Affiliate commission rates by industry: what to pay partners

There is no single correct affiliate commission rate. The right rate is the one that leaves you profitable on a partner-driven sale and still makes partners want to promote you. That depends mostly on your margin, which is why rates differ so much by industry.

The formula: work backwards from margin

Use this calculation before looking at what anyone else pays:

1. Value of a customer. Average order value for one-time purchases, or first-year revenue for subscriptions.
2. Minus costs. Product cost, shipping, payment fees, and expected refunds.
3. Equals contribution margin. What you keep from that customer.
4. Pick your share. The portion of that margin you will pay to acquire the customer.

Then sanity-check it against paid ads. If you currently pay more in ad spend to acquire a customer than you would pay a partner, a higher commission is still a bargain, because you only pay the partner when a sale happens.

Typical structures by industry

These are the structures most common in each category. Exact rates vary by margin and competition, so treat the structure as the guide, not a fixed number.

Industry	Common structure	Why
SaaS and subscription software	Percentage of recurring revenue, often for 12 months or lifetime	Low cost per extra customer leaves room for generous, ongoing commission
Mobile apps	Flat fee per install or per paid conversion	Revenue arrives later, in-app, so a fixed amount is easier to price
Ecommerce and DTC	Percentage of order value, lower than software	Cost of goods, shipping, and returns leave less margin to share
High-ticket B2B and services	Flat fee per qualified lead or closed deal	Long sales cycles make per-sale percentages slow to pay out
Marketplaces and travel	Small percentage of booking value	Thin take rates on large transaction values
Courses and digital products	High percentage of the sale	Near-zero cost per extra sale

Percentage vs flat commission

Percentage commission scales with the order. It suits stores with varied basket sizes and subscription products where revenue grows with the plan.

Flat commission is easier to understand and to budget. It suits lead generation, app installs, and products with similar prices.

Many programs use both: a flat bonus for the first sale plus a percentage on recurring revenue.

One-time vs recurring commission

For subscriptions, decide how long a partner earns from one customer:

• First payment only. Cheapest, but weak incentive for partners who bring long-term customers.
• Fixed period, such as 12 months. The most common compromise.
• Lifetime. Strongest incentive, highest long-term cost. Usually paired with a lower rate.

Tiered and custom rates

You do not need one rate for everyone. Common patterns:

• Performance tiers. A higher rate once a partner passes a monthly sales level.
• Custom rates for top partners. Your best few partners usually drive most revenue, so negotiate with them individually.
• Launch bonuses. A temporary higher rate for a new product or season.

Change rates going forward only. Rewriting the rate on sales that already happened is the quickest way to lose partner trust.

Protect your margin

Three settings keep commission from eating more than you planned:

• Pay on net revenue, after discounts and refunds, not on the list price.
• Hold commission until your refund window passes, and reverse it automatically when an order is refunded.
• Set a cookie window that matches your buying cycle, so you are not paying for sales the partner had little to do with.

Bridgly applies these automatically: commission accrues from tracked Stripe sales and app sign-ups, waits out your hold period, and is clawed back if the sale is refunded. You can set a program default and override it per partner.

The short version

• Set commission from your margin, not from competitors' headline rates.
• Software can pay more than physical products because each extra sale costs less.
• Use percentage commission for varied order values, flat fees for leads and installs.
• For subscriptions, cap recurring commission by time or rate.
• Pay on net revenue, hold until the refund window passes, and claw back refunds.

See how Bridgly tracks commission → · How to start an affiliate program