Work out what an affiliate program could realistically pay you, based on your traffic and how it converts at each step of the funnel.

Affiliate Earnings Calculator

Live

Monthly visitors to the page

Affiliate link click-through rate (% of visitors who click)

Conversion rate (% of those clicks that convert)

Commission per conversion ($)

Approval rate (% not reversed)

Estimated monthly commission

$1,080.00

Conversions / month

EPC (earnings per click)

$1.08

An estimate based on the rates you enter. Actual affiliate income varies with seasonality, product price changes, cookie windows, and reversed or refunded orders.

The formula

Affiliate clicks = Visitors x (Click-through rate / 100) Conversions = Affiliate clicks x (Conversion rate / 100) Commission = Conversions x Commission per conversion x (Approval rate / 100) EPC (earnings per click) = Commission / Affiliate clicks

Example

20,000 monthly visitors, 5% of whom click an affiliate link, gives 1,000 clicks. At a 2.4% conversion rate that's 24 conversions, and at $45 commission each that's $1,080/month - an EPC of exactly $1.08.

Why EPC is the metric worth tracking

Commission rate on its own is a weak comparison tool: a program paying 30% on a $20 product pays less per sale than one paying 4% on a $400 product. EPC solves that by folding conversion rate and commission into a single figure - what one click is actually worth to you. Once you know your EPC, you can compare two completely different programs directly, and you can put a real value on any traffic you send anywhere.

The other reason it matters: EPC is the number that tells you whether more traffic is worth chasing. At an EPC of $1.08, every extra 1,000 clicks is worth roughly $1,080 - which makes it straightforward to decide whether a piece of content is worth producing.

Step-by-step guide

Use one page, not your whole site - affiliate performance varies enormously between pages. A review page might convert at 4% while a general guide converts at 0.3%, so a site-wide average tells you very little.
Get the click-through rate from real data if you can - most affiliate dashboards report clicks, and your analytics reports visitors. Dividing one by the other beats guessing.
Enter the commission you actually receive - for percentage-based programs, work out the cash amount on a typical order value rather than entering the percentage.
Set approval rate below 100% if your program reverses orders - returns, cancellations, and unqualified leads all reduce what's finally paid. Many programs report this figure; if yours doesn't, tracking it over a few months is worthwhile.

Common mistakes

Using an optimistic conversion rate copied from a case study. Conversion rate is the input this calculation is most sensitive to - doubling it doubles the result - so an inflated guess produces a confident-looking number that's off by multiples.

Ignoring the cookie window. Programs vary from 24 hours to a year - a short window means visitors who buy a week later earn you nothing, which shows up as a much lower conversion rate than the product's own site reports.

Forgetting the disclosure requirement. In many jurisdictions - including under the FTC in the US - affiliate relationships must be disclosed clearly and near the link. It isn't optional, and programs themselves routinely require it in their terms.

Assuming a single strong month is repeatable. Affiliate income is lumpy - one high-value conversion can dominate a month's total, which makes a single month a poor basis for projecting a year.

Frequently asked questions

What's a realistic affiliate conversion rate?

It varies far too much by product, price point, and traffic intent for any single figure to be meaningful. High-intent traffic (someone actively comparing products) converts at a completely different rate from someone reading a general informational article. The reliable approach is to run the program for a while and use your own measured rate rather than a benchmark.

How do I handle recurring commissions?

This calculator models one-off commission per conversion. For subscription programs that pay monthly, enter the expected lifetime value of a referral instead of a single payment - or enter the monthly amount to see just the new commission each cohort adds, remembering that existing referrals keep paying on top.

Why is my EPC lower than the program advertises?

Programs typically publish network-wide average EPC, which is dominated by affiliates whose traffic is a better match for the product than yours may be. Your own EPC is the only figure that reflects your actual audience, and it's the one to plan with.

Do I need to disclose affiliate links?

Generally yes. Rules vary by country, but clear disclosure near the link is the widely expected standard and is required by the FTC in the US, and most affiliate programs make it a condition of their terms. Beyond compliance, undisclosed links tend to damage reader trust when discovered - which costs more long term than the disclosure ever does.

Is affiliate income more stable than ad income?

Not necessarily, but it's volatile in different ways. Ad revenue moves with broad advertiser demand; affiliate revenue depends on individual programs, which can cut commission rates, change cookie windows, or close entirely with little notice. Relying on one program for most of your income carries real concentration risk.

Are these earnings taxable?

Affiliate commission is generally treated as business or self-employment income and is taxable in most jurisdictions. The figure here is gross commission before tax and expenses - the specifics depend on where you live, so it's worth confirming with an accountant if the amounts are meaningful.

Related calculators

See the full list of Business calculators, or try: