10 most profitable affiliate marketing programs to join in 2024

Becoming an affiliate marketer is a great way to make money online, especially if you’d rather skip the hassle of producing, managing, and shipping products yourself.

The affiliate marketing programs you join can make or break your success, so choosing the right ones is crucial. But, with so many options out there, finding the best ones can be overwhelming.

If this sounds familiar, we’re here to help. We’ve gathered the ten best affiliate marketing programs for both beginners and seasoned affiliates. We’ll also cover different types of affiliate programs and what to keep in mind when choosing one.

What is an affiliate program and how does it work?

An affiliate program is a partnership between a business and an affiliate (usually a marketer or content creator) to promote products or services.

Affiliates who join the program will receive a unique tracking link. Then, they will share it through channels like blogs, websites, or social media. These affiliates will then get a commission when someone uses the link to purchase a product or perform other specific actions.

There are various commission models in affiliate marketing. Here are the most common ones:

• Pay-per-sale. This common model pays affiliate partners a percentage of each sale made through referral links.
• Pay-per-click. Payments are based on the number of clicks generated through referral links, even if no purchase occurs. Affiliate programs in high-traffic niches like travel and news media usually adopt this structure.
• Pay-per-lead. Businesses offer commissions to affiliates for driving specific actions, such as sign-ups, form completions, or app installs. This model is popular for services that focus on generating leads, like online courses and consultations.
• Recurring commissions. Affiliates earn regular commissions as long as the referred customer stays subscribed. Subscription-based programs like software and membership services often use this commission model.
• Pay-per-view. Commissions depend on the number of views or impressions generated through referral links. This model is rare but can be found in some advertising-based programs.

Each commission model needs different strategies for success, so keep this in mind when choosing affiliate marketing programs.

10 best affiliate marketing programs

After scouring the web, we compiled a list of the best affiliate programs across different industries. Along with reputation and earning potential, we considered factors like the cookie duration, minimum payout, and application process.

1. Amazon Associates

Program stats

• Industry: eCommerce
• Commission rate: 1-20%
• Cookie life: 24 hours
• Product price range: $1-4,000

Brand authority and a wide range of products at various prices are Amazon Associates’ two biggest advantages. The program offers both digital and physical products across various niches, giving you tons of choices to promote in your content.

Amazon Associates’ commission rates vary by category, with Amazon Games offering the highest at 20%. Check out their standard income rates list to see which categories offer the best commissions for your niche.

The cookie lasts 24 hours, but you’ll still earn commissions if a referred customer adds items to their cart during that time and completes the purchase within 90 days. The best part? Amazon gives commissions for all purchases through your affiliate links, even if customers don’t buy what you initially promoted.

To sign up, you must have a website, mobile app, or social media account that meets Amazon’s requirements. For example, websites should have at least 10 blog posts, with the newest one published within the last 60 days.

Affiliates can withdraw payments via direct deposit or in the form of an Amazon gift card after earning at least $10. The minimum payout by check is $100, with a $15 processing fee.

Pros

• Amazon affiliates have handy tools to simplify their work. For example, SiteStripe lets you generate affiliate links and share them on social media without accessing Associates Central.
• There’s no exclusivity policy, so you can promote products from other affiliate programs as long as you comply with Amazon’s guidelines.
• The recent policy change now allows affiliates to include referral links in emails, SMS, and direct messages on social media, provided the recipient has consented to be contacted.

Cons

• Amazon can deduct your next payment if a customer returns an item after you’ve been paid.
• No PayPal support, though it allows Payoneer for international payments.
• Amazon doesn’t allow link cloaking, meaning you can’t personalize your affiliate links. Breaking this rule can lead to being banned from the program.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Take advantage of Amazon Associates Central tools to improve your marketing strategies. For example, you can design banners that make your referral links stand out more.
• Know the ins and outs of the program’s policy. Keep an eye on any changes that can impact your marketing efforts or revenue.
• Choose a niche for your affiliate marketing website if you haven’t already. Just because Amazon has tons of products doesn’t mean promoting everything guarantees more sales.

2. Fiverr Affiliates

Program stats

• Industry: freelancing
• Commission rate: 25-70% of first orders, 10% of future orders.
• Cookie life: 30 days
• Product price range: $5-10,000

If you have a strong network of creative and eCommerce agencies or businesses, Fiverr Affiliates could be an excellent opportunity to explore.

The program offers 20% commissions on first-time freelancing service purchases and 10% on future orders. For the logo maker service, you’ll earn $30 on the first order and 10% on future sales. If you successfully promote Fiverr’s top freelance talent, you’ll earn a whopping 70% commission on the first order and 10% on future purchases.

Signing up is easy and straightforward. You only need a website with activities in the past 60 days or a social media presence. All the tools you need to start promoting Fiverr are readily available.

The Deep Links tool is particularly useful, allowing you to promote any Fiverr link ‒ landing pages, subcategories, or even specific services ‒ for better targeting. Redirecting potential customers to the page they need helps drive conversions by minimizing distractions.

The minimum payout is $100, which you can withdraw through PayPal, Payoneer, or bank transfer.

Pros

• High commission rates (the highest on this list).
• Allows partners to use email marketing, YouTube accounts, and podcasts to drive conversions.
• Display banners in various languages based on visitors’ locations with Geo Rotation, perfect for affiliates with an international audience.

Cons

• Sellers who want to become affiliates must register with a different email account.
• Referred users must be new and unique visitors to Fiverr.
• No recurring commissions on subscription-based services.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• If your niche allows, consider promoting unconventional gigs. Believe it or not, there are markets for quirky art and voice-overs.
• Create targeted marketing campaigns using Deep Links. Visitors are more likely to buy if they immediately find what they want.
• Take advantage of seasonal events to promote relevant gigs, like personalized Christmas card designs in December.

3. Hostinger Affiliate Program

Program stats

• Industry: web hosting
• Commission rate: 40%
• Cookie life: 30 days
• Product price range: $1.95-19.99/month

If you’re tech-savvy or looking to earn from digital services, the Hostinger Affiliate Program is definitely worth considering. As one of the most popular web hosting providers, Hostinger has high conversion potential, offering a 40% commission rate on web hosting sales.

There’s no signup fee, but you need a website, YouTube channel, or social media account focused on IT or online business with at least 1,000 monthly visitors. The approval process usually takes no more than five days. Once approved, you can use Hostinger’s affiliate assets to start planning and executing your campaigns.

The minimum payout is $100 for PayPal and $500 for bank transfer plus three approved sales, with commissions available after 45 days.

Hostinger assigns an account manager to each affiliate so that you can reach out anytime for questions or requests for higher commission rates.

Pros

• Professional banner design packages available in multiple languages.
• Partners with at least five monthly sales can apply for personal 5% coupon codes to further boost conversion rates.
• Simplifies deep linking by offering a list of landing pages for all Hostinger products in the affiliate dashboard, guaranteeing accuracy.

Cons

• Your content should focus on web hosting and online presence topics to join the program.
• Commissions only apply to first-time web hosting purchases, which exclude renewals and upgrades.
• High payout threshold.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Create quality content about web hosting and online business to establish authority in the niche. Most people see web hosting as a long-term investment, so they look for opinions and recommendations from topic experts. 
• Share your experience with Hostinger services to show potential customers why they’re worth it.
• Hostinger allows email and social media marketing, so feel free to include affiliate links in your newsletters, emails, and social media content.

4. GetResponse Affiliate Program

Program stats

• Industry: email marketing
• Commission rate: 33-50% per month and $100-150 per sale
• Cookie life: 120 days
• Product price range: $13.3-1,099/month

GetResponse specializes in email marketing and automation, offering everything from signup forms to eCommerce integrations. It’s a great affiliate program for marketing agencies and professionals.

This affiliate program has two commission models ‒ recurring and bounty.

The recurring model pays 33% monthly as long as referred customers stay subscribed. If you hit 25 sales in six months, your rate jumps to 40%. Making over 50 sales will raise it to 50%.

The bounty program, on the other hand, pays a one-time commission per sale. You can earn $100 for email marketing products and $150 for content monetization products.

You can join both programs at the same time using separate accounts, though GetResponse pays for each sale from only one account. So, remember to create separate links based on your chosen commission model.

Once you’ve made at least $50 in commission or the equivalent in your currency, GetResponse can send your payment through bank transfer, PayPal, ACH, or EuroTransfer.

Pros

• Allows deep linking for both programs.
• Has a long cookie duration (the longest on this list).
• Doesn’t require a website to sign up.

Cons

• The bounty program has a 60-day sales verification period.
• Affiliate support is available through the affiliate panel form and email. The chat support can only handle basic questions about the affiliate account and GetResponse’s products.
• Commissions are based on the sale price, so discounts from GetResponse can unpredictably reduce your earnings.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• The recurring program may seem more profitable, but the bounty program offers immediate commissions that can be helpful when starting out. Combine both programs to maximize your revenue.
• Sign up for a free account to try GetResponse’s products. While you don’t need to be a GetResponse user to become a partner, understanding the platform’s features and benefits will help you promote it more effectively.
• Create tutorials that highlight GetResponse’s value and potential ROI. The email marketing niche is extremely saturated, so promoting it with informative and helpful content will boost conversions.

5. Teachable Affiliate Partner Program

Program stats

• Industry: eLearning
• Commission rate: up to 30%
• Cookie life: 30 days
• Product price range: $39-249/month for creator plans, $50-1,000+ for courses

If you know people who enjoy sharing their skills or work in the education or B2B setting, have them join Teachable and make commissions through the platform’s affiliate program. Trusted by over 150,000 creators, Teachable is a popular space for selling online learning materials on various topics.

Teachable offers one-year recurring commissions of up to 30% per sale. On average, partners earn $450/month, while top affiliates can make over $1,000/month. You should be able to reach the $50 minimum payout quickly and cash out your earnings.

Want to earn more? You can join affiliate programs offered by individual schools on the platform. Each school manages its affiliate program, so choose the ones that work best for you.

Pros

• Doubles as an affiliate network, allowing affiliates to earn commissions by signing up creators and selling individual schools’ courses.
• Low payout threshold.
• User-friendly affiliate dashboard with access to detailed analytics and a FAQ section for quick support.

Cons

• Only provides PayPal for payouts. For affiliate programs at individual schools, if the school owner disables BackOffice, partners can withdraw their commissions via custom payment methods chosen by the school owner.
• Limited training materials, making it less beginner-friendly.
• Affiliate support is only available through email, chatbot, and a knowledge base. Some users report slow email response times.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Promote Teachable’s free plan to attract new creators to test the platform.
• Monitor the events page for opportunities to drive more sales. While discounts will impact your commissions, you can make up for it with volume.
• Participate in online (and possibly offline) educational events to discover and build a network with potential creators.

6. Astra Affiliate Program

Program stats

• Industry: WordPress theme
• Commission rate: 30% or up to $275 per sale
• Cookie life: 60 days
• Product price range: $49-199/year or $199-899/lifetime license

Astra is one of the most popular WordPress themes today, offering a wide range of starter templates and extensive features for different website types. With over 1.6 million users, its strong brand authority makes promoting this theme easier for affiliates.

The commission rate is 30% per sale, paid monthly through PayPal. For example, selling one lifetime Business Toolkit plan at $599 will earn you $179. Astra’s leading partners make over $5,000/month, making this affiliate program highly profitable.

However, Astra has one of the highest minimum payout limits among the programs on this list. Partners can only withdraw their commissions after earning at least $210 and two referrals. If you’re looking for short-term results, this affiliate program may not be ideal for you.

The good news is Astra provides abundant promotional materials, including banners, social media templates, and blog ideas. Plus, they offer dedicated affiliate managers for expert advice and assistance.

Pros

• Commissions apply to all Brainstorm Force products.
• Long cookie lifespan.
• Only supports PayPal for payouts.

Cons

• Higher-than-average minimum payout limit.
• The target market is restricted to WordPress users.
• Partners can only promote using a coupon code if Astra specifically assigns one to them, even if Astra includes coupons in their newsletters.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Create high-quality content on all things WordPress. Since all Brainstorm Force products are designed exclusively for WordPress users, establishing yourself as a WordPress expert can boost your sales. Understanding how Astra works will also make your promotions more effective.
• Astra doesn’t list any requirements for requesting a coupon code, so give it a try!
• Take advantage of Astra’s real-time tracking to monitor clicks, conversions, and your overall marketing campaigns. Make quick adjustments to address any bottlenecks.

7. ClickFunnels Affiliate Program

Program stats

• Industry: SaaS
• Commission rate: 30%
• Cookie life: 45 days
• Product price range: $81-297/month

If you’re experienced with creating sales funnels, you’re more likely to succeed with the ClickFunnels affiliate marketing program.

ClickFunnels is a funnel builder designed to help businesses market, sell, and deliver their products and services. It offers toolkits for all kinds of niches and business types, from customized sales funnels and website building to email campaigns and online courses.

You’ll start as a general affiliate and earn a 30% recurring commission on each sale. If ClickFunnels sees you as a valuable partner, they’ll make you a qualified affiliate and boost your rate to 40%.

ClickFunnels’ sticky cookies last for 45 days. Unlike regular affiliate cookies, these cookies are tied to the customer’s email. This way, you’ll keep earning commissions on any future purchases made with that email while the cookie is active.

Once you hit $100 in commissions, you can withdraw through PayPal, bank transfer, Wise, or Payoneer.

Pros

• Sticky cookies let affiliates earn commissions on multiple sales from one email address, even if the customer returns via a different link or organic search.
• Access to The Affiliate Marketing Avengers Facebook community, where over 90,000 entrepreneurs and marketers share tips and strategies for success.
• Signing up 100 users or more makes you qualified for the Dream Car contest, where the affiliate program may cover your car lease or purchase.

Cons

• If your total commissions don’t reach $100 within 120 days, they’ll be forfeited to ClickFunnels automatically.
• Intense competition from lucrative commission models.
• ClickFunnels’ starting prices are higher than those of its competitors.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Make a solid game plan before applying as an affiliate. Doing it with a solid audience base is even better, as it increases your chances of meeting the minimum payout threshold and growing your commissions over time.
• Leverage access to ClickFunnels’ Facebook community to network with people within the affiliate marketing industry. You never know who you might meet or learn from!
• Join forums and communities and offer your insights to help solve their problems or answer their questions. This helps you familiarize yourself with ClickFunnels’ products and make more convincing recommendations.

8. Kit Affiliate Program

Program stats

• Industry: email marketing
• Commission rate: 50% plus potential 10-20% recurring commissions
• Cookie life: 30 days
• Product price range: $9-2,599+/month

Kit Affiliate Program is run by ConvertKit, another popular email marketing platform that helps users build an email list and drive signups. It supports online creators and businesses looking to grow their customer base through email, boost sales with landing pages, and enhance conversion rates for digital products.

New affiliates can start making a 50% commission for 12 months for each referred customer. If you make 10 or more sales, your status gets upgraded, unlocking recurring commissions of 10-20% when your referrals renew their subscriptions.

If you’re new to affiliate marketing or prefer to take things slow, you’ll be glad to know that Kit doesn’t have a minimum payout threshold. Once Kit approves your commissions, you can cash them out anytime via PayPal. Approval usually takes between 30 and 60 days, depending on the timeline.

Another perk that makes this affiliate program beginner-friendly is its many training materials, including a training course with successful entrepreneur Pat Flynn. Partners also get graphics and video assets to create promotional content.

Pros

• No commission threshold.
• Access to promotional materials, workshops, and a team of product specialists to improve your promotional efforts.
• All partners get a 50% commission per signup, regardless of their status level.

Cons

• New accounts made through paid methods like PPC ads and refunded sales don’t qualify for a commission or count toward the status level.
• No affiliate links should be included in content about education, loans, online pharmacies, or “get rich quick” software. For this reason, websites in these niches undergo extra evaluation and are often rejected.
• Only supports PayPal for commission withdrawal.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Since ConvertKit doesn’t allow paid marketing methods, it’s important to focus on organic traffic for your content. Check out our tips for creating an SEO-friendly website.
• Complete all training courses offered by Kit. They want you to succeed as much as you do.
• Build your audience with ConvertKit’s tools to get hands-on experience and show real results that prove their value. Plus, this can strengthen your authority as an email marketing expert ‒ a win-win.

9. HubSpot Affiliate Program

Program stats

• Industry: CRM and digital marketing
• Commission rate: 30%
• Cookie life: 180 days
• Product price range: $15-3,600/month

HubSpot is an industry-leading customer relationship management (CRM) software offering a full suite of marketing, sales, service, and content management tools. They can streamline workflows for businesses of all sizes, from managing customer data to improving marketing efficiency.

When you sign up a new user, you earn a 30% recurring commission for up to one year. After reaching 100 monthly sales, you level up and unlock additional perks, like bonuses, a dedicated affiliate manager, guest blogging opportunities, and co-branded landing pages.

The minimum payment threshold is just $5, paid through direct deposit or PayPal.

HubSpot is extremely generous with its promotional materials, offering over 400 assets and training guides. Combined with its 180-day cookie lifespan, HubSpot gives you many opportunities to secure sales.

Pros

• Custom commissions for Elite affiliates.
• High-ticket products supported by strong brand authority.
• The approval process only takes up to three days.

Cons

• Applying requires an active, error-free website (unless your main platform is a business YouTube channel or TikTok account).
• Commissions only apply to first-time purchases. 
• To qualify for the Super and Elite affiliate tiers, signups must be from desktop users in regions like North America, UK, Japan, and LATAM, and for CRM, Marketing, CMS, WordPress, Sales, or Service products.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• Perform SEO audits on your website, especially before applying to the affiliate program. This not only increases your chances of approval but also improves your ranking efforts and enhances user experience.
• Create relevant content targeting users in the qualifying regions so all sales from your affiliate links contribute to your affiliate level.
• Recommend HubSpot’s free tools to attract potential customers. Publish tutorials to help new users get the hang of the platform’s tools.

10. FanFuel Affiliate Network

Program stats

• Industry: health, beauty, and wellness
• Commission rate: 50%
• Cookie life: 90 days
• Product price range: $50-$300+

FanFuel operates as an affiliate network for its product lines in the health, beauty, and wellness niche, such as bodybuilding supplements, fat burners, hair loss treatment, and many more.

Affiliates can earn up to 50% commission on new customer sales and 40% lifetime commissions on repeat orders, not to mention earnings per click. You’re also entitled to 10% of the commissions from affiliates you refer to the network.

Unlike most affiliate programs, FanFuel uses first-click attribution, so the first affiliate to introduce a customer to the brand earns the sale. This way, you still earn a commission if the customer returns through a different link and purchases while the cookie is active.

The affiliate network is powered by Everflow, giving you top-tier tools for tracking traffic and sales. Plus, FanFuel provides each affiliate with a partnership manager to help with payment questions, postbacks, and reporting copied content.

Once your commissions reach $100, you can withdraw them through bank transfer, PayPal, wire transfer, or Payoneer.

Pros

• Offers weekly and on-request payouts.
• Free translations, design resources, courses, technical support, and site audit.
• High commission rates.

Cons

• Only accepts applicants with a website that has significant traffic.
• Sends payments only in GBP, EUR, or USD.
• Doesn’t allow promotions using coupon codes.

Strategies to increase your earnings

• FanFuel offers various brands, but promoting the ones in your niche keeps your content relevant for your audience.
• Beauty, health, and wellness are visual-heavy niches, so take full advantage of FanFuel’s promotional materials to create eye-catching content.
• Share your experience working with FanFuel to sign up new affiliates and earn extra commissions.

What are the types of affiliate marketing programs?

Affiliate programs are often structured to suit these different affiliate types, allowing for various promotional channels and strategies.

Here are the most common types of affiliate programs based on promotional strategies:

• Content affiliates. Bloggers, YouTubers, and other content creators produce in-depth, valuable content around the products or services they promote. These affiliate marketers use formats like blog posts, articles, videos, and reviews to drive traffic and build authority.
• Coupon and deal sites. Affiliates focus on offering exclusive discounts, deals, or promo codes. Visitors are usually ready to buy, so conversion rates are high. However, commissions tend to be low due to the discount model.
• Email marketing affiliates. Starting out requires creating email lists and sending targeted campaigns to promote offers. Many email marketing campaigns promote subscription services with recurring commissions.
• Search affiliates. With paid advertising like Google Ads or Bing Ads, affiliate partners can target specific audiences based on search intent, location, and other factors. This approach guarantees immediate traffic, but they can be costly.
• Influencers and social media marketers. Affiliates promote products directly on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. Their audience follows them for specific interests, making their recommendations more effect. That said, success largely depends on follower count.
• Review sites. Affiliate marketers compare and review products, helping users make informed decisions. Like coupon sites, review sites attract users who are close to purchasing. However, maintaining credibility requires balancing honest reviews and product promotion.
• Loyalty and cashback sites. Users earn cashback or rewards when they make purchases through these affiliate programs. These sites usually promote a wide range of products and services, relying on high sales volumes for revenue.

By now, you’ll know that most affiliate programs require partners to have a website. If you don’t have one yet, our guide will walk you through ten simple steps to create your own affiliate website.

What should I consider when choosing an affiliate program?

Becoming a successful affiliate partner takes more than just joining high-paying affiliate programs. The key is to find the ones that best suit you.

Here are some factors to keep in mind when choosing an affiliate program:

• Niche and audience. Pick affiliate programs with products that match what your audience cares about. Relevant products mean better engagement and higher conversions. Your followers are more likely to stick around when they find value in your affiliate content.
• Values. Promoting products you actually care about and believe in will make your content more genuine, increasing the chances that your audience will buy.
• Commission potential. Look for programs that align with your income goals. High-ticket or recurring commissions can boost long-term earnings but might take longer to convert. On the other hand, low-ticket commissions usually bring faster, more frequent sales at smaller amounts per sale.
• Promotion style. Every affiliate program requires different promotional strategies. Join the ones with products you can easily promote through your preferred marketing channels.
• Program reputation. Partner with trusted programs that provide reliable tracking, timely payments, and positive reviews from other affiliates.
• Support and marketing resources. A good affiliate program provides marketing resources, training, or even an affiliate manager to support partners’ success.
• Growth opportunities. Joining affiliate programs that offer tiered commissions, bonuses, or incentives for high-performing affiliates allows you grow earnings as your performance improves.

Conclusion

As more businesses see the benefits of partnering with affiliates, there are tons of programs available to choose from. The products and services you can promote vary, allowing you to join the ones that align with your personal interests and audience.

Here are our top picks from the ten best affiliate marketing programs for beginners:

• Amazon Associates. Offers strong brand authority and various on-demand products to drive sales.
• Kit Affiliate Program. Has no payment threshold and offers a generous commission rate.
• HubSpot Affiliate Program. Provides a long cookie lifespan and a dedicated affiliate manager.

Do you agree with our picks? Which one appeals to you most? Let’s start a discussion below!

Affiliate Marketing Programs FAQs