What the Market Pays
Setting competitive commission rates requires knowing what other apps in your category offer. These benchmarks reflect the current market for mobile app affiliate programs across major categories.
Commission Rate Benchmarks by Category
SaaS and Productivity Apps
- Typical range: 20% to 30% recurring
- Top programmes: 30% to 40% recurring
- Commission type: Recurring (lifetime or time-limited)
- Notes: Competitive category with many established programmes. Higher rates needed to attract quality partners away from alternatives.
Fitness and Health Apps
- Typical range: 15% to 25% recurring
- Top programmes: 25% to 35% recurring
- Commission type: Recurring with annual plan bonuses
- Notes: Strong affiliate community (fitness creators). Seasonal commission boosts (January) are common.
Finance and Fintech Apps
- Typical range: 15% to 25% recurring OR $10 to $50 one-time CPA
- Top programmes: 25% to 30% recurring
- Commission type: Mix of recurring and bounty models
- Notes: Higher subscription prices mean lower percentage rates still yield attractive absolute payouts.
Education and Learning Apps
- Typical range: 15% to 25% recurring
- Top programmes: 25% to 30% recurring
- Commission type: Recurring with institutional referral bonuses
- Notes: Teacher and education blogger affiliates expect recurring income for their evergreen content.
Dating Apps
- Typical range: 20% to 30% recurring
- Top programmes: 30% to 40% recurring
- Commission type: Recurring on premium subscriptions
- Notes: High subscription prices ($15 to $40/month) make even moderate percentages attractive.
Gaming Apps
- Typical range: $1 to $5 CPI OR 10% to 20% of IAP revenue (time-limited)
- Top programmes: $5 to $10 CPI or 20% revenue share for 90 days
- Commission type: CPI or time-limited revenue share
- Notes: High volume, lower per-user revenue. CPI models are more common than recurring.
E-Commerce Apps
- Typical range: 5% to 15% of order value
- Top programmes: 10% to 20% of order value
- Commission type: Percentage of sale (usually one-time per order)
- Notes: Physical product margins are lower, hence lower commission percentages.
Streaming and Entertainment
- Typical range: 10% to 20% recurring
- Top programmes: 20% to 25% recurring
- Commission type: Recurring on subscriptions
- Notes: Content licensing costs limit margins, keeping rates modest.
Factors That Justify Higher Rates
You can set rates above category averages when:
- Your LTV is above average (more margin available)
- You are a new programme competing with established ones
- Your product quality is exceptional (affiliates want to promote it)
- You are in a less competitive niche within your category
- You offer exclusive features or content that makes promotion easier
Factors That Require Lower Rates
You may need rates below category averages when:
- Your margins are tight (high platform fees, content costs)
- Your pricing is very low (even 30% of $2.99 is only $0.90)
- Your churn is high (recurring commissions add up faster than revenue)
- You are targeting volume-based affiliates where lower rates are acceptable
Setting Your Rate
- Research 3 to 5 competitors' affiliate programmes (check their affiliate signup pages)
- Calculate your margin per subscriber (after platform fees and costs)
- Determine the maximum sustainable commission (typically 30% to 50% of margin)
- Set your rate at or slightly above category average
- Monitor recruitment success — if you cannot attract quality affiliates, raise the rate
Insert Affiliate lets you adjust commission rates at any time. Start competitive, monitor partner quality and recruitment success, and optimise based on real programme data.