for precise targeting.
  • Automated Personalized Outreach: AI-assisted email flows with smart templates to maximize engagement rates.
  • Advanced CRM: Tracks influencer relationships, deliverables, and campaign stages with AI-driven recommendations.
  • Chrome Extension: Instantly pull influencer stats from Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube and add them to campaigns.
  • Influencer Brand Followers: Identify creators already engaging with your brand for more authentic partnerships.
  • eCommerce Integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom store support for gifting, affiliate tracking, and payments.
  • Predictive Analytics: AI forecasts campaign performance based on historical data and engagement metrics.

Influencer Hero Pros & Cons 

Pros Cons
Comprehensive All-in-One Solution: Integrates discovery, outreach, CRM, gifting, affiliate tracking, and reporting in one platform. Higher Entry Cost: Starting at $649/month, which may be steep for early-stage startups.
Multi-Platform Reach: Covers 8 major channels including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, X (Twitter), and Twitch. Learning Curve: While user-friendly, fully leveraging all tools may take time for new teams.
Premium Support Package: Dedicated account manager from day one, 24/7 chat and email, onboarding sessions, and in-platform help guides.
Advanced AI Capabilities: AI-driven discovery, personalized outreach, and predictive analytics optimize campaign results.
eCommerce-Ready Integrations: Seamlessly connects with Shopify, WooCommerce, and custom stores for gifting and affiliate tracking.

Join vs Influencer Hero

While Join is highly regarded in the European market for its AI-powered influencer matching and regional reach, its limited global creator pool, opaque pricing, and lack of public reviews make it harder for brands to evaluate and scale internationally.

Influencer Hero, in contrast, offers full transparency with clear pricing plans starting at $649/month and supports a broader global reach with eight major social platforms. Its CRM, AI-assisted outreach, and deep eCommerce integrations give it an edge for brands looking to manage campaigns at scale without sacrificing personalization.

For teams that need both flexibility and hands-on support, Influencer Hero’s 24/7 live chat, dedicated account managers, and optional agency services make it a stronger choice—especially for brands targeting multiple markets beyond Europe.

2. Modash

Al text: img src="modash-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="Modash Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: Modash is best for eCommerce brands—particularly Shopify stores—seeking to scale influencer campaigns through powerful discovery tools, AI-powered search, and integrated affiliate management. It’s ideal for teams wanting a streamlined workflow from finding creators to managing payouts without relying on multiple tools.

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Pricing: There are different plans and options. 

  • Essential Plan: Starts at $199/month (is paid annually). Allows you to contact up to 100 creators a month.
  • Performance Plan: Starts at $499/month  (is paid annually). Allows you to contact up to 250 creators a month and gives you access to the Shopify integration. 
  • Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing based on your brand needs. 

Reviews: 4.7/5 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users highlight Modash’s clean and intuitive interface, where influencer discovery, outreach, and tracking are all managed in one place. The platform’s advanced filters and AI tools make it easy to pinpoint ideal creators, while its Shopify integration reduces manual steps in gifting, tracking, and payments. Navigation is straightforward, even for teams new to influencer marketing software.

Customer Support: Modash is praised for its responsive and hands-on onboarding process. Customers mention that support teams provide practical guidance for using the platform’s advanced features, and dedicated account managers are available to troubleshoot issues quickly. Feedback emphasizes Modash’s proactive approach in helping brands get the most out of their campaigns.

Modash Standout Features: 

  • Discovery Engine: Search 350M+ public creator profiles with filters for niche, hashtags, captions, location, demographics, engagement rate, and more.
  • AI Discovery Tool: Describe your ideal creator or upload an image to find influencers with matching content style.
  • CRM & Outreach Tracking: Manage conversations, track influencer status (“Contacted,” “Negotiating,” “Confirmed”), and send bulk or 1:1 outreach emails.
  • Shopify-Powered Gifting: Automate gifting with unique product selection links, order tracking, and performance linkage.
  • Lookalike Search: Discover creators similar to your top performers for quick audience expansion.
  • Affiliate Program Automation: Set commission tiers, track sales, and automate monthly influencer payouts directly from the platform.

Modash Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Unmatched Global Reach: Access to one of the world’s largest creator databases (350M+ profiles) allows brands to find influencers in almost any niche or region. Single-Platform Dependency: Shopify is the only eCommerce platform with full integration, limiting options for brands on WooCommerce, Magento, or others.
Efficient Scaling for Outreach and Partnerships: Bulk email outreach, warm leads via “Find Your Fans,” and CRM-style tracking help teams engage hundreds of creators monthly without losing organization. Manual Content Rights Process: No native licensing tools mean brands must handle all usage rights negotiations separately.
Performance-Focused Automation: From affiliate payouts to code tracking, Modash reduces repetitive admin work, freeing teams to focus on creative strategy. No Paid Ads Boosting: Brands can’t whitelist influencer content for ads directly inside the platform.
Data You Can Trust: Built-in fake follower detection, engagement benchmarking, and audience insights improve decision-making and reduce wasted spend. Integration Limitations: Beyond Shopify, the platform offers minimal automated gifting or sales tracking capabilities.
Easy Campaign Visibility: Real-time dashboards for impressions, reach, and affiliate sales give marketing teams instant performance insights. Extra Steps for Contracts: Negotiations, agreements, and pricing still require manual back-and-forth outside the platform.

Join vs Modash

Join is strongest for European brands wanting a streamlined, AI-powered influencer platform with a vast regional creator network. Its campaign setup is fast, but it lacks global reach and transparency in pricing. 

Modash, on the other hand, boasts a massive 350M+ global creator database without opt-in limitations, making it ideal for brands targeting multiple markets beyond Europe.

From a pricing perspective, Join keeps its rates private and works on custom quotes, which may be a hurdle for smaller brands seeking predictability. Modash offers transparent, tiered pricing starting at $199/month for Essentials and $499/month for Performance, with annual billing—making budget planning easier.

If your focus is on the European market and you value an all-in-one campaign dashboard with regional expertise, Join is a strong choice. If you need global reach, powerful search filters, Shopify-native automation, and transparent pricing, Modash is likely the better fit.

3. Sprout Social

Best For: Sprout Social is best for enterprise brands and agencies managing large-scale influencer campaigns that require deep analytics, brand safety tools, and competitive benchmarking. It’s particularly suited for teams with bigger budgets looking for precise creator vetting and robust campaign reporting.

Platform Coverage: 

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

Pricing & Commitment: Pricing varies depending on every brand's needs. 

  • Base Plan:  Starts around $1,600/month per user plus $600 per extra user. You can pay monthly or annually, but a full-year commitment is mandatory. This translates into an annual investment of over $19,200 for one person or $25,200 for a team of two. 

Reviews: 4.5 / 5.0 (Capterra)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users praise Sprout Social’s clean interface and logical workflow structure, making it easy to track influencer status from discovery to content approval. However, due to its vast set of tools, some note a moderate learning curve when first exploring its advanced filters, reporting dashboards, and approval workflows.

Customer Support: Sprout Social offers dedicated account management for all clients, with email and scheduled call support to guide onboarding and campaign setup. While responsive, support is more consultative and strategic than instant, which enterprise teams often find valuable for planning complex campaigns.

Sprout Social Standout Features: 

  • AI-Powered Brand Fit Score: Calculates how closely an influencer aligns with your brand using custom, multi-factor scoring.
  • Advanced Brand Safety Filters: Automatically flags or excludes creators mentioning risky keywords like violence, drugs, or alcohol.
  • Competitive Benchmarking Reports: Compare influencer overlap and performance with competitors to refine outreach strategy.
  • Content Approval Workflows: Creators can submit drafts for approval before posting, ensuring brand alignment.
  • Shopify Integration: Streamlines gifting, discount code creation, and sales attribution to specific influencers.
  • Customizable Campaign Dashboards: Track multi-stage campaigns and export results in multiple formats for reporting.
  • Integrated Outreach Tools: Communicate with creators via Gmail/Outlook integration, proposal templates, and fallback Instagram DMs.

Sprout Social Pros & Cons 

Pros Cons
AI-powered Brand Fit Score and strong brand safety filters: Ensures influencer selection aligns with brand values and reduces campaign risk. High entry price ($1,599/user/month): Requires a 12-month commitment, making it less accessible for smaller teams.
Built-in content approval workflows: Streamlines creator collaboration and ensures brand consistency before content goes live. No monthly subscription option: Annual contracts only.
Comprehensive analytics and reporting: EMV, competitive benchmarking, and audience insights in customizable dashboards. No AI visual search or “vibe” discovery: Lacks Modash-style visual matching.
Shopify and PayPal integrations for streamlined gifting and payouts: Reduces manual admin work for eCommerce brands. No built-in UGC rights management: Licensing must be handled manually via contracts.
Competitive benchmarking capabilities: Gain insights into competitor influencer strategies. Bulk outreach capabilities unclear: The process for large-scale outreach is not fully transparent.

Join vs Sprout Social

While Join thrives in the European market with an extensive regional creator pool and competitive AI-matching, it lacks global reach, transparent pricing, and independent reviews. 

In contrast, Sprout Social targets enterprise teams with larger budgets, delivering advanced analytics, brand safety monitoring, and competitive benchmarking across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Pricing is one of the biggest differentiators. Join operates on a custom-quote model with undisclosed rates, whereas Sprout Social is upfront with its $1,599 per user/month (annual contract) pricing, making it costlier but more transparent for budgeting.

For brands seeking large-scale, data-driven campaigns with strict brand safety controls, Sprout Social is the stronger choice. However, for European-based brands prioritizing fast campaign launches and cost flexibility, Join may remain the more practical option.

4. Upfluence

Al text: img src="upfluence-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="Upfluence Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: Upfluence is best for eCommerce brands—especially Shopify and Amazon sellers—seeking an end-to-end influencer marketing solution with strong ROI tracking. It’s ideal for teams that want to combine influencer discovery, outreach, campaign execution, affiliate management, and payments in a single platform.

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • X (Twitter)
  • Twitch
  • Pinterest
  • WordPress blogs

Pricing:

  • $1,276/month on an annual term (billed monthly)
  • Option to remove the Payments feature ($399) if only using gifting
  • Annual contracts with quarterly options available
  • No commissions charged based on sales or influencer volume

Reviews: 4.5/5 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users note that Upfluence packs a lot of power into its platform, which means the interface can feel complex for beginners. However, once onboarded, brands appreciate having all their influencer workflows—search, outreach, campaign tracking, and payouts—organized in one place. The search and filtering system is straightforward, and integrations with Shopify and Amazon simplify eCommerce campaign tracking.

Customer Support: Upfluence customers report responsive support during onboarding and when setting up integrations. The platform offers guidance for optimizing influencer campaigns and provides direct help in configuring affiliate tracking. However, support availability outside of initial onboarding can vary depending on plan level and contract terms.

Upfluence Standout Features: 

  • Influencer Search & Discovery: Access a global database of 12M+ influencers with advanced filters by niche, location, follower size, engagement, and audience demographics.
  • AI Campaign Assistant (Jace AI): Automates outreach with bulk email, drip follow-ups, and AI-optimized messaging.
  • Integrated CRM: Manage influencer relationships, track communications, and monitor campaign progress in one dashboard.
  • Shopify Integration: Identify influencers already in your customer base, manage gifting, commissions, and affiliate programs, with ROI tracking between 14x–19x.
  • Amazon Integration: Attribute sales and conversions directly to influencer campaigns, enabling precise ROI measurement for Amazon sellers.
  • Social Listening: Monitor trending content and audience engagement to guide influencer selection and campaign themes.
  • Secure Creator Payouts: Send bulk payments directly through the platform, with options to remove payment processing for gifting-only campaigns.

Upfluence Pros & Cons

Pros Cons
Robust eCommerce integrations: Shopify and Amazon connections enable direct sales tracking, affiliate management, and customer-influencer identification. High annual cost: $1,276/month billed annually with no free trial can be a barrier for smaller brands.
No commission fees: Platform does not charge based on sales volume or number of influencers reached. Learning curve for new users: The wide range of tools can be overwhelming at the start.
End-to-end solution: Covers discovery, outreach, campaign execution, tracking, and payments. Limited cancellation flexibility: Annual commitment required; no month-to-month option.
Data-driven ROI focus: Helps convert existing customers into brand advocates, often leading to higher conversion rates and lower ad costs. Plan-dependent features: Certain capabilities, like payments, require add-on fees.

 

Join vs Upfluence

Join is strongest for brands targeting European audiences, with an AI-powered matching system and a vast regional creator network. However, it lacks transparent pricing and global reach. 

Upfluence, on the other hand, offers a worldwide database of 12M+ influencers and integrates directly with both Shopify and Amazon, making it highly suited for eCommerce brands selling across multiple markets.

From a pricing perspective, Join operates on a custom-quote model, which can slow down decision-making for smaller or mid-sized businesses. Upfluence has clear pricing at $1,276/month on annual contracts, with no commission fees and unlimited outreach—but the high entry cost and lack of flexible contracts may deter smaller teams.

If your priority is a region-specific approach with simplified workflows, Join is the more cost-flexible option (depending on your negotiated rate). If you want powerful eCommerce integrations, global reach, and a single hub for discovery through payouts, Upfluence is the stronger, though pricier, choice.

5. Captiv8

Al text: img src="captiv8-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="Captiv8 Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: Captiv8 is best suited for enterprise-level brands and agencies seeking a comprehensive influencer marketing platform with advanced competitive tracking, deep analytics, and collaborative campaign tools. It excels for companies needing robust discovery capabilities across 15M+ creators and the budget for high-tier features like Storefronts and affiliate programs.

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest

Pricing: There are different pricing options: 

  • $25,000 annually (with an annual commitment only)
  • $3,000 one-time onboarding fee
  • $20,000-$30,000 per month for storefront + affiliate program (enterprise-level managed services)

Reviews: 4.1/5 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users highlight Captiv8’s vast filtering options and robust analytics dashboards as strengths, though the platform can feel complex for beginners due to the sheer volume of data and features. The collaborative tools—such as commenting on creator profiles and approving/discarding influencers—are considered intuitive once users are onboarded.

Customer Support: Captiv8’s customer support has mixed feedback. While some clients benefit from responsive account management, multiple Reddit threads and user reviews cite slow or absent replies, unresolved payment disputes, and difficulty in accessing timely assistance.

Captiv8 Standout Features: 

  • Advanced Creator Discovery: Search 15M+ creators using granular filters like demographics, audience sentiment, and competitive brand mentions.
  • Competitive Intelligence: Identify influencers already collaborating with your competitors or organically mentioning relevant brands.
  • Deep Campaign Tracking: Measure ROAS, EMV, engagement breakdowns, posting habits, and more—integrated with Looker Studio and Google Analytics.
  • Filter Locking: Save and reuse creator search filters without recreating them.
  • Drag-and-Drop Reporting: Customize analytics dashboards with the metrics most relevant to your KPIs.
  • Storefront & Affiliate Programs: Enable creator-curated product pages and affiliate sales tracking (premium add-on).
  • Collaborative Campaign Management: Chat directly with influencers, comment on profiles, and collaborate with your team in real time.

Captiv8 Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Competitive tracking + brand mentions: Spot creators working with competitors or mentioning brands across captions, hashtags, and visuals. Expensive annual-only pricing: $25K/year plus $3K onboarding, and $20–30K/month for Storefronts + Affiliate.
Team-friendly campaign collaboration: Collaborators can approve/discard creators, comment, and manage campaigns together. Customer support complaints: Reports of slow responses and unresolved support tickets.
Deep performance tracking: Detailed ROAS, EMV, and engagement analysis with Looker Studio integration. Payment issues: Reddit users cite ongoing payout and deposit problems affecting brands and creators.
Innovative filter locking: Reuse search filters without starting from scratch. Limited integrations: Primarily Shopify and Refersion; lacks Amazon/WooCommerce.
Storefront & affiliate add-on: Enables commerce-driven creator partnerships. Enterprise focus: Less accessible for small or mid-sized brands.

Join vs Captiv8

Join focuses heavily on the European market, offering an AI-powered, all-in-one platform with a strong regional creator network and straightforward campaign management. 

In contrast, Captiv8 is built for enterprise-level, global operations with advanced analytics, competitive tracking, and massive creator discovery capabilities.

Pricing is a significant differentiator—Join’s pricing is undisclosed and tailored, whereas Captiv8 requires a steep $25K annual commitment plus high monthly fees for advanced commerce features, putting it out of reach for smaller teams. 

Brands targeting Europe with a need for simplicity might prefer Join, while those with global ambitions, larger budgets, and a demand for in-depth analytics may lean toward Captiv8.

6. CreatorIQ

Best For: CreatorIQ is best for large brands, agencies, and enterprises seeking a robust, end-to-end influencer marketing platform with deep data integrations, advanced reporting, and global scalability. It’s particularly suited for teams managing multiple campaigns at once, with complex workflows and a need for reliable, real-time analytics from official API sources.

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • X (Twitter)

Pricing:  There are different plans:

  • Basic Plan: Starts at $35,000/year. Includes 1,000 contact creators per month
  • Standard Plan: Starts at $50,000/year.  Includes 2,500 contact creators per month
  • Professional Plan: Starts at $90,000/year. Includes 5,000 contact creators per month
  • Enterprise Plan: Starts at $200,000/year.  Includes 7,500 contact creators per month

Reviews: 4.7/5 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users describe CreatorIQ as highly capable but with a steeper learning curve compared to more lightweight platforms. The interface is clean and professional, offering advanced filters, customizable dashboards, and organized CRM tagging, but mastering all features may take time. Once set up, campaign tracking, approvals, and reporting are seamless and centralized.

Customer Support: CreatorIQ is praised for its hands-on onboarding and ongoing strategic support. Each client gets a dedicated implementation manager and a customer success team, helping with setup, quarterly planning, and optimization. Users also highlight the value of CreatorIQ’s close relationships with social platforms, which ensures early access to new features and direct API integrations for data reliability.

CreatorIQ Standout Features: 

  • Granular Influencer Discovery: Search any public creator across major platforms with advanced audience, content, and keyword filters.
  • Semantic & Keyword AI Search: Find niche influencers with natural language queries like “home chefs under 100K followers” or “tennis dads.”
  • Integrated CRM: Store and tag creators, track relationships, add notes, and manage historical campaign data in one hub.
  • Custom Branded Reporting: Create live, no-login-needed dashboards for stakeholders with real-time campaign metrics and visuals.
  • Shopify Integration for Gifting: Automate shipping, track fulfillment, and display product info in creator dashboards.
  • Built-In Creator Payments: Pay multiple influencers at once, with tax compliance and reporting handled in-platform.
  • UGC Rights Management & Content Library: Automatically collect campaign assets, request usage rights, and track repurposed content.

CreatorIQ Pros & Cons 

Pros Cons
Reliable, real-time data: Direct API integrations with Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and others ensure accurate and compliant analytics. Manual affiliate tracking: Conversions from affiliate links are not tracked automatically.
Scalable for enterprise: Trusted by global brands like Disney, Lululemon, and Unilever to run complex, multi-market campaigns. No free trial: Requires a sales process and full commitment before testing.
Advanced reporting capabilities: Fully customizable dashboards with shareable live links for stakeholders. Annual contracts only: No flexible month-to-month subscription options.
Strategic support included: Dedicated managers provide onboarding, campaign strategy, and quarterly planning guidance. Steeper learning curve: Wide range of features can overwhelm smaller teams or new users.
Strong platform partnerships: Early access to new features and updates thanks to official relationships with major social networks. Higher pricing tier: Best suited for brands with $2K–$5K/month budgets or more.

Join vs CreatorIQ

Join is optimized for European markets with a focus on AI-powered matching, a streamlined workflow, and a large regional creator pool—but it lacks global reach and transparent pricing. CreatorIQ, in contrast, has a global database, official API partnerships with major platforms, and enterprise-grade tools for large-scale campaigns.

From a pricing perspective, Join operates on custom quotes, making it potentially more accessible for smaller teams depending on the deal negotiated. CreatorIQ typically serves brands with $2K–$5K/month budgets and works only on annual contracts, positioning it at the higher end of the market.

If your goal is regional dominance with straightforward campaign execution, Join is a strong fit. But if you require global scalability, advanced analytics, and hands-on strategic support, CreatorIQ is the more powerful—though more expensive—choice.

7. HypeAuditor

Al text: img src="hypeauditor-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="HypeAuditor Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: HypeAuditor is best for brands and agencies seeking advanced influencer analytics and fraud detection tools to ensure high-quality partnerships. It’s ideal for data-driven teams running campaigns across multiple social platforms and prioritizing authenticity verification.

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Twitch
  • X (Twitter)
  • Snapchat

Pricing: HypeAuditor’s pricing is customizable, with the standard “Business” plan starting at around $10,000/year. Pricing can be adjusted based on the number of reports, active campaigns, and platform usage. They also offer a 24–48 hour free trial for new users.

Reviews: 4.6/5 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users highlight HypeAuditor’s clean interface and powerful filtering options for influencer discovery, though some note it can feel complex at first due to its extensive toolset. Once onboarded, the platform’s workflow for search, outreach, and reporting becomes smooth and efficient. Its dashboard allows for granular campaign tracking and deep audience insights in just a few clicks.

Customer Support: HypeAuditor offers onboarding assistance and responsive help for setup and troubleshooting, with users praising the knowledgeable support staff. While no 24/7 chat is currently available, response times are generally fast via email. The team also provides resources like tutorials and demo videos for self-learning.

HypeAuditor Standout Features: 

  • AI-Powered Discovery: Advanced filters, AI-driven category analysis, and lookalike search to find influencers with the right audience fit.
  • Social Listening: Monitors brand mentions, hashtags, and competitor activity to uncover potential influencer partnerships.
  • Comprehensive Campaign Tracking: Tracks engagement, reach, CPE, promo codes, clicks, orders, and revenue across campaigns.
  • Branded Influencer Applications: Custom landing pages where influencers can apply to collaborate directly.
  • E-Commerce Integration: Connects with Shopify for gifting, affiliate tracking, and revenue reporting.
  • Fraud Detection & Quality Score: Analyzes audience authenticity and engagement quality using a proprietary scoring system.
  • Prompt-Based Search (Upcoming): Search for influencers with natural-language prompts like “Find US-based vegan creators on TikTok.”

HypeAuditor Pros & Cons

Pros Cons
Flexible Pricing Options: Modular packages and short free trials allow testing before committing. High Entry Price for Standard Plan: Business plan starts at $10,000/year, which can be steep for smaller brands.
Holistic Platform: Covers the full workflow from discovery and outreach to tracking and e-commerce ROI. Limited Registered Influencers: Only ~200K creators available for direct applications despite a database of 200M+ profiles.
Strong Fraud Detection: Proprietary quality scoring helps avoid fake followers and low-engagement creators. Complex for Beginners: Achieving full proficiency often requires onboarding or training.
Data-Driven Insights: Reporting connects campaigns to conversions and revenue for clearer ROI decisions. No 24/7 Live Chat / Limited Outreach Automation: Support is email-based and lacks advanced AI sequencing for outreach.

Join vs HypeAuditor 

While Join focuses heavily on the European market with a large regional influencer pool, HypeAuditor offers a global reach with advanced fraud detection and deep analytics. 

Join does not publicly disclose rates and operates on custom quotes, whereas HypeAuditor’s standard business plan starts at around $10,000/year with a free trial option. 

Brands prioritizing simplicity and local European targeting may find Join better suited, but those needing comprehensive data analysis, authenticity verification, and multi-market reach will benefit more from HypeAuditor’s toolset despite its higher entry price.

8. GRIN

Best For: GRIN is best for DTC and eCommerce brands seeking a fully integrated influencer marketing solution that combines product gifting, affiliate tracking, and campaign management. It’s ideal for brands with large product catalogs that want to manage everything—from discovery and outreach to payments and UGC—inside one unified system.

Platform Coverage:

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • X (Twitter)
  • Twitch
  • Snapchat

Pricing:

  • Fixed pricing: Starts at $25,000/year (with monthly payment options available).
  • Additional plans: Can range up to $10,000+/year depending on features and volume.
  • Commitment: Requires a minimum 12-month contract.

Reviews: 4.5 / 5.0 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users describe GRIN’s interface as robust but feature-rich, offering a centralized workflow that removes the need for juggling multiple tools. The dashboard organizes all campaign activities—contracts, shipping, and payments—clearly. While some note occasional bugs or slow loading times, the general consensus is that once set up, GRIN streamlines repetitive tasks and keeps large-scale campaigns manageable.

Customer Support: GRIN’s support is generally praised for its knowledgeable and friendly account managers, especially when onboarding. Brands value the option to work with dedicated Creator Strategists for hands-on guidance. However, a few users have reported inconsistent follow-up, with some tickets taking longer than expected or remaining unresolved.

GRIN Standout Features: 

  • GRIN Intelligent Assistant (Gia): AI-driven assistant designed to accelerate influencer discovery, scoring, and campaign optimization without replacing human strategy.
  • Unlimited Creator Partnerships: No cap on the number of influencers a brand can work with, supporting large-scale campaigns.
  • AI-Powered Discovery Tools: Search by keywords, lookalike matching, and advanced filters to surface relevant influencers quickly.
  • eCommerce Native Infrastructure: Deep integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento for seamless gifting, discount codes, and ROI tracking.
  • Creator-Friendly Portals: Personalized dashboards for influencers containing briefs, contracts, submission links, and payment details—no need for them to log into GRIN.
  • UGC Library & Media Rights Management: Automatically collects creator content, including Instagram Stories, and includes reuse rights in bookings.
  • Chrome Extension + Live Analytics: Add influencers directly from the web while accessing real-time performance metrics.

GRIN Pros & Cons 

Pros Cons
True eCommerce Integration: Direct sync with major eCommerce platforms allows automated gifting, sales attribution, and affiliate payouts. High Cost: Pricing typically starts at $25,000/year, making it inaccessible for smaller teams or startups.
All-in-One Workflow: From influencer search to contracts, gifting, UGC, and payments—everything is managed in one dashboard. Unreliable Search & Discovery: Users report duplicate results, irrelevant matches, and reduced discovery features.
Strong Communication Tools: Built-in email integrations and content library streamline influencer outreach and management. Performance Bugs: Some users experience glitches, slow loading, and upload issues.
Large Creator Database: Access to 200M+ influencers with AI-powered search. Uneven Support Response: Occasional delays or unresolved support tickets.

Join vs GRIN

Join focuses on simplicity and speed for European markets, with a large regional creator pool and straightforward workflows—perfect for brands seeking quick campaign setup without extensive technical onboarding. However, it lacks global reach and transparent pricing.

GRIN, on the other hand, is a feature-dense, eCommerce-native platform built for scaling large, product-driven influencer programs worldwide. It shines with deep eCommerce integrations, unlimited creator partnerships, and robust UGC rights management. That said, its high starting price ($25k/year) and heavier learning curve make it better suited to larger teams with the resources to fully leverage its capabilities.

For European SMBs or mid-sized brands, Join’s accessible, localized focus may be the smarter, faster route. For global eCommerce brands aiming for deep integrations, sophisticated campaign tracking, and unlimited scaling potential, GRIN offers a more powerful—though costlier—solution.

9. Wednesday.App

Al text: img src="wednesdayapp-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="Wednesday.App Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: Wednesday.App is best for brands and agencies looking to manage influencer campaigns with a heavy focus on automated influencer discovery and cost-per-acquisition (CPA)–driven collaborations. It’s ideal for eCommerce and DTC companies wanting scalable performance-based influencer partnerships without hefty upfront influencer fees.

Platform Coverage: 

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Pricing:

  • Starter: Free Forever (10 searches, 20 profiles, 20 conversations, 1 seat)
  • Discovery: Starts at $79/month (unlimited searches, advanced filters, full messaging, team features)
  • Outreach: Starts at $279/month (Waitlist only; mass email, Gmail/Outlook sync, ChatGPT, advanced CRM)

Reviews: 4.6/5.0 (G2)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users praise Wednesday.App’s clean and minimal interface, designed for quick navigation and campaign creation. The dashboard is straightforward, letting brands track influencer performance metrics in real time. Its organized workflows and pre-set campaign templates help new users get started fast, though some note that advanced customization requires time to learn.

Customer Support: Wednesday.App offers email and live chat support during business hours, with quick response times for common technical or account issues. Onboarding is assisted by an account manager for higher-tier plans, ensuring campaigns are set up correctly. While users find support friendly and knowledgeable, some note that extended 24/7 availability would be helpful for global teams.

Wednesday.App Standout Features: 

  • Automated Influencer Matching: AI-powered search connects brands with influencers most likely to drive ROI based on historical performance data.
  • Performance-Based Campaigns: Supports CPA-focused influencer collaborations to minimize upfront spend and maximize conversions.
  • Integrated Campaign Analytics: Real-time reporting tools provide metrics like CTR, conversion rate, and ROAS directly in the dashboard.
  • Pre-Approved Influencer Marketplace: Access a curated list of pre-vetted influencers, ready to join campaigns instantly.
  • Smart Budget Allocation: Algorithm suggests budget splits across influencers based on predicted ROI.
  • UGC Creator Hub: Dedicated area for sourcing and managing user-generated content for paid ads or organic channels.
  • Automated Payout Processing: Streamlines influencer payments, tracking commissions and sales performance seamlessly.

Wednesday.App Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Performance-Driven Model: Focuses on CPA collaborations, reducing upfront costs and aligning spend with results. Limited Always-On Support: No 24/7 assistance, which may be an issue for global campaigns.
Fast Campaign Launch: Templates, automation, and pre-approved influencers speed up setup. Customization Learning Curve: Deeper campaign tailoring requires extra time and experience.
Seamless Post-Campaign Workflow: Automated payouts and commission tracking reduce manual admin. Integration Limitations: Fewer third-party integrations compared to larger platforms.
Data-Backed Budgeting & Analytics: ROI-focused budget allocation plus real-time metrics (CTR, conversion rate, ROAS). Smaller Creator Network: Not as vast as larger global influencer platforms.

Join vs Wednesday.App

Join focuses on an all-in-one approach with discovery, collaboration, payments, and reporting wrapped into one European-centered platform, while Wednesday.App leans into CPA-focused influencer campaigns, making it more budget-friendly for brands that want to pay primarily for performance.

Pricing is another differentiator. Join does not publicly list its pricing, requiring brands to request a quote—often resulting in higher entry costs. Wednesday.App, by contrast, offers transparent, performance-based pricing that can be more predictable for smaller and mid-sized eCommerce businesses.

If your goal is scaling globally with end-to-end campaign control, Join may be the better choice. But if you want a leaner, performance-first strategy with lower upfront spend, Wednesday.App offers a more accessible path—especially for brands running frequent, conversion-focused campaigns.

10. Social Cat

Al text: img src="socialcat-overview-Join-alternatives" alt="Social Cat Overview Join Alternatives

Best For: Social Cat is best for small to medium-sized brands looking to run influencer marketing campaigns without the complexity or high costs of enterprise solutions. It’s particularly well-suited for teams prioritizing Instagram and TikTok collaborations with micro and nano influencers, especially when content usage rights are important.

Platform Coverage: 

  • Instagram
  • TikTok

Pricing:

  • Essentials: Starts at $99/month (ideal for brands just starting out)
  • Performance: Starts at $199/month (focused on UGC and outreach scale)
  • Pro: Starts at $299/month (supports ongoing influencer collaborations)

Review: 4.3/5.0 (Trustpilot)

Ease of Use (UX/UI): Users praise Social Cat’s simple, beginner-friendly interface. Campaign creation, influencer applications, and communication are intuitive, allowing brands to focus on building relationships instead of navigating a complicated system. While it lacks some automation, the manual process is valued for keeping collaborations personal and transparent.

Customer Support: Social Cat provides responsive support, especially for small teams who may need guidance in their early campaigns. Email support is available on all plans, with priority support for Pro users. Feedback highlights that responses are timely, and the platform offers clear instructions for campaign setup and influencer outreach.

Social Cat Standout Features: 

  • Influencer Discovery Filters: Search verified, opted-in creators by location, engagement rate, content category, and audience size.
  • Direct Influencer Applications: Create campaigns and have relevant influencers apply directly, flipping the traditional outreach model.
  • In-App Messaging & Contract Drafting: Communicate, negotiate, and formalize agreements without leaving the platform.
  • Content Usage Rights Included: All plans include rights to reuse influencer content for brand marketing.
  • Product Seeding Workflow: Send products directly to influencers and track campaign status through delivery and posting.
  • Replace Matches Feature (Pro Plan): Swap out influencers if a match isn’t the right fit for your campaign goals.
  • Top Brand Badge: Gain increased visibility to creators by earning a premium badge for consistent, quality collaborations.

Social Cat Pros & Cons 

Pros Cons
Affordable pricing for small brands: Plans start at $99/month, making it accessible for startups and growing businesses. No post-campaign analytics: ROI, conversions, and EMV must be tracked manually.
Content usage rights on all plans: Removes legal hurdles and speeds up UGC reuse. Limited CRM tools: Not suited for brands managing large, complex creator databases.
Personalized matching process: Verified, opted-in creators ensure higher collaboration interest and authenticity. No AI or automation yet: Influencer matching and reporting are manual processes.
Flexible collaboration formats: Supports gifting, paid partnerships, and affiliate-style campaigns. No advanced integrations: Lacks connections to platforms like Shopify or Amazon.
Beginner-friendly workflow: Ideal for brands new to influencer marketing who want structure without complexity. Not built for enterprise scale: Limited analytics and scaling capabilities.

Join vs Social Cat

Join is designed for European brands with a large regional creator network, AI-powered matching, and a unified campaign dashboard—making it best for mid-sized to large brands running multi-campaign strategies. 

Social Cat, in contrast, focuses on smaller brands and offers a more hands-on, application-based matching system that emphasizes verified, opted-in influencers.

Pricing is another key difference. Join operates on a custom-quote model, often catering to larger marketing budgets, while Social Cat offers transparent, affordable pricing starting at $99/month. For startups and small businesses, this makes Social Cat much more accessible, especially for brands testing influencer marketing for the first time.

If your goal is large-scale, AI-assisted campaigns with broader reach, Join may be the better option. But if you want a budget-friendly, straightforward tool to build authentic relationships with micro and nano influencers—especially on Instagram and TikTok—Social Cat is a strong choice.

Final Thoughts

Join is a strong choice for European brands, but its limited global reach, unclear pricing, and lack of public reviews make alternatives worth exploring. Many platforms offer wider creator networks, transparent plans, and specialized features to fit diverse campaign needs.

Influencer Hero is one of the top picks—combining AI-powered discovery, global reach, and premium support to drive measurable results. Book your free demo today and supercharge your influencer marketing strategy.

Summary
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
Pricing/Month
Shopify Reviews
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
Read More
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
This is some text inside of a div block.
FAQs
What are the main drawbacks of using Join?

Join offers a great influencer marketing solution for European markets, but it has some limitations—such as a smaller global creator database, unclear public pricing, and few verified third-party reviews. These can make it harder for brands seeking worldwide reach or wanting transparent cost structures.

Which platform is the best alternative to Join for global campaigns?

Influencer Hero stands out as one of the top alternatives for global campaigns, offering access to influencers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, X (Twitter), and Twitch. It combines AI-powered discovery with robust campaign management and premium customer support.

Are Join alternatives more affordable?

Some alternatives to Join, including Influencer Hero, offer transparent tiered pricing and flexible monthly plans, making it easier for brands to budget without lengthy sales calls. Affordability depends on campaign size, platform features, and whether you choose a self-service or managed service option.

Can I run affiliate or performance-based influencer campaigns with Join alternatives?

Yes—platforms like Influencer Hero, GRIN, and Captiv8 include built-in tools for affiliate tracking, coupon codes, and sales attribution, making them ideal for performance-driven campaigns where ROI is critical.

How do I choose the right Join alternative for my business?

Consider your goals, target markets, and must-have features—such as influencer discovery, analytics depth, eCommerce integrations, or dedicated account management. If you’re seeking an all-in-one platform with both self-service and agency-level support, Influencer Hero is a strong choice.

Impact of AI on D2C Brands

Most Popular Blogs

Ready to achieve 10X+ ROI?

Schedule a Demo with one of our media experts below.