Affiliate partnerships work best when expectations are clear on both sides. You want affiliates to feel confident that their work is recognised, and you also want to know that rewards are tied to real, timely results. Finding that balance can be tricky, which is why we've introduced a more flexible way to manage how long commissions stay active.
What Is an Attribution Window?
An attribution window is simply the period of time during which a sale gets credited back to the affiliate who introduced the customer. If someone taps an affiliate's link today and buys within the window, that affiliate gets the commission. If they buy long after the window has closed, the sale is no longer tied to that link.
Think of it as the "credit clock" for a partnership. When a customer arrives through an affiliate, the clock starts. For as long as it's running, any qualifying purchase counts toward that affiliate's commission. Once it runs out, the connection ends and a later sale is treated as your own.
There are really two clocks worth thinking about:
- The click window — how long after the first tap an affiliate stays eligible for the initial purchase.
- The renewal window — for subscription apps, how long that same affiliate keeps earning on renewals of the purchase they introduced.
Getting both clocks right is what makes a program feel fair: affiliates are paid for the customers they genuinely bring in, and you're not paying for sales that would have happened anyway.
Why Attribution Windows Matter for Fair Commission Payouts
Without a defined window, you're left with two unfair extremes. If links never expire, an affiliate could keep earning on a customer months or years later, long after their introduction stopped being the reason that person buys. If the window is too short, an affiliate who genuinely sparked a purchase misses out because the customer took a few days to decide.
A sensible window sits between those extremes. It makes sure the affiliate who actually drove the sale is the one who gets paid for it — no more, no less. That single idea is the foundation of a fair program:
- Affiliates trust the program. They can see the rules, understand exactly when they earn, and know their work will be credited.
- Your payouts match real influence. You reward the introductions that led to a purchase, not coincidental sales weeks down the line.
- Costs stay predictable. You decide how long commitments last instead of leaving them open-ended.
When both sides agree on how long credit lasts and why, the relationship gets simpler. Affiliates promote with confidence, and you pay commissions you're happy to stand behind.
The Attribution Timeout Window
With the new Attribution Timeout Window, you can now decide exactly how long an affiliate remains eligible for commission after a user interacts with their link. That's known as the Click Attribution Window. From there, you can also define how long they continue to earn from renewals of that same purchase, the Renewal Attribution Window.
These two settings work together to give you a clear structure around timing and reward. Maybe you'd like a short window for campaign-based links or a longer one for affiliates who bring consistent, high-quality users. It's completely up to you. Both options are available in your dashboard and supported across all SDKs.
What matters most here isn't the feature itself, but the freedom it gives you to shape fairer partnerships. You can acknowledge great performance without leaving old links open indefinitely, and you can control commission costs without cutting relationships short.
This is about transparency, knowing exactly how long rewards last and why, so everyone involved has the same understanding from the start.
How to Choose a Sensible Window Length
There's no single correct number — the right window depends on how long it usually takes your customers to decide, and on what kind of partnership you're rewarding. Use these as a starting point to test, then adjust once you see how your affiliates actually convert:
| Window | A starting point to test | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Click window — impulse / low-price apps | Around 1–7 days | Customers who buy after an affiliate's link tend to do it quickly, so a short window still credits the real driver. |
| Click window — considered / higher-price apps | Around 14–30 days | If people research before subscribing, a longer window makes sure the affiliate who introduced them isn't cut off early. |
| Renewal window — subscription apps | A few billing cycles, or the full lifetime for your best partners | Rewards affiliates for bringing customers who stay, not just sign up once. |
A good rule of thumb: start a little shorter than feels generous, watch how many sales land just outside the window, and lengthen it if you see affiliates narrowly missing out on conversions they clearly earned. Short windows for one-off campaign links, longer windows for trusted long-term partners, is a pattern that works well for many app teams.
Two Worked Examples
A short-term campaign link. You give a creator a link for a one-week launch push. You set a 7-day click window. Anyone who taps their link and subscribes within that week is credited to them; sales that trickle in a month later aren't. The creator is fairly paid for the burst of attention they drove, and the link doesn't keep billing you long after the campaign ends.
A long-term subscription partner. A niche educator sends you steady, high-quality users all year. You give them a 30-day click window and a renewal window covering several billing cycles. If one of their referrals subscribes three weeks after first tapping the link and then renews for months, the educator keeps earning on those renewals. That reflects the real, lasting value they bring — and keeps a strong partnership worth their while.
Creating balance in your affiliate marketing program
Affiliate marketing is, at its core, about relationships. The clearer those relationships are, the smoother everything runs. With attribution windows in place, you can create agreements that make sense for both sides, flexible, fair, and easy to manage.
For teams running affiliate marketing programs or expanding their reach through affiliate marketing in the UK, this update helps bring structure to long-term partnerships. It also makes one of the most common affiliate marketing tips, setting clear commission boundaries, simple to apply in practice.
Every partnership is different, and this update gives you the space to reflect that. Whether you're rewarding quick conversions or valuing sustained growth, attribution windows help you stay in control while keeping collaboration at the heart of your program.
👉 You can set both windows directly in your dashboard, on any plan and across every SDK. Explore our docs to see how, or get in touch to talk through the right windows for your app.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an attribution window in affiliate marketing? It's the length of time after someone taps an affiliate's link during which a resulting purchase is credited to that affiliate. Buy inside the window and the affiliate earns the commission; buy after it closes and the sale is no longer tied to their link.
What's the difference between a click window and a renewal window? The click window covers the first purchase — how long after the tap an affiliate stays eligible. The renewal window applies to subscription apps and sets how long that affiliate keeps earning on renewals of the purchase they introduced.
How long should an attribution window be? There's no universal number. A short window of a few days suits impulse purchases and one-off campaigns; a longer window of two to four weeks suits apps people research before subscribing. Treat any figure as a starting point to test, then adjust based on how your affiliates actually convert.
Do attribution windows make my program fairer? Yes — that's the whole point. A sensible window makes sure the affiliate who genuinely drove a sale is the one who gets paid for it, while stopping old links from earning on purchases they didn't really influence.
Can I set different windows for different affiliates? You can tune windows to suit the partnership — shorter for one-off campaign links, longer for trusted partners who bring consistent, high-quality users. Both windows are set in your dashboard and supported across all SDKs.