Key takeaways
- A flat commission pays a fixed amount per conversion; a percentage commission pays a share of the order value.
- Flat fees are simple and predictable but can overpay on small orders and underpay on large ones.
- Percentage commissions scale with order value, which aligns partner incentives with revenue but is harder to forecast.
- Use flat for fixed-price products and lead-gen; use percentage when order values vary widely.
- Afflio lets you set either type per campaign, so you can run flat and percentage rules side by side.
The first decision in any commission plan is also the most consequential: do you pay partners a fixed amount for each sale, or a share of what each sale is worth? It sounds like a minor accounting choice, but it changes which partners you attract, which products they push, and how predictable your costs are.
What is the difference between flat and percentage commissions?
A flat commission pays a fixed amount per conversion regardless of order size, while a percentage commission pays a proportion of the order value. If you pay $20 flat, the partner earns $20 whether the customer spends $50 or $500. At 20%, that same partner earns $10 on the small order and $100 on the large one.
Both are first-class commission types in Afflio's engine: when you configure a campaign you choose a rate type — flat or percentage — and the engine computes the commission against each attributed order automatically.
When should you use a flat commission?
Use a flat commission when the value of a conversion is roughly constant or when you want partners to focus on volume rather than basket size. Flat fees shine in a few clear cases:
- Fixed-price products or single-tier plans, where every sale is worth the same to you.
- Lead generation or sign-ups, where there's no order value to take a percentage of.
- Programs where simplicity matters more than precision — partners always know exactly what they'll earn.
The downside: a flat fee can overpay on cheap orders and underpay on expensive ones. If your prices range from $20 to $2,000, a single flat fee will feel generous at the low end and stingy at the high end.
When should you use a percentage commission?
Use a percentage commission when order values vary and you want partner earnings to track the revenue they generate. Because the payout scales with the basket, partners are naturally motivated to drive larger orders, upsells, and higher-value plans rather than just more transactions.
The incentive you set is the behaviour you get
A flat fee tells partners "bring me conversions". A percentage tells them "bring me revenue". Neither is wrong — but be deliberate, because partners will optimize for exactly what you pay them for.
Percentage commissions are harder to forecast, since your cost moves with average order value, and they expose more margin on big-ticket items. Many programs cap the percentage payout on very large orders to keep economics sane — a guardrail you can layer on top of the base rate.
Can you run both at once?
Yes — and most mature programs do. Because the rate type is set per campaign, you can pay a flat bounty for a free-trial sign-up campaign and a percentage of revenue for a paid-plan campaign, with the same partners earning under both rules depending on what they refer.
- Map each product or funnel stage to the rate type that fits it best.
- Set the flat amount or percentage on the campaign in Afflio.
- Let the engine attribute conversions and compute commissions per rule.
- Review payouts after a few cycles and adjust the rate, not the type, unless behaviour is clearly misaligned.
The question isn't "flat or percentage?" — it's "what behaviour am I trying to buy?" Answer that, and the rate type chooses itself.
Is a flat or percentage commission better for affiliates?
Neither is universally better. Flat commissions are predictable and best for fixed-price products and lead generation; percentage commissions scale with order value and best suit programs where basket sizes vary widely. The right choice depends on your pricing and the behaviour you want to reward.
Can I offer flat and percentage commissions in the same program?
Yes. In Afflio the rate type is configured per campaign, so you can run a flat-fee campaign and a percentage campaign simultaneously, with partners earning under whichever rule matches the conversion they drove.
How do I stop percentage commissions from overpaying on huge orders?
Apply a commission cap on top of the percentage rate so a single very large order can't produce an outsized payout. Caps keep percentage-based economics predictable without forcing you back to flat fees.