How much to pay affiliates: finding the right commission for your business

The commission has to be good enough for partners to pick you, and small enough for each sale to stay profitable.

Start from your margin

Ask how much you can spend to win a customer. If each sale leaves you €40 of margin, a €20 commission still leaves you €20, from a customer you wouldn't have had. If customers buy again or pay every month, their value over time is bigger than the first sale, and you can pay more.

The models

• Percentage of the sale: simple and fair when prices vary (shops).
• Fixed amount per sale (CPA): predictable; good for products with a fixed price.
• Per lead (CPL): when the sale happens later, off the site (services, insurance).
• Recurring: a percentage of every payment, while the customer keeps paying (subscriptions). See recurring commissions.
• Revshare: a share of net revenue, common in iGaming. See CPA or revshare.

Indicative ranges

They vary a lot with the product and market; use them only as a starting point:

Business	Usual model	Common range
Software and subscriptions	recurring %	20 to 30%
Online shops	% of the sale	5 to 15%
Courses and digital products	% or fixed amount	30 to 50%
Services	per lead	fixed amount per request

Common mistakes

• Paying so little that nobody promotes you: compare with what competitors pay.
• Paying before you know the sale sticks: wait until the return period ends before approving.
• The same commission for everyone: reward the best with tiers or custom amounts.

In RastroAff

You set the commission on each offer and can pay different amounts per affiliate, country or goal, or raise it with the month's volume. See caps and payout rules and volume tiers.