Affiliate payouts
The commission table the review industry does not print: who pays what per signup, and what that means for the "rankings" you read.
Short answer: Program pages publish up to 100% of the first invoice (PureVPN, CyberGhost) and 40%+ revshare (Surfshark). Mullvad and AirVPN pay nothing - which is why they are absent from most "best VPN" lists. The rankings you read are price lists.
providers on this page: 23 · independent audit on file: 57% · court-proven no-logs: 2 · open-source apps: 22%
quick picks
Published terms (7)
| Commission | 'up to 33% in commission on new sales' (free to join); no renewal/recurring rate published |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
Signup and login go through affiliates.kape.com - the Kape Technologies in-house portal; page warns affiliates about credential-phishing impersonators.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] PIA Affiliate Program: 'earn up to 33% in commission on new sales' (fetched live) [2] PIA affiliate signup at affiliates.kape.com/users/signup (Kape in-house portal)
| Commission | 'Flexible commissions from 30%' - 'Revenue Share for Lifetime'; free-user upgrade conversions attributed to the affiliate; no ceiling published |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
Runs on Post Affiliate Pro (in-house instance) - signup asks you to 'Create a Post Affiliate Pro Account'.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] hide.me affiliates page: 'Flexible commissions from 30%', lifetime revenue share, Post Affiliate Pro signup (fetched live)
| Commission | 'Earn an average of $21 per sale, one of the highest in the VPN industry' - commissions calculated per subscription plan purchased; payouts in Bitcoin only ('Payouts are made in Bitcoin (BTC); no other payment methods are supported') |
|---|---|
| CPA | ~$21 per sale (operator average) |
| Platform | in-house |
The only provider we verified that publishes a concrete average per-sale amount - and pays exclusively in BTC.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] AstrillVPN Affiliate Program: average $21 per sale, BTC-only payouts (fetched live)
| Commission | 'Competitive 40% revenue share on new sales' (starting rate); CPA negotiable ('always open to discussing CPA conditions'); $100 minimum payout threshold |
|---|---|
| Cookie | 30 days |
| Platform | in-house |
Main platform is Tunes (HasOffers) and Surfshark says it is also listed on Impact Radius, Avant, CJ, Appsflyer and Awin.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] Surfshark Affiliate Program: 40% revenue share on new sales, 30-day cookie, $100 threshold, networks listed (fetched live)
| Commission | 'up to 100% in commissions' - 'Get the most rewarding commissions in the industry... you will have the chance to earn up to 100% in commissions'; no base rate published |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
Signup routes through a HasOffers (Tune) account per the program page.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] CyberGhost affiliate page: 'earn up to 100% in commissions', HasOffers signup (fetched live)
| Commission | 'Join the program and start earning 50% or more for every new sale you refer' - commission table shows 50% on the $12.99 1-month, $95.88 1-year and $107.64 3-year plans; 'no cap on what you can earn' |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
Pango/Aura runs the program on a Tune (HasOffers) portal at affiliates.pango.co; 50% of the published 1-year plan cost is about $48 per sale (derived, not a published CPA).
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] Hotspot Shield VPN Affiliate Program: 50% or more per new sale, HasOffers login, plan cost table (fetched live)
| Commission | '100% New Signup' commission on first invoice (all plans) + 'Flat 35% recurring commission for lifetime on all plans'; 'Best payouts in the industry - up to 100% commissions'; fixed CPA payments and bonuses offered; two-tier program |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
Signup and login are on PureVPN's own domain (purevpn.com/affiliates/signup) - in-house program.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] PureVPN Affiliate Program page: 100% new signup, 35% lifetime recurring, CPA option, two-tier (fetched live)
Program confirmed, terms not public (8)
| Commission | not public - 'Get competitive commissions with monthly payouts... Instead, we're at a commission level that ensures that our affiliates, our customers and we benefit proportionally'; no percentage published |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
Runs on Tapfiliate (ovpn.tapfiliate.com signup); OVPN vets affiliates ('We don't accept all affiliates') and offers a free trial account to prospective partners.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] OVPN Affiliate Program page: competitive commissions, monthly payouts, affiliate vetting (fetched live) [2] OVPN affiliate signup on Tapfiliate (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - PartnerStack program terms sit behind partner login |
|---|---|
| Platform | PartnerStack |
protonvpn.partnerstack.com is live and joinable but serves only a generic join template with no published rates.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] Proton VPN PartnerStack portal (generic join page, terms behind login; fetched live)
| Commission | not public - no rate published on the portal or site |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
In-house Post Affiliate Pro portal at affiliate.strongvpn.com is live (Ziff Davis operates StrongVPN, IPVanish and SaferVPN).
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] affiliate.strongvpn.com - 'StrongVPN.com portal for affiliates' (fetched live, 200) [2] StrongVPN blog 'Affiliate News' category with affiliate-contest posts (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - 'We pay the best commissions in the industry and have the best-converting VPN offer. Our commission structure is flexible: The more sales you drive, the more we pay'; terms state the structure is set per-affiliate in an Insertion Order, paid NET30 |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
In-house program with negotiated insertion orders; terms also mandate rel=sponsored links and FTC disclosure text near every link.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] ExpressVPN Affiliate Program: 'Earn the highest commissions in the VPN industry' (fetched live) [2] ExpressVPN Affiliate Program Terms: commission per Insertion Order, NET30 payout, rel=sponsored required (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - CJ terms behind login; no rate published |
|---|---|
| Platform | CJ |
No affiliate page on zenmate.com any more, but CJ affiliate tracking links to zenmate.com were captured by Wayback as recently as 2025-12-23 - and the site now carries a 'We're joining forces with CyberGhost VPN' banner (Kape consolidation).
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] ZenMate CJ affiliate tracking links (media_source=CJ_affiliates + cjevent), captured 2020-2025 (CDX index) [2] ZenMate homepage banner: 'We're joining forces with CyberGhost VPN! Important Changes to Our VPN Service' (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - the live affiliate page is an account portal/login with no published rates; live site blocks this server (403) |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
TorGuard runs its own affiliates portal (archived 2025-08-12 capture shows the login/signup shell); commission terms sit behind the portal.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] TorGuard 'Affiliates' page - account portal without public terms (Wayback capture) [2] torguard.net/affiliates.php served 403 to this server (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - nordvpn.com blocks this server (Cloudflare 403) and no terms page was verifiable; affiliate traffic runs through Tune/HasOffers-style trackers (go.nordvpn.net/aff_c) with Adtraction links in Nordics historically |
|---|---|
| Platform | in-house |
The program demonstrably exists (aff_c tracking captures 2026-03) but NordVPN publishes no commission rate that we could fetch.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] NordVPN affiliate click-through links in Tune/HasOffers aff_c format, captured by Wayback as recently as 2026-03-21 (CDX index, go.nordvpn.net) [2] nordvpn.com/affiliate/ served Cloudflare challenge (403) to this server - terms not verifiable
| Commission | not public - CJ terms are behind login; no rate published anywhere we could fetch |
|---|---|
| Platform | CJ |
Own affiliate pages 404 today, but CJ affiliate tracking links to ipvanish.com were captured by Wayback as recently as 2025-11 (campaigns by Digital Trends, Future Publishing, CNET Media Group, LCO & CO).
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] IPVanish CJ affiliate tracking links (cjevent + cjdata params, campaigns by Future Publishing/Digital Trends etc.), captured 2022-2025 (CDX index) [2] ipvanish.com/affiliates/ returns 404 (own affiliate page removed; fetched live)
Referral systems (8)
| Commission | not public - no affiliate page or links found anywhere on the site |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
cryptostorm.is/affiliate 404s and the homepage carries no affiliate/reseller links; no explicit no-affiliate statement was found either, so the honest answer is unknown.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] cryptostorm.is/affiliate returns 404 (fetched live) [2] cryptostorm.is homepage - no affiliate or reseller links in nav (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - AirVPN's site (JS-gated, unreachable for content from this server) has a 'Referrals' program ('you can use our Referrals program... find links, banners and HTML code in your Referrals area', per 2019 archived page); whether it pays cash commissions is not publicly documented |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
airvpn.org/affiliate returns the JS entry gate; the member-area Referrals area is the only promotional program we could document, from an archived 2019 page.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] AirVPN page (Wayback capture): 'you can use our Referrals program. You can find links, banners and HTML code to use for Referrals in your Referrals area' [2] airvpn.org/affiliate served the JS entry gate, no content (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - no published rate |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
vyprvpn.com/affiliate-program redirects to a Tune/HasOffers signup portal (certida.hasoffers.com) that displays 'Account Not Active' - the program looks dormant or closed.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] VyprVPN affiliate signup portal (Tune/HasOffers, 'certida' account): 'Account Not Active' (fetched live) [2] Wayback captures of vyprvpn.com/affiliate-program pages 2023-2025 (CDX index)
| Commission | not public - no affiliate or partner page found |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
nymvpn.com now 404s from this server (Vercel 404, moved) and the product lives on nym.com, which carries no affiliate links - NymVPN appears to run no affiliate program, but we found no explicit statement.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] nymvpn.com returns Vercel 404 (site moved/removed from this domain; fetched live) [2] nym.com (NymVPN's current site) - no affiliate links found in nav/footer (fetched live)
| Commission | not verifiable today - site serves Cloudflare 403 to this server; own affiliate page (archived 2019-04-22) documented: 100% commission on first invoice for 1-month plan referrals, 40% for 1-/2-year plans, 35% recurring on renewals, lifetime recurring, CPA program |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
Program existed on Ivacy's own site (with fake-looking 'affiliate earnings' ticker widget); current status unverifiable from this server.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] Ivacy VPN affiliate page (archived): 100% first-invoice on 1-month plan, 40% on 1/2-year plans, 35% recurring, 'VPN CPA Program' [2] ivacy.com serves Cloudflare challenge (403) to this server - live terms not verifiable
| Commission | not public - no affiliate page found (privatevpn.com/affiliate and /affiliates both 404) and no affiliate links on the homepage |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
No evidence of a current program from the provider's own site; absence of a page is not proof the program is closed.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] privatevpn.com/affiliate returns 'Not found' (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - no affiliate page exists on the live site |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
betternet.io is parked for sale (GoDaddy 'for sale' redirect) while the product lives at betternet.co without an affiliate page; Wayback shows tracked affiliate links into betternet.co as recently as 2026-05, so payments likely still flow without public terms.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] Betternet CJ/other affiliate tracking links into betternet.co (utm_source=aff638, aff_sub params), captured 2022-2026 (CDX index) [2] betternet.io redirects to GoDaddy 'for sale' lander (fetched live) [3] betternet.co/affiliates/ returns 404 (fetched live)
| Commission | not public - no rate we could fetch |
|---|---|
| Platform | unknown |
hma.com times out from this server entirely; CJ affiliate links to hidemyass.com were captured by Wayback in 2019 ('utm_source=commissionjunction&utm_medium=affiliate') - the Gen Digital brand has run an affiliate program, but its current status is unverifiable from here.
Checked 2026-10-01 - sources: [1] HideMyAss CJ affiliate tracking links (cjevent + commissionjunction utm params), captured 2019 (CDX index) [2] www.hma.com connection timed out from this server (no response)
No public program (3)
These listed operators have no public affiliate or referral program (checked 2026-10-01): IVPN, Mullvad VPN, Windscribe. That is normal for privacy-first providers - several (Mullvad, IVPN) run on subscriptions alone and refuse the affiliate channel on principle.
The money flow, drawn once
23 providers sit in this hub because the affiliate question applies across the market. The program pages are public; the rates are printed; the one thing never printed is the connection between those rates and the "independent" rankings that quote the same providers in the same order every year[7].
The published table
From the program pages, verified and dated: PureVPN pays 100% of the first invoice plus 35% recurring for life[2]; CyberGhost advertises "up to 100% in commissions"[3]; Surfshark starts at 40% revshare[1]; PIA offers up to 33% on new sales; hide.me starts at 30% with lifetime attribution[4]; Astrill averages $21 per sale and pays in Bitcoin only[5]; ExpressVPN structures each deal in a private insertion order, NET30[6]. The sections above split every listed operator into three groups: published terms, confirmed program with terms the program page does not print, and referral traces without public rates - plus the no-program list.
What the payouts predict
Three predictions you can verify on any affiliate-funded list. The ranked order tracks commission generosity more than evidence class. The renewal-price column is missing - because the intro price is what pays the commission. And the no-program operators (Mullvad, AirVPN, RiseupVPN - a donation collective has no referral budget) are absent or buried, regardless of their court records or audit cadence. This page exists so you can run that check against our own ranking - the rates are printed next to the cards they sit above.
How to read any VPN list, including ours
Three checks. Who owns the list - the ownership graph covers the site-owning conglomerates as well as the VPN brands. Who pays the site - disclosure pages and the review-site checker. And what the list hides - a ranking without renewal prices or evidence classes is a commission table. Our methodology publishes the weights precisely so you can audit them; the affiliate economics above are the reason that page exists.
The clauses that change the money
Two clauses matter more than the headline rate. Cookie attribution: 30 to 90 days is typical; a reader who converts after the window pays the site nothing, so programs with long cookies buy placement more durably - the program boxes above record the window wherever the program page publishes it (Surfshark: 30 days). Negative carryover: when refunds exceed commissions in a month, some programs roll the loss into the next payout - none of the programs above documents this clause publicly, which is itself worth knowing before a "100% commission" headline is read as a rate rather than a loan. Payout minimums and NET30 terms complete the picture; Astrill's Bitcoin-only payouts are the outlier that tells you who the program expects to attract[5].
Sources
- Surfshark - affiliate program page (40% revshare starting rate) - accessed 2026-09-30
- PureVPN - affiliate terms (100% first invoice, 35% recurring) - accessed 2026-09-30
- CyberGhost - affiliate program (up to 100% commissions) - accessed 2026-09-30
- hide.me - affiliate terms (from 30%, lifetime revenue share) - accessed 2026-09-30
- Astrill - affiliate program (~$21 average per sale, BTC-only payouts) - accessed 2026-09-30
- ExpressVPN - affiliate terms (per-affiliate insertion orders, NET30) - accessed 2026-09-30
- Cyberinsider - Kape owns ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, PIA, ZenMate and VPN review sites - accessed 2026-09-30
- Mullvad - our policy on reviews, advertising and affiliates - accessed 2026-09-30
FAQ
Why publish affiliate rates on a review site?
Because it is the missing context for every "best VPN 2026" list. When a list ranks ExpressVPN #1 while its program pays per-affiliate insertion-order commissions - and Mullvad, which pays nothing, is absent - the list is a price list with a design budget. The rates below come from the program pages themselves, checked and dated.
Which programs pay the most?
PureVPN advertises 100% of the first invoice plus 35% recurring for life; CyberGhost advertises "up to 100%" commissions; Hotspot Shield 50% or more; Surfshark a 40% revshare starting rate; PIA up to 33%; hide.me from 30% for the lifetime of the customer; Astrill an average of $21 per sale, paid out in Bitcoin only. Rates change - each provider page carries the quote and the date we verified it.
Which providers pay nothing?
Mullvad runs no affiliate program and says so in its own policy on reviews and advertising[8]. AirVPN's referral system is documented but cash commissions are not publicly verified. That is the cleanest test of any "best VPN" list: if the flat-price, no-affiliate operators never appear on it, the list has a business model, not a methodology.
How do cookie windows and negative carryover work?
The cookie determines attribution - 30 to 90 days is typical; a reader who buys after it expires pays the site nothing. The program boxes above record the cookie window wherever the program page publishes it (Surfshark: 30 days). Negative carryover - rolling a month's refund losses into the next payout - is not publicly documented by any program listed here; that silence matters when a "100% commission" headline is quoted.
What does this mean for the VPN industry's rankings?
Simple arithmetic. At 40-100% of the first term, a "top 10 VPNs" page is a high-yield sales asset, and two of the biggest review sites (vpnMentor, WizCase) share a corporate parent with three major VPN brands[7]. The list you read was probably paid for before it was written. Check any site with the review-site checker.
How does this site make money then?
Transparently, and currently not at all - the how-we-make-money page states it plainly. Direct links until affiliate programs are signed, a published disclosure, and rates like these printed next to the rankings they could distort. Trust here is a falsifiable claim: check our sources, check our ownership, disagree loudly.