LeafLink vs Apex Trading is mainly a choice between a wholesale marketplace with financial services attached and a flat-rate wholesale toolset. LeafLink fits brands and distributors that want its buyer network plus payment terms, sell-through payments and banking in one account, and it prices brands by quote. Apex Trading fits sellers that want Metrc-linked inventory, branded storefronts and QuickBooks order sync at what it calls flat-rate pricing with no revenue sharing.
This comparison covers product scope, fee models, state traceability support, payments and recent corporate events, including LeafLink's purchase of Leaf Trade. Facts are as each company states them on its website or in press releases as of October 2026, and trade press is named where we use it. For the wider category, including ERP-based ordering tools, see our cannabis wholesale and B2B software guide.
| LeafLink | Apex Trading | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Licensed brands, distributors and retailers | Brands and producers selling wholesale; dispensaries buy free |
| Product scope | Marketplace, order management, CRM, Insights reports, advertising, payments, banking | Inventory and order management, storefronts and menus, reports, wholesale pricing data |
| Pricing published? | No. Brands request a quote; retailers order free | No. Pricing runs through a demo; buyer accounts are free |
| Fee model, in the vendor's words | "Capped, usage-based pricing model" (statement to Greenway Magazine, May 2025) | "Flat-rate SaaS pricing" with "no hidden fees or revenue sharing" (Apex blog, 2025) |
| State traceability | Lists Metrc and BioTrack | Lists METRC; BioTrack not listed |
| Accounting and ERP links | QuickBooks, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Distru, Canix, Flourish and others | QuickBooks Online, Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Distru, Canix, Flourish and others |
| Payments | ACH (Direct Pay), terms, Payment on Sell-Through | FundCanna's ReadyPaid buy now, pay later at checkout (announced June 2026) |
| Markets | Homepage: 30 markets. February 2026 release: 34 U.S. markets | Homepage: 29 state markets. June 2026 blog: more than 30 |
| Scale claim | Says 3,500+ brands and 12,000+ sellers and buyers | Homepage says 8K+ clients |
| Ownership and funding | Venture-backed; $100M Series D (2023), upsized to $125M (July 2024); owns Dama Financial banking assets and Leaf Trade | Venture-backed; $1.67M Series Seed (October 2019) |
LeafLink runs a wholesale marketplace where licensed brands and distributors list products and licensed retailers place orders. Ryan G. Smith and Zach Silverman founded it in 2016. Its homepage says more than 3,500 brands sell on LeafLink and that it has over 12,000 sellers and buyers across 30 markets, while its February 2026 anniversary release says it supports licensed operators in 34 states. LeafLink does not publish a state list.
For sellers, LeafLink lists branded menus that show test results, prices and licenses, inventory that updates as orders are fulfilled, a built-in CRM that tracks contacts, pipeline and sales tasks by service zone, Insights reports on sales and market pricing, and paid advertising aimed at buyers. It lists Metrc and BioTrack integrations and says Metrc or BioTrack tags attach to purchase orders. Other listed integrations include QuickBooks, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Distru, Canix, Flourish and Dutchie.
LeafLink does not publish a price list. Its pricing page asks brands to request a quote and mentions social equity discounts without stating amounts, and its retailer page says retailers can order "for free." In a May 2025 statement to Greenway Magazine, LeafLink described a "capped, usage-based pricing model" and said one-third of customers would see no change under its new pricing.
Corporate events matter here. LeafLink bought the assets of Dama Financial's banking division (announced July 24, 2024), and its homepage now lists banking (cash services, credit and payroll) with a link to Dama Financial. In September 2025 it said it had moved customers acquired from Confia's cannabis banking platform to Dama Financial, and it named Ashwin Raj, former CEO of ezCater, as CEO. Its company page lists a $100 million Series D in 2023, and its July 2024 Dama Financial release said it had upsized that round to $125 million.
See LeafLink's profile in our software directory for its listed integrations, categories and alternatives.
LeafLink describes Leaf Trade as a wholesale marketplace used mainly by multi-state operators and enterprise cannabis companies. LeafLink announced the purchase on November 26, 2024, without disclosing terms, and said both platforms "will operate as-is without disruption while a full integration roadmap is rolled out." The companies projected combined wholesale GMV of nearly $9 billion a year. MJBizDaily reported that Leaf Trade had merged with retail platform Sweed in 2023, and Leaf Trade's CEO said Sweed would remain independent. As of October 2026, the leaf.trade site still offers sign-in and demo requests, carries a "Leaf Trade is Now Part of LeafLink" banner and says it is available in 25+ markets. We found no published sunset or migration date, so Leaf Trade customers should ask LeafLink for one in writing.
Apex Trading sells inventory, order and sales software to cannabis brands and producers that sell wholesale, and runs a marketplace where dispensaries buy. Inc. reported in April 2018 that Rob Fess, John Manlove and Willy Wheeler started Apex after working at Tradiv, a wholesale company that had collapsed. Apex says it is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Manlove is founder and CEO.
Its homepage lists real-time inventory with a METRC integration, orders that push to QuickBooks Online (Plus or Advanced), branded storefronts, a website menu, sales reports and wholesale pricing insights. The METRC page covers binding, splitting, tagging and finishing packages, and marks draft manifests "coming soon." Other listed integrations include Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Distru, Canix, Flourish and Dutchie. BioTrack is not listed.
Buyer accounts are free. Apex says licenses, ingredients and COAs are attached to every order, and buyers can post wanted items and get alerts. It also publishes wholesale data snapshots built from platform transactions; the Q2 2026 set covered eight states.
Apex does not publish prices. Its blog describes "flat-rate SaaS pricing instead of unpredictable take-rate models" and "no hidden fees or revenue sharing." Greenway Magazine reported in May 2025 that Apex's small business tier was $600 per month and its enterprise tier $1,200, and quoted Manlove: "We don't charge by volume." Apex's site does not post those figures, so confirm current pricing.
Apex's homepage lists 29 state markets and 8K+ clients, while a June 4, 2026 Apex blog post says more than 30 state markets. A June 11, 2026 FundCanna release cited more than 4,000 unique clients and more than $150 million in monthly GMV, and said FundCanna's ReadyPaid buy now, pay later product would be built into Apex checkout under a revenue-sharing agreement between FundCanna and Apex whose terms were not disclosed. Apex raised a $1.67 million Series Seed in October 2019.
See Apex Trading's profile in our software directory for its listed integrations and alternatives.
Not every seller needs a standalone cannabis B2B marketplace. Two LeafLink alternatives in our directory take wholesale orders inside an ERP instead.
We compare the ERP side of these products in Distru vs Canix vs Flourish.
LeafLink describes usage-based pricing with a cap, quoted per brand. Apex describes a flat subscription that does not rise with order volume. The difference showed up in May 2025, when Greenway Magazine reported that some Missouri operators left LeafLink after a pricing change and cited increases of 300% to 2,000%. LeafLink told the publication that claims of a 1,500% to 2,000% increase were "categorically false." For a CFO, the practical point is contract language: get the cap, the volume tiers and the notice period for price changes in writing from either vendor.
LeafLink lists Metrc and BioTrack. Apex lists METRC only. That matters in states where BioTrack runs the state system, such as Arkansas, Connecticut and Hawaii (see our state-by-state guide to which states use Metrc and which use BioTrack). New Mexico moved from BioTrack to NMS2S, a state system built by Real Time Solutions, in September 2026, so ask both platforms whether they support it. In Metrc states, a third-party vendor works through an API key issued after it passes Metrc's validation for that state, paired with your user key, so ask each vendor which states it is validated in. Ask each vendor whether it creates transfer manifests or leaves them to Metrc or your ERP; Apex lists draft manifests as coming soon. Our Metrc vs BioTrack comparison covers the state systems, and our guide to month-end Metrc reconciliation controls covers the inventory drift that marketplace orders can add.
LeafLink says Direct Pay accepts ACH "with no processing fees" and is included with its Marketplace subscription (April 2025). Its Payment on Sell-Through program uses the buyer's seed-to-sale data to charge retailers weekly as products sell; LeafLink said at launch in June 2024 that it was "currently available for Metrc," and its September 2024 release listed Michigan, Mississippi and Colorado as the available states. Apex's payment option is third-party financing: FundCanna pays the seller upfront and the buyer takes extended terms. Card networks restrict cannabis transactions, and a GAO report (GAO-26-107498, September 8, 2026) says payment acceptance remains difficult. See our cannabis payments and fintech software guide for the wider options.
LeafLink says it checks that seller and buyer licenses are current. Apex says licenses, ingredients and COAs travel with every order. Both are vendor features. Your state's record-keeping and transfer rules still apply, so confirm what your regulator requires on file.
Apex markets "own your own brand experience and customer relationships." We did not find published data export terms from either vendor. If you leave, you will want customers, orders, invoices and COAs in a usable format. Plan for downtime too; our 72-hour playbook for seed-to-sale outages applies to wholesale platforms tied to Metrc.
Neither is better in general. As of October 2026, LeafLink fits sellers that want a marketplace with payment terms, sell-through payments and banking attached, while Apex Trading fits sellers that want flat-rate inventory, order and storefront software. Fit depends on your states, order volume and payment needs.
LeafLink does not publish prices. Brands request a quote, retailers order for free, and LeafLink described its model to Greenway Magazine in May 2025 as "capped, usage-based pricing." Its pricing page mentions social equity discounts without stating amounts.
Apex Trading does not publish prices and routes pricing through a demo. It describes flat-rate pricing with no revenue sharing, and Greenway Magazine reported in May 2025 tiers of $600 and $1,200 per month. Buyer accounts are free.
Yes. Apex lists a METRC integration for binding, splitting, creating, tagging and finishing packages, with draft manifests marked as coming soon as of October 2026. Its integrations page does not list BioTrack.
LeafLink announced its acquisition of Leaf Trade on November 26, 2024, and said both platforms would keep running while it built an integration roadmap. As of October 2026, leaf.trade is still active and says it is part of LeafLink. We found no published sunset date.
LeafLink is a venture-backed company founded in 2016 by Ryan G. Smith and Zach Silverman, with a Series D that closed at $100 million in 2023 and was upsized to $125 million in 2024. Ashwin Raj became CEO in September 2025. LeafLink owns the Dama Financial banking business and Leaf Trade.
Alternatives in our directory include Apex Trading, Distru's DistruCommerce and Canix's wholesale shop. Leaf Trade is no longer an independent alternative, since LeafLink acquired it in 2024.
We do not rate or rank vendors. Facts are as each company states them as of October 2026, and no vendor reviewed this article before publication. This is regulatory journalism, not legal advice. Confirm details with each vendor and your counsel.