It is important to know the best affiliate networks in 2023 as this can make or break your success with affiliate marketing. This knowledge is essential for both affiliates (publishers) and merchants (advertisers), and getting the latest information is much better than a list created ten years ago.
We know that things are always changing online, and the best affiliate networks change too. Just look down this list and you can quickly see how many have changed their names, merged, or rebranded.
For affiliates, it is good to know where to find the best affiliate programs and diversification is usually better than having all of your eggs in one basket. The best affiliate marketing networks will be those with qualities such as a good reputation, proven payment record, breadth and depth of offers, and good commissions.
Also, as you become more involved in affiliate marketing, you will discover that while some affiliate programs are exclusive to a particular affiliate network, other affiliate products and programs are available through multiple affiliate networks. Sometimes one network will pay you a higher commission on the same affiliate product or offer.
For merchants, it is critical to choose one of the solid affiliate networks for your affiliate program – one that has the qualities above, plus a strong base of affiliates and implements anti-fraud measures.
Finally, there are a few terms you should know, which will be mentioned throughout this list.
CPS refers to a type of offer known as Cost-Per-Sale. With this type of offer, a merchant pays an affiliate a commission for every sale.
CPA refers to Cost-Per-Action or Cost-Per-Acquisition.
CPL refers to Cost-Per-Lead. With this type of offer, the merchant pays an affiliate for each lead generated.
OK, let’s get to our list of the best affiliate marketing networks for this year.
The Best Affiliate Networks in 2023
Discuss on what basis these were chosen. We did not include Amazon Associates or eBay Partner Network, which are both impressive Affiliate programs but not true networks as defined for this post.
State not included CPA only. (probably leave out MaxBounty then) We have a separate list of the best CPA networks.
Discuss that they are shown here in alphabetical order
The terms Affiliates and Publishers may be used interchangeably
The terms Advertisers, Merchants (Partners?) may be used interchangeably
Affiliaxe
Affiliaxe was founded 2010 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was started by two experienced affiliates, Rafael Zelik and Erez Shalev. Many people believe that the success of this network is a reflection of the founders’ understanding of the needs of affiliates and merchants.
Today it has a global reach, with 27,960 active publishers in 175 countries. There are over 700 offers from merchants or advertisers. The company employs an estimated 30+ staff. See more on LinkedIn
The majority of the offers at Affiliaxe are CPA (Cost per Acquisition – e.g. a visitor filling out a form or completing a survey), but they also have some that are CPL (Cost Per Lead – a visitor entering their personal details) and Revshare (paying a commission when a visitor makes a purchase).
Affiliaxe sort their offers into 25 verticals with the most popular verticals being Ecommerce / Retail, Travel & Tourism, Mobile Apps, Software, Fashion, and Finance. The advertisers include top brands including Alibaba, Booking.com, Symantec, WiX, Agoda, Avon, McAfee, and many more.
In the Affiliaxe dashboard, you can check an offer’s average EPC, conversion rate, and network earning level.
Getting Paid
- They pay affiliates twice a month, with a minimum payout of $100 or 100€.
- Payment options include PayPal, Check, Debit Card, Wire Transfer, ACH (US only), Payoneer.
Pros & Cons of Affiliaxe Affiliate Network
Pros:
- Affiliates have a dedicated and proactive affiliate manager, who assists with advice on offers and optimizing traffic, and even establishing unique bonus plans.
- They also offer some advanced monetization tools including XML-Product Feeds and Cross Device Retargeting.
Cons:
- May be difficult for inexperienced affiliates to be accepted.
- This is not really a con but you should be aware this network does not allow incentivised traffic, i.e. offering an incentive or reward for a visitor to complete an offer such as content locking, virtual currency, extra points in games, etc. Their reason is that they find incentivised traffic to be of lesser quality than other traffic.
Avangate
Launched in 2006, Avangate has a corporate office in Columbus, Ohio, USA. They have additional headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) as well as Amersterdam (Netherlands) and Bucharest (Romania).
Avangate Affiliate Network has been awarded the mThink Blue Book badge for #1 Software and Digital Goods Affiliate Network six years in a row, and ranked #5 overall CPS network for six years in a row.
The company initially established and grew as a digital commerce leader on the international market for digital goods, enabling software companies to accelerate online sales through various channels, models and markets.
In October 2013, the company was acquired by Francisco Partners, a leading global private equity firm.
In April 2017, Avangate acquired 2Checkout, an international payment processor (merchant account alternative), and the joint company was reintroduced under one name as 2Checkout. However, they decided to keep the name of the Avangate Affiliate Network due to its reputation and excellence awards won over the years.
2Checkout has 300+ employees worldwide. See more on LinkedIn.
Today they have over 50,000 software and digital goods publishers on the network, and more than 1,200 affiliate programs. Leading advertisers include Bitdefender, Kaspersky, iObit, MalwareBytes, Mondly, SEOPowersuite, and many more.
You should know that this affiliate network is heavily focussed on software, digital products and software as a service (SaaS). The affiliates who do best are those with an audience interested in purchasing software or downloads. You might do well if your audience is interested in B2B, finance, video games, educational software, audio/video and multimedia design.
Getting Paid
- They pay monthly after a minimum $100 has been reached.
- Payment options include PayPal, check, wire transfer or Avangate MasterCard
Pros & Cons of Avantgate Affiliate Network
Pros:
- Affiliates can use a geo-targeted shopping cart which will helps to increase conversion rates when tapping new markets.
- Affiliates can generate data-feeds which are updated daily and reduce your workload.
- Affiliates can create their own coupons (the discount comes out of the affiliate’s commission)
Cons:
- Only digital products are available as offers
AWin (formerly Affiliate Window)
AWin is an affiliate network headquartered in Berlin, Germany. It was founded originally in 2000 as Affiliate Window.
In 2010 the company was acquired by Zanox. The companies operated independently until 2014, when they merged under one management team with Mark Walters as CEO, but continued to operate as Zanox and Affiliate Window in different geographic markets until they fully rebranded as Awin in 2016.
In 2017, Awin announced that they had acquired Shareasale (see further below in this list) which continues to operate as a separate affiliate network.
In August 2017, Awin announced their merger with Affilnet, further strengthening their position as one of the leading European affiliate networks.
Awin has around 1,000 employees in 15 offices worldwide. Awin generated £9.5 billion in revenue for its advertisers and £706 million for its publishers in the last financial year.
There are 14,600 advertisers and 205,000 publishers.
AWin was #2 in mThink Blue Book’s 2020 list of Top CPS Affiliate Networks
At the 2019 International Performance Marketing Awards, AWin was a High Commendation runner up (top 3) for Best Affiliate Network.
AWIN’s network offers both digital and physical products, with some leading merchants including Etsy, The Motley Fool, Emirates, HP and AliExpress. The main verticals include finance and insurance, retail and shopping, telecommunications, and travel.
Getting Paid
- They make payments twice monthly with a minimum payout of $20.
- Payment via (PayPal?) BACS, international wire transfer or ACH. They can pay non-UK bank accounts by international wire transfer, ACH transfer, SEPA transfer and Domestic payments in NOK, SEK, DKK, PLN, CHF & AUD.
Pros & Cons of AWin Affiliate Network
Pros:
- Good quality merchants and products
- Easy to use interface
- The platform is available in 10 languages
Cons:
- There is a $5 application fee for affiliates, which is refunded if you are approved.
- Payment times vary per advertiser and per sector. Average payment times are shown within the Awin interface. Fortunately, there is also a traffic light system of red, amber and green, helping you to assess an advertiser’s status with payments. You should probably stick with green and amber advertisers and avoid the advertisers with red icons.
CJ Affiliate (formerly Commission Junction)
CJ Affiliate was founded as Commission Junction in 1998. They have 14 offices worldwide, with a corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara, California. See more on LinkedIn.
In 2003, Commission Junction was acquired by Value-click.
In February 2014, Value-click changed its name to Conversant, and Commission Junction was rebranded as CJ Affiliate by Conversant. In September of that year it was announced that Conversant was purchased by Alliance Data, who also owns the LoyaltyOne program.
In 2019 it was announced that France’s Publicis Groupe would acquire Alliance Data Systems’ Epsilon and the network continues to be known as CJ Affiliate.
At the 2019 International Performance Marketing Awards, CJ Affiliate was a High Commendation runner up (top 3) for Best Affiliate Network.
As part of Alliance Data Systems they also made Fortune’s list of Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2019 https://fortune.com/best-companies/2019/
According to their website, CJ Affiliate pays out $1.8B annually in commissions to publishers.
They have close to 3,000 advertisers, with some of the big ones being Barnes & Noble, Verizon, GoPro, Office Depot Priceline, Travelocity and Intercontinental Hotel Group. On the affiliate side, their website says that Time, CNN and Buzzfeed are among the major publishers using their network.
Getting Paid
- Pays within 20 days of the end of the month, with a minimum threshold of US$50 (Direct Deposit) or US$100 (Check).
- Payment options include check, or direct deposit. PayPal is not offered. [Note: It is possible to arrange payments via Payoneer, since Payoneer provides you with a USA bank routing number & EU bank routing number.]
Pros & Cons of CJ Affiliate Network
Pros:
- Real-time analytics and reporting
- They offer a special Content Certification program https://www.cj.com/content-publishers which enables qualifying affiliates to connect automatically with pre approval to 600+ top brands. To qualify you will need to have a website focussing on one of these areas: Style, Home, Tech, Business, Lifestyle. Plus you’ll need to have 10K+ pageviews a month and/or a substantial following on specified social networks, along with a few other requirements.
Cons:
- Perhaps due to in-depth data and reporting available, it’s easy for new users to get overwhelmed in the dashboard.
- This network is designed for affiliates with good traffic quantity (and quality). If you deliver very little traffic, your account may be deactivated.
- They do not offer payment by PayPal.
FlexOffers
FlexOffers, founded in 2008, is headquartered in Miami, Florida. They have 35+ employees. See more on LinkedIn.
FlexOffers was recognised in 2020 as one of the Top 10 Affiliate (CPS) Networks in the mThink Blue Book survey for the sixth year in a row!
They have 12,000 advertisers including 500 premium advertisers – these are advertisers who offer premium payouts on this network that are higher than going direct with them.
Some of the leading advertisers include Hulu, Udemy, Freshly, Overstock, Lowe’s, Kohls, Macys, McAfee, Norton by Symantec. See more here in almost every niche.
Getting Paid
- Pays publishers on a NET 60 basis, and top performers via NET 7. They Net 60 terms means that commissions earned during the month of March (1st – 31st) are processed 60 days later on May 30. Payments will be issued on the 1st-7th of the following month (June 1-7, in this example). Minimum payment threshold is
- Payment options include check, direct deposit, and PayPal for those outside USA (minimum $100 threshold minus a $20 processing fee). Wire transfer is only available if your balance is $5,000 or more.
Pros & Cons of FlexOffers Affiliate Network
Pros:
- FlexOffers spot in the mThink Blue Book Top 10 (CPS) Affiliate Networks was due to their great reputation for straight-shooting, good support for publishers and quality traffic for advertisers.
- Good dashboard interface.
Cons:
- There is a $20 processing fee for payments by Paypal, and wire transfers are only available if your balance is $5,000 or more.
Originally founded as LinkShare in 1996, this company is headquartered in New York City with other offices in USA, UK, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, and Singapore. See more on LinkedIn.
In 2005, LinkShare was acquired by Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce company. Rakuten LinkShare was re-branded to Rakuten Affiliate Network in 2014, then rebranded to Rakuten Advertising in February 2020.
At the 2019 International Performance Marketing Awards, Rakuten Marketing was the winner of Best Affiliate Network. They were also the winners at mThink Blue Book for Best CPS Affiliate Network for the 9th year in a row.
They have around 150,000 publishers and 1,800 advertisers, covering an extensive range of digital and physical goods. Some of their major advertisers include Walmart, Microsoft, Nvidia, Lego, Udemy, Macys, Billabong, 1-800-PetMeds, and SmartHome.
Getting Paid
- Payments are issued weekly with a minimum threshold of $50. Please be aware that payments are only issued after commission funds are received from the advertiser and deposited in the bank.
- Payment options include Check, PayPal or Direct Deposit (ACH),
Pros & Cons of XYZ Affiliate Network
Pros:
- Stellar reputation, winning performance marketing awards for multiple years in a row.
- Good Interface
- Affiliates can “deep-link” to any page on an advertiser’s website, not just their home page. However, not all advertisers allow this practice.
- There is also an option for affiliates to earn by accepting “Paid placement” from advertisers, in other words advertisers buying ad space on the affiliates website.
Cons:
- The dashboard interface may not be the prettiest , but it’s simple, straightforward, and serves its purpose.
ShareASale was founded in 2000 by Brian Littleton and is headquartered in Chicago, USA. According to the LinkedIn profile there are between 11-50 employees. See more on LinkedIn.
In 2017, ShareASale was acquired by competitor Awin (see above), which is part of Axel Springer Group. The two affiliate networks continue to operate separately and were recognized with #2 spot for mThink Blue Book’s Awards for Top CPS Affiliate Network in 2020.
There are currently 3900 advertisers organised across 40 categories. Some of the leading advertisers include Qatar Airways, Etsy, Viator, Reebok, Weebly, Freshbooks, and NameCheap.
Getting Paid
- ShareASale pays monthly, with a minimum payment threshold of $50.
- Payment options include check, direct deposit, and wire transfer.
Pros & Cons of XYZ Affiliate Network
Pros:
- 20 years of reputation and experience.
- It is easy to browse and sort affiliate programs by various metrics such as 7 or 30-day EPC, sale commission, lead commission, power rank, cookie length and more.
- Click on the Modify Search feature and you’ll discover one of the most powerful tools to search and filter affiliate programs offered by any network. You can filter by Auto Approval, Two-tier programs, Average Sale, EPC, Reversal Rates, and more.
Cons:
- PayPal is not offered as a payment option.
What to Look for in the Best Affiliate Networks?
When you are considering working with a new affiliate network, here are some of the key factors you should consider:
- Are the Products High Quality?
- Do the Offers Match Your Audience’s Interests and Needs?
- How are the Commission Rates?
- What is the Size of the Affilaite Network (how many products, advertisers, affiliates)?
- How is Their Reputation?
- How Many Years of Experience Do They Have?
- How is Their Customer Service?
- What Extra ‘Bells & Whistles’ are There (e.g. datafeeds, upsells, cross-sells, coupon creation, custom or deep linking)?
What Do You Think?
Is one of your favorite affiliate networks missing? Let us know in the comments below.
We have not included ClickBank and JVZoo in this list, but their history and popularity in certain circles make them worthy of mention. We didn’t rank them in this list of the very best affiliate networks, but we’ll be posting individual reviews with more details soon.
Additional Resources
You may also be interested in the following resources: