The Amazon affiliate program — or officially called Amazon Associates — has been the most popular affiliate program for years. But if you want to build a better income stream, the following list of Amazon Associates alternatives are worth trying.
It is easy enough to understand why Amazon has been the most popular affiliate programs on the internet.
Amazon is the largest retailer platform with countless products available. You — the affiliate marketer — can pick products from a wide range of categories and recommend them to your audience.
Another reason, Amazon Associates is one of the oldest affiliate programs on the internet, which has allowed it to establish a good reputation and ecosystem.
Shortcuts ⤵️
- Issues with Amazon affiliate program
- Some things you need to look
- List of Amazon affiliate alternatives
- Bonus 🎁
- Conclusion
Some Issues About Amazon Affiliate Program
While the Amazon affiliate program is generally great, some issues exist among the affiliate marketers. The most common one is regarding the commission rate.
The average affiliate commission rate that affiliate marketers get is only 4%. This means that you will only get $2 for a $50 product you managed to sale.
For your information, there are hundreds of affiliate programs that offer way higher commission rate than Amazon. Elegant Themes, for instance. It offers up to 50% commission rate. You can get up $124 per sale!
Another common complain is the competition level.
You are not the only one who get into the Amazon affiliate game. There are thousands of other people on the internet — if not millions — who play the same game as you.
And they mostly use the same method in recommending Amazon products — SEO.
As more people getting into the game, the tighter the competition will be. It is natural.
So, if you want to get out of your comfort zone with the Amazon affiliate game, that’s natural too.
What You Need to Look in an Amazon Affiliate Program Alternative
As I said above, the biggest issue with the Amazon affiliate program is the commission rate. So, if you are looking for an alternative that offer a higher rate, that thing should be your main priority.
Some alternatives on the list below offer the commission rate up to 50%. Some affiliate programs even offer recurring commissions, which is great if you want to build the real passive income.
Two other crucial things you need to look are the cookie duration and payment method.
For an instant payment process, I recommend joining affiliate programs that offer payment via PayPal.
In general, here are the things you need to look before you join a new affiliate program:
- Commission rate
- Cookie duration
- Affiliate software
- Payment method
Let’s jump to the list.
Amazon Affiliate Alternatives for Physical Products:
1. Walmart
Walmart is a retailer giant direct competitor of Amazon. The platform provides nearly all product categories that Amazon provides.
While Walmart is another go-to website for shoppers to buy stuff online, its affiliate program is a top choice of those wanting to make money via affiliate marketing.
As a Walmart affiliate, you can pick the products you love and reccommend them to your audience and make money out of out. There are a wide range of product categories available on the platform — mostly physical products.
The problem with Walmart affiliate program is that it offers low commission rate just like Amazon. Only 1% – 4% per sale.
Key highlights of Walmart affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 1-4%
- Cookie duration: 3 days
- Payment method: PayPal, check, wire transfer, direct deposit, ACH transfer
- Products: Groceries, fashion, home decor, electronics, baby products, and etc.
- Registration URL: https://affiliates.walmart.com/
2. AliExpress
AliExpress is also a retailer giant just like Amazon and Walmart. Countless products are available on the platform, giving you a broad options to pick the products you want to recommend to your audience.
In AliExpress, you can find products from categories like apparel, home appliance, electronic, and a lot more.
The issue with AliExpress affiliate program is the same as Amazon and Walmart. It offers a low commission rate: only 4%.
Key highlights of AliExpress affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 4%
- Cookie duration: 3 days
- Payment method: PayPal and bank transfer
- Products: Fashion, electronics, jewelry, accessories, tools & home improvement, etc
- Registration URL: https://portals.aliexpress.com/
3. eBay
eBay is another closest competitor of Amazon. While the site was initially known as an auction site, things have changed. eBay is now known as one of the largest retailer platforms on the planet.
On eBay, not only you can find brand-new products, but also pre-loved products at lower prices. There are millions of products listed on the platform. Ranging from electronics, fashion, home appliances, toys, and a more.
If you are a content creator, eBay is a great alternative to Amazon to make money from affiliate marketing. Although the commission rate is relatively low — just like Amazon — eBay offers low payout threshold ($10). The best part, eBay accepts payment via PayPal.
Key highlights of eBay affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 1-4%
- Cookie duration: 24 hours
- Payment method: PayPal and bank transfer
- Products: Fashion, electronics, tools & home improvement, etc
- Registration URL: https://partnernetwork.ebay.com
4. Kohl’s
If you cover fashion a lot on your blog or YouTube channel, then joining the affiliate program of Kohl’s is worth considering.
Kohl’s is primariy selling apperel products for both men and women. On this website, you can find apparel brands which mostly come from the US.
Key highlights of Kohl’s affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 3%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
- Payment method: PayPal, check, bank transfer, direct deposit
- Products: Clothing, shoes, bedding, kitchen products, toys, beauty, etc
- Registration URL: https://www.kohls.com/info/affiliate-program.shtml
5. Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce platform that primarilty sells creative products. Think of products like handcrafts, t-shirts, handmade bags, printed arts, etc.
Etsy is indeed far behind Amazon and other e-commerce platforms above when it comes to product volume, but if you have a specific niche — art in particular — then Etsy is a perfect platform.
What makes the affiliate program of Etsy standout compared to other Amazon affiliate alternatives above is it offers longer longer cookie duration: 30 days.
Key highlights of Etsy affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 4%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment method: SEPA, BACS, ACH, domestic payments, international wire transfer
- Products: Handmade goods, handcrafts, printer arts, etc
- Registration URL: https://www.etsy.com/affiliates
6. Target
If you are from outside of the US, you might haven’t heard this brand before. But if you are a US resident, I am pretty sure you already know about the brand.
Target is another big retailer in the US, just like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay.
The product categories available on the Target’s platform are not much different to Amazon. You can find product categories like electronics, video game, grocery, furniture, and so on.
For an affiliate marketer like you, what Target offers is a bit more intereseting than Amazon. Mainly because it offers a higher commission rate. For every affiliate product you manage to sell, you will earn a 8% commission.
Also, the payment options are more flexible whereby it offers PayPal, check, wire transfer, to direct deposit.
Key highlights of Target affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 8%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
- Payment method: PayPal, check, wire transfer, direct deposit, ACH transfer
- Products: Electronics, video game, grocery, furniture, and so on.
- Registration URL: https://partners.target.com/
Amazon Affiliate Alternatives for Digital Products:
7. Envato
Smart affiliate marketers prefer recommending digital products rather than physical products for one main reason: digital products have no stock limit. Plus, digital products are accessible worldwide. While physical products commonly limited to certain regions only.
Envato is by far the best place to sell digital products. You can sell software, templates, photos, icons, videos, fonts, and other creative assets on the platform.
The Envato ecosystem itself consists of three platforms as follows:
- Envato Elements or simply Envato: Stock videos, stock photos, royalty-free music, video templates, fonts and more.
- Envato Market (ThemeForest and Codecanyon): WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, Shopify themes, Ghost themes, HTML templates, and more
- Placeit: Mockups, logo templates, content templates, and more
As an Envato affiliate, you can promote all products from the above platforms using a single affiliate platform.
Envato uses Impact to handle its affiliate program. The same platform used by companies like Shopify, HubSpot, to Namecheap.
FYI. Envato is now owned by Shutterstock. The acquisition took place in mid 2024.
Key highlights of Envato affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 30%
- Cookie duration: 60 days for Envato Elements and Envato Placeit / 90 days for Envato Market
- Payment method: Wire transfer
- Products: Stock photos, videos, WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, and more
- Registration URL: https://www.envato.com/affiliates
8. Creative Market
Creative Market is pretty similar to Envato. It is a platform where creative workers can market their works. What sets it apart from Envato is that all the products are sold in a single platform.
If you are a creative worker, you can sell nearly all types of digital products on this platform. Think of products like photos, videos, illustrations, icons, fonts, mockups, to WordPress themes.
As an affiliate, you have countless products to recommend to your audience. The opportunity is wide.
The best part of becoming a Creative Market affiliate is not only will you earn commission from the first purchase of your referred customers, but also future purchases made by the same customers you have referred to.
Key highlights of Creative Market affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 20% for new customers, 10% on returning customers, and 30% on membership sign ups
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Payment method: Wire transfer
- Products: Stock photos, videos, UI/UX templates, illustrations, fonts, etc
- Registration URL: https://creativemarket.com/affiliates
9. TemplateMonster
TemplateMonster is a marketplace where you can sell and buy digital products. Some products you can find on the platforms are Photoshop templates, landing page templates, presentation templates, and more.
You can also find WordPress themes, Shopify themes, to Magento themes on the platform.
Other products like plugins and video stocks are also available.
Joining the affiliate program of TemplateMonster is a great idea if you have a blog or YouTube channel that cover digital life.
Its commission scheme is pretty similar to Creative Market where you will earn commissions not just for initial purchase, but also future purchases from the same customers you referred to the platform.
Key highlights of TemplateMonster affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 30% on inital purchase and 10% on future purchases
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Payment method: PayPal, wire transfer, WebMoney.
- Products: Photoshop templates, landing page templates, presentation templates, WordPress themes, Shopify themes, etc
- Registration URL: https://affiliates.templatemonster.com/affiliates/
Amazon Affiliate Alternatives for Freelancing Services and Online Courses
10. Fiverr
You may already know about Fiverr. It is a marketplace where freelancers can market their services.
On the other hand, companies can hire talents without needing to pay a fixed salary. Instead, they only need to spend money per project.
As a content creator, you can help freelancers find a client for their service and earn a commission. Fiverr offers its affiliate partners the commission rate of 25% for the first contract. In the future — in the span of 12 months –, when the same client makes another hire/order, you also get a 10% commission.
In other words, joining the affiliate program of Fiverr is a great idea to build passive income.
Key highlights of Fiverr affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 25% on inital hire and 10% on future hires
- Cookie duration: 7 days
- Payment method: PayPal, Payoneer, and bank transfer
- Product: Freelancing services
- Registration URL: https://www.fiverr.com/partnerships/affiliates
11. Skillshare
Skillshare is a platform where creatives can share their knowledge via courses/classes. If you are not confident enough to share your knowledge, then you can help those who already have classes on the platform to promote their classes.
For every class you manage to sale, Skillshare will reward you the commission of 20%.
On the platform itself, you can find tens of thousands of classes. Ranging from categories like design, film, illustration, and other categories in the creative industry.
Key highlights of Skillshare affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 20%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment method: Bank transfer
- Product: Online class marketplace
- Registration URL: https://www.skillshare.com/en/affiliates
12. Udemy
Udemy is pretty similar to Skillshare where users can share their knowledge via online courses and make money out of them. The courses available on Udemy are mostly related to tech. Such as programming, computer network, and so on.
You can also find courses related to creative industry like video editing, image editing.
As a content creator, you can also make money from Udemy by recommending the existing courses instead of creating your own courses.
Joining the affiliate program of Udemy is a bit more challenging than other Amazon affiliate alternatives on the list, though. If you want to use website, you need to have at least 500 unique monthly visitors in the last 3 months.
If you want to use social media, you need to have at least 500 followers.
Key highlights of Udemy affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 7 days
- Payment method: PayPal, direct deposit
- Product: Online course marketplace
- Registration URL: https://www.udemy.com/affiliate/
Bonus: Amazon Affiliate Alternatives that Offer Recurring Commissions
If you want to build the real passive income via affiliate marketing, then there is no better idea than joining affiliate program that offer recurring commissions.
Yes. There are many affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions out there, allowing you build more sustainable, reliable revenue source.
Here is the list of affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions to replace Amazon affiliate program.
🚨 I have crafted a list of affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions. There are 300 affiliate programs on the list.
13. Elegant Themes
If you have a blog that covers WordPress a lot (like me 🙂). Or web design. Then joining the afiliate program of Elegant Themes is one of the best decisions you can make.
I have been its affiliate for over 5 years and have been able to build recurring commissions in enough amount.
The best part of being an Elegant Themes affiliate is that you will receive the payment on the first week of each month. Also, it offers high commission rate: 50%. Most importantly, Elegant Themes offers lifetime recurring commissions.
Meaning that you will keep earning the commissions from Elegant Themes as long as the users you referred remain subscribed.
Elegant Themes itself is the developer of the Divi theme. Divi is one of the most popular WordPress themes that comes with handy features like page builder and form builder.
If you want to learn more about Elegant Themes’ product, you can read my Divi Builder review.
In addition to Divi, Elegant Themes also has other products you can recommend, including Monarch and Bloom.
Key highlights of Elegant Themes affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 50%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment method: PayPal
- Products: WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, cloud storage
- Registration URL: https://www.elegantthemes.com/affiliates/
14. MailerLite
MailerLite is an email marketing platform, similar to Mailchimp. But it has way simpler interface and better spam filtering feature.
I can say that MailerLite is better than Mailerchimp because I have used the two. If you want to join the affiliate program of MailerLite, you can pick the “Mailchimp alternatives” angle to recommend it. However, the competition is super tight if you pick this angle.
Joining the affiliate program of a smart idea if you want to build MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) via affiliate marketing as MailerLite has a monthly billing cycle (yearly billing cycle is also available).
Before you recommend MailerLite, you can try its free version to explore the features to say to your audience.
Key highlights of MailerLite affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 30%
- Cookie duration: Undisclosed
- Payment method: PayPal
- Product: Email marketing platform
- Registration URL: https://www.mailerlite.com/affiliate
15. Kinsta
The affiliate program of Kinsta is also great if you truly want to build MRR via affiliate marketing. Kinsta adopts monthly billing cycle. Meaning that you will earn affiliate commissions on a monthly basis.
The recurring commission rate that Kinsta offers is not too high. Only 10%. But if you consistently refer new users each month, it can be a strong revenue foundation for your online business.
What is Kinsta, by the way?
Kinsta is a managed hosting hosting service for WordPress. It mainly targets agencies and freelancers.
To recommend Kinsta to your audience, you can use the same approach as MailerLite. In this case, you can say that Kinsta is one of the best alternatives to WP Engine, which is more popular in the WordPress community.
Key highlights of Kinsta affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 10%
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Payment method: PayPal
- Product: Managed hosting for WordPress
- Registration URL: https://kinsta.com/affiliates/
16. Teachable
Teachable is an online platform that allows users to make money by selling courses, memberships, private communites, to digital downloads. The platform also offers an affiliate program which you can leverage to replace Amazon affiliate program.
Same as Elegant Themes, Kinsta, and MailerLite, the affiliate program of Teachable also offers recurring commission, but only last for 12 months instead of lifetime.
If you want to join the affiliate program of Teachable, you can try it first so that you can tell your audience better about the product. You can try Teachable for free.
Key highlights of Teachable affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 30%
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment method: Bank transfer
- Product: Online course platform
- Registration URL: https://teachable.com/partners
17. Leadpages
You may already know about Leadpages. It is a popular landing page builder. Well, the platform is actually more than a page builder as you can also use it to sell digital products, sell subscriptions, and more.
Did you know that Leadpages also offers an affiliate program?
The affiliate program of Leadpages offers lifetime recurring commissions with the commission rate of 10-50%, depending on the user volume you manage you refer to the platform per month.
Key highlights of Leadpages affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 10-50%
- Cookie duration: Undisclosed
- Payment method: PayPal
- Product: Landing page builder platform
- Registration URL: https://ap.leadpages.com/
18. HubSpot
HupSpot is one of the most CRM platforms. Even if you don’t involve CRM on your business operational, I bet you already know about HubSpot as it has a strong brand.
Therefore, reccommending HubSpot to your audience will be an easy job thanks to its strong brand.
The affiliate program of HubSpot also offers recurring commissions. Not lifetime like Kinsta, Elegant Themes, or MailerLite. At least you won’t get the commissions once only.
Key highlights of HubSpot affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 30%
- Cookie duration: 180 days
- Payment method: Bank transfer
- Product: CRM platform
- Registration URL: https://www.hubspot.com/partners/affiliates
19. Notion
If you love to create content about productivity on your blog or YouTube channel, then there is no better way to monetize your content than joining the affiliate program of Notion, which offer 50% recurring commission rate for a year.
Notion, as you know, is a popular productivity tool that has a vibrant community. Notion is not just a note-taking app. It is a Swiss Army Knife productivity tool.
Recently, Notion released some new products. Including Mail, Forms and Automations. Allowing you to have more angles to recommend Notion to your audience.
A crucial thing to note that Notion is is a freemium product. So, if you want to earn a commission, you have two jobs to do. First, you need to urge your audience to use the app. Second, you need to persuade them to upgrade to the pro version.
Ideally, you show them what features they can unlock after upgrading to the pro version. In other words, you need to use the pro version too.
Key highlights of Notion affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 50%
- Cookie duration: 180 days
- Payment method: PayPal
- Products: Note-taking app, form builder, project tracker, email client and more
- Registration URL: https://www.notion.so/affiliates
20. Depositphotos
Depositphotos is a stock photo website. Not as popular as Getty Images or Shutterstock, but its affiliate program offers a better commission structure.
Not only you will earn the commission for the initial purchase made by your referrals, but you will also earn the commissions from your referrals within the span of 3 years! So, it is safe to say that Depositphotos is better to make money than Getty Images and Shutterstock as an affiliate.
Photos are not the only product type that Depositphotos sells. In addition, it also sells other creative assets like videos, music, and illustrations.
Key highlights of Depositphotos affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 40% on initial purchase and 15% on future purchases
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Payment method: PayPal, direct deposit, bank transfer
- Products: Photos, videos, illustrations, music, and more
- Registration URL: https://depositphotos.com/referral.html
21. Craft
Craft is a productivity tool that mainly used to create documents. With this tool, you can work on a document collaborately with your teammates. It comes with features like metion, comment, real-time notification and more.
If you want to join the affiliate program of Craft, you can use the angles like “Notion alternatives”, “note-taking apps”, “Evernote alternatives”, and so on.
Same as its competitor Notion, Craft is also released as a freemium tool. So, you have two jobs to complete before you can earn a commission. Craft offer a long cookie duration, though.
Key highlights of Craft affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 50%
- Cookie duration: 180 days
- Payment method: Bank transfer
- Products: Note-taking app, to-do list app, calendar app
- Registration URL: https://www.craft.do/affiliates
22. Kit (formerly ConvertKit)
Kit was previously known as ConverKit. It is an email newsletter platform used by well-known creators like Justin Welsh to James Clear (the writer of Atomic Habits book). Kit is a popular newsletter platform among the creators because it comes with features dedicated to helping creators grow, including Creator Network.
As a creator, you can also make extra money by recommending Kit to your audience. Kit will reward you with a 50% commission for the initial subscription and 10-20% commissions for the subscription renewal for 12 months.
Some key features that Kit offers include email automation, built-in payment feature to launch paid newsletters, to landing page builder.
Key highlights of Kit affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 50% on the initial subscription and 10-20% on renewals
- Cookie duration: Undisclosed
- Payment method: PayPal
- Product: Email newsletter platform
- Registration URL: https://kit.com/affiliate
23. 1Password
If you are looking for an Amazon affiliate program alternative that offer recurring commissions, 1Password is another program that worth considering.
1Password is a tool that you can use to manage passwords. Your passwords will be stored in the cloud and can be accessed via any device you have. From MacBook, Windows laptop, Android phone, to iPhone.
Two content ideas you can produce to recommend 1Password to your audiences are “cross-platform password manager” and “LastPass alternatives”.
Key highlights of 1Password affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 25%
- Cookie duration: Undisclosed
- Payment method: PayPal, direct deposit
- Product: Password manager
- Registration URL: https://1password.com/affiliate/
24. TimeDoctor
If you have a blog or YouTube channel that covers about online business a lot, TimeDoctor is a great app you can recommend to your audience.
TimeDoctor is a time tracker app widely used by distributed companies to track the activities of their remote employees. The app also comes with supporting features like productivity analytics, employee monitoring, and more.
For every TimeDoctor user you manage you refer, you will earn the commission of 30% for 3 years.
Key highlights of TimeDoctor affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 25%
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Payment method: PayPal
- Product: Time tracker
- Registration URL: https://partner.timedoctor.com/affiliate/
25. Filemail
Recommending Filemail is also worth trying if you want to build passive income via affiliate marketing. The platform offers the commission rate of 20% for an entire year.
What is Filemail?
It is a file transfer service. Unlike Google Drive or Dropbox, Filemail doesn’t permanently store your your files. Instead, your files will be deleted automatically after being sent. Also, Filemail has better protocols to transfer large files faster.
You can use Filemail if you often send large files like videos or RAW images. You can send up to 5GB of files for free. Larger than that, you are required to upgrade to the paid version.
Key highlights of Filemail affiliate program:
- Commission rate: 20%
- Cookie duration: 90 days
- Payment method: PayPal
- Product: Online file transfer
- Registration URL: https://www.filemail.com/resources/affiliate-program
Conclusion – Which Amazon Affiliate Alternatives You Should Join?
Amazon affiliate program a.k.a Amazon Associates is great to make money online if you don’t have your own products to sell. There are countless products from a wide range of categories you can help to sell/recommend.
The main problem with Amazon Associates is that the commission rate is too low. Also, it is nearly impossible to build sustainable revenue with it because you only earn the commission once.
If you truly want to build sustainable revenue, I strongly suggest you join affiliate programs that offer recurring commissions. This way, if your traffic drops unexpectedly due to Google algorithm update, you keep earning the commissions as long as you have made enough sales before it.
Elegant Themes, Kinsta, and MailerLite are three of the affiliate programs I recommend the most. I can recommend them because also joined them.
If your intention of looking for an Amazon Associate alternative is to anticipate products being out of stock on Amazon — while you already have enough traffic on potential keywords — then Walmart and eBay are the best fit.
