Ecommerce affiliate commission rates: what online stores pay
Updated · 5 min read
Online stores commonly pay affiliates 5–20% of each order, with low-margin categories like electronics at the bottom and high-margin goods like beauty, supplements and digital products at the top. Your own rate should come from gross margin and average order value, and the formula below turns those into a ceiling you can defend.
Typical commission rates by category
Ecommerce commissions are lower than software commissions because each order carries real product cost, shipping and payment fees. The spread between categories mostly tracks gross margin: the more of each sale you keep, the more you can share.
| Category | Typical margin | Common commission |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer electronics, appliances | Low | 2–6% of the order |
| Groceries, household basics | Low | 3–8% of the order |
| Home goods, furniture | Medium | 5–12% of the order |
| Apparel, shoes, accessories | Medium to high | 8–15% of the order |
| Beauty, skincare, supplements | High | 10–25% of the order |
| Digital products, courses, templates | Very high | 20–50% of the order |
These are ranges you will commonly see on public programs, not rules. A 10% commission on a $150 average order pays a creator more per sale than 25% on a $30 order, and affiliates compare what they earn per sale and per hour of work, not the percentage alone.
A margin-based formula for your rate
The most you can pay per order is the gross profit that order brings in, minus what you need to keep. Work in contribution margin, which is what is left after product cost, shipping, packaging and payment fees, because those costs do not disappear when a partner makes the sale.
Contribution = average order value × contribution margin
A $80 average order at a 45% contribution margin leaves 80 × 0.45 = $36 per order.
Max commission % = (contribution − profit you keep − expected return cost) ÷ average order value
Keep at least $20 of that $36 and expect about $4 of return and restocking cost per order: (36 − 20 − 4) ÷ 80 = 15%.
If the result is under 5%, a percentage commission will struggle to attract partners, and a flat bounty on first orders or a higher rate on selected high-margin products usually works better. If it is over 25%, you have room to pay a strong rate and still add bonuses for your best partners. The affiliate commission calculator runs the same numbers for your own prices and margins.
Per-order or per-product commissions
A per-order commission pays one percentage of the whole basket. It is simple to explain, easy to audit and matches how most tracking tools record a sale: one order, one amount, one commission.
A per-product commission pays different rates depending on what is in the cart. It protects you when margins vary widely, for example a store that sells a high-margin house brand next to low-margin third-party goods.
| Approach | Works well when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| One rate per order | Margins are similar across the catalogue | Low-margin items dragging down profit on mixed baskets |
| Rates per product or category | Margins differ a lot between product lines | Partners confused about what they will earn |
| Flat amount per order | Order values are similar, or you want predictable cost | Big baskets paying the same as small ones |
| Exclude categories | A few items (gift cards, sale items) have no margin | Forgetting to state the exclusions in your terms |
If per-product rates feel complicated, a middle path is to set one rate for the whole store, then exclude gift cards, shipping and taxes from the commissionable amount. That removes most of the margin risk without a rate table partners have to study.
New customers vs returning customers
The order an affiliate sends may come from someone who already buys from you. Paying full commission on those orders rewards partners for customers you would likely have kept anyway, so many stores treat the two differently.
- Pay full commission on a customer’s first order and a lower rate, or nothing, on repeat orders from existing customers.
- Pay a higher rate on first orders to reward acquisition, and the standard rate on later orders the same partner drives within the attribution window.
- Keep one rate for everyone if your repeat-purchase rate is low; the extra rule is not worth the partner confusion.
Whatever you choose, write it into the partner terms and make sure your tracking can tell the two apart, usually by checking the buyer’s email against your customer list before the commission is approved. Our glossary defines terms such as attribution window and first-touch if you are drafting those terms.
Use average order value to shape the offer
Average order value (AOV) decides how a percentage feels to a partner. At a $25 AOV, 10% is $2.50 a sale, which a content creator will rarely find worth the effort; at $250 the same rate is $25.
- 1
Low AOV (under about $40)
Consider a flat bounty on first orders or a higher percentage with a minimum payout per order, so each sale is worth promoting.
- 2
Medium AOV
A percentage of the order usually works on its own; add a bonus once a partner passes a monthly sales threshold.
- 3
High AOV (several hundred dollars and up)
A lower percentage still pays well per sale. Longer attribution windows matter more here because buyers take longer to decide.
Bundles and free-shipping thresholds that raise AOV raise partner earnings too, so tell partners about them. It is often cheaper to lift what each order is worth than to lift the rate.
Hold commissions through the returns window
Ecommerce has a cost software mostly avoids: physical returns. Apparel in particular commonly sees a meaningful share of orders come back. If you pay commission the day an order is placed, you pay for sales you later refund.
The fix is a hold period at least as long as your returns window. A 30-day return policy usually means a 30 to 45 day hold, so late returns and payment disputes land before the commission becomes payable. A full refund during the hold cancels the commission; a partial refund reduces it in proportion.
Affiliatops holds store-order commissions for 30 days by default, adjustable per business, and reverses them in full or in part when a refund for that order is reported, deducting anything already paid from the partner’s next payout. You can step through an order and a refund in the online store demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good affiliate commission rate for an online store?
Most online stores pay between 5% and 20% of each order. Low-margin categories such as electronics sit at the bottom of that range and high-margin goods such as beauty and supplements at the top. Check your own rate against contribution margin per order before you publish it.
How do you calculate affiliate commission on an order?
Multiply the commissionable order amount by the rate. Most stores exclude shipping, taxes and gift cards from that amount, so a $100 order with $10 shipping at 10% pays $9, not $10.
Should affiliates earn commission on returning customers?
It depends on your goal. If you want partners to find new buyers, pay full commission on first orders only or a reduced rate on repeat orders. If repeat purchases are rare, one rate for all orders is simpler.
Do affiliates get paid if the customer returns the order?
Not if you hold commissions through the returns window. A return during the hold cancels or reduces the commission; a return after payout is usually deducted from the partner’s next payout, as stated in the program terms.
Is a flat fee or a percentage better for ecommerce affiliates?
A percentage scales with basket size and suits most stores. A flat fee per first order suits low-AOV stores where a percentage pays too little per sale, and stores that want a fixed, predictable cost per new customer.