Creators that want to monetize their content now have a huge range of SaaS affiliate programs to choose from. If you’re struggling to decide which is best for your your niche, we’re here to help.
This definitive list of SaaS affiliate programs will give you all the information you need to evaluate the best SaaS companies to partner with. We’ll break down every SaaS affiliate program so you have the essential facts you need.
Read on to find out what to look for in an affiliate program and our ranking of the best SaaS affiliate programs.
What to look for in a SaaS affiliate program?
When you’re choosing which SaaS affiliate program to partner with, there are some important points to consider. From the commission structure to cookie duration, customer satisfaction and more, the details can make a big difference to your earnings.
Here are our tips on what to look for in SaaS affiliate programs.
Program details
Before you sign up to any affiliate program, it’s a good idea to do a deep-dive into what exactly the company is offering you and how much you can expect to earn. Check the fine print of any affiliate policy to make sure you’ll get what you think you will. The program details can make a big difference to your bottom line.
If in doubt, reach out to the affiliate support team to get your questions answered. Most of the SaaS affiliate programs we’ve listed here have a dedicated email address for affiliate queries and some, like Thinkific, offer personalized support for affiliates too.
One-time vs recurring payouts
When you are evaluating SaaS affiliate programs, keep a look out for the different types of commission structures on offer and what this will mean for your earnings.Â
In our list of the top SaaS affiliate programs, you’ll find two different types of commissions: one time payouts and recurring payouts.
One time payouts mean you get one payment per customer referral. This might be a flat rate commission or a percentage commission. The important thing is that it will only happen one time – you won’t see any more money after that.
Recurring payouts mean that for as long as your customer referral stays with the company, you’ll keep getting paid a commission. This is usually a percentage of the monthly subscription fee and it can be a big earner for affiliate partners. The more loyal the customer, the more money you get.
One time payouts tend to yield more money quickly, but if the referrals you send don’t cancel, recurring payouts built up over time can be extremely lucrative.
Cookie duration
As well as the commission structure, you’re going to want to pay attention to the cookie duration too. The cookie duration tells you how long your referral customers have to make a purchase in order for the sale to be credited to you.Â
When a potential customer clicks on your affiliate link, their activity can be tracked using cookies. The length of time those cookies stay on their device equals the cookie duration. It might be anywhere from 24 hours to 120 days or more.
The cookie duration is key for any SaaS affiliate program because people usually take some time to consider their options before making a purchase decision, especially in the case of SaaS products. If you’ve only got a 7-day cookie duration in your affiliate agreement, you could miss out on your commission even if you’re the reason the customer makes a purchase.Â
Thinkific’s SaaS affiliate program has a 90-day cookie life so any referrals have plenty of time to make up their minds. The longer the cookie duration, the higher chance there is that you’ll see the money for your customer referral so be sure to check out this small detail.
Longer cookie durations make it easier to get credit for conversions.
Conversion rates & churn rates
The success of an organization can make a big difference to the success of your affiliate partnership. No matter how many click-throughs you get, if your SaaS affiliate partner can’t convert them into customers, you won’t get any commission.
When you’re choosing a SaaS affiliate program, it’s a good idea to take into consideration the conversion rates of the business you’re working with. This will ultimately affect your Earnings Per Click (EPC) and your final commission.
In the case of recurring payouts, the churn rates also matter. If customers cancel their subscription because they’re not happy with the service, that’s going to affect your earnings too.Â
Some ways to evaluate customer satisfaction include:
- Reviews and testimonials
- Social media engagement
- Yearly revenue
These are all solid ways to evaluate a company’s success and customer satisfaction. Happy customers equal happier affiliate partners!
Ask the affiliate manager if they can share conversion & churn rates with you – it could impact your earning potential.
Clawbacks
Beware of clawbacks when choosing a SaaS affiliate program. Some programs include clauses that allow them to reduce your commission or even cancel a payout if the customer changes their purchase decision.
For example, some SaaS affiliate programs require your referral to maintain their subscription for a set period of time for you to get your commission. Sometimes that can be as much as 90 days. If the customer quits before then, you won’t see any cash.
The same goes for customers who choose to downgrade their plans. Some companies retain the right to clawback your commission if your referral changes their mind on a premium plan or a free trial. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting when you sign up to a SaaS affiliate program to avoid unwanted clawbacks.
Partner satisfaction & enablement
One of the best ways to evaluate a SaaS affiliate program? Check with other content creators! Affiliate partner satisfaction can tell you a lot about the quality of the program and whether or not you want to be a part of it.
When you’re doing your research, check out reviews from real affiliate partners and see what they’re saying. Has the program lived up to their expectations? Is it easy to get paid? How’s the conversion rate in real life? Partner satisfaction is a great way to tell if the SaaS affiliate program is going to live up to the marketing hype.
You can also take a look at what resources and support is included in the SaaS affiliate program that’s caught your eye. Many programs offer training or a dedicated affiliate manager or support team. Not only can this help you get set up faster, it’s also useful if you run into any problems along the way.
Company values
You work hard to build a reputation of trust and loyalty among your audience so you don’t want to throw that away because you back the wrong brand. Before you choose a SaaS affiliate program, it’s a good idea to do some research into the brand reputation. If you spot any scandals or evidence of poor leadership in their past, you might want to avoid becoming an affiliate partner.Â
If you’re choosing a SaaS affiliate program to promote, it’s important that the company aligns with your brand values. You want to know that any affiliate program you commit to is going to be right for your audience. It also makes it more likely that you’ll keep getting paid in the long-term.Â
Here are the best SaaS affiliate Programs
Curious to know more about the top SaaS affiliate programs in the business?
We’ve broken it all down into one table so you can see the best programs at a glance. To find out all the details about each of the programs, just click the links or keep scrolling, or click on one of affiliate program categories here:
- eLearning
- eCommerce
- Marketing, CRM, & Automation
- Email Marketing
- Website Builder
- Web Hosting
- Domain Name
- Analytics & Research Tools
- Creative / Design
- Forms, Quizzes, and Surveys
- Support
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Communication
| Vendor | Commission | Cookie Duration |
| Thinkific | 30% | 90 days |
| Udemy | 15% | 7 days |
| Skillshare | $7 | 30 days |
| Coursera | 10% – 45% | 30 days |
| Shopify | 200% | 30 days |
| BigCommerce | 200% or $1,500 | 90 days |
| WooCommerce | 20% | 30 days |
| Amazon | 1% – 10%Â | 24 hours |
| Alidropship | 30% – 50% | 30 days |
| Hubspot | 15% – 100% | 90 days |
| Pipedrive | 33% | 30 days |
| Zoho | 15% | 30 days |
| Agile CRM | 10% | 60 days |
| Sumo | Up to 25% | 60 days |
| Keap | $10 – $250 | 90 days |
| ActiveCampaign | 20% – 30% | 90 days |
| GetResponse | $100 or 33% | 120 days |
| Aweber | 30% | 365 days |
| Mailchimp | $30 | 60 days |
| Convertkit | 30% | 60 days |
| Constant Contact | $5 – $105 | 120 days |
| Wix | $100+ | 30 days |
| SquareSpace | $100 – $200 | 45 days |
| Weebly | 30% | 120 days |
| Builderall | 30% – 100% | 30 days |
| Unbounce | 20% | 90 days |
| Leadpages | 10% – 50% | 30 days |
| ClickFunnels | 20% – 40% | 30 days |
| Bluehost | $65 | 90 days |
| Hostgator | $65 – $125 | 65 days |
| Siteground | $50 – $100+ | 60 days |
| Namecheap | 20% – 40% | 30 days |
| GoDaddy | 10% – 15% | 45 days |
| SEMrush | $0.01 – $200 | 120 days |
| Adobe creative cloud | 85% | 30 days |
| Canva | 25% – 80% | 30 days |
| Jotform | 30% | 60 days |
| Freshdesk | 15% | 90 days |
| LiveAgent | 20% | 90 days |
| Livechat | 20% | 120 days |
| Quickbooks | 10% | 45 days |
| Freshbooks | $10 – $200 | 120 days |
| Xero | Up to 30% discount | Unknown |
| Microsoft Teams | $5 – $20 | 30 days |
| ReferralCandy | $50 per trial | 1 year |
eLearning Affiliate Programs
Thinkific
Thinkific’s powerful, all-in-one platform makes it easy to create, market and sell online courses and membership sites under your own brand. It enables course creators to share their knowledge, grow their audience, and scale the business they already love. Whether they’re educating 10 students or 10 million, users can feel confident that they’ve got the easiest technology and best support in the business.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Thinkific”]
Udemy
Udemy is an e-learning platform aimed at teachers and learners. The platform offers course creators the chance to market and sell their video content. Buyers have access to a vast array of e-learning content from business to tech to languages and more.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Udemy”]
SkillshareÂ
Skillshare is a subscription-based online learning community offering a huge range of courses to members and the chance for experts to share their knowledge. The platform focuses on creative courses including design, illustration, photography, and more.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Skillshare”]
Coursera
Specializing in courses from top universities and organizations, Coursera is an online learning platform that brings together students and institutions. Coursera has made over 4,000 courses, certificates, and projects available to learners worldwide.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Coursera”]
eCommerce Affiliate Programs
Shopify Affiliate Program
Shopify has established itself as a leader in dropshipping. Offering subscription-based software, Shopify prides itself on being an all-in-one e-commerce platform that allows any business to set up an online store and sell their products.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Shopify Affiliate Program”]
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an e-commerce platform aimed at small and medium businesses. It is designed to make e-commerce simple for retailers, providing tools for online store creation, SEO optimization, marketing, and hosting.
[fdk_app_cards name=”BigCommerce”]
WooCommerce
WooCommerce offers businesses a customizable platform built for WordPress that makes for a free, flexible, and easy-to-use e-commerce solution.
[fdk_app_cards name=”WooCommerce”]
Amazon Affiliate
Once an online marketplace for selling books, Amazon now tops the list as one of the best-known and most popular online shopping platforms.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Amazon Affiliate”]
Alidropship Affiliate
The clue is in the name of Alidropship who provides the software needed for anyone to open a dropshipping business with products from AliExpress. As a WordPress plugin, Alidropship is easy to install and comes with a wide range of features.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Alidropship Affiliate”]
Marketing, CRM, & Automation Affiliate Programs
HubspotÂ
Supplying a full platform of marketing, sales, CRM software and customer service, HubSpot is one of the top software products for growth marketing. Since its inception in 2006, HubSpot has been focused on customer relationship management and now includes online courses and certifications aimed at marketers.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Hubspot”]
Pipedrive Affiliate
With more than 90,000 customers on its books, Pipedrive is a market leader in customer relationship management software for sales teams. They aim to provide accessible software for the salespeople on the ground.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Pipedrive Affiliate”]
Zoho
Zoho specializes in online productivity tools and applications. Aimed at trade associations, industry bodies, and educators, as well as website owners and influencers, Zoho’s SaaS affiliate program has a wide appeal.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Zoho”]
Agile CRM
A CRM software for small and medium businesses, Agile CRM offers an integrated suite of sales, marketing, and customer service tools. They aim to help manage the whole customer journey in one platform and make business owners’ lives easier.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Agile CRM”]
Sumo Affiliate
Sumo is a customer engagement platform designed for appointment, class, and event schedules. It allows businesses to integrate scheduling into their customer touchpoints to personalize their customer journey.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Sumo Affiliate”]
Keap
Specializing in e-mail marketing and sales, Keap’s platform is aimed at small businesses. Products range from customer relationship management to e-commerce and marketing automation software.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Keap”]
ReferralCandy
ReferralCandy is an easy-to-use automated software that helps brands and merchants run referral programs, leveraging the power of word-of-mouth.
[fdk_app_cards name=”ReferralCandy”]
Email Marketing Affiliate Programs
Activecampaign Affiliate Program
Chicago-based ActiveCampaign is a cloud software platform targeted at small to mid-sized businesses. While their core product is based on email marketing, ActiveCampaign also offers customer experience, marketing, and sales automation software.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Activecampaign Affiliate”]
GetResponse Affiliate
Dedicated to email marketing software, GetResponse is an online marketing platform designed to help businesses grow their audience and drive online sales through emails.
[fdk_app_cards name=”GetResponse Affiliate”]
AWeber Affiliate
AWeber is the email marketing platform for small businesses with a heavy focus on support and customer education. They also specialize in customizable, design-led templates.
[fdk_app_cards name=”AWeber Affiliate”]
Mailchimp Affiliate
A comprehensive email marketing platform, Mailchimp makes it easy for businesses to connect with customers and create impactful interactions by utilizing their email list.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Mailchimp Affiliate”]
Convertkit Affiliate
Designed with creative entrepreneurs in mind, CovertKit is an email marketing service provider that helps creators use emails to grow their audience. With tools for building landing pages, email sign-ups and more, it is a one-stop-email-shop for creative entrepreneurs.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Convertkit Affiliate”]
Constant Contact
Established in 1995, Constant Contact is a dedicated platform for small businesses looking to launch and monitor new email marketing campaigns, social media channels, and websites.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Constant Contact”]
Website Builder Affiliate Programs
Wix Affiliate program
Known for its customizable and novice-friendly website design tools, Wix is one of the leading cloud-based development platforms.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Wix Affiliate program”]
SquareSpace Affiliate Program
Known for its customizable and novice-friendly website design tools, Wix is one of the leading cloud-based development platforms.
[fdk_app_cards name=”SquareSpace Affiliate Program”]
Weebly
With more than 45 million users worldwide, Weebly is a web-building giant. Their software provides customizable website templates and drag-and-drop features with in-depth customer support.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Weebly”]
Builderall
Builderall caters to customers looking for a complete online business and digital marketing platform in one. It is designed to help entrepreneurs create and launch an online business from scratch.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Builderall”]
Unbounce
Unbounce is a landing page and AI copywriting platform servicing 70,000+ customers, largely small and medium business owners. Their SaaS product is designed by marketers for marketers.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Unbounce”]
Leadpages
Unbounce is a landing page and AI copywriting platform servicing 70,000+ customers, largely small and medium business owners. Their SaaS product is designed by marketers for marketers.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Leadpages”]
ClickFunnels
One of the best-selling online sales funnel platforms in the world, ClickFunnels is aimed at entrepreneurs. Using ClickFunnels software, users can design a website, make sales and build a brand.
[fdk_app_cards name=”ClickFunnels”]
Web Hosting Affiliate Programs
Bluehost Affiliate
Hosting over 2 million domains, Bluehost is one of the top web hosting sites companies in the world for low price hosting. They also provide marketing training, graphic design services, and SEO help.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Bluehost Affiliate”]
Hostgator Affiliate
Hostgator prides itself on offering secure website hosting. Besides shared hosting, they also have VPS, cloud, and dedicated server packages.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Hostgator Affiliate”]
Siteground
Siteground is a web hosting service known for its reliability and security. With over 2 million domains worldwide, they focus on in-house developed hosting solutions aimed at small businesses.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Siteground”]
Domain Name Affiliate Programs
Namecheap
Namecheap offers domain name registration, management services, and web hosting services. It’s known for low prices and the option for UK or US data hosting.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Namecheap”]
GoDaddy
Namecheap offers domain name registration, management services, and web hosting services. It’s known for low prices and the option for UK or US data hosting.
[fdk_app_cards name=”GoDaddy”]
Analytics & Research ToolsÂ
SEMrush
SEMrush is a leading SaaS platform for online visibility management with a suite of tools including SEO, PPC, social media, and content. Their software is used by 1 in 4 Fortune 500 companies.
[fdk_app_cards name=”SEMrush”]
Creative / Design Affiliate Programs
Adobe Creative Cloud Affiliate
The Adobe Creative Cloud is a suite of software programs for graphic design, photography, video editing, and more. It includes some of Adobe’s best-known tools including Photoshop, Lightroom, and Illustrator.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Adobe Creative Cloud Affiliate”]
Canva
If you have something you need to design, chances are Canva will have templates for it. Canva makes graphic design easy with tools for creating social tiles, logos, documents, and more.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Canva”]
Forms, Quizzes, and Surveys
Jotform
JotForm is an online form builder that allows customers to create and publish online forms for surveys, collecting payments, gathering data, and more. With a drag and drop builder, it’s easy to use for beginners.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Jotform”]
Support
Freshdesk
Freshdesk specializes in cloud-based customer service software designed to automate helpdesk support across multiple channels.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Freshdesk”]
LiveAgent
LiveAgent makes it easier to boost your customer service with multilingual helpdesk software that supports multiple channels including email, calls, and social media.
[fdk_app_cards name=”LiveAgent”]
Livechat
With 35,000+ clients across 150 companies, LiveChat is a global SaaS company offering a complete customer service platform with Live Chat software and chat support.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Livechat”]
Accounting &Â Bookkeeping
Quickbooks
Quickbooks specializes in accounting software for small businesses and freelancers, developed by parent company Intuit with features like customizable invoices, multiple currencies, and payroll functions.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Quickbooks”]
Freshbooks
Canada-based FreshBooks is an accounting software company aimed at small and medium businesses with over 100 additional apps to help make business owners’ lives easier.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Freshbooks”]
Xero
Offering online accounting software, Xero has racked up over 2.7 million users worldwide with clients ranging from small businesses to accounting experts.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Xero”]
Communication
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the communication hub of Microsoft 365, a suite of Microsoft Office apps designed for businesses. Microsoft Teams now has 250 million monthly active users across the world.
[fdk_app_cards name=”Microsoft Teams”]
Join Thinkific’s affiliate program and earn up to $1,700 per referral, every year
Choosing the best SaaS affiliate program for your business involves taking a lot of different factors into account. That’s why we’ve made our affiliate program an easy win for affiliate partners – with a high recurring commission, long cookie duration, and dedicated affiliate support, we’ll help you get maximum credit for every click.
Don’t take our word for it, check out the reviews of our other affiliate partners here!
