Affiliate commission calculator for creators
Part of: For creators
Enter what you know, see the arithmetic. This does not predict your earnings — it multiplies the numbers you give it, so you can sanity-check a programme's commission rate before you spend a week posting for it.
The formula, so you can check it yourself
Commission per sale = product price × commission rate.
Sales = clicks × conversion rate.
Monthly commission = commission per sale × sales.
That is the whole thing. Any tool that gives you a different answer is adding an assumption it has not told you about.
Why the conversion rate is the number that matters
Creators tend to negotiate hardest over commission rate, because it is the number a programme advertises. But look at the formula: rate and conversion multiply, so a programme paying 4% that converts at 3% pays more than one paying 10% that converts at 1%. Conversion depends on whether the product suits the audience you actually have — which is why a smaller, well-matched audience often out-earns a larger vague one.
What this calculator deliberately will not do
- Guess your conversion rate. A default number dressed as a forecast is the most common way these tools mislead people.
- Assume every click is new. Repeat visitors inflate click counts without adding buyers.
- Ignore returns and cancellations. Most affiliate programmes claw back commission on returned goods; a high-return category like apparel can differ from the figure above by a wide margin.
- Account for cookie windows. If a programme's cookie lasts 24 hours and your audience browses for a week, some sales you caused will never be attributed to you.
Questions
Is this a prediction of what I will earn?
No. It is arithmetic on numbers you type in. Your real clicks and conversion rate depend on your audience, your niche and the product, and nobody can tell you those before you have them.
What conversion rate should I use?
Use your own if you have it, from a platform dashboard. If you do not, run the calculation across a range rather than picking one number, which is why the table below shows several.
Does this send my numbers anywhere?
No. The calculation happens in your browser and nothing is stored or transmitted.