AffiliateWP

AffiliateWP puts the affiliate program on the same WordPress install as the shop, so there is no third party taking a slice of every sale and no separate system to reconcile. Lifetime and recurring commissions, multi-tier payouts and personalised affiliate URLs are all in the paid plugin. Because it is a licence rather than a platform, the cost does not rise with what affiliates earn. Someone without a WordPress site cannot use it at all, which is the whole shape of the trade.

Four annual licences, all discounted in the first year and all renewing at full price, which the page states plainly. The cheapest is normally $299 a year and starts at $149.50; above it sit $399, $599 and a $699 Growth Bundle that adds a second plugin. The Pro tier covers five sites and includes affiliate landing pages, fraud prevention, lifetime and recurring commissions, multi-tier payouts and the affiliate portal. A 14-day money-back guarantee applies rather than a trial.

A WordPress shop with enough affiliate revenue that a percentage-taking platform has become the largest line in the budget, since a flat licence stops mattering as volume grows. Multi-tier and lifetime commissions suit programs built around a few committed partners. Anybody not on WordPress cannot use it, and anybody running a program too small to notice a platform fee is buying maintenance they do not need.