⚡ Quick Answer
There is no single right number, but there are real ranges. SaaS and subscriptions typically pay 20 to 30 percent recurring, digital products and courses pay the highest at 20 to 50 percent per sale, physical ecommerce runs 5 to 15 percent, and B2B software and services often pay 10 to 30 percent of the first contract. Start from what a customer is worth to you, then use these ranges to sanity-check the number.
A common way to pick a commission rate is to guess a number that sounds fair, without checking whether it is actually generous enough for a good partner to bother promoting you.
That single number quietly decides whether a partner program ever produces revenue. Too low, and the people worth recruiting politely ignore you. Too high without a model behind it, and you pay well for sales that would have happened anyway.
Our guide on how to start an affiliate program covers the method: work out what a customer is worth to you, then decide what share of that you would pay for one who arrived without you lifting a finger. This page covers what that method leaves out, the actual ranges other businesses land on, sourced from three affiliate platforms that publish this data.
Typical Commission Rates by Business Type
| Business type | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS and subscriptions | 20–30% recurring | Up to 40% for top-tier affiliates on some programs |
| Digital products and courses | 20–50% per sale | Highest percentages, since production cost per unit is low |
| Physical products (ecommerce) | 5–15% per sale | Apparel and beauty trend higher; electronics trend lower on thin margins |
| B2B software and services | 10–30% of first contract | Usually a one-time share of the first deal, not recurring |
| High-ticket physical goods | 3–8% per sale | Furniture, mattresses and similar big-ticket items with thin margins |
| Finance and lead generation | $50–$200 per lead | Flat fee per qualified signup instead of a percentage, common where regulation limits revenue-share deals |
These ranges come from three affiliate platforms that publish commission data across the programs they run: Rewardful, Shopify and Tapfiliate. They do not agree on exact numbers (Rewardful puts SaaS up to 40% for top affiliates, Tapfiliate caps typical SaaS closer to 30%), which is itself useful information: even the platforms that see this data across thousands of programs describe a range, not a single correct figure.
Why Digital Products Pay So Much More Than Physical Ones
The gap between a 50% commission on a course and a 10% commission on a physical product is not arbitrary. It comes down to margin.
A digital course or software subscription can carry 75 to 80% gross margin, because there is no unit to manufacture or ship. A physical product often runs 30 to 60% margin before the affiliate is even paid, once materials, fulfilment and returns are accounted for. The commission percentage looks generous or stingy in isolation, but what actually matters is how much is left over after paying it.
That is why the method in our affiliate program guide starts from your own margin rather than a percentage you saw on someone else’s program. The table above tells you what is normal. Your margin tells you what you can actually afford.
Recurring vs One-Time Commissions
This decision matters as much as the percentage itself, and it depends entirely on how you charge:
- Recurring commission pays the partner a share of every renewal, not just the first payment. It is standard for subscription SaaS, because it keeps partners promoting a product long after the first sale, rather than moving on once the initial commission clears.
- One-time commission pays once, on the first sale. It is the norm for single-purchase products, courses, and B2B contracts, where there is no recurring revenue to share.
A middle option worth knowing about: some subscription businesses pay a large one-time bonus, sometimes 75 to 100% of the first month’s revenue, instead of a smaller ongoing share. That front-loads the cost but can be a stronger recruiting pitch, since the partner sees a bigger number sooner.
Percentage vs Flat Fee
Most programs pay a percentage of the sale, but a flat fee per conversion has its place:
- Percentage-based scales with order size, which is why it dominates SaaS, digital products and ecommerce.
- Flat fee pays the same amount regardless of order value. It shows up most in finance and lead generation, where a revenue-share deal is complicated by regulation or where the “sale” is actually a lead or signup rather than a completed purchase.
If your offer has wildly different order sizes, for example a $47 tripwire and a $2,000 upsell, a flat fee can also protect you from paying a huge commission on your smallest, lowest-margin item.
Tiered Commissions: Paying Your Best Partners More
A flat rate for every partner is the simplest structure, but it treats your best performer the same as someone who sends one sale a year. Tiered commissions fix that by raising the rate as a partner’s volume increases.
A common pattern: a base rate for anyone in the program, stepping up at defined volume thresholds. For example, a lower rate for 1 to 9 sales a month, rising at 10, and rising again past 25. The exact steps matter less than the principle: your top partners should feel the program gets better the more they send you, not stay flat forever.
The Two Mistakes That Show Up Most
Setting the rate too low. A commission that only just beats what you’d pay in ad spend gives a potential partner no real reason to prioritise your offer over the dozen others in their inbox. If the range for your category starts at 20% and you offer 8%, expect silence rather than pushback. Most partners simply move on without telling you why.
Setting the rate high without modelling it. A generous commission feels like a strong recruiting pitch until you calculate what it costs on your actual margin, including refunds and the commission you would have paid anyway on customers who would have found you without a partner. Model the number against your numbers before you publish it, not after the first payout surprises you.
Where This Fits in Setting Up Your Program
Commission is one piece of a program that actually produces revenue, alongside how you recruit partners and what you do with them in their first two weeks. Our guide on how to start an affiliate program for your business covers all five steps, and our comparison of affiliate program software covers the tools that track and pay whatever rate you land on.
Nicholas Raschella, founder of Partnerology, called the commission rate “the one number almost everyone gets wrong” in a free masterclass that ran in September 2026. That session has concluded and was not recorded, but our Affiliate Program Masterclass review covers what was taught, in case a future edition is announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much commission should I pay affiliates?
It depends on your business type and margin. SaaS and subscriptions typically pay 20 to 30 percent recurring, digital products and courses pay 20 to 50 percent per sale, physical ecommerce runs 5 to 15 percent, and B2B software often pays 10 to 30 percent of the first contract. Start from what a customer is worth to you after costs, then use these ranges to check the number.
What is a good affiliate commission rate for digital products?
Digital products and online courses typically pay 20 to 50 percent per sale, the highest range of any category, because production cost per unit is low once the product exists. The exact rate should still come from your margin, not just the category average.
Should affiliate commissions be recurring or one-time?
Recurring commissions, paid on every renewal, are standard for subscription businesses because they keep partners promoting after the first sale. One-time commissions suit single-purchase products, courses and B2B contracts where there is no ongoing revenue to share.
What is a flat-fee affiliate commission?
A flat fee pays the same fixed amount per conversion regardless of order size, rather than a percentage. It is common in finance and lead generation, where regulation or the nature of the “sale” (a lead or signup rather than a purchase) makes a revenue-share commission impractical.
Should I pay all affiliates the same commission rate?
Not necessarily. A tiered structure that raises the rate at higher sales volumes rewards your best partners without overpaying occasional ones. The specific thresholds matter less than making sure top performers feel the program improves as they send more.
Sources & References
- Rewardful: Affiliate Commission Guide, rate ranges and structure types, checked 30 September 2026
- Shopify: Affiliate Commission Guide and Industry Benchmarks, checked 30 September 2026
- Tapfiliate: Affiliate Marketing Commission Rates, checked 30 September 2026
Related reviews
How we checked this: every figure here is read at the primary source and linked, never taken from another article. Where a number is someone’s own claim about their product, we say so in the text. Read our full review methodology and affiliate disclosure.