Start with the scope line
Every program carries a scope line, and that line removes more publishers than commission rates ever do. Amazon runs a worldwide programme (global) alongside national programmes, so the same brand appears repeatedly under separate terms: single country, single country, single country and single country. Choose the entry whose scope matches the traffic you actually hold, then read every other clause against it.
Scope is also where networks and direct programmes part ways. Affiliate2Day (global) and AffiliateZim (global) both reach beyond a single market, so a publisher anywhere can still apply, while a national bank cannot. Coverage is the first restriction to check, not the last.
Single-market programmes and the traffic they suit
ABANCA (single country), AGORA direct™ (single country), Allianz Direct Versicherungen DE (single country) and ANNA Money (single country) are each built for a single market, so they suit publishers whose audience sits there and little else. Accountable (single country) is arranged in the same way.
Regional programmes inside a global brand follow the pattern: the national Amazon entries are separate programmes with their own conditions rather than regional settings on the global programme. Finance and banking offers are frequently structured this way, which makes the banking and fintech programs ranking a practical place to line them up against each other.
Regional programmes built for European traffic
A middle group covers Europe as a whole rather than a single market. 5a7coquin (europe) and 7bet (europe) sit in that group, alongside Abf Trade Eu (europe), AffClubX (europe), AGILA Haustierversicherung (europe) and Alza.cz (europe). Travel inventory such as AML Travel and Tours (europe) also falls here.
For a publisher with European traffic this group is usually the widest useful one. The 5a7coquin review and the 7bet review show how two entries from the same group diverge on the details that decide earnings, and Advanzia Bank (europe) adds a finance offer to the same regional set.
Worldwide programmes
Global entries take geography out of the comparison and push the weight onto payout terms. 12Go Travel Affiliate Program (global), Agoda Affiliate (global), Airalo (global), Alibaba.com (global), AliExpress (global) and Amarkets (global) all operate beyond a single market.
Betting programmes appear in the same group, with 1win (global), 7Bit Casino Affiliates (global) and Alpha Affiliates (global). The 1win review is a sensible starting point for reading what a worldwide gaming programme does and does not settle. Airtm Ambassadors (global) is another worldwide entry, carrying peer to peer finance offers that sit closer to the crypto and Web3 programs ranking.
Negative carryover decides how a weak month is treated
Carryover is the clause that changes the arithmetic. Where it applies, a month that pays out less than it costs carries the shortfall forward and reduces later commissions. 1x Family and 7bet both apply negative carryover, so their terms work that way. Alpha Affiliates does not, which leaves its balance behaving more predictably from month to month.
This is why the 1x Family review and the 7bet review belong next to each other in a comparison. Two programmes with the same reach can differ more on carryover than on anything a rate table shows. If your traffic is seasonal or one campaign drives a whole month, read a carryover clause as a risk factor rather than a footnote.
A short routine for weighing any of these
Work through entries in the same order every time: scope first, then the clauses that move money, then everything else. Confirm the region, settle the carryover question, and only then compare rates, cookie windows and payout thresholds on the individual review pages, where the conditions are set out in full.
Two habits keep the comparison honest. Write the scope down in your own words so a worldwide entry is never confused with a national one, and record carryover as a simple yes or no beside it. Where two programmes match on both, the smaller gaps in cookie window and payout threshold decide which one you keep.