If you are comparing these two affiliate programs, the difference is structural: MedStands pays a recurring fixed marketing fee of $36 to $260 per active referred customer per month, set by medication category, to your bank for as long as that customer stays active. The GoodRx affiliate program is publicly reported to pay a one-time CPA per valid or filled prescription, run through third-party affiliate networks rather than in-house. One keeps paying on the same customer month after month; the other is reported to pay once, when a prescription is filled.
It is also worth knowing up front that these two programs sit in different corners of the market. GoodRx is a prescription discount and coupon platform, so its affiliate payout is tied to people using its coupons at the pharmacy. MedStands is a B2B telehealth partner and affiliate platform, where your referral becomes an ongoing customer of the platform. That shapes everything below, so here is the factual side-by-side.
At a glance
| MedStands | GoodRx | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment model | Recurring fixed marketing fee by medication category (not a commission, percentage, or cut of sales) | One-time CPA per valid or filled prescription (single-tier), run through third-party affiliate networks, reported |
| When you are paid | Monthly, to your bank via Stripe Connect | Monthly, with a minimum payout reported at $50 |
| How much per referral | $36 to $260 per active customer per month, by category | Listed by affiliate directories at roughly $10 per valid prescription; not stated on GoodRx's own page and inconsistent across aggregators (some list it as unknown) |
| Attribution window | For life. Stored on the account at signup, not an expiring cookie | Not disclosed for the main program (one network offer listing showed a 7-day window, which is not authoritative) |
| Cost to join | $0. No setup fee, no monthly fee, no participation fee | Free to apply through the network, reported |
| Sign-up requirements | Self-serve, live the same day, admin reviews the account. No follower or audience-size minimum | Application with approval; US-only traffic; standard network onboarding (profile and tax documents) |
| Referral cap | None on referrals or earnings | Not disclosed |
| Who handles the clinical side | Licensed providers prescribe; licensed pharmacies handle fulfillment, refills, and shipping (LegitScript-certified platform). MedStands is not a medical practice and does not prescribe | Not part of the affiliate terms; GoodRx is a prescription discount and coupon platform |
A note on the GoodRx figures: we could not confirm any of them on GoodRx's own site (its corporate affiliate URL returned an error, and its public partner pages cover B2B business deals rather than a consumer affiliate program). Every number here is aggregator-sourced from affiliate directories, which is why we treat them as reported rather than confirmed. Listings cite third-party networks including CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction), Rakuten Advertising, and Panthera Network, and at least one listing showed a paused status, so active availability is uncertain. Check the current terms in the relevant network before you rely on any figure.
The math: recurring monthly vs one-time
This is the difference that compounds. Using the publicly reported figure, a GoodRx affiliate earns a one-time amount, listed by affiliate directories at roughly $10 per valid prescription, when a referred prescription is filled. It is a flat bounty on the fill: you are credited once, and that person does not pay you again next month.
MedStands works the opposite way. The fee is a fixed marketing fee tied to the medication category, between $36 and $260 per active referred customer, and it is paid to your bank every month for as long as that customer keeps using the platform. The same referral that pays you this month is designed to keep paying next month, and the month after, as long as that person stays on treatment. Businesses in the partner program and individuals in the MedStands affiliate program are both paid these recurring monthly fees for the life of each active customer.
Line the two up over a year and the structural gap is clear. A one-time payout rewards the moment of the fill once. A recurring monthly fee is paid on the same retained referral again and again across the months they stay active, so a single long-term customer is paid on repeatedly rather than once.
One honest point: this is a fee schedule, not a promise of a total. Actual MedStands earnings depend on the medication category and on how many referred people qualify and stay active. Every request is reviewed by a licensed provider, and not everyone qualifies. The $36 to $260 range is the per-customer monthly fee by category, and the fee is a fixed marketing fee set in advance, never a percentage or a share of sales. For a fuller field of programs and how their payouts are structured, see MedStands vs the Top GLP-1 Affiliate Programs.
Attribution: lifetime binding vs a cookie
Attribution decides who gets credit for a customer, and for how long. With MedStands, a referred customer or business is bound to the referrer for life. That link is stored on the account at signup rather than in a browser cookie that expires, so it does not lapse if the customer clears cookies, switches devices, or comes back weeks later.
For the GoodRx program, a cookie window is not disclosed for the main affiliate offer. One network listing (Panthera) showed a 7-day window for a specific offer, but that is a single, non-authoritative data point rather than a published program-wide term. Because there is no confirmed figure to compare, the honest comparison is at the model level: a cookie-based window, however long, is a period that can be affected by cookie clearing or a device switch and can lapse before a customer converts, whereas an account-level lifetime binding does not expire. If someone discovers a GLP-1 program through you but acts weeks later, those two approaches treat the credit very differently.
For a plain-English walkthrough of how account-level, non-expiring attribution works, see how telehealth referral attribution works with lifetime tracking.
Where GoodRx may be a fit
GoodRx is a large, well-known name, and its affiliate program can suit a different job than a telehealth referral program. If your audience is primarily looking to save on prescriptions they are already filling at the pharmacy, promoting a familiar discount and coupon platform is a natural match, and a one-time CPA is simple to reason about because it pays on the fill itself. If you already run US traffic through CJ Affiliate, Rakuten, or Panthera and want to add a recognizable brand to an existing network dashboard, it is a reasonable option, with the caveat that its terms are aggregator-reported and at least one listing showed a paused status. It is a coupon-driven program rather than a recurring telehealth partnership, so it fits audiences and goals accordingly.
MedStands is built for a different goal: ongoing income from customers who stay on treatment. If you would rather be paid every month a referral stays active than once when a prescription is filled, the recurring model is the one to look at. If you are weighing referring businesses versus earning as an individual, Partner vs Affiliate: which MedStands program fits you breaks down both paths, and you can browse partner programs by industry to see how it maps to your niche.
Common questions
Does MedStands pay recurring or one-time?
Recurring. MedStands pays a fixed marketing fee of $36 to $260 per active referred customer per month, by medication category, to your bank for as long as that customer keeps using the platform. The GoodRx affiliate program is publicly reported to pay a one-time CPA per valid or filled prescription.
How much does GoodRx pay per referral?
Affiliate directories list it at roughly $10 per valid prescription, but that figure is not stated on GoodRx's own page and is inconsistent across aggregators, with some listing the commission as unknown. A minimum payout of $50, paid monthly, is also reported. Treat all of these as reported, aggregator-sourced numbers rather than brand-confirmed rates. MedStands, by contrast, pays $36 to $260 per active customer per month, set by the medication category.
Is the "GoodRx Partner Program" the same as its affiliate program?
Not necessarily, and this is a common mix-up. GoodRx's public partner and partnership pages largely describe B2B business deals (member offerings and pharmacy partnerships) rather than a consumer affiliate program, and the affiliate program itself appears to run through third-party networks. Separately, goodrxmedicine.com is a different online pharmacy with its own affiliate program and is not GoodRx. If you are comparing programs, confirm which entity and which program you are actually joining.
What does it cost to join MedStands?
Nothing. There is no setup fee, no monthly fee, and no participation fee. You get paid, you never pay, and your link and QR code are live the same day you sign up. If you are new to the model, what a telehealth partner program is explains how it works, and how much you can earn referring businesses to telehealth covers the earnings picture qualitatively.
See the recurring model side by side
Want recurring monthly income instead of a one-time bounty on the fill? Learn how the MedStands affiliate program pays you every month for the customers you refer, see how the partner program does the same for businesses, and browse partner programs by industry to find your fit. For the wider field, compare MedStands vs the Top GLP-1 Affiliate Programs.
Competitor program terms are as of July 2026 and come from each brand's published affiliate information. Programs change, so check their current terms.