Set a rate that excites publishers without eroding your margin. Plug in your numbers and get an industry-benchmarked recommendation in seconds.
Recommended commission rate
10%
$7.50 per sale
CompetitiveBreakdown
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The sale price of the product or service being promoted
Your gross margin after COGS — this caps how much you can afford to pay out
Sets the benchmark commission range for your category
Thin margins — volume is the game
How many times a referred customer reorders on average — higher LTV justifies larger upfront commission
Commission rate is a two-sided equation. Too low and publishers won't bother promoting you — they'll route traffic to programs that pay better. Too high and you're eroding the margin that makes the business worth running.
The right rate starts with your gross margin: you need to leave enough room for COGS, operations, and growth after paying out. A common rule of thumb is to cap commission at 50% of gross margin on the first sale, then let lifetime value justify higher upfront payouts for high-reorder products.
Industry benchmarks matter because publishers benchmark you against competitors. A SaaS product can offer 20–30% because subscribers bill monthly — the publisher earns passively. An ecommerce product at 30% would wipe out the margin entirely. Know your category's floor and ceiling before you negotiate.
Once you've set the rate, the harder problem is tracking it accurately. Syndicate Links automates commission calculation, attribution, and multi-rail payouts — Stripe, Bitcoin Lightning, and USDC on Base — so publishers get paid on time and you get clean records without manual reconciliation.