How we check affiliate programs

Affiliate programs change their terms often, and many directories copy each other's numbers. CommissionAtlas works the other way round: a program is published only after someone has read its own page and written down what it says.

What has to be true before a program goes live

• We have the address of the page the facts came from (shown on the program page as the check).
• We have the date we last read it. Without that date the system will not let a program be published.
• The commission, cookie length, minimum payout and payout methods match what that page states.

Where the facts come from

From the program's own public page, or the page of the network that runs it. We use other directories only to find names of programs to look at, never for their figures. A program whose page is missing, blocked or gives conflicting numbers is left out, not guessed.

What a dash or “Not stated” means

It means the program's page does not say. We would rather show a gap than invent a figure. If recurrence is not stated we do not call a program one-time, and if no network is named we do not call it in-house.

Tiers, bonuses and promotions

When a program has tiers, the headline figure is the highest tier and the wording says “up to”. Limited-time promotional rates are not used as the main figure; where we notice one it is kept out of the headline. A few offers pay more than 100% of the first payment; for those the exact wording is shown and the percentage used for sorting is left blank.

Money and independence

Some Join links are our own referral links and some listings are paid placements, both marked. Neither decides whether a program is listed or which facts we show. Read how we make money.

Terms may have changed since we looked

Every program page shows the date it was last checked. Confirm the terms on the program's own page before you join. If something on a listing is out of date, or you run a program and want it corrected, use the submission form and tell us what is wrong.