The Best SaaS Affiliate Programs To Join (The Complete List)

ByMarion Denorme @Linkub Reading Time: 8 minutes

How to find SaaS affiliate programs?

We could advise you to go to SaaS directories (G2, Crunchbase, etc ) and manually detect if the SaaS company offers an interesting affiliate program… 😱

But we do have a better plan to save you time.

👉 We have already identified more than 300 affiliate programs proposed by SaaS companies and are proud to offer you the list of the best ones.

It’s up to you now to pick the ones that match your audience.

⚡300 SaaS affiliate programs

Methodology

SaaS sourcing

  • We have detected thousands of SaaS companies by crawling millions of web pages.
  • We have ranked them by domain authority to offer a high-quality shortlist of 300 SaaS companies.
  • We have extracted the URLs of their affiliate programs.

Our criteria

No need for a quality rater handbook since we’ve focused on the following:

  • SaaS relevance
  • Domain authority score
  • Successful SaaS affiliate programs

SaaS we have covered

This list of affiliate programs is based on a very diverse set of analyzed subcategories in the SaaS industry, including:

tech-startup-customer-service-software
Customer service software
tech-startup-design-software-tools
Design software tools
tech-startup-development-software
Development software
tech-startup-erp-software
ERP software & apps
tech-startup-hr-software-tools
HR software tools
tech-startup-iot-software
IoT software
tech-startup-marketing-software-tools
Marketing software tools
tech-startup-sales-software
Sales applications
tech-startup-supply-chain-and-logistics-software
Supply chain and logistics apps

Examples of SaaS affiliate programs

SEMrush

Commission: $200 for every new subscription sale, $10 for every new trial, and $0.01 for the new sign-up
Cookie Lifespan: 120 days
Niche: SEO, PPC, PR, marketing, content marketing
Affiliate software or network: Impact

SEMrush’s SaaS affiliate program provides you with three different payment options.
Affiliate partners get $0.01 for each new sign-up. If your referral signs up for a trial, you’ll receive $10; if they become a paying customer, you’ll earn $200. Their SaaS affiliate program is distinguished by its last-click attribution mechanism, which ensures you are compensated for your referrals.

Get paid every step of the way in SEMrush affiliate program

Unbounce

Commission: 20% lifetime cut of every transaction
Cookie Lifespan: 90 days
Niche: Conversion Rate Optimization, Landing page builder
Affiliate software or network: PartnerStack

Unbounce offers 20% affiliate commissions for each new customer you send their way. If the visitor you referred becomes a paying customer of Unbounce, you will receive 20% of all of their future purchases for as long as they are a customer. Unbounce provides various tools, like tutorials, partner templates, and marketing materials, to help your success. You even have a specialized partner coach.

Earn 20% recurring revenue for every referral

Udemy

Commission: 10% of valid affiliate sales
Cookie Lifespan: 7 days
Niche: E-learning, Education
Affiliate software or network: Linkshare

By partnering with Udemy, affiliates have access to a lot of opportunities to find low-competition links due to the abundance of niche and specialty courses. Affiliates who promote Udemy’s courses through the SaaS Affiliate Program receive a 10% basic commission on all course sales made within a 7-day cookie period. A higher commission is possible if you consistently generate sales above $5,000.

Become an affiliate partner and promote a product that creates new possibilities for people everywhere.

OptinMonster

Commission: 20% commission for every new subscription
Niche: Conversion Rate Optimization, Lead generation
Affiliate software or network: ShareASale

OptinMonster is one of the top lead generation software, used by over 1.2 million websites to grow their lists, leads, and sales including some of the largest brands in the world. Anytime someone purchases a subscription using the unique referral link they’ll give you, you’ll receive a 20% commission!

Become an affiliate and make money referring others to OptinMonster

Canva

Commission: $36 for each new Canva Pro subscriber
Cookie Lifespan: 30 days
Niche: Graphic design
Affiliate software or network: Impact

As one of the most widely used online tools, Canva provides graphic designers and marketers with an extensive library of premade layouts and templates. Join the Canva affiliate network and receive $36 for every new Canva Pro subscriber you bring on board using your referral link.

Join Canva affiliates program and start earning now

Grammarly

Commission: $0.20 per free (no payment info required!) account sign-up and $20 per Premium upgrade
Cookie Lifespan: 90 days
Niche: Communication, copywriting

Grammarly’s affiliate program works very simply: you place either a tracking text link or a banner on your website, and they pay you each time a referred user signs up for and installs Grammarly. As Grammarly is a free product, affiliates have the opportunity to earn big without a pushy sales pitch.

Become an affiliate and earn a commission for sending customers

Further reading

How to get started with SaaS affiliate marketing

Step #1 – Decide on a niche

Find a topic in which you are expert and enthusiastic, as well as one in which there is consumer interest and demand. Narrow your niche to an area of interest that is underrepresented online.

A good affiliate niche has:

  • Your interest and motivation
  • Affiliates that pay well
  • Low level of competition
  • Enough interest to make it lucrative

Step #2 – Find affiliate networks to join

After you’ve selected your niche, you’ll need to find one or more affiliate networks.

Several networks serve as a bridge between affiliates and companies.

Popular affiliate networks include:

  • Impact
  • Shareasale
  • Partnerstack
  • Linkshare
  • CJ Affiliate
  • Affiliate Future

However, you are not necessarily required to work with a merchant via an affiliate network. You can make substantially more money when you go directly to a brand rather than through an affiliate network.

Step #3 – Choose SaaS products to promote

Success in affiliate marketing requires careful consideration when choosing a product to promote, selecting a SaaS provider to partner with, cultivating relationships, and updating content.

The products you promote should be in line with your content strategy.

There are several crucial factors to consider while deciding which affiliate program to join.

  • Commission structure
  • Cookie lifetime
  • Customer satisfaction

The devil is in the details; they can make or break your earnings.

Step #4 – Create remarkable content

To achieve the most significant success with affiliate marketing, you must generate authentic and outstanding content that endorses your chosen products.

💡 Create a blog article featuring a compilation of your favorite products.
💡 Make comparison charts to explore the advantages of similar products.
💡 Interview other product users and supporters to get a variety of perspectives.

Things to know about SaaS affiliate marketing

What is SaaS affiliate marketing?

SaaS affiliate marketing is the practice of promoting a SaaS product in exchange for a commission on sales. Commissions are usually a percentage of the sale price, but they can sometimes be a flat fee.

Why do affiliate marketing?

Here are two benefits of affiliate marketing that you should consider:

👉 It is low-cost and -risky

You only need a website to get started with affiliate marketing. Even if it doesn’t work out, the worst that may happen is that you lose some time and money.

👉 It is simple to scale

Usually, a salesperson will only deal with one brand. You can promote products from various companies as an affiliate marketer while earning commissions.

Why is SaaS affiliate marketing so popular?

SaaS describes a business model in which users pay a recurring fee to access a software application.

Because the SaaS affiliate program is based on a recurring model, rather than a one-time payment, the affiliate earns a recurring commission each time the referred customer continues to pay for the subscription.

Recurring affiliate programs allow you to make bigger total profits.

How does affiliate marketing work?

The company assigns a unique link to each affiliate so that they can track who was involved in a sale. 

A cookie is stored on their device when potential customers click on that link.

An affiliate cookie lets the seller know who made the sale. It usually has an expiration date, so you get paid even if the buyer doesn’t buy right away.

Who are the affiliates?

Anyone, whether an individual or a business, can act as an affiliate. Affiliates are also often called “publishers.” These are typically other bloggers or content creators active in the same sector.

They contribute to the marketing of the product or service by making media such as blog posts, videos, or other types of content.

How affiliates promote SaaS products

It is up to the affiliate to determine the best strategy to market the SaaS company by utilizing its network.

After signing up for an affiliate program, affiliates can employ various marketing strategies to attract visitors to the affiliate’s website or platform to generate leads or sales.

Popular marketing channels with affiliates include:

  • Content Marketing
  • Social Media (especially popular with influencers)
  • SEO
  • PPC (be careful to read the terms of affiliate agreements)

How are affiliates paid?

SaaS affiliates can be compensated in many ways. The compensation model is frequently determined by the product sold and its worth.

Typical forms of affiliate compensation are as follows:

Percentage of pay-per-sale: commissions are often calculated as a fixed percentage of the sale price or order total.

Fixed pay-per-sale: In the case of a pay-per-sale fixed-fee model, the affiliate receives the same compensation rate for each sale made, regardless of the total purchase price.

Pay-per-click: Affiliates participating in Pay Per Click programs receive a flat rate payment from merchants each time their referral traffic visits the merchant’s site.

How do affiliate marketers make money?

Affiliate marketing income ranges widely. Some marketers make a few hundred dollars each month, while others make six figures per year.

There are marketers like blogger Ryan Robinson, who makes over $30,000 per month through affiliate income alone.

An affiliate income report detailing affiliate earnings

Final thoughts

SaaS affiliate programs are increasingly popular.

Indeed, SaaS subscription and recurring revenue models make them considerable financial opportunities.

The dream of every affiliate marketer is to enter the fantastic passive income phase. SaaS affiliate programs offer a place where you can earn money consistently for work you’ve previously done.

I'm Marion, a digital marketing pro with a background in life sciences and tech innovation. I co-founded Linkub.io to help startups and tech companies boost their brand with actionable data. On our blog, I share tips and data to scale partnerships campaigns. I'm a science geek turned tech geek, always on the hunt for the latest and greatest data to help businesses soar. Get ready for a data-driven, fun ride!

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