8 Best Platform for Affiliate Marketing (Start Earning Now)

Are you struggling to find the best affiliate marketing program to join? Don’t worry, there is hope.

I wasted endless hours online trying to find an affiliate program worth joining. Either the affiliate commissions were too low, or the cookie duration was too short, or I simply needed some alternatives to the products I was already affiliated with.

Then I came across the magic world of affiliate marketing platforms and networks.

In them, you can find endless lists of affiliate opportunities divided by categories and topics. You can filter by commission rate, cookie duration and so much more.

After trying EVERY single affiliate network and platform I crafted a list of the best ones out there, so you can finally go straight to the point and apply for the best affiliate campaigns to start earning the money you deserve right away.

In this guide, You’ll learn about the platform’s key features:

• Commission rate
• Cookie duration
• Minimum payout
• The Pros and Cons

I’ll give you all the key information you need to decide if the affiliate marketing network suits your needs or not.

Let’s get into it!

What is the Best Platform for Affiliate Marketing?

Share a Sale

Share a Sale is an affiliate platform that helps you find retailer partners to promote, track which transactions earn commissions, provide easy-to-interpret reporting, and most importantly, pay out your earnings on time each month.

This affiliate network is free to join and has over 4500+ merchants to choose from, they have a lot of digital services and a huge amount of physical products (it is impossible not to find something to promote).

For example, you can find web services, computer and electronics, insurance, home & garden, marketing-related services, books, and more. Check them out on the merchant preview page.

The Cookie duration and Commission rate vary a lot from brand to brand, and to start generating affiliate links and images, you have to individually apply to each brand and wait for their approval.

The payout is each month, and they also provide you with a report that displays exactly how much you can expect to be paid based on your performance. They have a $50 minimum payout.

Key Features

1. Brands: 4500+ merchants with physical products and digital services
2. Cookie Duration: Depends on the brand
3. Commission: Depends on the brand
4. Minimum Payout: $50
5. Cost: Free

Pro & Cons

Amazon Associate

One of the best things about the Amazon Associates program is that it is the best to get started with affiliate marketing since it is accessible to everyone and free to join.

They only sell physical products but the variety of categories and items available is huge, giving you the possibility to find everything you want (I assure you that you’ll not remain “empty-handed”)

Compared to other affiliate networks, the Amazon affiliate program has a Fixed Standard Commission that varies from category to category (between 1% to 20% – which is lower than other platforms). Check out the table below to discover the category rate or visit their website.

One of the things I love about this affiliate platform is the universal commission. Basically, you earn a commission on everything someone you refer purchases, even if it’s not the product you linked.

Let me explain better: If you link to a $4 planner but they end up buying a $1000 laptop, you still get the commission.

Concerning the cookie’s duration, normally it lasts only 24 hours. However, if the user puts the product in the cart in that 24-hour window, the cookie is able to extend by another 89 days.

Yes, you heard it right: 89 days!!

They have a $10 minimum payout for direct deposit and gift cards.

A downside of Amazon associates is that there is an individual registration for each affiliate program of each country. This means that you’ll have a different affiliate link for each country, for example, the same laptop on Amazon US and UK will have its own affiliate link.

Key Features

1. Brands: Huge list of physical products
2. Commission: Fixed Standard Commission that varies from category to category + Universal Commission
3. Cookies: 24-hour cookie duration
4. Minimum Payout: $10
5. Cost: Free

Pro & Cons

Flex Offers

Flex Offers is an affiliate network that has more than 12000 brands and merchants to choose from and more than 25 categories of physical products and digital services. Plus, they publish daily new offers so you can always have new brands to choose from.

Joining Flex Offers is free, and, as a publisher, you’ll have a dedicated account manager to receive suggestions on the best affiliate programs to join based on your niche and other recommendations.

The Cookie duration and commission vary depending on the merchant you sign up with.

The payout takes around 60 days, and you can choose the payment method that best suits you or you can ask them to withhold your payment until you reach a certain balance.

The minimum payout is $25.

Key Features

1. Brands: 12000+ merchants, 25+ categories of products and services
2. Commission: Vary based on the merchant offer
3. Cookies: Vary based on the merchant offer
4. Minimum payout: $25
5. Cost: Free

Pros & Cons

Commission Junction

CJ affiliate network, also known as Commission Junction is one of the older and most popular affiliate networks out there. It

The CJ affiliate network is free to join and has more than 3000 different merchants to choose from to promote affiliate products of any kind, from physical products to digital services, You’ll be able to find something that fits your niche.

To get started you have to sign up as a publisher, then go to your dashboard and apply to each affiliate program individually.

A downside is that the interface is a bit outdated and difficult to use.

The commission rate depends on the merchant’s offer and usually it varies from 3% to 50%. The payout options are multiple, from PayPal to direct deposit and check. The minimum payment is a bit higher than other platforms, $50 for Direct Deposit and $100 for Checks within 20 days of the end of the month.

The Cookie duration depends on the merchant’s offer as well.

Key Features

1. Brands: 3000+ different merchants of physical and digital products
2. Commission: from 3% to 50%
3. Cookies: varies based on the merchant’s offer
4. Minimum payout: $50 for Direct Deposit and $100 for Checks
5. Cost: Free

Pros & Cons

ClickBank

ClickBank is completely free to join, and it is one of the oldest affiliate networks started back in 1998.

This affiliate platform mainly offers digital products like ebooks, online courses, and membership sites, but you can also find physical products like dietary Supplements, Games, and tech products.

The commission rate varies from brand to brand, but the average is from 50% to 70%. The cookie duration depends on the merchant, and the minimum payout is $10 and it’s done weekly or every two weeks.

One of the downsides for you is that they offer a 60-day refund policy, so if the user returns the product within a 60-day window you might lose the commission.

Key Features

1. Brands: Mostly digital products and services
2. Commission: varies from brand to brand
3. Cookie: varies from brand to brand
4. Minimum payout: $10
5. Cost: Free

Pros & Cons

Partner Stack

Partner Stack is one of the best affiliate networks for software. It has more than 300 programs available with many reputable brands like Evernote, Quickbooks, Freshworks, Monday, and many more.

Joining the platform is not free, but each affiliate marketer gets its own custom plan based on their needs. Once you sign up, you can apply individually for each brand, as most affiliate marketing platforms do.

The affiliate dashboard is super easy to use, you can track how many sales you’re getting, where the sales are coming from, and the total commission you make every month.

The commission rates are usually very high and vary based on the merchant’s offer. They can go from 20% to 50% and, often, they have recurring commissions due to a monthly or yearly subscription of the user to a service.

The cookies last around 60-90 days, depending on the brands you sign up with.

And, the Minimum payout is $5.

Key Features

1. Brands: 300+ merchants for Digital products only (B2B, SaaS, and Tech)
2. Commission: Variable based on brand offers
3. Cookies: Variable duration based on brand offers
4. Minimum payout: $5
5. Cost: On request

Pros & Cons

Impact

Impact is one of the best affiliate marketing platforms out there. Plus, it’s free to join.

It acts as an affiliate network and partnership network, this means that brands can join and work together with affiliates and publishers and set custom contracts, link tracking, and custom commission structure.

The overall website is easy to use, you can join (and apply individually) to as many affiliate programs as you want.

The categories present on this affiliate network vary a lot, from travel, to financial to retail and much more. The affiliations can be done for both digital services and physical products.

The commission rate and cookies duration vary based on the merchant’s offer.

The minimum payout for all payment options is $10.

Key Features

1. Brands: Affiliate partners have both digital services and physical products
2. Commission: depends on the merchant’s offer
3. Cookies: depend on the merchant’s offer
4. Minimum payout: $10
5. Cost: Free

Pros & Cons

Awin

Awin is a famous affiliate network that has more than 25000+ advertisers for both physical products and digital services.

In this affiliate marketing platform, you can find many reputable brands like Etsy, Ali Express, Apricoat, Balardi, and more.

Overall, Awin it’s easy to use and intuitive, and generating a trackable affiliate link and images it’s easier than it sounds.

 They also have a newsletter with the latest news and promotions on their brands and advertisers.

Each affiliate that applies has to be accepted by The Awin team first, they also take a $5 deposit to join the network, then they will give it back to you on your first payout.

The commission rates and cookies vary from brand to brand.

There is a $20 minimum balance before the payout.

Key Features

1. Brands: 25000+ advertisers for both physical and digital products
2. Commission: Vary from brand to brand
3. Cookies: Vary from brand to brand
4. Minimum payout: $20
5. Cost: $5 deposit to join the platform (they will give it back to you on your first payout)

Pros & Cons

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best Affiliate marketing platforms for beginners?

Amazon Associates is one of the best affiliate platforms to get started with affiliate marketing, it is accessible to everyone, and applying is completely free.

Which is the highest-paying affiliate program?

According to AuthorityHaker’s blog, the best affiliate program is offered by Semrush because of it’s high commission rates.

The commission rates are:

• $200 for every new subscription
• $10 for every new lead
• $0.01 for each new signup

The list of affiliate marketing networks and platforms listed above collects several brands from different niches and, usually, the commission rates vary a lot from brand to brand.

Overall, the affiliate products in the niche of SaaS, B2B, and tech are the most valuable ones in terms of commissions, and the reference affiliate platform for digital services is PartnerStack.

Is affiliate marketing a get-rich-quick?

Affiliate marketing it’s very far from a get-rich-quick system.

Affiliate marketers put a lot of time and effort into crafting the best content strategy they can to enlarge their audience and opportunities to become influential.

Then, depending on the platforms, the growth can be more or less fast.

Is affiliate marketing still worth it?

Yes, affiliate marketing is still worth it.

The start-up costs are close to 0, and as an affiliate marketer, you can work everywhere on the internet, from social media platforms to blogs to email listings.

According to this research made by Demandsage blog, brands with active affiliate programs are increasing every day and the multibillion-dollar industry is supposed to increase by 91% by 2027.

MLM vs Affiliate marketing: Which is the best?

Affiliate marketing offers more control over product choices, requires no personal selling or recruiting, and has a lower entry barrier with many free-to-join programs.

How much does Amazon affiliate pay?

Amazon’s affiliate program has a fixed standard commission that varies from category to category (between 1% to 20%).

The categories that pay less money are the ones of video games, Health, and Personal Care with only 1% commission. Whereas, the categories that pay more are Luxury Beauty and Amazon games with 10-20% commission.

Is Amazon’s affiliate program free?

Yes, Amazon’s affiliate marketing program is completely free.

Can affiliate marketing make you a millionaire?

Yes, it can. The key is promoting high-ticket products or services and applying to affiliate marketing programs that offer high recurring commissions

What is the most successful niche in affiliate marketing?

The most successful niche in affiliate marketing is the SaaS and tech products.