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What commission rate should I offer affiliates?

Start at 20% of the sale for a SaaS product. That is the median across the 96 percentage-based campaigns in the LinkJolt benchmarks (the average is 23.3%), and the 20-25% band is the single most common choice. Pay it on renewals too if your margin allows: 27% of campaigns do.

2 min read
Updated Sep 5, 2026

For a SaaS product, 20% of the sale is the number to start from. It is the median commission across the 96 percentage-based campaigns in the SaaS Affiliate Program Benchmarks, the average is 23.3%, and the 20-25% band is the single most common choice. Offer less and your program sits below what affiliates see elsewhere; offer more and you are paying for attention you may not need yet.

The three numbers that decide it

  1. Gross margin. A commission is paid out of margin, not revenue. At a 20% rate a customer paying $50 a month costs you $10 a month for as long as the commission runs.
  2. How long the commission runs. 27% of campaigns pay recurring commissions on renewals, and inside those programs a meaningful share of commission events are renewals rather than first payments. Recurring rates attract partners whose incentive is customer retention. If you pay on renewals, a slightly lower percentage is normal; if you pay once, the rate has to work harder.
  3. What competing programs pay. Affiliates compare offers. The benchmarks page lists the distribution, and the commission rates guide walks through it by industry.

Percentage or fixed bounty

83% of campaigns pay a percentage and 17% pay a fixed amount per sale, with a median fixed bounty of $30. A fixed bounty suits a single-price product or a trial where the first payment is predictable. A percentage scales with upgrades and annual plans, which is why it dominates in SaaS.

Where to set it in LinkJolt

Commission Type (Percentage or Fixed Amount) and Commission Value are set per campaign, so you can run one campaign at 20% for partners and another at a flat bounty for a launch promotion. Open Campaigns in the sidebar, then add a new campaign or edit an existing one. Recurring commissions are available on the Professional and Ultimate plans, and the cap is set as a duration: 3, 6, 12 or 24 months, a custom number of months, or forever. Model the cost of any rate before you commit with the affiliate commission calculator.

All figures come from the June 10, 2026 benchmark snapshot of 116 real campaigns on LinkJolt, with test and demo data excluded.

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