Pretty Links vs ThirstyAffiliates vs Lasso: Which Is Best for Affiliate Marketers in 2026?
Here’s a scenario that plays out on almost every affiliate site eventually.
You’ve recommended a product in 47 articles. The merchant changes their affiliate link. You now have 47 broken links scattered across your site, each one sending potential buyers nowhere — and you have no idea which posts they’re in.
This is the moment most affiliate marketers discover they should have been using a link management plugin from day one.
I made this mistake myself early on. Not with 47 articles — with more. Manually hunting down and replacing affiliate links across a growing site is exactly as painful as it sounds, and it’s entirely avoidable.
The three tools that come up most often in this conversation are Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and Lasso. They all solve the core problem. But they solve it differently, at different price points, and for different types of affiliate operation.
This post gives you an honest breakdown of all three — what each one actually does, where it earns its place, and which one I’d recommend depending on where you are in building your affiliate business.
If you’re still laying the foundations, the How to Start Affiliate Marketing guide is the place to begin. Link management is one piece of a broader business systems approach that makes your affiliate operation sustainable long term — and I cover the full picture in the Traffic and Funnels section of this site.
Why Link Management Matters More Than Most Beginners Realise
Before we get into the comparison, it’s worth being clear about what problem we’re actually solving — because “link cloaking” gets thrown around as the primary reason to use these tools, and it’s only part of the story.
Here’s what a good link management plugin actually does for an affiliate site:
Centralised link control — every affiliate link lives in one place. When a URL changes, you update it once and every instance across your site updates automatically.
Clean, branded URLs — instead of a string of tracking parameters that looks like spam, your links read as yoursite.com/recommends/product. This builds trust with readers and can improve click-through rates.
Click tracking — you can see exactly which links are being clicked, on which posts, and how often. This is data most affiliate marketers don’t have and should.
Compliance — the FTC and ASA require affiliate link disclosure. Some plugins automate this.
Now, all three tools on this list do the above to varying degrees. The differences are in depth, interface, pricing, and what else they bring to the table.
Pretty Links — Best for Simplicity and Value
Pretty Links has been around since 2009 and it remains one of the most widely used affiliate link plugins on WordPress. There’s a good reason for that — it does the core job cleanly, without unnecessary complexity.
At its most basic, Pretty Links lets you create short, branded redirect links (yoursite.com/go/product), track clicks, and manage all your affiliate links from a single dashboard. The free version is genuinely useful — more so than the free tiers of most competing tools.
What I like about Pretty Links:
The interface is straightforward. You add a link, give it a slug, choose a redirect type (301, 302, or JavaScript), and you’re done. For affiliate marketers who want to get on with writing content rather than configuring software, this low friction setup matters.
The reporting is solid on the Pro plan — you can see clicks by link, by post, and over time. Not as deep as Lasso’s reporting, but more than enough for most affiliate operations.
The free version includes basic link cloaking and click tracking, which makes it a legitimate starting point before you’re ready to invest in a paid plan.
Where it falls short:
Pretty Links Pro adds features like automatic keyword linking (it can automatically turn specified keywords into affiliate links across your content), but the product display and comparison table features are limited compared to Lasso. If you want to create visual product boxes or comparison grids, you’ll need to look elsewhere or use a separate plugin.
Pricing: Free version available. Pretty Links Pro starts from around $99/year.
👉 Learn more about Pretty Links (affiliate link placeholder)
ThirstyAffiliates — Best for Serious Affiliate Marketers Who Want Full Control
ThirstyAffiliates is where Pretty Links vs ThirstyAffiliates conversations usually get interesting — because on the surface they look similar, but under the hood ThirstyAffiliates offers meaningfully more depth for affiliate-focused sites.
I’ve used ThirstyAffiliates on several sites and the feature that stands out most is the automatic link insertion — you can set it to automatically link specified keywords to your affiliate URLs throughout your content. Write a post mentioning “Mangools” and it can automatically make that a tracked affiliate link without you touching the post.
For sites with large content libraries, this is a significant time saver.
What I like about ThirstyAffiliates:
The link categorisation system is excellent. You can organise links by merchant, niche, or campaign — which sounds minor until you’re managing 80+ affiliate relationships across multiple sites and you need to find something quickly.
Geolocation link redirects are available on higher plans — you can send UK visitors to an Amazon.co.uk link and US visitors to Amazon.com automatically. If you’re targeting multiple markets, this alone can meaningfully improve your conversion rates.
The import/export functionality is also solid, which matters if you’re ever migrating between WordPress installs.
Where it falls short:
The free version is more limited than Pretty Links’ free offering. And like Pretty Links, it doesn’t offer the visual product display features that Lasso specialises in. The interface is functional rather than polished.
Pricing: Free version available. ThirstyAffiliates Pro from around $79.50/year — good value for the feature set.
👉 Learn more about ThirstyAffiliates (affiliate link placeholder)
Lasso — Best for Affiliate Marketers Who Want Conversion-Focused Product Displays
Lasso is a different beast from the other two, and it’s worth being clear about that distinction upfront.
Pretty Links and ThirstyAffiliates are primarily link management tools that include some display features. Lasso is primarily a conversion tool that includes link management. If you’re building a comparison site, a review site, or any affiliate operation where product presentation matters as much as traffic, Lasso deserves serious consideration.
The headline feature is the product display box — clean, fast-loading cards that show product images, prices, star ratings, and a call-to-action button. These render well on mobile, load quickly, and convert noticeably better than a bare text link in most testing I’ve seen.
What I like about Lasso:
The display boxes are genuinely attractive without requiring any design work. You drop in an Amazon or affiliate URL and Lasso pulls the product data automatically. For review-heavy affiliate sites, this can transform the look and conversion rate of your content.
Lasso also includes a broken link monitor that alerts you when affiliate links go dead — which circles back to exactly the problem I described at the start of this post.
The reporting dashboard is the most sophisticated of the three, giving you revenue attribution data that helps you understand which content is actually driving commissions.
Where it falls short:
Price. Lasso starts at $39/month (around £31) — significantly more than Pretty Links or ThirstyAffiliates annually. For a newer affiliate site that hasn’t reached consistent revenue yet, that’s a hard number to justify.
It’s also WordPress-only and works best with Amazon Associates and a set of supported networks. If you’re running niche affiliate programmes that aren’t in their database, some features won’t work as smoothly.
Pricing: From $39/month — annual plans available at reduced rate.
👉 Learn more about Lasso (affiliate link placeholder)
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Pretty Links | ThirstyAffiliates | Lasso |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link cloaking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Click tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes (advanced) |
| Auto keyword linking | Pro only | Yes | Yes |
| Product display boxes | Limited | No | Yes (core feature) |
| Geolocation redirects | No | Pro only | No |
| Broken link alerts | No | Pro only | Yes |
| Free version | Yes (useful) | Yes (limited) | No |
| Entry price (paid) | ~$99/year | ~$79.50/year | ~$468/year |
| Best for | Simplicity | Control & depth | Conversions & display |
Which One Should You Choose?
Here’s the honest shortcut based on where you are right now:
You’re just starting out and want something free to begin with → Pretty Links free version. It handles the basics and costs nothing. Upgrade when your site is generating consistent revenue.
You’re past the beginner stage and want full link management control → ThirstyAffiliates Pro. The geolocation redirects, auto-linking, and categorisation system justify the price for a serious affiliate operation.
You run a review or comparison site and conversion rate is your primary concern → Lasso. The monthly cost is real, but if your site is generating revenue, the product display improvement and revenue attribution data can pay for itself.
You’re building across multiple sites on a budget → ThirstyAffiliates. The pricing is reasonable, the feature set is deep, and it scales well.
For The Strategic Affiliate specifically, ThirstyAffiliates hits the right balance between control and cost at this stage of the site’s growth. Lasso becomes the conversation when a site is consistently generating enough revenue to justify the monthly investment.
This decision fits into a broader thinking about how you structure your affiliate business systems — something I cover in the business systems section and the full link management guide on this site.
A Note on Link Cloaking and Transparency
One question that comes up regularly: is link cloaking deceptive?
No — and it’s worth being clear about this. Cloaking in this context simply means presenting a clean URL (yoursite.com/recommends/product) rather than a raw tracking string. You still disclose that links are affiliate links, which is a legal requirement in the UK and US regardless of which tool you use.
All three tools on this list support disclosure notices. Make sure yours are turned on.
Conclusion
The Pretty Links vs ThirstyAffiliates debate has a straightforward answer for most affiliate marketers: ThirstyAffiliates offers more for a similar price. But the real question is whether you need Lasso’s conversion features — and that comes down to what kind of site you’re building and where you are in your revenue journey.
Start with what fits your budget. Upgrade when your site demands it. And whatever you choose, set it up before you publish another affiliate article — not after you’ve got 47 posts that need updating.
For the full picture on building an affiliate site that generates consistent income, start with How to Start Affiliate Marketing: A Realistic Blueprint From 19 Years in the Trenches. Everything covered here fits into that broader system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is the difference between Pretty Links and ThirstyAffiliates?Both plugins manage and cloak affiliate links on WordPress. ThirstyAffiliates offers more advanced features including geolocation redirects, better link categorisation, and deeper auto-linking capabilities. Pretty Links has a more useful free version and a simpler interface. For serious affiliate marketers, ThirstyAffiliates typically offers better value on paid plans.
Q2: Is Lasso worth the price for a new affiliate site?Probably not at the start. Lasso’s $39/month price point is hard to justify before your site is generating consistent revenue. Begin with Pretty Links or ThirstyAffiliates and move to Lasso when your site is producing enough affiliate income that conversion rate optimisation becomes the priority.
Q3: Do I legally need to disclose affiliate links?Yes. In the UK the ASA requires clear disclosure that links are commercial. In the US the FTC has the same requirement. All three tools on this list support automatic disclosure notices — make sure this feature is enabled regardless of which plugin you choose.
Q4: Can I switch between affiliate link plugins without breaking my links?Yes, but it requires planning. The safest approach is to export your links from the old plugin and import them into the new one before deactivating anything. ThirstyAffiliates has solid import/export functionality specifically for this purpose.
Q5: Does using a link management plugin affect SEO?Not negatively when used correctly. Use 301 redirects for permanent affiliate links rather than 302s, which passes link equity properly. Clean branded URLs (yoursite.com/recommends/product) can marginally improve click-through rates compared to raw tracking strings, which has an indirect positive effect.
