How the two CPA networks compare for site and app owners, and a third option for apps and sites with signed-in users and no lockers.
By Cole Warner, Co-Founder at AffiliateOSFacts checked 15 sources
We make AffiliateOS, the third column on this page. Facts about the other two are sourced in the table, the text and the list below.
The short answer
Choose CPAGrip if
you run a content site and want to lock downloads, links or videos behind an offer, with geo-targeted offer lists ready to paste in.
Choose CPAlead if
you want many ways to send traffic, from lockers and direct links to an offerwall and an API, plus paid clicks on boosted offers if you buy its membership.
this is us
Choose AffiliateOS if
you run an app or site where users sign in and earn rewards for offers, and you want every postback signed.
We don't offer a content locker, and we don't take locker or giveaway traffic. If your traffic comes through lockers, we are not for you.
AffiliateOS
Pushed to you as a postback, with a reason when we have one.
Accurate as of 29 October 2026. Facts about CPAGrip and CPAlead come from their own public pages, numbered in the
sources. Terms change, so check each source before you decide.
CPAGrip calls itself a content locking and incentive affiliate network, and says it has run since 2013.113 Its tools lock content, links, files and videos behind a geo-targeted list of offers, and it also has an offer wall and offer feeds with your own point rates.3410 Offers include email submits, surveys and mobile PIN submits.9 Sites need its approval and must be content sites on their own domain.8
Since 2013No recent change found on its own site, as of 29 Oct 2026.13
B
CPAlead
CPAlead has run since 2006 and describes itself as a CPA and CPI marketplace.2 Publishers send traffic through offerwalls, API feeds, direct links, lockers and landing pages; advertisers add CPA and CPI campaigns to the same marketplace.514 It filters who gets in, with a free path tested on 14 days of earnings or a refundable $100 deposit.515 Its rules allow virtual currency on offerwalls and ban paying users real money for offers.11
Since 2006Now a two-sided marketplace, where advertisers add their own campaigns.14
vs
03Head to head
CPAGrip vs CPAlead, head to head. One bottom line for each question.
01
Lockers and traffic
Both offer content lockers: CPAGrip's own title calls it a content locking network, and CPAlead lists lockers as one of its four publisher paths.15
AffiliateOS reviews every publisher and looks for apps and sites where users sign in and earn rewards.
Bottom line
CPAGrip and CPAlead both give you a locker to run. We don't offer one.
02
Postbacks you can verify
CPAlead's publisher postback is a plain request with an optional shared password that you check yourself, and its guide documents no signature.12 CPAGrip's postback docs aren't public, as of 29 October 2026.
Every AffiliateOS postback carries a verifier: an HMAC‑SHA256 of the full URL without that parameter, made with your secret. Without an active secret, we don't send one.
Bottom line
With us you can prove each credit came from us before you pay your user.
/publisher/conversions
A conversion trace: the click, the conversion, the payout and the postback to your server, with the reason a delivery failed.
03
Reversals
CPAlead's publishers pull reversed leads from a Reversals API, between two dates.7 CPAGrip doesn't describe reversals on its public pages, as of 29 October 2026.
On AffiliateOS a reversal arrives as a second postback with the same action ID, status reversed and a reason when we have one. Your server deducts it like any other message.
Bottom line
Pushed beats pulled when your users spend their rewards fast.
04
Getting in
CPAGrip reviews every site and wants content sites on their own domain.8 CPAlead's free path closes your account if you don't earn $25 in your first 14 days; its paid path is a $100 refundable deposit.5
AffiliateOS reviews every publisher too, with no deposit and no earnings test. Tell us about your app or site and its users, and we reply by email.
Bottom line
All three are selective. Only CPAlead adds a $100 refundable deposit or a $25 earnings test.
05
Clicks
CPAlead's boosted offers pay for qualified clicks as well as conversions, and its API docs say those click earnings need a paid membership.7
AffiliateOS doesn't pay per click. Offers pay per install, sign‑up, first deposit, trial start or event.
Bottom line
If you want paid clicks, CPAlead has them, on its paid membership. We don't.
04Worked example
One install, credited then taken back.
Pebble Rewards sends user u_48213 to Harbor Blocks. The install converts on an iPhone in Texas at 2:09 PM. Nine days later it's reversed.
CPAlead
AffiliateOS
012:09 PM
The credit arrives
CPAlead
GET pebble.example/cb
?subid=u_48213
&lead_id=88317
&payout=4.20
&password=hb-2026
A plain request. The password is optional, and only you check it.
AffiliateOS
GET postback.pebble.example/afos
?sub_id=u_48213
&action_id=act_3f8a21
&payout=4.20
&status=completed
&verifier=9f86d0c2…
Every parameter is covered by the verifier.
022:09 PM
You check it's real
CPAlead
Compare the password in the request with the one you set.
AffiliateOS
Remove verifier, recompute HMAC‑SHA256 of the rest of the URL with your secret and compare. No secret, no postback.
039 days later
The install is reversed
CPAlead
Nothing arrives. It shows up when your job pulls the Reversals API for a date range.
AffiliateOS
GET postback.pebble.example/afos
?sub_id=u_48213
&action_id=act_3f8a21
&status=reversed
&reason=Duplicate+accounts+detected
&verifier=41b7e9aa…
The same action ID, pushed to you with a reason.
04Your server
Pebbles come back
CPAlead
A scheduled job matches reversed leads to users and deducts.
AffiliateOS
Deduct on reversed. Dedupe on action_id and status together.
CPAlead fields from its postback and API documentation,712 checked 29 October 2026. CPAGrip isn't shown because its postback docs aren't public.
Tell us about your app or site and its users. We reply by email.
02
Pick a way in
The Offer API, the Top Offers Feed, a Hosted Offerwall link or Offer Links.
03
Run it beside CPAGrip or CPAlead
Your current links, walls and postbacks stay where they are.
07Questions
CPAGrip vs CPAlead: questions, sources and method.
Which is better, CPAGrip or CPAlead?
How you send traffic decides this one.
Choose CPAGrip if you run a content site and want to lock downloads, links or videos behind an offer, with geo-targeted offer lists ready to paste in. Choose CPAlead if you want many ways to send traffic, from lockers and direct links to an offerwall and an API, plus paid clicks on boosted offers if you buy its membership.
Are CPAGrip and CPAlead still running?
Yes, as of 29 October 2026. Both sites are live and take sign‑ups, and both footers read 2026. CPAGrip says it has run since 2013, and CPAlead since 2006. Neither site announces a closure or a sale.
How do CPAGrip and CPAlead secure postbacks?
CPAlead lets you set an optional shared password that you check yourself, and its guide documents no signature. CPAGrip's postback docs aren't public, as of 29 October 2026.
Do CPAGrip and CPAlead offer content lockers?
Yes. Lockers are CPAGrip's main product: content, URL, file and video lockers. CPAlead lists lockers and landing pages as one of its four publisher paths.
What does it take to join CPAGrip or CPAlead?
CPAGrip reviews every site and wants content sites on their own domain. CPAlead's free path closes your account if you don't earn $25 in your first 14 days, and its paid path is a $100 refundable deposit.
Does CPAlead pay per click?
On boosted offers, yes, and its API docs say those click earnings need a paid membership. CPAGrip's offers pay per action.
Does AffiliateOS have a content locker?
No. We don't offer one, and we don't accept locker or giveaway traffic.
How do I know an AffiliateOS postback is real?
Each one carries a verifier: an HMAC‑SHA256 of the full URL, made with your secret. Remove verifier, recompute the HMAC of the rest of the URL and compare. Without an active secret, we don't send postbacks.
Sources
Each read on 29 October 2026. Numbers match the markers in the table and the text.
We read each company's own public pages on 29 October 2026: pricing pages, docs, help centers and terms, plus SEC filings where a company
files them. We compared what each offers the same kind of buyer at list terms. We didn't use custom quotes, review sites or anything told to us privately. Facts about AffiliateOS come
from our product as it runs today, explained in our developer docs.
Names and corrections
CPAGrip and CPAlead are trademarks of their owners. AffiliateOS is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by either
company. If something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@affiliateos.ai and we'll correct the page
and its date.
Run offers that pay what they show.
Tell us about your app or site and its users. We reply by email.
