Affiliate Earnings Calculator

How it is calculated

From the affiliate's side, earnings are clicks × conversion rate × average order value × commission rate, less any network deduction.

Earnings per click, EPC. Is the affiliate's key metric: total commission ÷ clicks sent. It makes offers comparable regardless of their commission structure.

EPC = conversion rate × AOV × commission rate, which shows why a high rate on a poorly converting offer can be worth less than a low rate on a strong one.

The same thing with real figures

An affiliate sending 4,000 clicks a month to an offer converting at 3.2% with a $58 order and a 10% commission: 128 orders, $618 of commission, an EPC of $0.15.

A second offer paying 20% but converting at 1.1% on a $42 order: 44 orders, $370, an EPC of $0.09.

The 10% offer earns 67% more per click despite paying half the rate, because conversion and order value dominate.

That is why experienced affiliates ask about EPC rather than commission rate, and why merchants competing purely on rate attract the least effective partners.

The catch

EPC varies by traffic source, so an affiliate's historical figure on their own audience predicts their performance better than a merchant's published average.

Cookie duration also affects it materially: a seven-day window captures far fewer delayed conversions than a thirty-day one, and the difference is invisible in the rate.

Applying it

Publish EPC rather than only the commission rate when recruiting affiliates, since it is the figure that lets them judge the offer honestly and it attracts partners who can do arithmetic.

Then work on conversion rate and order value, which raise affiliate earnings without costing the merchant anything per order.

Why improving conversion helps both sides

Raising conversion from 3.2% to 4% lifts the affiliate's EPC from $0.15 to $0.19 and the merchant's contribution per click at the same time, since more of the same traffic buys.

That alignment is unusual in a commercial relationship and it is the strongest argument for investing in the landing experience affiliates send traffic to.

Merchants who instead compete for affiliates by raising commission are paying more per order for the same traffic. Improving the offer costs once and improves the economics for everyone sending traffic to it, permanently.

Reversal rate belongs in any earnings estimate, since commission on returned orders is clawed back and a category with a 20% return rate reduces realised earnings by that proportion.

Affiliates evaluating a programme rarely ask about it, which means merchants in high-return categories should disclose it rather than let it surface as a surprise.

Seasonality affects affiliate earnings sharply in retail categories, and a partner evaluating a programme in a quiet month will see a figure well below what it produces at peak.

Publishing a twelve-month EPC range rather than a single number is more useful and more honest.

Providing partners with real conversion and order value data, rather than leaving them to guess, attracts the ones who plan rather than the ones who spray links.

Segmenting EPC by traffic source within an affiliate's own reporting identifies which of their placements is actually working, which benefits both parties.