Acceleration Partners Alternatives

Last Updated on February 24, 2026 by Ewen Finser

If you’re looking at alternatives to Acceleration Partners (AP), you’ve likely already decided you need an agency. At this stage, I’m guessing you’re narrowing down your options, testing for the right fit, and thinking about what kind of team would grow with you over time. You’ll definitely want to work with a partner that meets your individual business needs, as would any choosy business owner or CMO. 

Acceleration Partners is a well-known global agency that covers affiliate and influencer marketing. Whether or not you know about AP or even if you’re considering other options, you probably want a different balance of independence, technology, senior strategy, and account manager involvement, pricing, locations, or industry experience. Here, I offer a practical guide to help you choose the right alternative to AP.

How Are These Agencies Ranked?

This list isn’t ranked by the largest agencies or by those with the most impressive portfolios. Instead, it’s ranked based on how a business might actually decide on a performance marketing agency, especially in the lower part of the funnel. I’m looking at which agency is most likely to deliver knowledge incrementally, generate profit over time, and, honestly, just deliver a good overall customer experience. 

What to Look for When Choosing an Agency at This Stage

Before looking at specific agencies, focus on YOUR specific business need. Most buyers at this stage care most about:

Incrementality vs. Attribution

Attribution can over-credit partners that show up late in the funnel. The best agencies a CMO or business can trust are the ones that can prove incremental lift and reduce wasted spend. PartnerCentric explicitly stakes a claim here with its FUSE Incrementality™ methodology and messaging around improving attribution and ROI.

Managed Services Vs. Internal Team Relationship

Which fits you better at the current stage of the game: Do you want an agency that manages everything for you, or one that works closely with your team and shares the workload?

Publisher Development

Some agencies are great at finding and negotiating with partners and growing content or creator programs. Others focus on compliance, tracking, and fixing coupon or loyalty issues. You want both, so it’s important to ask the right questions so you know each agency’s strengths and weaknesses.

Cross-Channel Considerations and Influence

Affiliate rarely works by itself in today’s marketing ecosystem. Agencies that can connect affiliates with influencers/creators, paid search, paid social, or PR can help resolve issues and improve measurement over time. Keep these four factors in mind as you review the options below.

The Strongest Acceleration Partners Alternatives to Consider

1) PartnerCentric

(Known for: GEO and Tech-forward, best independent, tech-enabled option for incrementality)

If AP is on your shortlist, you probably understand strategic partnership marketing. Now, decide if you want a large, established agency or a fast-moving independent that focuses on delivering results. PartnerCentric fits a little of both for medium to large-sized businesses.

PartnerCentric is an independent performance marketing agency that manages affiliate, influencer, and partner channel relationships. It stands out by focusing on incrementality, using its FUSE tech suite to improve attribution and ROI and find true incremental partners. According to the impact.com agency directory, PartnerCentric is the “largest independent partnership marketing agency in the US,” which is important for buyers who want independence and scale. It’s also woman-founded and operated, with tight-knit teams – pods dedicated to clarifying, excelling, and making every minute of the client experience a success.

Why PartnerCentric Tends to Impress:

• Independence with scale: You get a seasoned team ready to grow and scale with you.
• Incrementality focus and tools: If your CFO or finance team wants to know what’s truly incremental, PartnerCentric has a clear answer and a proven method.
• Traditional vs. modern: Their services include UGC programs as well as traditional affiliate management programs.

Who PartnerCentric Is Best For:

• Businesses that are switching platforms, fixing attribution, or looking to cut down on commissions that don’t add value.
• Businesses that want an agency that can operate like a strategic partner but still move really quickly.
• Businesses that need clear guidance on concepts like incrementality and attribution.
• One potential trade-off: If your brand is global, a global agency may be better for you.

2) Gen3 Marketing

(Known for: specialization and scale)

Gen3 is one of the most highly-regarded agencies in enterprise affiliate decisions. They position themselves as a large, experienced affiliate-focused agency and highlight customized strategies and results.

Why Gen3?

• They can scale with you, and have the size and process in place to meet most business needs (especially larger businesses)
• They specialize in affiliate marketing. It isn’t just one offering in their service portfolio.

Best Fit:

• Best for enterprise retail or ecommerce brands with many partner types and high operational needs.
• Also good for teams that want a reliable agency with tried-and-true methods.

Trade-Off:

• As with any big agency, make sure the top team will actually work on your account, not just appear in the sales pitch.

3) All Inclusive Marketing (AIM)

(Best team)

AIM is often chosen by brands that want a truly hands-on, well-rounded team and a full portfolio of marketing services.

Why AIM Is Compelling:

• They clearly offer flexible engagement models, whether you want to fully outsource or extend your internal team.
• They have a strong market reputation and a large portfolio of brands they’ve worked with.

Best Fit:

• Best for brands that want close relationships, strong program management, and regular partner communication.

Trade-Off:

• If your strategy needs advanced data science or measurement tools, ask how they go beyond just reporting to deliver real results.

4) Tinuiti

(Best if your affiliate program needs more marketing, aka full stack marketing)

Tinuiti sees affiliate as part of a larger performance strategy: “revenue-focused programs…aligned to your actual business goals.” If you’re deciding between AP and Tinuiti, consider whether you want an agency focused on partnerships or one that offers full-funnel performance and also manages affiliate.

Why Tinuiti Can Win?

• Tinuiti is a good choice for brands that want affiliate programs integrated with other paid channels and measurement.
• It’s also helpful when your internal teams have overlapping channels and need one agency to coordinate everything.

Best Fit:

• Best for larger companies that support all types of digital marketing.
• Also good for brands that want centralized dashboard management and the ability to control budget.

Trade-Off:

• Make sure the affiliate doesn’t get left out in the cold. Ask who handles publisher development and partner negotiations every day.

5) DMi Partners

(Best for brands wanting affiliate plus adjacent services like performance PR/influencer)

DMi Partners offers affiliate program management, along with performance PR and influencer marketing services. This is a good option if you want more than just affiliate management but don’t want a huge agency.

Why DMi Is on the List?

• They offer a mix of affiliate and related services.
• They’re a good fit for brands that want a tight marketing relationship without needing a full-funnel agency.

Best Fit:

• Best for retail and DTC brands focused on promotions, content, and storytelling.

Trade-Off:

• Some of their public materials are outdated, so check their current team setup and experience with modern platforms (Impact, Partnerize, CJ, Awin, etc.).

Comparing Your Final Two or Three Agency Options

Instead of asking general questions like “tell me about your process,” ask questions that reveal what each performance agency offers. Ask things like:

Measurement & Incrementality

• “How do you determine whether a partner is using incrementality properly?
• “What changes do you make when coupon/loyalty partners dominate last click?”
• “Show an example of how you reduced wasted commission or improved incrementality.”

(PartnerCentric will likely lean into FUSE Incrementality here—ask for a concrete walkthrough of how insights translate to partner actions and commission policy.)

Some More Questions to Ask

• “What’s your 90-day plan for partner recruitment?”
• “How do you develop relationships with partners and influencers?”
• “Who owns your partner relationships?”
• “Who is my day-to-day AM, and how many accounts do they manage?”
• “How much strategy time is included monthly?”
• “What does escalation look like when tracking breaks or there’s a partner policy violation?”

Don’t Forget the Tracking!

• “How do you handle partner COI?”
• “Do you take referral fees from networks/partners, and how is that disclosed?”
• “What’s your approach to commission rules and how do you enforce?”

Always Ask for Proof

When you’re ready to select a performance marketing agency to work with, the decision is always hard when you have several good ones on your list. Evidence of doing a great job and yielding an impressive portfolio of clients matters.

Here’s what I asked for:

• Case studies, and a brief chat about the ones sent over and why they were sent,
• Examples that match my specific business situation
• Signals that the company works with SOPs and has a strong process-oriented methodology that works
• References! If they’re not willing to give references, this is troublesome.

All this makes sense because epartnership marketing is so dependent on context. An agency that’s great as SaaS may not be so great at all the other BOFU methods or discount marketing. An agency that has a process and deploys it faithfully to success has a higher likelihood of being able to do it for you, me or any other business owner/CMO.

So, Which Alternative Is the Best Choice?

Here’s an easy way to decide:

• Choose PartnerCentric if you want a credible independent with a strong incrementality skillset and forward-thinking tech (GEO, FUSE).
  Choose Gen3 if you want maximum affiliate scale.
• Choose AIM if you want a high-touch partner.
• Choose Tinuiti if the affiliate must sit inside a broad performance media and measurement system, and other types of marketing.
• Choose DMi Partners if you want affiliate plus adjacent capabilities like performance PR/influencer under one roof.