Is 20% a normal rate?

We will not quote an industry average, because we have not measured one. What matters is whether the rate survives your margin, and whether it is one-time or recurring. The basis moves the total far more than the percentage.

Percentage or flat amount?

A percentage scales with order value. A flat amount is easier for an affiliate to repeat out loud, which suits a single-price product. You can mix them per product on the Business plan.

Do I pay for the life of the subscription?

Only if you choose to. Cap by number of payments or by months, and schedule a step-down if you want the rate to fall. Publish either at signup.

What happens on a refund?

The commission reverses automatically. Referly detects the refund from Stripe or Shopify and claws it back, so a refunded sale does not stay paid.

Do I pay commission on tax and shipping?

Only if you want to. Both can be deducted before commission is calculated, which often decides whether a rate works for a physical-goods store.

Can different affiliates get different rates?

Yes, per affiliate, per group and per product on the Business plan. The Startup plan runs a single rate.

Can I change a rate later?

You can, but treat it as a relationship problem. Cleaner options are a step-down published at signup, or a new plan for new partners while existing ones keep theirs.

Does Referly take a cut?

No. 0% transaction fee on every plan. Referly Payouts is 5% bank or 8% card if you opt into the managed rail, and agencies pay 5%, 2.5% or 1% only on what they bill their own clients.

Affiliate Commission Calculator

What a commission rate actually costs you

Enter your average order value and a commission rate, and see what you pay per sale, what the affiliate earns, and what you keep. Switch to recurring and the same 20% costs several times more over a subscription’s life. The formula is published below so you can check it.

Monthly price$49

Commission rate20%

Sales per month25

Gross margin80%

Average customer lifetime12 months

Stop paying after12 payments

Commission per sale: $9.80
Commission per customer: $117.60
What you keep per customer: $352.80
New revenue per month: $1,225.00
Commissions per month: $2,940.00
Effective commission rate: 20.0%

This month's new customersEarlier customers still being paid on

Each month brings 25 new customers and you keep paying on the earlier ones. The bill climbs for 12 months, then flattens at $2,940/mo, which is the number to budget for, not the first month's $245.

View as a table

Commissions paid in each of the first 24 months.
Month	New customers	Earlier customers	Total paid
1	$245	$0	$245
4	$245	$735	$980
7	$245	$1,470	$1,715
10	$245	$2,205	$2,450
13	$245	$2,695	$2,940
16	$245	$2,695	$2,940
19	$245	$2,695	$2,940
22	$245	$2,695	$2,940
24	$245	$2,695	$2,940

Example

$49/month subscription · 20% recurring · 12-month lifetime · capped at 12 payments · 25 sales/month · 80% margin

Commission per sale, first payment: $9.80
Commission per customer, lifetime: $117.60
New affiliate revenue per month: $1,225
Commissions paid per month, month 12 onward: $2,940
What you keep per customer: $352.80
Effective commission rate: 20.0%

Check our maths

The formula, with the numbers in it

No affiliate vendor publishes theirs.

One payment

Monthly price: $49.00
Rate: 20%
Per payment: $9.80

Whole customer

Per payment: $9.80
Payments: 12
Per customer: $117.60

Capped at 12 payments. Uncapped over 36 months it is $352.80 for the same customer.

What you keep

Revenue: $588.00
Margin: 80%
Commission: $117.60
You keep: $352.80

Refunds reverse

A refunded sale claws its commission back automatically.

Step-downs change it

A rate that drops after 12 payments moves the lifetime figure. Business plan.

Processor fees come first

Stripe and Shopify fees come off before your margin, and are not modelled.

Worked examples

Three programs, priced

Same calculator, three shapes of business.

SaaS subscription

$49/mo · 20% recurring · capped at 12

$117.60

per customer

Uncapped, the same customer costs $352.80 over three years. The cap is doing the work, not the rate.

Ecommerce store

$85 order · 15% one-time · 45% margin

$12.75

per order

A 12% return rate takes it to $22.44 kept per order. Commission reverses with the refund, so it comes off both sides.

Course or community

$299 one-time · $90 flat · 90% margin

$90

per sale

Flat wins here for a non-maths reason. “$90 a sale” is a sentence an affiliate can say in a video. “30.1%” is not.

Setting the number

How to pick a rate you can keep paying

Four decisions, in the order that matters.

Start from margin

30% on a 40% margin leaves you ten points. On 85% it leaves fifty-five. Different businesses.

Shape before number

20% recurring over twelve months is twelve times 20% one-time. Pick the basis first.

Cap, don't cut

25% for twelve payments recruits better than 10% forever, and usually costs less.

Schedule the step-down

Published at signup it is the deal. Introduced later it is a problem.

Commission plans, step-downs and per-product rates are Business-plan features. The Startup plan runs a single rate.

Honest limits

What this number leaves out

Three real costs the commission figure cannot see.

The software fee

A fixed line this model ignores, plus the revenue cap on whichever plan you are on.

See pricing

What rivals charge

Subscriptions, percentage fees and click overage vary wildly across the category.

Price every platform

Whether it pays off

Commission is one line. Margin, payout fees and your time are the rest.

Model the return

Free tools

The other free tools

Set the rate? These answer what happens next.

Influencer Search

Search creators who already promote products like yours and see what they earn.

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Affiliate ROI Calculator

Model a program's return against the software fee, the commissions and your margin.

Start now

True Cost Calculator

See what your program would cost on every affiliate platform that publishes prices, fees and overage included.

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Link Shortener

Shorten a link and track its clicks, countries and devices.

Start now

Affiliate Agreement Generator

Generate an affiliate agreement you can send today, then edit it.

Start now

Need a tool we don’t have?

Tell us what you keep working out in a spreadsheet and we’ll look at building it.

Suggest one

FAQ

Before you publish a rate

The questions founders ask the week before they launch.

Start for free Book a demo

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime

We will not quote an industry average, because we have not measured one. What matters is whether the rate survives your margin, and whether it is one-time or recurring. The basis moves the total far more than the percentage.

Create my program Compare all plans

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime

Affiliate Commission Calculator

What a commission rate actually costs you

Monthly price$49

Commission rate20%

Sales per month25

Gross margin80%

Average customer lifetime12 months

Stop paying after12 payments

Commission per sale: $9.80
Commission per customer: $117.60
What you keep per customer: $352.80
New revenue per month: $1,225.00
Commissions per month: $2,940.00
Effective commission rate: 20.0%

This month's new customersEarlier customers still being paid on

Each month brings 25 new customers and you keep paying on the earlier ones. The bill climbs for 12 months, then flattens at $2,940/mo, which is the number to budget for, not the first month's $245.

View as a table

Commissions paid in each of the first 24 months.
Month	New customers	Earlier customers	Total paid
1	$245	$0	$245
4	$245	$735	$980
7	$245	$1,470	$1,715
10	$245	$2,205	$2,450
13	$245	$2,695	$2,940
16	$245	$2,695	$2,940
19	$245	$2,695	$2,940
22	$245	$2,695	$2,940
24	$245	$2,695	$2,940

Example

$49/month subscription · 20% recurring · 12-month lifetime · capped at 12 payments · 25 sales/month · 80% margin

Commission per sale, first payment: $9.80
Commission per customer, lifetime: $117.60
New affiliate revenue per month: $1,225
Commissions paid per month, month 12 onward: $2,940
What you keep per customer: $352.80
Effective commission rate: 20.0%

Check our maths

The formula, with the numbers in it

No affiliate vendor publishes theirs.

One payment

Monthly price: $49.00
Rate: 20%
Per payment: $9.80

Whole customer

Per payment: $9.80
Payments: 12
Per customer: $117.60

Capped at 12 payments. Uncapped over 36 months it is $352.80 for the same customer.

What you keep

Revenue: $588.00
Margin: 80%
Commission: $117.60
You keep: $352.80

Refunds reverse

A refunded sale claws its commission back automatically.

Step-downs change it

A rate that drops after 12 payments moves the lifetime figure. Business plan.

Processor fees come first

Stripe and Shopify fees come off before your margin, and are not modelled.

Worked examples

Three programs, priced

Same calculator, three shapes of business.

SaaS subscription

$49/mo · 20% recurring · capped at 12

$117.60

per customer

Uncapped, the same customer costs $352.80 over three years. The cap is doing the work, not the rate.

Ecommerce store

$85 order · 15% one-time · 45% margin

$12.75

per order

A 12% return rate takes it to $22.44 kept per order. Commission reverses with the refund, so it comes off both sides.

Course or community

$299 one-time · $90 flat · 90% margin

$90

per sale

Flat wins here for a non-maths reason. “$90 a sale” is a sentence an affiliate can say in a video. “30.1%” is not.

Setting the number

How to pick a rate you can keep paying

Four decisions, in the order that matters.

Start from margin

30% on a 40% margin leaves you ten points. On 85% it leaves fifty-five. Different businesses.

Shape before number

20% recurring over twelve months is twelve times 20% one-time. Pick the basis first.

Cap, don't cut

25% for twelve payments recruits better than 10% forever, and usually costs less.

Schedule the step-down

Published at signup it is the deal. Introduced later it is a problem.

Commission plans, step-downs and per-product rates are Business-plan features. The Startup plan runs a single rate.

Honest limits

What this number leaves out

Three real costs the commission figure cannot see.

Free tools

The other free tools

Set the rate? These answer what happens next.

FAQ

Before you publish a rate

The questions founders ask the week before they launch.

Start for free Book a demo

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime

We will not quote an industry average, because we have not measured one. What matters is whether the rate survives your margin, and whether it is one-time or recurring. The basis moves the total far more than the percentage.

Create my program Compare all plans

14-day free trial · No credit card required · Cancel anytime