JoinBrands or viral.app? Fix a creator's price up front, or pay on the views their posts earn.

Mike SchneiderCo-Founder · November 8, 2026 · 13 min read

The short version: viral.app is for brands whose creators post every week and get paid on the views each post earns, with posts from any public account tracked on five platforms, creators paid in 180+ countries, and one 3% fee on your side where JoinBrands adds 8% to 15% and takes 20% from the creator. JoinBrands sells creator work at prices you fix before anyone films, per job, per pack of posts or as a monthly retainer, checks each upload before you pay, and is strongest for e-commerce brands selling on TikTok Shop and Amazon.

We make viral.app, so read this with that in mind. Every JoinBrands fact below comes from JoinBrands' own site, pricing page, terms, help center and App Store listing, re-checked on November 8, 2026, with links at the end. Where JoinBrands doesn't say something publicly, we write "Not public". On a few points its own pages disagree, and there we show both.

JoinBrands pricing in brief: a free pay-as-you-go plan with a 15% platform fee, then Start-up at $99, Pro at $299 and Max at $499 a month (12%, 10% and 8%), 10% less billed yearly, plus the price you set for each job. Is JoinBrands legit? Yes: it was founded in 2021, rates 4.4 from 289 reviews on Trustpilot and 4.7 from 44 on G2, and says it has paid creators $10M.

Are you a creator? This page is for brands. JoinBrands takes creators in five countries; for paid UGC work in any country, join the Canvas UGC marketplace.

Plans matched up

JoinBrands publishes four plans. They don't cap creators or campaigns. Instead, higher plans lower the platform fee, add team logins, revisions and tools, and hand part of the price back as Roll Over Cash. That credit goes toward creator payments, stacks while you stay on a paid plan, and is removed if you cancel or drop to the free plan. Here is its own pricing table:

Every plan has unlimited campaigns, creators, content and creator invites, a Spark Ads code on every TikTok post, a Partnership Ads code on Instagram posts, the MCP server and Shopify import. Paid plans add 4K video, extended TikTok analytics, TikTok Shop outreach agents and 50, 250 or 1,000 new direct chats a month with marketplace creators, plus Slack priority support (on every paid plan in its pricing table, from Pro in its plan guide). Deadline extensions are unlimited on every plan, the free one included. Team collaborators go from none to 1, 3 and 10, and revisions per job from 1 to 2, 3 and 10.

On top of the plan you pay for the content, and here JoinBrands' pages give different numbers. Its pricing table lists UGC images from $10, and UGC videos, Amazon shoppable videos and TikTok, TikTok Shop, YouTube and Instagram posts from $25, plus TikTok Shop Lives at $1 a minute and AI videos at $5 each. Its help center prices a single job higher: $100 by default for a social post and $60 for a UGC video, with a $50 floor, and $15 to $25 for a photo. Lower per-post prices come in Blast packs, $40 a TikTok post for 10 down to $25 for 100, which its campaign builder labels "from $9 per post". Retainers pay a monthly salary whose minimum depends on how often the creator posts; the builder shows "from $100 per month".

viral.app plans cap active creators, live jobs and tracked videos instead, so the fair match is the nearest price. JoinBrands takes 10% off for yearly billing, viral.app 30%.

Outside these two tiers, JoinBrands' free plan costs nothing a month, with a 15% fee, one login and 1 revision per job. Max is $499 a month ($449 yearly) with an 8% fee, $150 of monthly credit, 10 revisions, you plus 10 collaborators and white-label tools for agencies. viral.app Scale is $599 ($419 yearly) for unlimited active creators, 20,000 tracked videos and unlimited seats, and Enterprise is custom. JoinBrands' fully managed service has no public price.

Which one should you pick?

Fixed up front, or paid on views

Both tools find creators and let you run their best posts as ads. The difference is what you pay for. On JoinBrands you fix the price before anyone films: a single job, a pack of posts, or a monthly retainer, with each upload checked by its team and approved by you before the creator is paid. On viral.app part of the pay follows the views each post earns, and the posts are tracked while they earn them.

JoinBrands does tie some pay to results. Content + Posting campaigns can carry a performance bonus: you pick a metric, a goal and a reward. A standard bonus counts a creator's videos together, a percentage bonus scores each video on its own and pays on the top-performing share, and tracking runs until 5 days after the last job is created. TikTok Shop creators also earn the commission you set, and TikTok Shop Contests pay reward tiers for videos posted and GMV. What JoinBrands doesn't do is pay per view: its stats keep running, but once the bonus window closes, later views don't change what the creator earns.

Who pays the fees

JoinBrands charges both sides. You pay a platform fee on top of each job's price, 15% with no plan down to 8% on Max, plus 3.5% on any amount charged to a card. The creator then loses 20% of the job price before it reaches their JoinBrands wallet; creators who pay for its Creator Academy get Creator PRO and lose 15%. viral.app charges 3% on each payout, on your side only. Here is the same $1,000 of creator pay on JoinBrands Pro and on viral.app:

So a creator who wants $1,000 in hand needs $1,250 in jobs on JoinBrands, which costs you $1,375 on Pro. Tips reach JoinBrands creators without its creator fee. Both tools also charge a plan; JoinBrands' credit is counted in the cost calculator further down.

Who JoinBrands is great for

JoinBrands started in 2021 and says it has paid creators $10M and sent out 500K products. It fits best when:

It also runs retainers and Multi-Jobs for creators who keep posting, holds your payment in escrow and refunds you if a creator doesn't deliver, and offers a fully managed service. If you buy creator content at fixed prices, or grow a TikTok Shop through affiliates, JoinBrands fits well. Billo also sells finished ad videos at a fixed price per piece, and Collabstr sells posts at each creator's own listed price.

If TikTok Shop is your main channel

TikTok Shop is where JoinBrands is strongest. Connect your shop and its TikTok Creator Engine shows GMV, purchases and units per affiliate and per video, while its outreach agents send target-collab invites, product cards and follow-ups through TikTok Shop to affiliates filtered by GMV, followers and region. Its pricing table puts that database at 4M+ affiliates; its help center says 3M+.

viral.app doesn't run affiliate programs or read TikTok Shop sales. If most of your revenue comes through TikTok Shop affiliates, look at JoinBrands or Growi. Use viral.app alongside them for creators you pay on views.

When views set the pay

On JoinBrands the price is fixed before anyone films, so views only affect pay inside its bonus window. On viral.app, views set the pay, so how they're counted matters:

Every difference, row by row

Thirty-six rows in five groups, starting with what you pay for. "Yes" means the product does it, "Partly" means it covers part of the job, and "Not public" means we couldn't find it on JoinBrands' public pages.

• Plain fact
• Not public
• No
• Partly
• Yes

5 groups · 36 rows

JoinBrands

viral.app

At a glance · one mark per row, in table order

Every difference between JoinBrands and viral.app, by group

What you need	JoinBrands	viral.app
01What you pay for and the feesWhere the two differ most
What you pay for	JoinBrands A price fixed before filming: per job (a $50 floor per video job, photos from $15), per Blast pack ($40 to $25 per TikTok post) or a monthly retainer salary, plus a plan from $0. Its pricing table lists lower starting prices; see Plans matched up.	viral.app A plan from $199 a month, plus what you agree with each creator and 3% on each payout.
Pay on views	JoinBrandsPartly No pay per view. Content + Posting jobs can add a goal bonus, tracked until 5 days after the last job is created.	viral.appYes Base pay per video by platform, fixed salary, CPM tiers and milestone bonuses, with caps and view windows.
Fee on your side	JoinBrands 15% with no plan, 12% on Start-up, 10% on Pro and 8% on Max, added to each job's price, plus 3.5% on any amount charged to a card.	viral.app 3% on each payout, paid by you.
Show 5 more rows in What you pay for and the fees · Fee from the creator · Price known before anyone films · 3 more Folded rows: Fee from the creator; Price known before anyone films; Ongoing work from one creator; Plan credit; Funding, refunds and trial.
02Finding creatorsJoinBrands' pool is bigger; viral.app reaches any country and ranks matches for each job
Creator marketplace	JoinBrandsYes Its pricing page says 4M+ creators and affiliates. Its plan table and TikTok Shop page tie 4M+ to the TikTok Shop affiliate database, which its help center puts at 3M+.	viral.appYes Canvas UGC marketplace: post a job, creators apply with portfolio, accounts, languages and location. Newer than JoinBrands'.
Countries and languages	JoinBrandsPartly Creators in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Germany, mostly filming in English; other languages aren't guaranteed. TikTok Shop jobs are US-only.	viral.appYes Each job sets countries of residence and languages, and creators are paid in 180+ countries.
How you pick creators	JoinBrandsYes Filters for gender, age, ethnicity and special requirements; 19 content certifications, levels 1 to 3 by rating, delivery badges, portfolios, pitch videos and AI match. Manual or automatic approval.	viral.appYes Creators apply, or you invite from AI Matches for each live job, ranked by best fit.
Show 4 more rows in Finding creators · TikTok Shop affiliate outreach · Invite creators to a job · 2 more Folded rows: TikTok Shop affiliate outreach; Invite creators to a job; Creators you already work with; Briefs.
03Getting the contentJoinBrands' strongest area
What you receive	JoinBrandsYes Approved photo or video files, checked by JoinBrands' support team first. Posting jobs add the post link and an ad code.	viral.appPartly Posts, tracked once they're live. You can download any tracked video for 3 credits.
Turnaround	JoinBrands Images within 5 days and videos within 10 once the creator has the product. Its pricing page says most brands get content in 3 to 7 days.	viral.app Creators post on the cadence in your deal; numbers refresh every 12 or 8 hours by plan.
Review and revisions	JoinBrandsYes Approve or reject within 10 days, or the content is approved automatically. 1, 2, 3 or 10 revision requests per job by plan.	viral.appNo Not built in. Posts are tracked once they're live.
Show 4 more rows in Getting the content · If a creator doesn't deliver · Product shipping · 2 more Folded rows: If a creator doesn't deliver; Product shipping; Formats; Rights to the content.
04Posting, tracking and adsWhere viral.app goes further
Views tracked	JoinBrandsPartly Posts from its own jobs: TikTok and TikTok Shop views, 2- and 6‑second views, retention and audience (TikTok Shop stats kept for a year); Instagram views, likes and comments as a CSV.	viral.appYes Posts from any public account on five platforms, up to your plan's 1,000, 5,000 or 20,000 tracked videos, plus on-demand refreshes on Ultra and Scale for 3 credits per video.
Accounts beyond your jobs	JoinBrandsPartly Every affiliate who sells your products, read from your TikTok Shop. Other accounts and competitors: not described.	viral.appYes Any public account from a URL, competitors included, plus a viral video library updated several times a day.
Sales per creator	JoinBrandsYes TikTok Shop GMV, purchases and units per affiliate and per video, through the TikTok Shop API.	viral.appPartly App revenue, trials and subscribers from RevenueCat per project, next to views. No sales per creator.
Show 4 more rows in Posting, tracking and ads · Platforms · Creators post on their own accounts · 2 more Folded rows: Platforms; Creators post on their own accounts; How often numbers refresh; Spark Ads and partnership ads.
05Paying creators, terms and teamDifferent models, different paperwork
How creators are paid	JoinBrands From your wallet into escrow, released to the creator's JoinBrands wallet once you approve. Stripe processes brand payments.	viral.app By our payout partner, as merchant of record, in its own name, once you approve each payout.
Payout methods	JoinBrandsPartly PayPal only, per its help center, withdrawn once a week (more often on Creator PRO) and taking up to 7 business days. Its terms also name ACH and Venmo.	viral.appYes Bank transfer, PayPal, Venmo, USDC or EURC, in 180+ countries. USDC and EURC arrive within minutes, PayPal and Venmo usually within the hour, bank transfers in 1 to 5 business days.
Taxes and paperwork	JoinBrandsPartly Its homepage says it takes care of contracts and invoices; its terms leave taxes on payments to each user (section 4).	viral.appYes Merchant of record: invoices for you and in each creator's name, KYC, AML and sanctions checks, and DAC7 reporting.
Show 4 more rows in Paying creators, terms and team · Working with a creator outside the platform · Done-for-you service · 2 more Folded rows: Working with a creator outside the platform; Done-for-you service; API and MCP; Team seats.

Show all 36 rows

21 more rows in 5 groups, folded to keep the page short. Nothing is left out.

What each one costs for your program

Set your team, your creators and what you pay creators each month. The calculator picks the cheapest plan on each side, fees included. On the JoinBrands side it takes each plan's Roll Over Cash off the plan price, since the credit goes to creator pay, so Start-up counts as $69, Pro as $209 and Max as $349 a month ($62, $189 and $314 billed yearly). It counts the fee on your side only. JoinBrands' free plan gets one login, and Start-up, Pro and Max get the owner plus 1, 3 or 10 collaborators. JoinBrands doesn't cap creators, campaigns or tracked videos, so those only move viral.app's plan. viral.app's 3% is charged on your side, none of it comes out of creator pay, and every payout comes with its invoices. Creator pay itself is not in the totals.

With one seat on monthly billing, viral.app costs less once creator pay passes about $1,650 a month for up to 15 creators, $3,650 for up to 100 and $5,900 for more. Below those amounts, JoinBrands' free plan or Start-up costs less, and with a few hundred dollars of creator pay a month its free plan is hard to beat. Add teammates and JoinBrands needs Pro: with 3 seats, viral.app costs less at any budget for up to 15 creators, and from about $2,700 for up to 100.

Two costs the calculator leaves out, both on the JoinBrands side: the 20% it takes from creators, and the 3.5% on anything you pay by card. If your creators expect the same money in hand, add a quarter to every JoinBrands job price.

One creator's month, term by term

This is a typical influencer deal on viral.app: one creator posting about five videos a week on their own TikTok or Instagram, with a base per video and pay that grows with views. Each line shows whether JoinBrands supports that term.

The deal's terms, and whether JoinBrands and viral.app can run each one

Deal term	JoinBrands	viral.app
01$30 base pay for each posted video	Partly	Yes
02Posted on the creator's TikTok or Instagram	Yes	Yes
03$1 per 1,000 views	No	Yes
04$100 for each video past 100K views	Partly	Yes
05Views count for 30 days after posting	Partly	Yes
06Run the best video as a Spark Ad on your own ad account	Yes	Yes

Partly: a video job has a $50 floor; $30 a post comes in a 50‑post Blast pack, and follow-up jobs in a multi-job campaign pay a rate you set. Its goal bonus (explained above) pays a set reward, not an amount for every video past a threshold, and its tracking runs until 5 days after the last job is created, so in a long multi-job campaign the first videos count for weeks. No: JoinBrands doesn't pay per view.

What the creator is owed

Example month

20 videos · base pay

$600

300,000 views in 30‑day windows

$300

1 video past 100K views

$100

Creator receives

$1,000

Your 3% payout fee

$30

Same $1,000 on JoinBrands Pro, you pay

$1,100

Of that, the creator keeps

$800

viral.app counts each video's views for 30 days after posting and shows this breakdown before you approve the payout. The JoinBrands lines use its 10% Pro fee and the 20% it deducts from creators without Creator PRO.

When a payout is approved, the creator gets one link and picks how to be paid. They don't need an account, and none of your 3% fee comes out of their pay.

A campaign, start to finish, in real screens

First, how each tool prices the work: JoinBrands' builder for a pack of TikTok posts, next to viral.app's payout calculation for a creator paid on views.

Then a whole campaign. These are real viral.app screens. Under each step is what the same step looks like on JoinBrands.

1. Full size, opens in a new tab
   1

   Find creators

   Post a job on the Canvas UGC marketplace and get AI Matches ranked by best fit to your job. Or add creators you already work with by URL.

   In JoinBrands

   Post a campaign that JoinBrands reviews within a day; creators in five countries apply, or you invite them from the marketplace.

2. Full size, opens in a new tab
   2

   Write the deal

   Put the agreed terms in the campaign: base pay per video by platform, CPM tiers, bonuses and caps.

   In JoinBrands

   Set a price per job, per Blast pack or as a monthly retainer salary, plus an optional goal bonus.

3. Full size, opens in a new tab
   3

   Track the posts

   Your creators' accounts and posts across TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Facebook and Snapchat land in one dashboard, up to your plan's video limit.

   In JoinBrands

   Posts from your jobs: deep TikTok and TikTok Shop stats with GMV, and Instagram results as a CSV.

4. Full size, opens in a new tab
   4

   Approve and pay

   Check each calculated payout, adjust it if needed, then pay up to 50 creators at once.

   In JoinBrands

   Approve the content within 10 days; escrow pays the creator, minus 20%, and they withdraw by PayPal.

Where each one is better

What teams running creator programs say

Running both, or moving creators over

You can run both. JoinBrands is built to deliver content and TikTok Shop sales; viral.app to run creators who post and get paid on views. Some teams order product videos and Amazon content on JoinBrands and run their posting creators in viral.app. Before you move anyone, check two things: JoinBrands' terms bar engaging creators you found there outside the platform (section 3.4.1), and Roll Over Cash is removed when a paid plan ends, so spend it first. Subscriptions aren't refunded, but a plan runs to the end of the period you paid for.

Questions about JoinBrands

Other JoinBrands alternatives