How Big is Web Hosting Industry?
Analysts expect the web hosting industry to reach a value of $204.6 billion in 2024. That’s a lot of money, and a chunk of it goes to affiliate marketers. Like many businesses today, web hosting companies prefer to focus on their core services, allowing affiliates to help them extend the reach of their marketing efforts – after all, there’s no initial cost involved.
Most web hosting companies run their affiliate programs, each with somewhat unique terms and varying commission rates. If you’re a blogger or content creator, here are some of the highest-paying web hosting affiliate programs to get involved in now.
1. WP Engine Affiliate Program
WP Engine is a high-priced, full-featured, Managed WordPress hosting service provider. Their web hosting plans are not cheap as they start from $25/month – but this allows the WP Engine affiliate program to offer stunning payouts.
WP Engine Commission Rate: $200 per Sale + Bonuses
Their commissions come as one-time payments for every new purchase, a whopping $200 minimum or equivalent to the first-month amount – whichever is higher. For an annual purchase, the total price is divided by 12 to find the equivalent monthly rate.
Bear in mind that they need the new referrals to remain uncancelled for a minimum of 62 days before any commission is considered final. Affiliate payments are on the 20th of each month but note that you don’t get commissions for plan upgrades and add-ons.
There’s an additional bonus commission structure as well. If you refer more than five and less than ten customers each month to WP Engine, you get an extra $100 on top of your existing commission. This additional commission goes up to $1,500 for more than 60 referrals.
WP Engine has a fantastic 180-day cookie duration, so you have up to six months for your visitors to help you earn your commission. That’s one of the most extended cookie duration you’re going to find in the web hosting affiliate space.
2. Cloudways Affiliate Program
Cloudways provide high-performance and security Cloud hosting with a choice of infrastructure provider. The Cloudways affiliate program has a flexible commission structure and gives you a choice between a performance-based commission (Slab) or a more passive income model (Hybrid).
Cloudways Commission Rate: $100 per Sale
If you opt for the Slab model and refer 45 customers, they’ll pay you $100 per sale. This amounts to total earnings of $4,500. The Slab model resets on the 1st of each month.
If you’re in for the long run, you can opt for a Hybrid model (performance + recurring based). You’ll earn $30 per signup + 7% lifetime commission. It may seem that you earn less initially, but the returns can be significant in the long run.
The commission payment process takes place once your monthly earnings reach $250 (approved commission). Payment transfers are completed by the 10th of the month. They also offer a significant 90-day cookie duration, which gives more than enough time for your potential leads to decide to make their purchase.
3. A2 Hosting Affiliate Program
A2 Hosting ticks all the right boxes necessary for a stable and fast website with its excellent server performance and powerful features. The A2 Hosting affiliate program is known for its low-cost tag and superior quality services.
Although A2 plans start at a very impressive low of $2.99/mo, they scale quickly, and some hosting plans can cost a fair amount. Regardless of plan cost, you’ll earn a fixed amount per sale since the company wants more volume instead.
A2 Hosting Affiliate Commission: $55 – $125 per Sale
Their tagline – the more you sell, the more you earn.
Because of that, they introduced a structured commission rate allowing affiliates to earn more as the volume of sales increase. For example, the lower end of the scale pays $55 that hits as much as $125 per sale if you move more than 21 sales per month.
There’s also a very MLM-Esque second-tier commission rate, meaning if someone signs up for their affiliate program through you, they’ll pay you a $5 commission for each sale made through that connection.
Payouts are made on the 15th of each month as long as you have $100 in approved commissions. Don’t worry; if you don’t make $100 in a month, the payment is released the following month (or whenever you hit the payout threshold).
Also, A2 Hosting’s cookie policy allows 90 days before expiry, which is a pretty decent duration. They also offer banners and other promotional materials to help you attract more eyes.
4. ScalaHosting Affiliate Program
ScalaHosting has been around for some time and is said to take the lead in Managed Cloud VPS hosting services. They are known for developing tools that help improve hosting while reducing cost.
Their web hosting plan starts from as low as $3.95/mo and Managed Cloud VPS is extremely competitively, starting from $9.95/mo. This pricing helps the well-structured ScalaHosting affiliate program make a strong impact.
ScalaHosting Commission rate: $50 – $200 per Sale
ScalaHosting commissions are tiered based on how many sales you make in a month. If you refer more than ten VPS hosting customers per month, you can get paid as much as $200 per sale.
The minimum payout threshold is $100, and once you hit that, payments are made on the 5th of the month following a 45-day withholding period (the length of the money-back period guarantee). You are given a 60-days cookie period.
Scala Hosting has a reasonable 8% conversion rate when it comes to its affiliate program. Additionally, they offer complimentary one-month hosting to all affiliates; a sweet deal indeed.
5. Bluehost Affiliate Program
With over $5 million paid in commissions last year, it is no wonder that the Bluehost affiliate program is the favorite among many. Bluehost is a household name in the web hosting space and one of the most heavily promoted service providers for WordPress.
Their hosting plans start low at $3.95/month – an excellent buy-in price that helps with getting higher conversion rates. Terms on the affiliate program are impressive – a flat $65 for each qualified sale. You don’t need to meet a certain tier level before qualifying for this rate.
They also provide attractive banners which you can use on your website. As of writing, Bluehost offers commission for only qualified hosting purchases. There are no other additional commissions for add-ons or hosting renewals.
BlueHost Hosting Commission Rate: $65 per Sale
Take note that they require a one-time $100 minimum sales before the first commission payment is processed, after which they are willing to process even single sales. Bluehost cookie duration is a significant 90 days, giving you a higher chance of earning that commission.
Unless, of course, customers clear their browser cache and cookies before then.
6. Kinsta Affiliate Program
Kinsta is a high-end, fully managed WordPress hosting provider running on Google Cloud’s premium network. This host specializes in providing high-end, fully managed solutions to all business sizes.
Kinsta Commission: $50 – $500 per Sale
Kinsta plans aren’t cheap and start at $30/mo, but the Kinsta affiliate program pays out $50 to $500 per sale. These payouts vary depending on what plan sells through your referral:
- Starter plan – $50 in commission
- Pro plan – $100 in commission
- Business plans – $150 in commission
- Enterprise plans – $500 in commission
The most critical element of their affiliate program is the 10% monthly recurring lifetime commissions for each plan sold. That means as long as the customer stays with Kinsta – you’ll earn that bonus forever.
Kinsta shines in its recurring commission for the customer you referred. With a less than a 4% churn rate, this means you’ll get to build real value in your passive income.
They have a 60-day tracking cookie to increase your chances of earning the commission, and your earnings get paid in a 60-day conversion window (time taken from when a client clicks the affiliate link to signing up).
They also offer lots of promotional banners and logos, along with guides and resources for affiliates.
7. HostGator Affiliate Program
HostGator is one of the longest-standing web hosting services in the industry. They offer low hosting plan prices starting at $2.75/mo, and the HostGator affiliate program offers flexible payouts beginning with a progressive tiered payout structure.
Hostgator Commission Rate: $65 – $125 per Sale
Affiliate commissions are performance-based that reward a higher volume of conversions. It darts at $65 per signup, and if you refer more than 21 successful sales per month, it eventually hits a high of $125 per signup.
Payouts are done monthly, but sales take two months for qualification. You need to earn a minimum of $100 in sales before any payouts are processed. Still, HostGator has a solid affiliate support system with lots of guidance on offer and various banners and other materials. Cookie duration here is a more or less standard 60 days.
8. LiquidWeb Affiliate Program
LiquidWeb offers a more polished and professional hosting choice and targets those who are into service quality. Being a leader in the premium managed hosting space, you can expect the Liquidweb affiliate program to be enriching.
LiquidWeb Commission Rate: $150 per Sale
For each successful sale you refer, you’ll earn 150% of the monthly hosting cost – with a $150 minimum. That means if the deal is less than $150, you’ll still $150 in commission. However, if you refer to a higher-valued plan customer, you’ll get the total 150% value of the plan. There's also a 50% bonus for pre-paid plans.
They provide excellent support to their affiliates via exclusive sales and offers along with coupons. Also, they allow you to use their professional ads and referral links to help promote your business. Cookie duration with this program is 90 days.
9. iPage Affiliate Program
iPage offers various plans suitable for a broad audience, including one that has an introductory price of $1.99/mo. The iPage affiliate program has a tiered commission rate that also rewards those with high sales volume – The more you refer, the more you'll get.
iPage Commission Rate: $65 – $125 per Sale
Commissions also vary depending on plans sold. Shared, WordPress, Website Builder, and VPS hosting plan sales receive a $65 commission. The sale of dedicated hosting plans boosts that to a $150 commission. Commissions are only payable for annual plan signups.
Their payout turnaround is two months after the end of the month when the purchase is made. Since iPage offers some of the cheapest hosting plans around, you can expect to have a higher conversion rate for your referrals. An extended 120-days cookie duration also helps with that.
10. GreenGeeks Affiliate Program
For affiliates who are nature lovers, GreenGeeks is an excellent choice with which to partner. They offer eco-friendly web hosting plans that pay GreenGeeks affiliates in a tiered structure based on volume. Essentially, it’s another that has a focus on the volume of sales.
GreenGeeks Commission: $50 – $100 per Sale
Even if you only refer one successful sale per month, it will earn a $50 commission. Unlike other hosts that expect you to refer dozens of sales each month, you make progressively more with each additional sale – up to a cap of $100 per sale.
That’s likely a good reason why the affiliate program for this host can boast a 15,000-strong affiliate network. Affiliates get access to custom trackers, targeted landing pages, and real-time statistics as well.
If you’re able to refer an even higher sales volume, GreenGeeks is willing to negotiate special incentives and bonuses – so get cracking and boost that income now! Oh yes, they have a cookie duration of just the standard 60-days.
How Affiliate Programs Work
Companies recruit affiliates to promote their products and provide them with a unique link to use. This link diverts from affiliate websites to the company owning the link. Each time a site visitor clicks the link and makes a purchase, a commission gets allocated for that affiliate.
An affiliate link is a unique URL that contains the affiliate's ID or username. Advertisers use this to track visitors sent to their website.
On your end, as the affiliate, you’ll need to have content on your website that attracts web traffic. For example, an article reviewing the web hosting services you wish to promote. Placing the affiliate link in the post will allow you to earn from site visitors that use it to buy a product.
You can also give discounts and display campaigns to attract the attention of your audience.
So, when a visitor clicks the links and recommendations available on your site and makes a purchase of the web hosting service, you’ll get a commission for the sale.
Also Read
Why Sell Web Hosting as an Affiliate
Personal websites need web hosting – and so do business, eCommerce, web applications, and more. The market volume is significant and increasing each year. Unless the world somehow gets a source of limitless free web hosting – you can look forward to massive potential earnings.
There are many affiliate programs around – for instance, Amazon Affiliates, which pay pennies on the dollar to affiliates. Do you want to earn … 20 cents for a referral? At that rate, you’ll struggle to earn enough for a cup of coffee at Starbucks, not to say earn a living.
Web hosting affiliate programs are one of the highest-paying around, allowing you to earn a good income per sale. These affiliate programs have also been around for some time, making them less risky and able to provide a stable platform for use.
Still, when choosing the best web hosting affiliate programs, you should exercise some caution. High payouts are good, but not all web hosting companies are equal. SiteGround, for example, is a solid host with a strong affiliate program but has been known to bump affiliates out of their program when it suits them.
Conclusion
Web hosting affiliate programs work well if you consistently put out great content. Remember, the number of conversions you successfully make depends a lot on search engine ranking. If you rely on ads, you are likely to spend more than you earn in sales.
Choosing which web hosting affiliate program to sign up for, on its own, is not that difficult. However, you always need to be cautious when choosing what you promote. It’s not all about reaping the highest commission; it’s also about keeping your content legitimate.
