VPN affiliate programs advertise rates from 30% to 100%, cookie windows from 30 to 365 days and thresholds from nothing to $500. Those numbers are not comparable on their own. What a program pays depends on which plan the reader buys, whether renewals count, how long the refund hold is and what the network takes. This guide puts the pieces together so you can read any program's terms and estimate what a thousand visitors are worth.
The five commission models
| Model | How it pays | Programs in our ranking | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat percentage, one-time | A fixed share of the first order, nothing on renewals | Surfshark 40%, IPVanish 50%, TunnelBear 50%, F-Secure 30%, Private Internet Access up to 33% | Simple forecasting; high-volume sites that keep acquiring new readers |
| Plan-tiered, one-time | Different rates by plan length, usually 100% monthly and 40–45% on long plans | CyberGhost (100% / 45%) | Deal and coupon traffic where the plan mix is known |
| Plan-tiered plus recurring | First-sale rate by plan, then a share of every renewal | NordVPN (100/40 + 30%), Proton VPN (100/40 + 30%), PureVPN (100/40 + 35%), FastestVPN (100/60 + 35%), Ivacy (100/40 + 35%) | Review sites building a renewal base over years |
| Flat recurring | The same share on every payment for the life of the customer | TorGuard 30%, AdGuard VPN 40–60% (60% welcome rate) | Long-term income from a stable audience |
| Tiered by volume | Rate rises with monthly revenue | Avast (up to 35%), AdGuard VPN (40–60% by results), Surfshark custom CPA | Established sites that can negotiate |
Two programs add a second tier: AdGuard VPN pays 5% on sales made by affiliates you refer, and PureVPN runs a two-tier scheme alongside a $300 sign-up bonus. Second-tier income is small for most publishers but can matter for sites, like this one, whose readers are affiliates.
Why 100% of a monthly plan usually loses
The headline rate is applied to the order value, and VPN checkouts are built to sell the longest plan. The table uses illustrative list prices — check the current pricing page, especially during sales — to show how the same visitor produces very different commissions depending on the plan.
| Example plan | Illustrative order value | Rate | Commission |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month plan at 100% | $12.99 | 100% | $12.99 |
| 1-year plan at 40% | $59.88 | 40% | $23.95 |
| 2-year plan at 40% | $80.73 | 40% | $32.29 |
| 2-year security bundle at 40% | $107.73 | 40% | $43.09 |
| 1-month plan at 50% (flat) | $12.99 | 50% | $6.50 |
| 1-year plan at 50% (flat) | $47.89 | 50% | $23.95 |
Three things follow. A program's real rate is its long-plan rate, because that is what most referred customers buy. A 40% long-plan rate on a brand with a $100 bundle beats a 50% flat rate on a brand with a $48 annual plan. And when a program pays 100% on monthly plans, the visitors who take that plan are often the ones who cancel within the refund window — see holds below.
What recurring commission is worth
A renewal share turns a sale into an annuity. Suppose a referred customer buys a two-year plan for $80, your first-sale rate is 40% and the program pays 30% on renewals. If the customer renews twice at $80, you earn $32 up front and $24 at each renewal — $80 over five years from a single click, two and a half times the one-time commission. Multiply by the number of customers a page refers in a year and the renewal tail becomes the larger half of income by year three.
The value depends on retention, which you cannot see in the dashboard until renewals start arriving. Brands with low churn (Proton, NordVPN, AdGuard) make recurring terms worth more than the same percentage at a brand customers abandon. Programs that advertise lifetime recurring — TorGuard, PureVPN, FastestVPN, Ivacy, AdGuard — should be read with the brand's retention in mind, not only the rate.
Cookies: duration, attribution and what browsers do to them
| Program | Cookie window | Attribution |
|---|---|---|
| AdGuard VPN | 365 days | Last click |
| PureVPN, FastestVPN | 90 days | Last click |
| TorGuard, Ivacy (direct) | 60 days | Last click |
| IPVanish, TunnelBear, CyberGhost (Kape) | 45 days | Last click |
| NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, Avast, PIA | 30 days | Last click |
| F-Secure | Not published direct; ~35 days on Partnerize, 60 on FlexOffers | Network rules |
Duration is how long after the click a purchase still counts. VPN buyers compare for days, so a 30-day window loses some sales that a 60- or 90-day window would keep; the difference is largest on informational pages where the reader is early in the decision.
Attribution is last-click everywhere in this niche: if the reader clicks your link, then clicks another affiliate's link, the other affiliate is paid. Surfshark and Avast say so explicitly on their affiliate pages. This is why deal and coupon pages, which are usually the last click before checkout, convert so well and why some programs restrict them.
Browsers shorten windows in practice. Safari's tracking protection caps third-party cookies at days, not weeks, and other browsers are moving the same way. Networks that track server-side (CJ, Impact, Awin and most TUNE-based direct programs) are largely unaffected; cookie-only tracking is. The published window is a ceiling, not a guarantee.
Holds, refunds and approval delays
No VPN program pays a commission until the customer's money-back period has passed. The guarantee is 30 days at most brands and 45 at CyberGhost, so a sale made on the first of the month is approved in early or mid-month two, and paid in the program's next cycle after that. IPVanish states a 31-day approval delay; Surfshark pays only after the 30-day window; Proton pays on the 30th of the month following approval.
| Stage | Typical timing | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Click to sale | 0–30 days | Another affiliate's click takes last-click credit |
| Sale to approval | 30–45 days (refund window) | Refund, chargeback or fraud review voids the sale |
| Approval to payment | Next payout cycle; weekly at AdGuard, monthly elsewhere | Balance under the threshold rolls to the next period |
| Payment to receipt | 1–7 days | Bank or PayPal fees, currency conversion |
Budget for ten to twelve weeks between the first click and the first cash. Treat pending commissions as an estimate: refund rates on monthly plans sold from deal pages can run far above those on long plans sold from reviews, and the dashboard will show both as pending until they clear.
Payout thresholds and methods
| Program | Minimum payout | Frequency | Methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdGuard VPN | $20 | Weekly | PayPal, Mellow, e-wallets, crypto |
| IPVanish | None | Monthly, net-30 | PayPal; ACH for US affiliates |
| F-Secure (direct) | None | Monthly | Bank transfer |
| TorGuard | $50 | Monthly | Crypto, wire |
| TunnelBear, Avast | Network rules (CJ: $50 direct deposit; Impact: set per account) | Monthly | Direct deposit, PayPal, Payoneer via network |
| Surfshark, Proton VPN, CyberGhost, FastestVPN, Ivacy | $100 | Monthly | PayPal and wire (Proton: bank transfer only) |
| PureVPN | $100 PayPal / $500 wire | Monthly | PayPal, direct deposit, wire |
| NordVPN, Private Internet Access | Not published; depends on network or platform | Monthly | PayPal, wire; network payouts on CJ, Impact, Awin |
Thresholds matter for small sites. At $100 minimum and one $30 sale a month, the first payment arrives in month four, after the refund hold. Programs with low or no thresholds — AdGuard, IPVanish, F-Secure, TorGuard — pay the first commission within weeks of the first sale.
Payout math: from visitors to income
Three ratios turn traffic into a forecast: the share of visitors who click an affiliate link, the share of clicks that become approved sales, and the average commission per approved sale. The example uses figures typical for a review page sending traffic to a plan-tiered program.
| Step | Assumption | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Page visits per month | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Click-through to the offer | 8% | 800 clicks |
| Clicks to sales (after refunds) | 3% | 24 approved sales |
| Average commission per sale | $28 (mix of long and monthly plans at 40% / 100%) | $672 |
| Earnings per click (EPC) | $672 ÷ 800 | $0.84 |
| Revenue per thousand visits (RPM) | $672 ÷ 10 | $67 |
Now add renewals. If the program pays 30% on renewals, 60% of those 24 customers renew after one year at an average $60, and the page keeps producing 24 new customers a month, the renewal income in year two is roughly 24 × 12 × 0.6 × $60 × 0.3 ≈ $3,100 on top of the first-sale commissions — about 40% extra, from customers already acquired. By year three the tail is larger than the new-sale income.
The same page sending the same traffic to a one-time 50% program at an average $24 per sale earns $576 a month and nothing further. The one-time program only wins if its brand converts clicks to sales meaningfully better — which is exactly what SubID tracking will tell you after a few weeks.
Reading a program's terms: a checklist
- Which rate applies to the plan most of your readers buy, not the headline rate?
- Does the program pay on renewals, and at what rate?
- How long is the cookie and is attribution last-click?
- How long is the money-back guarantee, and when are sales approved?
- What is the minimum payout, how often is it paid and by which methods?
- Is the program direct or on a network, and does the network's threshold or fee apply?
- Are coupon sites, PPC on generic terms and your main countries allowed?
- Is there a second tier or a sign-up bonus, and does it have conditions?
The ranking answers these for all fourteen programs; the review of each program lists the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good commission rate for a VPN affiliate program?
On long plans, 40% is the market standard among the major brands and anything above it is strong. On monthly plans 100% is common. A rate should be judged with the order value and the renewal terms: 40% plus 30% recurring on an $80 plan is worth far more than 50% one-time on a $48 plan.
Do VPN affiliate programs pay recurring commissions?
Some do. NordVPN and Proton VPN pay 30% on renewals; PureVPN, FastestVPN and Ivacy pay 35%; TorGuard pays 30% for life; AdGuard VPN pays its standard rate on renewals. Surfshark, IPVanish, TunnelBear, CyberGhost, Avast and F-Secure pay once per customer.
How long do VPN affiliate cookies last?
Between 30 days (NordVPN, Surfshark, Proton VPN, Avast, PIA) and 365 days (AdGuard VPN), with 45, 60 and 90-day windows in between. All of them use last-click attribution, and browser tracking protection can shorten the effective window on cookie-only tracking.
Why is my VPN commission still pending?
Because the customer's money-back period has not ended. Programs hold every sale for the length of the guarantee — 30 days at most brands, 45 at CyberGhost — and void it if the customer refunds. Expect approval four to six weeks after the sale and payment in the following cycle.
What is a typical EPC for VPN affiliate offers?
Review and comparison pages sending traffic to major brands commonly see earnings per click between $0.50 and $1.50, with deal pages higher during sales and informational pages lower. Your own SubID data will replace these estimates within a few weeks.
Are VPN affiliate commissions taxed?
Yes — they are ordinary business income in almost every jurisdiction, and US-based programs and networks will ask for a W-9 or W-8 form before paying. Keep the payout statements; they are your invoices.
