Top software and SaaS programs compared

About Top software and SaaS programs compared

Software and SaaS programmes split publishers by payout type: a share of what a subscriber keeps paying, or a flat sum the moment a sale lands. This ranking covers 41 programmes in the software category, ordered on what each pays, how long a referral stays credited, when the money moves and how far the programme reaches. The trade-off runs through the whole list. Window length here spans 30 to 180 days, and a generous window usually arrives with a smaller upfront payout, while a tighter window tends to sit beside a larger or repeating rate. Reach matters just as much, since a strong deal earns little if it cannot be promoted outside its home market. Recurring commission separates the field more than any other factor, and payout thresholds decide how soon a small audience sees money. Below, every rate, window and threshold is given as published, and only the details each programme states are listed.

How we picked

Scores here are built from weighted parts. Cost carries 40%, the offer itself carries 40% and trust carries 20%. Cost covers commission rate, cookie length, payout threshold and payout timing. The offer weight covers the model, whether commission repeats, and the size of the reward on a typical sale. Trust covers where a programme can be promoted and how payouts are handled. Figures come from the programmes' own affiliate pages, their terms documents, the networks they list such as PartnerStack, Impact, HasOffers, Awin and CJ Affiliate, and help centre and contact pages. Where a programme publishes a figure itself, that page counts as the primary record. Partner programmes sit at the top in the order given by the partnership, and everything after is ordered by score. A detail a programme does not publish is left out rather than treated as a weakness.

Our top picks

1. 1. Crazy Domains NZ

   Crazy Domains NZ earns a place in this ranking by turning hosting signups into a single clear number. Its terms are Up to $400 per sale, a flat $400 per sale on a per-acquisition model, and it is a direct programme with Impact listed as its network. Support is unusually broad for this list, covering phone, chat and help centre, which helps when a payment needs chasing. The limit is reach, since the programme is listed under single country, and there is no recurring commission, so each sale has to be won again. Oxylabs, ranked next, also pays per sale but opens worldwide with a much higher ceiling.

   • Commission terms: Up to $400 per sale
   • Networks: Impact
   • Payout per sale or signup: $400

   Pros

   • A converted hosting signup pays Up to $400 per sale on cpa terms, a large single payment rather than a thin percentage.
   • Tracking runs through Impact, so publishers already inside that network keep one reporting routine.
   • Support covers phone, chat and a help centre (phone, chat and help centre), which helps with pre sale questions about domains and migrations.
   • The offer sits squarely in hosting, so hosting, domain and website build content has a natural place for it.

   Cons

   • It runs in a single market (single country), so an audience outside that country has little to convert.
   • The payout is per sale on cpa terms, so renewals from customers already referred bring nothing further.
   • Everything is routed through Impact, so a publisher who prefers a different network has no alternative here.

2. 3. Monday.com Affiliate

   Monday.com Affiliate takes the next spot in this ranking on the strength of its opening payout rather than anything that repeats. The programme pays 100% of first-year sales, on the terms Up to 100% first-year sales, and a referral stays credited for 90 days, well above the 30 day median. It runs through PartnerStack, pays monthly to PayPal and Stripe, and handles questions through chat and help centre. The trade-off is plain: recurring commission is not part of the offer, so the payment covers the first year only. Crazy Domains NZ, next in the ranking, pays a flat sum per sale and stays in a single market.

   • Commission terms: Up to 100% first-year sales
   • Cookie window: 90 days
   • Networks: PartnerStack

   Pros

   • A 100% commission rate on first year sales, well above the 25% to 35% recurring for 12 months that Jasper and FirstPromoter list.
   • A 90 window, longer than the 30 most software programmes run.
   • Payouts run Monthly, so a small referral can still reach the threshold in a reasonable stretch.
   • Managed on PartnerStack, one of the 2 networks in this software group, so tracking and payouts sit in one place.
   • Support runs on chat and help centre, which matches the help centre that 65.4% share of software programmes also offer.

   Cons

   • Recurring commission is no, so a subscriber who renews pays nothing further, unlike the 25-30% recurring for 12 months at Jasper.
   • The Up to 100% first-year sales is a first year rate, so a subscriber who stays past year one stops earning.
   • Support runs on chat and help centre only, with none of the phone line that 26.9% share of the group offer.
   • Payouts go Monthly by PayPal and Stripe, so a single small referral waits a full cycle before it clears.

3. 6. Kinguin

   Kinguin appears in this ranking as a straightforward per-sale option with an unusual payout rhythm. Commission is up to 10% on the terms Up to 10% per sale, and it is reached through Awin and CJ Affiliate, with balances cleared at €30 and payouts running Weekly on request to PayPal or bank transfer. Support covers chat and help centre, and the entity behind the programme is Kinguin Digital Limited. The constraints are real: it sits in the gaming vertical per gaming rather than business software, and recurring commission is not part of the offer. Notion Affiliate Program, next, trades rate for a much longer window.

   • Commission terms: Up to 10% per sale
   • Networks: Awin, CJ Affiliate
   • Recurring commission: No

   Pros

   • The programme is listed as direct and runs through Awin and CJ Affiliate, so approval and reporting happen where publishers already work.
   • Payouts clear at €30 and go out by PayPal and bank transfer, mainstream rails that need little setup.
   • Coverage is global, so one account reaches players well past a single market.
   • The offer sits squarely in the gaming vertical, so a gaming-focused publisher can promote it without a category mismatch.
   • A named legal entity, Kinguin Digital Limited, stands behind the programme, which settles the question of who pays.

   Cons

   • There is no recurring commission, so a player's second purchase is worth nothing unless the referral is repeated.
   • The rate tops out at Up to 10% per sale, a long way below the recurring terms at 25% to 35% recurring for 12 months.
   • Support runs on chat and help centre only, so a publisher who needs a voice call has no listed route.
   • Payouts clear at €30 and run Weekly on request, so earnings arrive when requested rather than on a fixed date.

4. 8. Jasper Affiliate Program: best for top-pick

   Jasper's programme holds the top pick in this ranking because it combines commission that keeps coming back with a payout bar low enough for small audiences. The deal is a revenue share of 25% to 30% on the terms 25-30% recurring for 12 months, and referrals stay credited for 30 days, enough to cover a trial someone takes over a few weeks. Balances clear at $5 and payouts run Monthly around the 13th to PayPal and Stripe through PartnerStack, and the programme is open worldwide. FirstPromoter, ranked next, offers a far longer window but asks for $100 before a payout.

   • Commission terms: 25-30% recurring for 12 months
   • Cookie window: 30 days
   • Networks: PartnerStack

   Pros

   • Recurring commission is part of the deal, so a referral keeps paying while the subscriber stays.
   • Cookie window of 30 days sits in the middle of the software category, where the median window is 30.
   • Payout threshold of $5 is low, so a modest run of referred revenue can clear a first payment.
   • Two payment routes, PayPal and Stripe, cover both a wallet and a direct processor.
   • Runs on PartnerStack, which handles tracking, links and payouts in one place.

   Cons

   • The cookie window is fixed at 30 days, which suits fast converting content but not a long research cycle.
   • Recurring pay is time limited under 25-30% recurring for 12 months rather than running for the life of the subscription.
   • Only PartnerStack runs the programme, so there is no second network to join alongside it.
   • Payment methods are limited to PayPal and Stripe, so anyone paid outside those routes would need another arrangement.

5. 9. Moss

   Moss closes this ranking with a large upfront payment rather than a repeat, which is a fair trade for a product with a long sales conversation. Its terms read €1,000 per customer, 20% off year one, putting €1,000 on the table for each customer, and referrals stay credited for 30 days, in line with the median in this category. It runs directly and by referral through Impact, with monthly payouts, and recurring commission is not part of the offer. Reach is the limitation, since it operates in europe, so publishers elsewhere need another programme. The next name up the list, Notion Affiliate Program, offers a 180 day window for a slower decision.

   • Commission terms: €1,000 per customer, 20% off year one
   • Cookie window: 30 days
   • Networks: Impact

   Pros

   • A flat €1,000 per customer is a much bigger headline number than Admitad's 5% per sale.
   • Cash arrives on monthly payouts, which suits a publisher who wants a regular payday rather than a yearly settlement.
   • Moss offers direct and referral in europe, so a European publisher can run either a tracked programme or a simple referral.
   • The 30 day window matches the 30 day median across the programmes tracked, so the timing is ordinary rather than unusual.
   • The overall mark is 7.1, which places Moss well inside a field of 586 programmes.

   Cons

   • Recurring commission is no, so a customer you refer earns nothing in later years and the work has to start again each time.
   • The 30 day window ranks 39 out of 129 programmes on the site and sits under the 60 day upper end.
   • Moss runs in europe only, so publishers whose traffic sits outside that market have nothing to promote.
   • Moss pays a single amount per customer, while Qonto's CPA per registration plus KYB bonus can add an extra payment on top.

6. 10. Notion Affiliate Program: best for highest-cookie-days

   Notion Affiliate Program holds the highest cookie days label in this ranking, with a referral credited for 180 days, far beyond the 30 day median. That suits a product people trial for months before committing, and the programme mixes a signup payment with a first-year share on the terms Up to $50 per signup plus 20% year one, giving $50 per signup. It is a referral programme on PartnerStack, with chat, a help centre and a community behind it. The trade-off is that recurring commission is not offered, so the share ends after the first year. Moss, last in this ranking, pays a larger one-off over a much shorter window.

   • Commission terms: Up to $50 per signup plus 20% year one
   • Cookie window: 180 days
   • Networks: PartnerStack

   Pros

   • The 180 day window is well past the software category norm, so a slow reader who signs up weeks later still counts.
   • Two paying events on one referral: a bounty at signup and a share of year one revenue, under Up to $50 per signup plus 20% year one.
   • Revenue share is built in, so publishers who prefer a cut of sales to a flat bounty have both routes in one programme.
   • The programme runs on PartnerStack, a known network, so tracking and payouts follow familiar mechanics.
   • Support reaches you through chat, help centre and community, so a stuck link or a question about a pending conversion has somewhere to go.

   Cons

   • Recurring commission is no, so the year one share is the ceiling and there is no tail of payments afterwards.
   • Support runs on chat, help centre and community, with no direct line for publishers chasing a specific tracked sale.
   • The signup bounty tops out at $50, which sits below what recurring-first programmes like Jasper pay across a year.
   • A 180 day window is generous but capped, so a very late conversion can still fall outside the tracked period.

What to look for

Window length

A referral stays credited for a set stretch, and the median window in this ranking is 30 days. The upper quartile reaches 75 days and the longest window here runs to 180 days, which matters for a trial someone takes over weeks rather than minutes.

Whether commission repeats

Recurring commission is the biggest separator in this category: 70.8% of the programmes here pay a repeat share, against 29.2% that pay only on the first transaction. A revenue share on subscriptions outlasts a one-off bounty when the audience churns slowly.

Model and reward size

Per-acquisition payments and revenue shares dominate, covering 35.5% and 32.3% of the programmes here, with recurring models in 38.7%. Read the headline rate together with the model behind it before judging a deal.

Where it runs

Global availability is the norm, with 70.6% of programmes here open worldwide and 23.5% confined to a single market. Regional programmes need a different audience plan to earn the same return.

Support when a payout stalls

A help centre is the most common support route, present in 65.4% of programmes here, and live chat in 38.5%. Where support is email only, a question about a held payment takes longer to resolve.

What the software actually is

Hosting and security tooling make up most of the list at 51.9% and 37%, with some retail and gaming offers mixed in. The vertical sets how heavy the demo or signup is, and that shapes how long a cookie needs to be.

Frequently asked questions

Top software and SaaS programs compared by country

• Germany

Affiliate programs compared head to head

• Oxylabs vs BanaHosting
• Oxylabs vs Hotmart
• Oxylabs vs Internxt Affiliate Program
• Hotmart vs Internxt Affiliate Program

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV