1. Check that an affiliate program fits
Affiliate programs work best when:
- Self-serve checkout exists. A referred visitor can sign up and pay without a sales call. Long sales cycles break attribution and partners lose patience.
- Customers stay. Recurring revenue lets you pay a generous commission and still profit.
- Someone already talks to your buyers. Newsletters, YouTubers, consultants, agencies or communities your customers trust.
If a sales team closes most deals, look at a referral or reseller model instead. Tools such as PartnerStack are built for that (see Partli vs PartnerStack).
2. Set a commission you can afford
Start from what a customer is worth to you, not from what competitors pay. The question is simple: what is the most you'd pay to win one customer through any channel? The affiliate commission should come in under that.
Here is what common structures pay per referred customer on a $79/month plan:
| STRUCTURE | PAID PER CUSTOMER | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| 30% one-time | $23.70 | Cheap, but weak motivation for subscription products |
| $100 flat bounty | $100.00 | Simple, and suits annual plans and higher prices |
| 20% recurring, 12 months | $189.60 | Predictable liability, and rewards partners whose customers stay |
| 30% recurring, 12 months | $284.40 | Competitive for creators who compare programs |
| 20% lifetime | $15.80 a month, for as long as the customer pays | Strongest pull for partners, open-ended for you |
Recurring amounts assume the customer stays at least 12 months. With churn, the real cost is lower.
Worked example: Partli's own program
Partli runs its affiliate program on Partli. We pay 20% recurring for 12 months on every customer a partner refers. On our $29, $79 and $149 monthly plans that comes to at most $69.60, $189.60 or $357.60 per customer over a year. That's below what we'd pay to win a customer any other way. The 12-month cap means a successful partner doesn't create a liability that runs forever. The terms are on our public application page.
You can pay different partners different rates. Give your best partners (a big YouTuber, an agency that resells) a higher-paying group rather than raising the rate for everyone. Most affiliate tools support groups. In Partli each group can have its own rate, duration and holding period.
3. Write the rules before your first partner
| RULE | COMMON DEFAULT | WHY |
|---|---|---|
| Cookie window | 30–90 days | SaaS buyers research for weeks before they buy |
| Attribution | Last click | The easiest model for partners to understand |
| Holding period | 30 days, or your refund window | Refunds inside the window never cost you money |
| Minimum payout | $25–$50 | Avoids tiny transfers and their fees |
| Self-referrals | Not allowed | Stops partners buying through their own link to get a discount |
| Brand bidding | Not allowed | Stops partners buying ads on your brand name to take credit for customers you'd have won anyway |
| Coupon sites | Case by case | They often take credit for customers who were already buying |
4. Set up tracking that matches your billing
Track sales from your billing system, not from a thank-you page view. That way renewals, upgrades and refunds flow through to commissions automatically. Most SaaS tools connect to Stripe and Paddle directly. Our guide to affiliate programs on Stripe explains the events involved. Before inviting anyone, buy through a test referral link yourself and check the commission appears.
5. Publish an application page
Partners decide in seconds. Your application page should answer, above the fold:
- What you pay, for how long, and when (for example “20% recurring for 12 months, paid monthly after 30 days”)
- Who the product is for, in a sentence a partner could repeat to their audience
- How they get paid (PayPal, Wise, bank or Stripe) and the minimum payout
- What's not allowed (the rules above)
6. Recruit your first ten partners yourself
Sign-ups alone rarely produce sales. Make a list of people who already reach your buyers: customers with an audience, consultants who recommend tools, newsletter writers, YouTubers who review your category, and the people writing “best X for Y” articles in your niche. Email each one personally. Offer them a free account, a higher-paying group for the first months, and ready-made assets: screenshots, a demo video, a short pitch. Our affiliate recruitment guide covers finding them at scale.
7. Pay on time, every time
Late or confusing payouts lose good partners faster than a low rate does. Pick a schedule (monthly is standard), offer the payout methods your partners actually use, and show each partner their pending, approved and paid amounts. If international partners are common, offer PayPal or Wise as well as Stripe.
8. Measure what matters
- Active partners: partners with at least one click this month, not total sign-ups.
- Revenue per active partner and the share of revenue from your top five.
- Refund and churn rate of referred customers compared with everyone else, which shows partner quality.
- Effective cost per customer: total commissions divided by referred customers.
Choosing the software
You need tracking connected to your billing, a partner portal, approvals, commission rules and payouts. Our comparison of affiliate software for SaaS covers the main options and what each costs as you grow. If you'd rather run day-to-day admin from Claude or ChatGPT, read running an affiliate program from an AI agent.
FAQ
What commission should a SaaS affiliate program pay?
Work it out from what a customer is worth rather than copying a number. Many SaaS programs pay 20–30% of revenue, recurring for 12 months or for the customer's lifetime. Check that the total you'd pay per customer is below what you're willing to spend to acquire one through other channels.
Should affiliate commissions be recurring or one-time?
Recurring commissions match how SaaS earns money and motivate partners to send customers who stay. Capping them (for example 12 months) keeps your long-term liability predictable. One-time bounties suit products with a large first payment or annual plans.
How long should the cookie window be?
Thirty to ninety days is common for SaaS, because buyers often research for weeks. Longer windows reward partners who publish evergreen content such as reviews and tutorials.
How many affiliates do I need?
Fewer than you think. In most programs a handful of partners drive most of the sales. Ten well-matched partners who actually publish beat two hundred sign-ups who never post a link.