Affiliate marketing has become one of the best ways to generate passive income.
If you’re a blogger, you probably already know affiliate marketing is the goldmine of our times, and this is because it offers the opportunity to create multiple recurring revenue streams.
Browse any affiliate network today, and you’ll find many business owners who want to advertise their products on your blog. These networks work like marketplaces for affiliate marketers because they connect you with thousands of merchants in an instant.
Whether your niche is marketing, web hosting, online learning, or eCommerce, several affiliate programs are worth checking out. But, where can you find them?
After extensive research and reviewing many websites, we’re presenting you with the list of the best affiliate networks for 2022.
Let’s dive in!
- Amazon Associates
- ShareASale
- Awin
- Skimlinks
- Pepperjam
- Avangate
- FlexOffers
- CJ Affiliate
- Walmart Affiliates
- Lemonads
- TradeDoubler
- Adtraction
- Sovrn
- LinkConnector
- Rakuten Advertising
- JVZoo
- Impact
- eBay Partner Network
- ClickBank
- Affiliates.One
- Are You Planning to Use Affiliate Marketing?
#1 Amazon Associates
Amazon Affiliates is one of the biggest affiliate marketing programs in the world. It was launched in 1996, and since then, it has been helping content creators, publishers, and bloggers generate revenue from website traffic. Joining the network is super easy and only requires three steps. Simply sign up for their program, recommend products to your audience and start earning commissions up to 10%.
Products/Categories: All products sold on Amazon’s website
Commission rate: Starts from 1% – 10% (varies depending on the product category)
Cookie duration: up to 24 hours. An exemption – if the people you refer add a product to their carts, you get a 90-day cookie that is valid only for the specific product in the cart.
Minimum payout: $10 for Amazon gift card or direct deposit
Pros:
- Comes with a big pool of products
- Works great, especially for physical products
- A universal cookie allows you to get a commission for any product within the cookie duration
- Low payout threshold
- Offers a flat-rate commission structure which allows you to get higher commissions regardless of how many sales you make
Cons:
- Commission rates may change from time to time
- Short cookie duration
- Some product categories have meagre conversion rates (1%)
- Need to register for each country individually
#2 ShareASale
ShareASale is amongst the fastest-growing and most popular affiliate marketing programs. Voted as the best CPS Network of 2022 by mThink, the platform helps you build partnerships that bring results. ShareASale accommodates and supports 16,500+ merchants, and 225,000+ publishers. It connects and provides solutions to merchants, agencies and affiliates, allowing them to keep track of their ongoing partnerships, check performance data, affiliate partner activity, and personalized program diagnostics.
Products/Categories: All categories, physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $50
Pros:
- Works for physical and digital products
- Supports many very well-known merchants, e.g. Reebok
- Has established a trustworthy network reputation
- Many exclusive merchants who work only on this platform
- Comes with a bookmarklet that creates custom affiliate links
Cons:
- Dashboard UI needs some improvement
#3 Awin
Awin (originally Affiliate Window) has been around for over 20 years. It offers solutions to advertisers and publishers, allowing them to grow their brand’s reach and partner with some of the world’s leading companies, including Etsy, HP, AliExpress, Under Armour and more. Awin is doing its best to humanize marketing and connect businesses with customers as a global community of people. The company repurchased ShareASale in 2017, but both platforms run as different entities and work with different merchants.
Products/Categories: Almost all categories, physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $20
Pros:
- Supports a large network of merchants (13,000+)
- Comes with a dedicated WordPress plugin to help you import products
- Low minimum payout
Cons:
- Need to apply to every merchant individually
- There is a $5 signup fee which you only get a refund for once approved, otherwise you lose it
#4 Skimlinks
Skimlinks, which launched in 2007, is another big affiliate network that works as an eCommerce content monetization platform. Trusted by big companies like Yahoo, Daily Mirror, and Mail Online, the platform supports a community of 60,000 publishers and 48,500 merchants and aims to help bloggers monetize their content. Using Skimlinks is easy as it provides you with a list of merchants you can choose to work with right away and informs you about the different product categories each one offers.
Products/Categories: All categories (mostly fashion), both physical and digital products but with a focus on physical products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant. The highest commissions are offered by the members of their Preferred Partner and VIP programs.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $65
Pros:
- Sends you email alerts for your ‘favourite’ merchants
- Powerful and easy-to-use interface
- Comes with a simple integration for your website
- Links for big marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are auto-targeted by region
Cons:
- Takes 25% on all commissions
- Offers payouts once a month
#5 Pepperjam
Pepperjam is here to take you to the next chapter of your affiliate marketing efforts. It works with brands and advertisers, publishers, influencers and agencies to help build strong affiliate connections. It has been around since 1999 and has built a powerful network of brands including BuzzFeed, Everlane, and Meredith. It has also launched its affiliate marketing platform to make the process easier. With a 60% new customer rate, every year about 2 million partnerships are being created.
Products/Categories: Covers almost all categories but not niches.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $25
Pros:
- Pays affiliates twice a month (1st and 15th of each month)
- Clean dashboard/interface
- Easy-to-use affiliate link building tools
- Straightforward sign-up process
Cons:
- Only a few advertisers on the platform (less than 1,000)
- Very limited payment options
#6 Avangate
Founded back in 2008, Avangate has become one of the most recognized affiliate networks in the world. For 8 years in a row, it was voted as the #1 affiliate network for digital goods and is already trusted by top merchants like Movavi, IObit, and Kaspersky. Avangate provides a top affiliate marketing solution to advertisers and publishers who want to promote digital products that align with their content.
Products/Categories: Both physical and digital products with a focus on digital and software products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant, but it can get as high as 85%.
Cookie duration: You can set the cookie duration anywhere between 30 to 180 days.
Minimum payout: $100
Pros:
- Large variety of software products to choose from (22,000+)
- The option to be paid via PayPal
- Most merchants offer high commissions (50% and over)
Cons:
- High minimum payout rate that is bigger compared to most networks
#7 FlexOffers
FlexOffers has been around since 2008 and is a recognized leader in performance-based marketing. It supports over 12,000 merchants across 65 networks and over 75,000 publisher programs. The platform is trusted by major companies like Samsung, Nike, HP, and Microsoft among others. What’s great about FlexOffers is that they run their own affiliate program which allows you to get up to 50% of any earnings if someone you refer earns a commission.
Products/Categories: All categories (mostly in retail), both physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $50 in the USA, $100 outside the USA.
Pros:
- Offers a large selection of merchants to choose from
- Comes with a beautifully designed dashboard
- Every publisher gets a dedicated account manager
Cons:
- Has limited payment options for affiliates based outside the US (PayPal only)
#8 CJ Affiliate
Anyone who’s been into the affiliate marketing scene for a long time knows CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction). Founded in 1998, it’s one of the biggest affiliate marketing networks in the world, just like ShareASale. CJ is working with many major and smaller retailers and almost 2,670 merchants, including Grammarly, GoPro, IHG (Hotels), and Office Depot. For affiliates, CJ makes it easy to control their offers allowing retailers to provide multiple ad sizes.
Products/Categories: Similar to ShareASale – all categories, physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $50 for direct deposit or $100 for cheques.
Pros:
- Large collection of small and big retailers/partners to choose from
- Advertising partners offer various affiliate link options
- Net-20 payment term that gets affiliates paid on time each month
- Comes with a powerful reporting suite that allows further sales performance optimization
Cons:
- Dashboard is a bit complicated to use and has a steep learning curve for beginners
- Customer support is quite limited
#9 Walmart Affiliates
Walmart Affiliates offers the opportunity to earn by referring customers. The sign-up process that makes you a member is super easy. You simply apply through a secure online form, wait a day until you get approved and then create your ads and start your campaigns. Compared to Amazon and eBay, Walmart has a low percentage of the online retail market – 3.7% – but offers higher commissions in specific categories.
Products/Categories: Retail, physical products (anything sold on Walmart’s website)
Commission rate: Varies from 1% to 18%.
Cookie duration: 3 days
Minimum payout: $50
Pros:
- Comes with a large product selection
- Higher commission rates on selected categories
- Cookie duration is longer than Amazon’s
Cons:
- Minimum payout is rather high
- Product selection is not as big as Amazon’s
#10 Lemonads
Lemonads is another affiliate marketing network that comes with a self-serve platform, tracking technology and real-time performance monitoring. It was founded in 2018 but has already managed to acquire 10,000 business partners including Nike, Sephora, Walmart, and Hello Fresh. The platform offers about 60,000 affiliate programs to choose from. It’s very straightforward in its use and the signup process is even simpler.
Products/Categories: Almost all categories, physical and digital products.
Commission rate: CPM is anywhere between $0.02 to $0.25.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $100
Pros:
- Supports payments on all major digital wallet platforms
- 24/7 customer support
- Pays on a weekly basis
Cons:
- Competitors provide better CPS offers
#11 TradeDoubler
TradeDoubler was founded in 1999 by two entrepreneurs from Sweden. The platform provides a leading performance marketing and technology solution through a unique network of connections. It covers all major affiliate marketing channels such as mobile, email, and search. Their network comprises over 180,000 active publishers, 2,000 advertisers, and is trusted by major brands including Microsoft, Philips, Avis, and HP.
Products/Categories: Technology, physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $40
Pros:
- Big names/companies as merchants
- Allows international payments
- Comes with advanced tracking capabilities
- Low minimum payout
Cons:
- Payments are only carried out through BAGS (Bank Automated Clearing System)
- You need to have a large amount of UK traffic going to your site as most merchants are UK-based
#12 Adtraction
Adtraction allows you to collaborate with renowned brands and build long-lasting partnerships with them to grow your business. This affiliate network gives you access to many global brands in a range of industries and it comes with a Google Ads integration and extension, API and more. What’s great about Adtraction is that it has a very easy signup process and offers a great variety of affiliate marketing programs you can explore.
Products/Categories: Almost all categories e.g Technology, B2B, Clothing & Accessories, Hope & Interior, Hobbies & Recreation, Sports & Outdoor, physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant. Adtraction has different types of commissions, including CPA, CPL, and CPS.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: £10
Pros:
- Easy to register and comes with easy guidelines
- Allows you to create customizable links
- Low minimum payout requirement
Cons:
- Payments are carried out once a month
#13 Sovrn
Sovrn promises to make affiliate marketing easy. Founded in 2014, it was originally known as Federated Media and Lijit, and shortly after its launch, it became the 4th largest network in the advertising industry (as recognized by Quantcast). Sovrn comes with a range of products and services useful for publishers. The platform has an internal auditing process and checks a publisher’s website for content type, traffic, and audience demographics before it gets approved.
Products/Categories: Almost all categories, mostly physical products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $25
Pros:
- Low payout requirement
- Real-time dashboard
- Offers multiple ad formats and sizes
- Each publisher gets a dedicated account manager
Cons:
- Invite-only network
- Supports only the CPM model
#14 LinkConnector
LinkConnector has been around since 2004, and it managed to get deals with some prominent players and big names like Writer’s Digest, the Disney Store, Hats.com and more. Through the years, it also introduced new technologies to the industry to meet merchant expectations. Their screening process is very thorough which shows that the company is selective about the products on offer. LinkConnector is especially useful for established professionals who are in the retail industry or those who prefer to send traffic to CPA actions like phone calls or completing contact forms.
Products/Categories: Both physical and digital products with a focus on eCommerce.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the vendor.
Minimum payout: $100
Pros:
- Offers access to a number of big brands
- Helps to promote high-quality products
- Offers ‘naked links’ that don’t require rerouting through the site
Cons:
- Rigorous screening process (it’s difficult to get selected)
- Comes with a plain or poorly designed website/dashboard
- The merchant controls where the links are displayed
- High minimum payout requirement.
#15 Rakuten Advertising
Rakuten (formerly LinkShare) has over 20 years of experience in affiliate and performance marketing (founded in 1996), and so the company knows how to connect consumers with brands better than most. Because of its features like ad rotation and deep linking options, Rakuten Advertising easily stands out from the competition. As a premier and one of the oldest affiliate networks out there, it was ranked #1 by mThink and IPMA and has evolved in a way that helps merchants and affiliates get the most out of their advertising efforts.
Products/Categories: Almost all categories, both physical and digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $50
Pros:
- Trusted name (as a billion-dollar company).
- Big name partners
- Offers ad rotation and deep linking options
Cons:
- Smaller network – 1,000 partners, compared to others (ShareASale, CJ Affiliate)
- Payment frequency is unpredictable
#16 JVZoo
Even though JVZoo is a relatively newly created affiliate network – founded in 2011, it has managed to become one of the most popular ones out there. As an all-in-one platform for eCommerce, it sells over 9,5 million products across 22 categories. Because of its focus on digital products, it’s best suited for those who have a strong online presence in the marketing field and want to gain access to product launches and invest in online course sales. For this reason, it allows marketers to set up sales funnels and build customized landing pages.
Products/Categories: Digital products only and mostly eCommerce including online courses, internet marketing offers etc.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the product or merchant, but many offer 50% and more.
Cookie duration: Unlimited/Lifetime
Minimum payout: $50
Pros:
- Free to join
- Allows instant payouts (via PayPal)
- Doesn’t require you to have a website
- Offers the ability to recruit second-tier affiliates using lifetime/unlimited cookies
- Provides access to a range of products and categories with detailed statistics on each merchant
Cons:
- You need to buy access with a one-time fee to video and documentation
- Some products are of low quality
- You need to sell more than 50 products to get instant payouts
#17 Impact
Impact (formerly Impact Radius) allows you to manage all your partnerships from one platform easily. Founded in 2008, this affiliate marketing suite comes with robust partnership automation features, and strives to help brands grow through every type of partnership including affiliates, influencers, mobile apps and publishers. Impact’s partnership cloud automates all the stages of the partnership lifecycle from discovery, recruitment, onboarding to engagement, making things a lot easier for its customers.
Products/Categories: Both physical and digital products, mostly in computers, electronics and technology, travel and tourism, arts and entertainment, lifestyle, food and drinks.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the product or merchant.
Minimum payout: $10
Pros:
- Provides access to big brands (like Adidas, Airbnb, Lenovo and more)
- Comes with a low minimum payout requirement
- Offers deep linking options
- Has the ability to create multiple sub-affiliate ids and track them
Cons:
- Takes time for commissions to be approved
#18 eBay Partner Network
If you’re serious about making money through affiliate marketing, you need to try out eBay’s Partner network. This works like Amazon’s affiliate program and is designed to encourage eBay partners to send potential buyers to the marketplace’s website. Since eBay manages its own affiliate network, it provides all the necessary tools and resources to help its affiliates achieve more.
Products/Categories: Both physical and digital products in all categories.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the type of product, but you can earn anywhere between 50 and 70% of eBay’s revenue.
Cookie duration: 24 hours, but you can still earn a commission even if the auction takes up to 10 days to end (if the bid was placed within the first 24 hours).
Minimum payout: $10
Pros:
- Comes with a low minimum payout requirement
- Offers the ability to sell used products
- Has a large variety of products to promote
Cons:
- The cookie duration is limiting (only 24 hours)
#19 ClickBank
ClickBank is another great choice when it comes to affiliate marketing networks. While it’s not as popular as other big networks on this list, it still is a viable option that offers a large collection of products. Founded in 1998, it hasn’t managed to partner with many big brands, but it works with companies that have great offers and are successful in their niche. In this network, you’ll find many merchants selling online courses, ebooks and membership sites.
Products/Categories: Both physical but mostly digital products.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant but usually you get to earn commissions as high as 75 percent. There are both percentage and flat-rate commissions.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant but usually is about 60 days.
Minimum payout: $10
Pros:
- Pretty high commissions for most merchants
- Comes with a low minimum payout requirement
- Offers weekly payments
Cons:
- May be some low-quality products
#20 Affiliates.One
Affiliates.One claims to be the ‘one’ exclusive choice to help you monetize your site or grow your revenue. With over 1100 global and local brands and over 42,000 partners, Affiliates.One makes it easy for publishers to earn money. The process of getting started is easy and requires four steps. First, choose the campaign that matches your target audience, promote it through your website, convert by completing a sale, and redeem your commission monthly.
Products/Categories: Almost all categories are for the Health, Finance, and Games industries.
Commission rate: Varies depending on the merchant but usually is around 25 to 45%.
Cookie duration: Varies depending on the merchant.
Minimum payout: $200
Pros:
- Easy to get started with and navigate
- Offers a range of payment options
- Has an extensive network of partners and companies
Cons:
- Comes with a high minimum payout requirement
Are You Planning to Use Affiliate Marketing?
Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to earn passive income. If you’re not using affiliate networks as part of your incoming revenue strategy, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
Whether you want to monetize your blog or simply make some money on the side, using affiliate networks like the ones mentioned above will give you all you need.
Using an affiliate network not only does it helps you gain access to popular brands directly but also allows you to build purposeful connections and grow your business.
Author: Kyriaki Raouna
Bio: Kyriaki is a Content Creator for LearnWorlds, writing about marketing and e-learning, helping course creators on their journey to create, market, and sell their online courses. Equipped with a degree in Career Guidance, she has a strong background in education management and career success. In her free time, she gets crafty and musical.
