Shopify affiliate benchmarks 2026: the numbers on one page
These are the Shopify affiliate marketing statistics we can stand behind, on one page. They come from two of our own studies. We read 168 public Shopify affiliate programs on 23 October 2026. We ran a first search on 30 Shopify brands on 22 October 2026. Each number carries its date and sample size.
An affiliate is someone who sends you buyers and earns a commission, a cut of each sale. A base rate is the lowest commission a page promises a new affiliate. A cookie window is how many days after a click a sale still counts for them.
What are the headline numbers?
| Benchmark | Number | Sample and date |
|---|---|---|
| Median base commission | 10% | 137 programs that state one, 23 Oct 2026 |
| Middle half of base commissions | 8% to 15% | 137 programs, 23 Oct 2026 |
| Programs that state exactly 10% | 44% (60 of 137) | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Pages that lead with only an "up to" rate | 18% (31 of 168) | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Pages that state a cookie length | 43% (73 of 168) | 23 Oct 2026 |
| Stated cookies that are 30 days | 78% (57 of 73) | 23 Oct 2026 |
| People shown with a review or roundup page (upper limit, some are not promoters) | 64% (1,877 of 2,924) | 30 Shopify brands, 22 Oct 2026 |
| People shown with an email found | 31% (916 of 2,924) | 30 Shopify brands, 22 Oct 2026 |
The median is the middle value: half the programs pay less and half pay more. The middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile. It leaves out the lowest and highest quarter.
How was the commission sample built?
We read the public affiliate pages of 168 Shopify brands. We counted 137 with a stated base rate. The other 31 show only an "up to" figure. Pages that hide their terms behind a sign-up form are not in the sample. So this is what an affiliate can see, not what brands pay.
The full method is on the commission rates data page. The CSV holds the commission and cookie figures, plus the app split. The people-shown counts come from the scan method page.
How are base rates spread?
We split the 137 stated base rates into bands. Then we divided each band by 137 and added them up as we went.
| Base rate band | Programs | Share of 137 | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5% | 8 | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| 5% to 9% | 27 | 19.7% | 25.5% |
| Exactly 10% | 60 | 43.8% | 69.3% |
| 11% to 14% | 4 | 2.9% | 72.3% |
| 15% to 19% | 21 | 15.3% | 87.6% |
| 20% or more | 17 | 12.4% | 100% |
Sample: 137 programs, 23 October 2026. Read the last column like this. 69% of programs state 10% or less, and 88% state under 20%. Almost nobody sits at 11% to 14%. Programs jump from 10% to 15% and skip the middle.
How do categories compare?
The sheet below adds a column we worked out. It is the width of the middle half: the 75th percentile minus the 25th. A wide band means programs in that category disagree.
| Category | Programs | With a base rate | Median | Middle half | Width | Only "up to" |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty and skincare | 29 | 24 | 15% | 10% to 15% | 5.0 | 17% |
| Health and supplements | 27 | 22 | 10% | 10% to 15% | 5.0 | 19% |
| Fitness and sports | 21 | 17 | 10% | 5% to 10% | 5.0 | 19% |
| Fashion and apparel | 18 | 14 | 10% | 10% to 13.8% | 3.8 | 22% |
| Home and garden | 17 | 14 | 10% | 8% to 18.5% | 10.5 | 18% |
| Tech and gadgets | 12 | 8 | 8.5% | 5% to 12% | 7.0 | 33% |
| Food and drink | 10 | 8 | 10% | 6.9% to 10% | 3.1 | 20% |
| All other categories | 34 | 30 | 10% | 5% to 10% | 5.0 | 12% |
| All programs | 168 | 137 | 10% | 8% to 15% | 7.0 | 18% |
Sample: 168 programs, 23 October 2026. Beauty is the only category with a higher median. Home and garden has the widest spread, at 10.5 points. Tech and food each have only 8 base rates. Read those two rows as rough. For a margin check on your own rate, use what commission a Shopify program should pay.
Do the apps differ?
Pages often name the app that runs the program. We grouped them by the app named.
| App named on the page | Programs | With a base rate | Median | Only "up to" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoAffPro | 54 | 34 (63%) | 10% | 37% |
| UpPromote | 53 | 44 (83%) | 10% | 17% |
| Refersion | 26 | 25 (96%) | 10% | 4% |
| Social Snowball | 19 | 18 (95%) | 15% | 5% |
| Another app, or more than one | 16 | 16 (100%) | 10% | 0% |
Sample: 168 programs, 23 October 2026. The share with a base rate is the second column's count divided by the first. Only 63% of GoAffPro pages state a base rate, against 95% or more for Refersion and Social Snowball. We did not test why. The app's default page text may play a part. If your page says "up to", a new affiliate can't tell what day one pays. State your floor.
What cookie windows do programs state?
Only 73 of 168 pages (43%) state a cookie length. Here are those 73.
| Stated cookie | Pages | Share of 73 |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 57 | 78% |
| 60 days | 6 | 8% |
| 45 days | 3 | 4% |
| 90 days | 3 | 4% |
| 14 days | 2 | 3% |
| 21 days | 1 | 1% |
| 7 days | 1 | 1% |
Sample: 73 pages that state a cookie, 23 October 2026. 69 of 73 (95%) say 30 days or longer. Food and drink had 0 of 10 pages stating one. Fitness had the highest share, at 14 of 21 (67%). The all-programs median is 30 days.
Who a first search shows for Shopify brands
This second sheet comes from a different study. On 22 October 2026 we added 30 public Shopify brands to our scanner, 6 in each of 5 categories. We ran its normal first search once for each. It showed 2,924 people. The table gives the median per brand, which is the middle of the six.
| Category (6 shops each) | People shown | With a review or roundup page | With an email found | Email found per person shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health and supplements | 126 | 62 | 38 | 30% |
| Beauty and skincare | 100 | 72 | 34 | 34% |
| Fitness and sports | 94 | 58 | 25 | 27% |
| Home and garden | 92 | 64 | 31 | 34% |
| Fashion and apparel | 78 | 47 | 30 | 38% |
Sample: 30 Shopify brands, 22 October 2026. We picked the 30 by hand from our outbound list, UK and US only, and ran each with our own offer. The last column divides the email median by the people median, for example 38 divided by 126. It is a ratio of two medians, so treat it as rough. Across all 30 Shopify brands, the median was 92 people shown, from 35 to 188.
Across all 2,924 people, 1,877 (64%) had a review, roundup or comparison page as their strongest page. Blog-style pages were 573 (20%) and podcasts 399 (14%). Review-style share by category ran from 55% for supplements to 73% for skincare. Those two shares come from category totals, not from the medians in the table above, so they will not match it. The review pages post gives the table and the limits.
In a check of 30 random rows, 9 were not promoters. That is 30%, with a likely range of 17% to 48%. So read the counts as an upper limit. Our scan method page lists every limit.
What do outside sources say?
Two outside sources, both read on 27 October 2026, give a check on our numbers.
Shopify's commission guide gives these reference ranges per sale (Shopify, published 11 May 2026, checked 27 October 2026):
| Product type | Range Shopify lists |
|---|---|
| Physical goods | 5% to 15% |
| High-ticket items, such as furniture and mattresses | 3% to 8% |
| Digital products and online courses | 20% to 50% |
| Subscription services | 15% to 30% on recurring payments |
Our median of 10% and middle half of 8% to 15% sit inside Shopify's physical-goods range. Shopify calls its ranges reference points, not fixed rates.
On timing, Shopify Collabs holds each commission for 30 days by default. A merchant can set 1 to 90 days. It adds a 2.9% processing fee to each automatic commission payment (Shopify Help Center, checked 27 October 2026). Our guide to how the money flows explains what that hold does.
How should you use these numbers?
Treat them as a map, not a rule. Our view is to work in this order.
- Start from your margin. Choose a share of profit you would give up, then turn it into a rate.
- Compare it with the 10% median. If you are well under 8%, affiliates may pass. If you are over 15%, you are in the top quarter.
- State a floor. Don't lead with "up to".
- State a cookie. 30 days is the one number most stated cookies share.
- Go where the promoters are. Most people a first search shows had a review or roundup page, though some are not promoters at all. Search for those pages first.
The wider picture is in affiliate marketing for ecommerce brands. To see who already covers brands like yours, run a first search with RecruitAffiliates.ai. The 7-day trial needs no card.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average affiliate commission for a Shopify store?
The median base commission is 10%, across 137 public programs that state one (23 October 2026). The middle half state 8% to 15%. Beauty and skincare is higher, at 15%.
How many Shopify programs state a cookie length?
73 of 168 (43%) did on 23 October 2026. Of those, 78% say 30 days.
How many people does a first search show for a Shopify brand?
Our first search showed a median of 92 people per brand across 30 Shopify brands, from 35 to 188 (22 October 2026). That is an upper limit, because a 30-row check found 30% were not promoters. A separate follow-up on three Shopify stores, run on a paid plan with a full setup, showed a median of 693 (24 October 2026). Three is too few to compare with the 30.
What share of promoters have review pages?
64% of the 2,924 people shown had a review, roundup or comparison page as their strongest page. The share ran from 55% to 73% by category.
Can I cite these numbers?
Yes. Name RecruitAffiliates.ai and give the sample and date beside each figure. Link the commission data page or the scan method page.
Sources
- RecruitAffiliates.ai, Shopify affiliate commission rates: what 168 public programs state, 23 October 2026, with the CSV
- RecruitAffiliates.ai, How we scanned 30 Shopify brands, 22 October 2026
- Shopify, affiliate commission guide, published 11 May 2026, checked 27 October 2026
- Shopify Help Center, Collabs payments for merchants, checked 27 October 2026