How many affiliates and orders to cover affiliate program costs.
Inputs
If using a managed network
% of attributed orders that are truly net-new
Break-even
Orders / month to break even—
Margin / order (after commission)
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Incremental margin / order
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Annual incremental rev
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About this calculator
Affiliate programs look free — pay only on sales — but have meaningful fixed costs and even more meaningful hidden costs. The fixed: platform fee, network percentage, management time. The hidden: pull-forward (affiliate gets credit for sales that would have happened anyway). Together these can flip a "profitable" program into a money-loser.
This calculator does the honest math. Margin per affiliate-attributed order = AOV × Gross Margin − Commission − Network Fee. Incremental margin (the truly net-new dollars) = margin per order × incrementality rate. Break-even = Platform Fee ÷ Incremental margin per order.
Most affiliate programs report attribution as if every credited order was caused by the affiliate. The reality is much messier — coupon sites, branded search, and direct visitors get assigned to whichever affiliate cookie was last touched. Set incrementality realistically (40-60% for established brands, higher for new brands).
Pair with the Influencer ROI Calculator (different model — typically flat-fee or hybrid), the Referral Program ROI tool (customer-driven referrals), and the Multi-Channel Profit Comparison. Affiliate programs work best as one channel in a portfolio, not as a standalone strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What does an affiliate program actually cost to run?
Platform fees ($50-300/mo for ShareASale, Refersion, Impact). Commission (typically 10-25% of sale). Network fees (5-10% of total commissions paid, on managed networks). Plus team time for affiliate recruitment and management. Total: usually $500-2,000/mo at small-to-mid scale plus the variable commission.
Are affiliate sales incremental?
Often less than they appear. Many affiliate sales are pull-forward — customers who would have bought via direct or branded search get attributed to the affiliate. Studies suggest 30-60% of affiliate-attributed sales are non-incremental in well-known brands. Pre-iOS14 attribution methods overstated even more.
What's a typical affiliate commission?
10-15% on physical products, 20-30% on digital products, 30-50% on info products. Tiered (commission rises with volume) is more motivating to top affiliates. Avoid the 5-8% "low commission" zone — affiliates won't prioritize promoting at that rate.
Should I avoid coupon-site affiliates?
Mostly yes. RetailMeNot, Honey, Slickdeals etc. attribute sales they didn't cause — customer searches for "[your brand] coupon" finds these sites, applies the cookie, then completes a purchase they were going to make anyway. Many brands exclude coupon sites from affiliate networks for this reason.
When is an affiliate program worth it?
When you have 50+ active affiliates driving real traffic. Below that, the platform + management overhead exceeds incremental revenue. Most successful affiliate programs at scale have 200+ active affiliates and hundreds of monthly transactions.