Cello review

Cello is an AI-powered platform for running user referral and partner programs. It brings both types of referrals into one system: users can refer peers from inside a product, while partners can send referrals through a partner program. The feature list includes referral sharing, auto-generated landing pages, attribution, rewards, payouts and program management.

For user referrals, businesses can set rewards, including recurring rewards tied to referred MRR. Cello also says it automates payout management, with PayPal and Venmo available to recipients, and provides real-time performance tracking for assessing ROI. Its pricing separates user-referral plans from partner-referral plans, so a business should check which program it needs before comparing tiers. The free plan is for partner referrals; it is not a free user-referral tier. Prices and caps below are from a pricing snapshot checked November 6, 2026.

The useful distinction is that Cello covers both customer-to-customer referrals and partner-driven referrals, rather than treating them as the same program. Its feature list includes in-product referral sharing, multiple sharing options and auto-generated landing pages, which gives teams several ways to put referral prompts in front of users.

Other practical strengths include:

• Reward rules can be customized, including recurring rewards based on referred MRR.
• Cello lists automated attribution and payouts, with PayPal and Venmo as payout options.
• The listed user plans include unlimited referrals. Start includes one campaign; Grow and Scale include unlimited campaigns.
• The free Partner plan includes unlimited referral ARR and referrals, all Partner features and integrations, and one campaign.

That free tier gives a team a way to start a partner program without a subscription fee. But it still has transaction costs and partner caps, so “free” does not mean cost-free once referrals transact. The plan structure is relatively legible: user referrals are priced around referral ARR, while partner plans specify campaign and transacting-partner limits.

The free Partner plan charges 5% transaction costs and caps the program at one campaign and five transacting partners. Moving up to Plus costs $80 per month as listed, raises the limits to three campaigns and 25 transacting partners, and lowers the fee to 3.5%. Pro is listed at $280 per month, with 10 campaigns, 100 transacting partners and the same 3.5% fee. Partner Enterprise has a 2% transaction cost, but its price is not published.

User referrals have different constraints. Start is listed at $65 per month, with one campaign and a cap of $10K referral ARR; Grow is $200 with a $50K referral ARR cap. Scale is $750 and caps referral ARR at $100K. User Enterprise pricing is not published. All user tiers list 0% transaction costs, but that does not remove their ARR limits. The pricing notes also do not specify billing cadence for Start, Grow, Plus or Pro; Scale and custom Enterprise plans are marked billed monthly. Teams should confirm cadence and expected fees before switching.

Cello lists a free partner-referral plan, but it charges 5% in transaction costs and limits you to one campaign and five transacting partners. Plus is $80 per month with three campaigns, 25 partners and a 3.5% fee; Pro is $280 with 10 campaigns, 100 partners and the same fee. Partner Enterprise pricing is not published, though its listed transaction cost is 2%.

User referrals start at $65 per month on Start, capped at $10K referral ARR and one campaign. Grow jumps to $200 and raises the cap to $50K; Scale jumps to $750 and raises it to $100K. Those plans list 0% transaction costs. User Enterprise pricing is not published.

The pricing information does not specify billing cadence for Start, Grow, Plus or Pro. Scale and custom Enterprise plans are marked billed monthly, so confirm the billing term before comparing annualized costs. The biggest costs to watch are the $65-to-$200 and $200-to-$750 user-plan jumps, plus partner transaction fees.

The work of switching depends on how deeply referrals are embedded in your product. Cello supports in-product referrals, sharing, landing pages, campaigns, attribution, rewards and payouts, so replacing it may mean rebuilding those pieces and reconnecting the integrations your program uses. The published materials do not publish migration tools, migration assistance or a data-export policy.

Before moving in, ask Cello how to export referral and partner records, attribution history, campaign settings, reward rules and payout data. Also confirm what happens to recurring rewards tied to referred MRR if you cancel. Those details matter if you need to move later; portability terms are not published on the vendor's site.

We don’t have Reddit posts or comments in the published material, so we can’t responsibly say what users report as reasons for leaving. The clearest documented reason to compare alternatives is cost structure: partner plans add transaction fees, while user plans have ARR caps on Start, Grow and Scale. Check the caps and fees against your expected program volume before migrating.