If your category is beauty, fashion, or lifestyle, a large share of the creators you want are already monetizing on LTK or ShopMy, and a lot of brands treat the two platforms as interchangeable affiliate links. They are not quite the same, and choosing badly means partnering on a platform where your category's creators do not actually have storefronts. But the more important thing to understand is what these platforms are and are not. They are powerful discovery and linking layers. They are not a substitute for getting product into a creator's hands, which is the step that has to happen no matter which platform tracks the sale.
This is a practical comparison of LTK and ShopMy for brands: how each works, how you partner and gift on them, who each suits, and why the sample-shipping workflow sits underneath both. It supports the broader map in the guide to creator platforms for product seeding.
What LTK and ShopMy actually are
Both LTK and ShopMy are creator monetization and affiliate platforms. A creator builds a shoppable storefront, links the products they recommend, and earns commission when their audience buys through those links. For the brand, they are a way to plug your catalog into the workflows of creators who are already comfortable selling, and to track commission cleanly.
That shared core is why they get lumped together. The differences are real but they are differences of maturity, audience, and relationship style, not of fundamental function. Understanding that keeps you from over-thinking the choice: whichever you pick, you are buying a discovery-and-linking layer, and you still have to ship.
How LTK and ShopMy differ
LTK is the established, larger network. It has a strong consumer-facing app where shoppers follow creators and browse curated picks, and it has deep roots in fashion and lifestyle. Its scale means broad creator coverage and a built-in audience habit of shopping creator content directly. If you want reach into a mature fashion-and-lifestyle ecosystem, LTK is the incumbent.
ShopMy is newer and has grown fast, particularly in beauty. It is known for leaning into direct brand-creator relationships and for flexible commission and gifting tools, which makes the brand side feel more hands-on. Brands often describe it as closer to managing creator relationships directly, with the monetization plumbing handled. The two overlap heavily, and many creators are on both, so this is rarely an exclusive choice.
How brands partner and gift on each
On both platforms the mechanics rhyme. You connect your product catalog so creators can link your products and earn commission. You can run collaboration and gifting programs to get product into creators' hands so they have something to feature. The platform handles discovery, helps you find creators active in your category, and tracks the commission attribution.
What neither platform does is make the content happen on its own. The link only earns commission once the creator has actually featured the product, and they can only feature it authentically once they physically have it. So the partnership flow on either platform is: find the creator, agree on terms, gift the product, and then the shoppable links start producing. The platform is the storefront and the ledger. It is not the warehouse.
Who each platform suits
- Choose LTK if you want reach into an established fashion and lifestyle audience through a mature consumer app, and you value scale and broad creator coverage.
- Choose ShopMy if you are a beauty or DTC brand that wants more direct creator relationships and flexible gifting and commission, and you prefer a hands-on brand experience.
- Use both if your category's creators are split across them, which is common. Let the creators' existing storefronts decide, not your preference.
The deciding question is simple: where do the creators in your specific niche already have active storefronts? Spend an afternoon checking the creators you already admire, and the answer usually picks itself. This is the same discovery discipline that runs through the wider product seeding strategy for DTC brands.
Affiliate commission and the graduation path
Because LTK and ShopMy are commission-driven, they sit naturally at the monetization end of the creator relationship. A creator who started as a pure gifted post can, over time, become a reliable affiliate driving trackable sales, and from there a paid partner. That progression, from free product to commission to paid, is the same graduation logic laid out in the post on gifting versus paid sponsorships. These platforms give you the commission rail in the middle of that path. They do not give you the first step, which is always the gift.
You still have to ship the product
Here is the part that no commission dashboard solves. A creator on LTK or ShopMy cannot feature, demonstrate, or honestly recommend a product they do not have. The platform tracks the sale and pays the commission. It does not collect the address, pick the product, create the order, or put a box in the mail. That is on you, and it is the same operation for every creator on every platform you work with.
Which is why a dedicated sample-shipping workflow sits underneath any LTK or ShopMy program. One branded link the creator fills in, a tagged Shopify draft order created automatically, and a record of every send, regardless of which affiliate platform will eventually track the commission. Seed handles exactly that send and is free for a limited time. Run it as the backbone, feed the creators into your creator CRM in Shopify, and let LTK or ShopMy do what they are actually good at: discovery and commission tracking on top of product you have already shipped.
FAQ
What is the difference between LTK and ShopMy?
Both are creator monetization platforms where creators build shoppable storefronts and earn commission on what they link. LTK is the established, larger network with a strong consumer-facing app and deep roots in fashion and lifestyle. ShopMy is newer, leans into beauty and into direct brand-creator relationships, and is known for flexible commission and gifting tools. They overlap heavily; the difference is maturity, audience, and how hands-on the brand relationship feels.
How do brands partner with creators on LTK and ShopMy?
On both, brands connect their product catalog so creators can link products and earn commission, and brands can run gifting and collaboration programs to get product into creators' hands. The platforms function as discovery and linking layers: they help you find creators already comfortable selling and they track the commission, but the actual content only happens once the creator has your product.
Which platform should my brand use, LTK or ShopMy?
Use LTK if you want reach into an established fashion and lifestyle audience through a mature consumer app. Use ShopMy if you are a beauty or DTC brand that wants more direct creator relationships and flexible gifting and commission. Many brands use both, since creators are often active on more than one. Pick based on where your category's creators actually have storefronts. See the broader creator platforms guide.
Do LTK and ShopMy replace product gifting?
No. They are commission and linking layers, not logistics. A creator on either platform still needs your product in hand to feature it authentically, so brands gift product alongside the partnership. The platform tracks the sale and pays commission; you still collect an address, pick a product, create an order, and ship it with a workflow like Seed.
Are LTK and ShopMy affiliate platforms or gifting platforms?
Primarily affiliate and creator monetization platforms. Their core function is letting creators build shoppable storefronts and earn commission, with discovery and brand-collaboration features layered on. Gifting happens around them rather than being their core purpose, which is why brands run a dedicated sample-shipping workflow underneath any LTK or ShopMy partnership.