Affiliate commission calculator. Net of network fees.
Enter sale price, commission rate, sales volume. Get gross commission, network-fee net, monthly + annual earnings, and the gap to the next tier. Supports flat, tiered, and recurring SaaS models.
Sale, rate, volume.
Per sale, per month.
Net commission is the only number.
Affiliate marketing operators report gross commission to vanity dashboards and net commission to finance. The gap is network fees, refund clawbacks, payout fees, and tax. The calculator above runs the full chain so you see what actually clears to bank. For SaaS recurring programs, lifetime value per signup is the load-bearing number, not per-sale; it captures the cohort behavior the deal was built around.
Three rate-improvement levers for affiliates. One, climb tiers — most programs reward volume with 1.5x to 2x rate increases above an inflection point; the calculator's tier-gap output names that target. Two, negotiate exclusive rates — most programs publish a rate card but pay top affiliates 1.3-2x via private terms (read CJ Affiliate's top-affiliate guidance). Three, mix flat-with-recurring — high one-time commissions front-load income, recurring programs build durable monthly base. Pros run a 60/40 split.
Tools in the same cluster: Conversion Rate Calculator for traffic-to-sale lift. LTV Calculator for SaaS-affiliate lifetime modeling. Markup Calculator for the merchant-side margin view.
Six answers.
How is affiliate commission calculated?
Commission per sale equals sale price multiplied by commission rate, expressed as a decimal. A $120 sale at 15% commission pays $18. Total monthly commission equals per-sale commission multiplied by attributed sales count. For recurring SaaS commissions paid monthly, multiply per-month commission by the average customer lifetime in months to get gross lifetime commission. Always subtract network fees (Impact, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate) before reporting net to your finance team.
What commission rates are typical by category in 2026?
Physical DTC products run 5-15% (beauty 10-20%, fashion 5-10%, supplements 15-30%). Digital products and courses run 30-50%. SaaS first-month run 20-100% (often 100% as a sign-up incentive); recurring SaaS run 10-30% for the customer lifetime. Travel runs 4-10%. Financial-services lead-gen runs $50-200 flat per qualified lead. Hosting and domain affiliates run 50-200% of first-month subscription. Premium and high-AOV categories pay lower percentages because absolute dollars per sale are larger.
How do tiered commission programs work?
Tiered programs reward sales volume with progressively higher commission rates. Common structure: tier 1 pays 10% on the first 10 sales / month, tier 2 pays 12% from sales 11-50, tier 3 pays 15% above 50 sales. Some programs use revenue thresholds instead of sales counts. The calculator above shows the gap to the next tier so you know how many additional sales unlock the higher rate. Top-tier rates can be 2x the entry rate, making the volume push worth modeling.
What network fees should I deduct?
Most affiliate networks charge the merchant a percentage of commission (not the affiliate), but some pass-through fees apply. Impact Radius charges payout fees on small balances. ShareASale takes a 20% transaction fee from the merchant side that does not affect affiliate gross. PayPal payout fees (2-3% for international wires) come out of your earnings. Hosting affiliate networks like Refersion are free to affiliates. Always check the program-specific terms; the network-fee field above is a flat percentage that handles most cases.
How do I calculate recurring SaaS lifetime commission?
Multiply monthly commission by expected customer lifetime in months. A SaaS that pays 20% recurring on a $99/month plan with average 18-month customer lifetime delivers $19.80 per month for 18 months, totaling $356 lifetime gross per signup. Adjust for churn discount: many programs cap commission at 12 or 24 months even if the customer stays longer. The calculator above lets you set the months input to match the program's commission window.
Does this tool save my data?
No. Every value lives in this browser tab only. Nothing is sent to any server. Closing the tab clears the data. The Copy Results button puts a plain-text summary on your clipboard.
Need a scalable program?
Our growth strategy engagements design tiered commission structures, recruit affiliates, and ship the tracking + payout flow on Impact, Refersion, or PartnerStack.
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