Best Affiliate Networks

Affiliate networks connect businesses (the affiliates) with other companies (the merchants). They also provide tracking tools that allow you to see where your visitors come from and what they buy.

What is affiliate marketing? How does it work? And why should I care?

Affiliate marketing is a way to earn commission by promoting other companies’ products or services. The company who sells the product pays the affiliate a percentage of the sale price. This is usually done through a third party site called an affiliate network.

Affiliate networks allow affiliates to promote their products and services without having to build their own websites or apps. They also give them access to tools and resources to increase sales and conversions.

Which affiliate network is the best?

The answer isn’t simple since they all offer similar things. Some networks offer high commissions but low payouts, while some don’t offer good referral programs or customer service. When choosing a network, you need to evaluate which features matter the most to you.

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links that, if you complete a purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Please review our Disclaimer page for more information.

Impact

Impact is a comprehensive partnership relationship management (PRM) platform that connects top brands with publishers.

Affiliates can join the network and apply for programs with thousands of top brands such as Uber, Airbnb, Adidas, Allstate, and others.

ShareASale

Shareasale is a massive affiliate network that has over 3,900 merchants and over one million affiliates. They’ve been in business for 19 years and are a market leader. Fashion, home and garden, food and drink, and B2B are some of their top verticals to promote. There are, however, many more.

Furthermore, they offer excellent features such as affiliate marketing classes, training webinars, merchant recommendations, and marketing tools to assist you in increasing your revenue.

Their platform is also technologically sound. The Shareasale platform, in particular, provides easy access to affiliate links and reporting tools, and they take pride in transparency,

If you’re just getting started and want to dip your toes into affiliate marketing, I recommend signing up as an affiliate with Shareasale first.

You can also sign up as a merchant if you’re looking for affiliates to promote your products.

Partnerize

CJ Affiliate

Conversant’s CJ by Conversant (formerly Commission Junction) is a 20-year-old affiliate network. They process an astounding $15 billion in annual sales through their platform, with $1.8 billion paid out to their affiliates each year.

If you want to work with some of the world’s biggest brands, becoming a CJ affiliate is an excellent option. Overstock, Priceline, GoPro, Lowes, and Office Depot are just a few of the merchants you can collaborate with on CJ.

CJ, on the other hand, is a great platform to join because of its free and simple setup, excellent real-time reporting, and consistent monthly payments.

Join CJ by Conversant if you are an experienced affiliate looking to work with some of the world’s most recognizable brands (formerly Commission Junction).

Lemonads

Lemonads is a performance marketing network where affiliates can promote over 10,000 businesses.

When affiliates sign up and join their platform, they gain access to a variety of tools, including:

Exclusive CPA offers from well-known brands.
Intelligent affiliate link tools with reports that allow you to optimize your campaigns in real time.
Payments are made quickly via wire transfer, PayPal, Paxum, and ePayments.
Customer service is available via a variety of channels.

Within the first three months of using Lemonads, 85% of publishers see an increase in revenue.

Rakuten

Rakuten, formerly LinkShare, is an affiliate network that has been in operation since 1996. Despite having been in business for longer than most, they are not as large as CJ by Conversant.

Nonetheless, they have over 1,000 merchants to choose from, including many well-known brands such as New Balance, Pac Sun, Ray-Ban, and Sephora.

What distinguishes them? To begin, Rakuten has a very user-friendly interface, advanced deep linking tools, and the ability to create rotating banners when promoting your merchants. The setup is simple. They also provide excellent transaction reporting and tutorial videos to assist you in getting started and maximizing revenue.

However, there are a few disadvantages. For starters, there are fewer merchants.

This disadvantage may limit your ability to sell from a variety of brands, and you may need to supplement your affiliate income by joining another network. Second, they have erratic payment schedules, so you may not receive commissions at the same time each month. These aren’t deal breakers, but they are worth mentioning.