ClickBank Affiliate Programs: How the Marketplace Works and Pays

Quick Answer: ClickBank affiliate programs are not one program but a marketplace where each seller sets its own commission. According to the directory record, commissions go up to 90% revenue share or a fixed CPA, the HopLink cookie lasts 60 days, and payouts run weekly or biweekly on Fridays. A free account gives immediate access, but you need five sales before your first payment.

Summary in short

• ClickBank is a marketplace of digital and physical products, so terms differ per seller and per product.
• The directory lists commissions of up to 90% revenue share, or a fixed CPA per sale, with a 60-day cookie.
• Payouts are issued on Fridays, weekly (direct deposit) or biweekly, with a $100 default minimum that you can adjust.
• Before your first payment you need at least 5 sales plus a two-week wait, and each payment carries a $5 processing fee.
• Gravity, average dollars per conversion, conversion rate and earnings per click help you compare offers.
• ClickBank suits affiliates who can drive their own traffic and want a wide choice of products. It suits worse if you want one brand with stable, published terms.
• Other networks in the directory, such as Awin, Impact and CJ, work on a different model: you apply to each brand.

What ClickBank is

ClickBank describes itself as an affiliate marketplace for 4,000+ digital and physical products. Sellers list an offer, set the commission, and affiliates promote it with a tracking link. The directory record labels it "Marketplace, not a single brand program", which is the key point for anyone searching for clickbank affiliate marketing: there is no single commission rate, cookie or refund policy to learn. You learn the marketplace rules, then check each offer.

ClickBank states it has 100,000+ affiliates and has paid $7.3B in commissions since 1999. Those are the company's own figures from its affiliate page, not an independent measure of what a typical affiliate earns.

The directory lists 21 live programs that use the Network model, and ClickBank is one of them. The difference from most of the others is the entry route. You do not apply brand by brand. A free account gives marketplace access straight away, which the record labels "Auto" approval, although individual sellers may restrict their offers.

Quick facts from the directory record

How ClickBank commission works

The record explains that each seller picks between two structures. In a revenue-share offer you earn a percentage of each sale, including upsells and recurring rebills, with the potential going up to 90%. In a CPA offer you earn a fixed amount per sale. If you want the background on each model, see the directory pages for per-sale commissions and revenue-share commissions.

Two details in the record matter for your math:

• Commission is calculated after ClickBank's fee, which the record gives as 7.5% + $1 per sale. A "90% commission" is therefore not 90% of the sticker price.
• Revenue-share commissions are reversed on refunds. CPA offers pay regardless of refunds, so the record describes them as having no refund risk.

The record sets recurring to false at program level, because recurring rebills depend on the offer. If a seller sells a subscription and pays revenue share, rebills can count. Check the offer before assuming it.

How a HopLink works and how attribution is decided

A HopLink is the tracking URL you promote. ClickBank's HopLinks guide says that if a customer buys within 60 days of clicking a HopLink, the referring affiliate receives credit and commission. It also says HopLinks rely on cookies, so a customer who blocks them, or an ad-blocker that interferes, can stop the sale from being credited to you.

Points from that guide worth knowing:

• A HopLink must begin with https and include hop.clickbank.net. The guide shows an unencrypted form (hop.clickbank.net with your nickname and the seller's ID) and an encrypted form, which is the default.
• You can add a tracking ID (TID) of up to 100 characters, using numbers, lowercase letters and underscores. A dash breaks the TID so it will not be tracked.
• TIDs are visible only to you, so you can compare traffic sources without telling the seller where traffic comes from.
• If several affiliates refer the same customer, the most recent affiliate to promote the offer with a HopLink gets the credit, provided the purchase falls inside the 60-day window.

The directory restriction list adds that HopLinks cannot be masked. That is a rule you need to know before you build cloaked links or redirect plugins around them. The general steps for placing links on a site are in our guide on how to get an affiliate link.

How to choose products

ClickBank's marketplace stats article defines four numbers you can use to compare offers:

The same page says that higher gravity suggests strong sales potential with more competition, while lower gravity can mean a less saturated niche. Read gravity as a competition signal as much as a quality signal.

Refund rate is a different case. The official stats page does not define it as a marketplace stat, and I could not confirm a definition or a threshold from ClickBank's own pages, so I will not quote one here. Use the refund policy in the record instead: with revenue share, a refund reverses your commission. A product with heavy refunds therefore costs you money even when sales look strong.

A practical shortlist method:

1. Start from your audience and topic, not from the highest number on the page.
2. Compare avg $ per conversion and EPC, which are tied to money, with gravity as a competition check.
3. Prefer offers with an upsell or rebill path if you pay revenue share, since the average includes those.
4. Open the seller's landing page and read it as a buyer would. If you would not recommend it, skip it.
5. Check whether the seller restricts how the offer may be promoted.

How ClickBank payouts work

ClickBank's payment schedule page says payments are issued on Fridays. The weekly pay period ends on Wednesday at 12:00 AM PST, and the biweekly period ends every other Wednesday. Direct deposit recipients can choose weekly. Bank processing time comes on top of the issue date.

From the directory record:

• Minimum payout: $100 by default, adjustable between $10 and $1,000,000. If you do not reach your threshold, no payment is issued for that period.
• Payment methods: direct deposit, check, wire transfer and Payoneer. The notes add that direct deposit is available only in the US and selected countries, and that check is the default method. The full list of options across the directory is on the payment methods page.
• Fee: $5 per payment issued.

The Customer Distribution Requirement

Before your first payment you must meet ClickBank's Customer Distribution Requirement: at least 5 sales, then a two-week wait before your pay details show compliance. If that two weeks spans pay cycles, payment comes on the following payday. ClickBank says the rule exists to prevent fraudulent use of accounts for personal rebates or discounts.

This is the part that surprises beginners. You can have a promising first week and still not be paid until you have five real sales and the waiting period is over.

Rules and restrictions to watch

From the record, three restrictions apply across the marketplace: the Customer Distribution Requirement, the $5 processing fee per payment, and the ban on masking HopLinks. Beyond those:

• Seller rules vary. The record notes that paid ads are commonly used on ClickBank, and its paid ads field says "Allowed", but per-offer rules apply. Read each seller's affiliate terms before you buy traffic.
• Brand bidding and coupons are "Not disclosed" in the record. Do not assume either is allowed.
• Refund exposure depends on the commission type, as covered above.
• The record's confidence is "high", and its sources are ClickBank's own support pages. Even so, the marketplace changes, so confirm current terms on the official site.

Who ClickBank suits and who it does not

ClickBank tends to suit you if:

• You can generate your own traffic (content, email, video or paid), and you want to test many niches without applying to each brand.
• You want to choose between revenue share and fixed CPA depending on how risk averse you are.
• You want a marketplace that the record lists as open worldwide, with the note that direct deposit is limited to the US and selected countries.

It suits less if:

• You want one well-known brand with published, stable terms. In a marketplace the terms are the seller's.
• You need a quick first payout. The five-sale requirement and waiting period slow it down.
• You want a single dashboard for established retail or SaaS brands. A brand-led network is closer to that.

Alternatives in the directory

The comparison below uses the directory records. These are networks and marketplaces, so commission and cookie vary by merchant, and most of them require approval from each brand.

Hotmart is the closest comparison inside the directory, since it is also a producer-led marketplace. Its record shows a 60-day default cookie set by the producer, and its confidence is "medium". Digistore24 is not in the directory, so I do not compare it here.

For a longer comparison of networks, see our guide to the best affiliate networks, the networks hub and the affiliate network category. If you want a comparison tied to your own site, the program match tool may help.

Frequently asked questions

How does ClickBank affiliate marketing work?

You open a free account, pick an offer from the marketplace, and promote it with your HopLink. If a customer buys within 60 days of clicking, you receive credit and commission. The seller decides the commission, and ClickBank pays you on a Friday schedule once you meet your threshold.

What is the ClickBank commission?

The directory record gives up to 90% revenue share, or a fixed CPA amount per sale. Each seller sets its own figure, and commission is calculated after ClickBank's fee of 7.5% + $1 per sale. Always read the offer page for the real rate.

How long does the ClickBank cookie last?

ClickBank's HopLinks guide says a purchase within 60 days of the click credits the referring affiliate. If more than one affiliate referred the customer, the most recent HopLink promoting the offer receives the credit.

When does ClickBank pay affiliates?

Payments are issued on Fridays, weekly for direct deposit users who choose it or biweekly otherwise. You also need to meet your payment threshold, which defaults to $100, and the five-sale Customer Distribution Requirement before the first payment.

Is ClickBank free to join?

The record lists a free account and marks approval as automatic, so you get marketplace access immediately. Individual sellers may restrict their offers, and there is a $5 processing fee on each payment issued.

Can I use paid ads with ClickBank?

The record marks paid ads as "Allowed" and notes they are commonly used, but per-offer rules apply. Brand bidding and coupon rules are not disclosed, so check the seller's terms before you spend on traffic.

What are gravity and EPC on ClickBank?

Gravity reflects how many affiliates earned a commission on the offer in the past 90 days. EPC is the average net commission earned per click in the last 30 days. Use gravity as a competition signal and EPC as a revenue signal.

Conclusion

ClickBank is a marketplace, so the useful skill is evaluating offers, not memorising one set of terms. The marketplace rules are clear: a 60-day cookie, Friday payments, a $100 default threshold, a five-sale requirement before the first payment and HopLinks that cannot be masked. Everything else depends on the seller.

Actionable next steps:

1. Read the ClickBank record and the three official support pages it cites before creating an account.
2. Pick one niche you can create content for, and shortlist three offers using avg $ per conversion, EPC and gravity.
3. Decide whether you prefer revenue share or fixed CPA, based on how much refund risk you accept.
4. Create tracking IDs without dashes so you can see which source produces sales.
5. Plan for the delayed first payment, and compare brand-led networks if you need steadier terms.

Earnings are never guaranteed, and affiliate terms change. Confirm the current terms on each program's official page before you join.