Recurring Commission Affiliate Programs for SaaS

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A recurring commission pays the affiliate every time the referred customer pays, not once at signup. In the Reditus affiliate program directory, 74 of the 147 listed SaaS programs pay recurring: 47 for a fixed term, usually 12 months, and 27 for as long as the customer stays. The lists below are the starting point. Everything after them explains what those numbers are actually worth.

SaaS affiliate programs with fixed-term recurring commission

Ordered by headline rate. Most run for 12 months from the referred customer's first payment. Rates and terms change, so open the program page before you build content around one.

monday.com (project management): up to 100% of first-year sales, tiered
Beehiiv (newsletter): 50 to 60% for 12 months
GetResponse (email marketing): 40 to 60% recurring for 12 months
Similarweb (SEO): 50% of payments for 12 months
Webflow (site builder): 50% of the first year
Framer (site builder): 50% of year 1
Kit (email marketing): 50% for 12 months, then 10 to 20%
Manychat (chatbot): 30 to 50% recurring for 12 months
PandaDoc (sales): 25 to 45% of revenue for the first 12 months
Instantly (cold email): 20 to 40% recurring, tiered by referrals
Reclaim.ai (scheduling): 25 to 40% for 12 months plus $1 per signup
Unbounce (landing pages): 25 to 35% recurring for 12 months
HubSpot (CRM): 30% recurring for 12 months
n8n (automation): 30% recurring for 12 months
SamCart (checkout): up to 30% for 24 months, one of the longest fixed terms on this list
Teachable (courses): 30% recurring for 12 months
Jasper (AI writing): 25 to 30% recurring for 12 months
Pipedrive (CRM): 20 to 30% revenue share for the first 12 months
Synthesia (AI video): 25% recurring for 12 months
lemlist (cold email): 25% for 12 months
Apollo.io (sales intelligence): 15 to 20% for the first 12 months

Affiliate programs that pay lifetime recurring commission

These keep paying for as long as the referred customer keeps paying. 27 programs in the directory are lifetime deals. Read the section on duration further down before you assume lifetime beats a long fixed term, because in SaaS the gap is smaller than it sounds.

Systeme.io (all-in-one): 60% lifetime recurring
Payhip (checkout): 50% lifetime recurring
AWeber (email marketing): 30 to 50% recurring
Skool (community): 40% lifetime recurring
AdCreative.ai (AI image): 30 to 40% recurring, lifetime
Moosend (email marketing): 30 to 40% lifetime recurring
Smartlead (cold email): 15 to 35% recurring for life
MailerLite (email marketing): 30% lifetime recurring
Thinkific (courses): 30% lifetime recurring
Brand24 (social media): 20 to 30% lifetime recurring
Hotjar (analytics): 15 to 25% recurring, tiered by contract term
Cloudways (hosting): up to $125 per sale, or $30 plus 7% lifetime

All 147 programs, filterable by category, commission model and rate, are in the affiliate program directory. For a broader list that is not limited to recurring deals, see the best SaaS affiliate programs.

What are recurring commissions?

In SaaS, a recurring commission means the affiliate gets paid every time their referred customer makes a payment: monthly, quarterly, or annually. In practice it is usually monthly or annual, for a period you agree with the affiliate.

Chart comparing one-time and recurring affiliate commissions: a $100 bounty stays flat while 20% recurring on a $99 plan compounds to $237.60 in 12 months — The same referral, 12 months later: a one-time bounty stops paying the day the deal closes, while recurring commissions compound as long as the customer stays.

Example: if a SaaS charges $100 per month and offers a 25% recurring commission, the affiliate earns $25 every month the customer stays active. One referral, paid out again and again.

Why recurring commissions motivate affiliates

Recurring commission changes the math of being an affiliate. With one-time payouts, income resets to zero every month and the affiliate has to keep producing new referrals just to stand still. With recurring commission, every referral stacks on top of the previous ones, so a handful of good referrals compounds into meaningful monthly income.

This is why B2B SaaS affiliates do not need big traffic to earn well. On the Reditus marketplace, top affiliates earn $60 or more per click, some with only a few hundred clicks, because a few referred accounts paying commission month after month add up quickly. Relevance converts; volume alone does not.

How long should recurring commissions run?

Offer at least 12 months. The most attractive programs offer 24 to 36 months, and that is the range we recommend for most SaaS companies.

Lifetime commission sounds like the ultimate offer, but it matters less than it used to. SaaS churn is higher these days, and most tools lose a large share of customers within the first three years, especially marketing and sales tools. That makes the real gap between a 24-to-36-month deal and a lifetime deal smaller than it looks. That said, some affiliates specifically filter for lifetime commissions, so offering lifetime can still be a useful differentiator for an early-stage company that needs to stand out.

What affiliates look at beyond the percentage

A high percentage on a product that never converts is worth nothing. Affiliates know this, so the commission rate is only one of the things they check:

Will the traffic convert? Brand recognition and conversion rate matter more than the headline percentage. An established brand that converts beats an unknown product paying more.
Can they use the product? A free trial or product access makes it far easier for an affiliate to create honest content, and they will need less support from your team.
Do they love the tool? When affiliates genuinely use and like a product, they will often promote it over a similar tool paying a higher percentage.
What are the rules? Some affiliates specialize in running paid ads for the programs they promote, including bidding on brand terms. A few SaaS companies allow this and see strong results with the right partner, but it is not the right fit for everyone, so state your policy clearly either way.

Why early-stage companies have to offer more

There is a clear pattern across the programs on our marketplace. Early-stage SaaS companies create the most attractive offers, higher percentages and longer durations, because they have to: affiliates doubt that an unknown product will convert their traffic, and the offer compensates for that risk. As a company grows and its brand converts better, it can pay less and affiliates will still promote it, because what affiliates ultimately want is traffic that turns into paying clients. It is not about having the biggest number on the marketplace card.

Recurring is necessary, but no longer always sufficient

One shift to be aware of: with organic traffic getting harder for affiliates to win, recurring commission alone does not always buy attention anymore. More programs now combine it with an upfront payment for a specific piece of content, a structure called a hybrid deal. If you are designing a commission offer today, it is worth understanding why SaaS affiliate marketing is going hybrid.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good recurring commission rate for SaaS?

Most B2B SaaS programs pay 20 to 30% recurring, and some go up to 40%. What matters is the combination of rate and duration: 25% for 24 months is a stronger offer than 40% for 6 months on most price points.

Do affiliates prefer recurring or one-time commissions?

In SaaS, recurring, clearly. A one-time commission is rarely worth the effort of creating content, because the income stops while the customer keeps paying the SaaS company. Programs that offer only a one-month commission will struggle to attract affiliates at all.

Are lifetime commissions worth offering?

They attract a specific group of affiliates who filter for lifetime deals, and they can help an early-stage company stand out. But given typical SaaS churn, the practical difference between lifetime and a 24-to-36-month commission is smaller than most founders expect, so do not feel forced into lifetime to be competitive.

Which SaaS affiliate programs pay the highest recurring commission?

On the fixed-term side, monday.com pays up to 100% of first-year sales on a tiered structure, and Beehiiv, GetResponse, Similarweb, Webflow, Framer and Kit sit in the 50 to 60% range for 12 months. On the lifetime side, Systeme.io at 60% and Payhip at 50% are the highest in the directory. Remember that the highest rate is rarely the highest earnings: a 25% commission on a product that converts beats 50% on one that does not.

Where can I find recurring commission affiliate programs to join?

The Reditus directory lists 147 SaaS programs with their commission model, rate and payout terms, and 74 of them pay recurring. Programs marked as running on Reditus can be joined directly from your affiliate account: see joining a SaaS affiliate program for the steps.

How long do recurring affiliate commissions usually last?

Twelve months is the most common term across the directory, with a smaller group at 24 months and 27 programs paying for the customer's lifetime. For the mechanics of how recurring and one-time payouts are calculated and tracked, see how SaaS affiliate commissions work.