Frequently Asked Questions

PayoutDeals is NOT an affiliate network. We are an independent, open intelligence directory and discovery aggregator.

Affiliate networks (like Awin, Impact, or CJ) manage link tracking, escrow accounts, and payments. PayoutDeals crawls, indexes, benchmarks, and ranks the highest-paying programs across all networks and direct programs in one place, allowing publishers to find top-tier payouts in seconds without jumping between dozens of closed portals.

Yes, 100% free. There are no registration walls, paywalls, or membership fees required to browse our directory, search deals, compare cookie lifespans, or access direct sign-up links.

We believe transparency benefits the entire affiliate ecosystem by forcing programs to compete with higher commissions and fairer attribution windows.

Every program listed in our directory undergoes continuous monitoring:

1. Automated Link Health Checks: Our background scheduler continuously ping-checks landing pages and affiliate signup portals to flag 404s or paused programs.
2. Community Sentiment & Reviews: We aggregate verified publisher feedback and community quotes regarding tracking reliability and payout timeliness.
3. Manual Commission Audits: Our editorial research team regularly audits public terms, checking for revised commission structures or shortened cookie windows.

A 0–100% score from publisher discussion. We only show it when that listing has been refreshed — it is not a default 92%.

It is a word-of-mouth signal before you apply or send traffic, not a live ranking of every programme.

Community sentiment in the Jargon Buster

Click View Intel on a deal card to open the programme page. From there, Apply sends you to the merchant or network to join.

Once they approve you, you get your tracking link from them — not from this directory.

Apply and View Intel in the Jargon Buster

All payments are made directly by the merchant or their managing affiliate network into your linked bank account (BACS, SEPA, ACH, Wire) or PayPal.

Payout schedules generally follow Net-30 or Net-60 terms (e.g. sales generated in January are paid at the end of February after refund windows close).

Payout schedule in the Jargon Buster

Yes! Use our directory filters to target programs with Instant or Easy approval difficulty:

• Instant: Provides tracking links immediately upon sign-up (ideal for new bloggers, newsletter writers, and social creators).
• Easy: Automated verification requiring minimal details.
• Vetted: Requires manual human review of your website, audience metrics, or compliance standards (e.g. regulated FinTech apps).

Approval labels in the Jargon Buster

The market badge is about which customers count toward commission:

• UK Only: UK customers (UK residents or UK billing addresses).
• Global: customers worldwide.
• UK & EU or US & UK: those regions.

Target market labels in the Jargon Buster

New: the programme was listed here in the last 24 hours. It is not a claim that the merchant just launched.

Featured: Editor-pinned programmes (the same pin as Featured networks). Default directory sort is Featured: pinned listings first, then by payout. It is not a live community-score threshold.

New and Featured in the Jargon Buster

Open What's new (/changelog) for programmes added or link-checked in the last 14 days. New listings and recently verified programmes appear in separate sections. Paused programmes are not shown.

What's new is also in the top navigation next to Guides (and in the menu on smaller screens). Card New badges are different: they only mark programmes listed in the last 24 hours.

Yes. Join the mailing list for a free email every two weeks. By default we send programmes we have just listed. You can also opt in to listings we paused (closed, paused, or apply link dead). Choose all niches or one category. Confirm the first email before anything else is sent. Unsubscribe in one click. We do not create an account.

Click the bookmark icon (ribbon) on any deal card to save it in this browser. You can save up to 50 programmes. They stay on your device and persist across sessions.

To view them, click Saved in the top-right navigation (or open the menu on mobile). From Saved, Print shortlist opens a print-ready pack of up to 12 programmes — use your browser’s Print dialog and choose Save as PDF if you want a file. You can also open Saved via /?view=saved.

Saved bookmarks in the Jargon Buster

Yes! The directory offers two powerful filtering layers beyond simple search:

Traffic Channels: SEO & Content, YouTube & Video, Social & Influencers, Email & Newsletters, Comparison & Reviews, Communities & Forums, Podcasts & Audio, and PPC & Paid Ads. Use the Traffic Channels control in the filter panel.

Customer location: Filter by where the merchant’s customers must be for you to earn — Global (worldwide), US & Canada, Europe, or UK only. This is not your language or where you live as a publisher. Cards show a location badge when the programme is not worldwide.

Sort: The directory toolbar Sort control orders the list. Featured (default) pins editor-featured programmes first, then by payout — the same pin as Featured networks. Latest is newest listings first. Other options are Highest Payout, Longest Cookie, Most Popular, and Program Name (A–Z).

Traffic channels and target market in the Jargon Buster

Use the view toggle buttons (top-right of the directory toolbar) to switch between two layouts:

Card Grid: Visual discovery mode showing rich program cards with brand logos, commission badges, cookie windows, and community sentiment at a glance. Best for browsing and comparing programs by visual cues.

Executive Table: Side-by-side spreadsheet-style view with sortable columns for brand, payout type, value, cookie window, network, approval difficulty, and community score. Best for data-driven comparison workflows. Your view preference is saved automatically.

The Earnings Calculator (accessible from the More menu in the top-right navigation) projects your potential monthly commission revenue from any program:

1. Monthly Traffic: visitors you expect to send per month.
2. Conversion Rate: the share of clicks that become a customer.
3. Average Deal Payout: the commission figure you want to model.

The result is a rough illustration from the numbers you set, not a prediction of actual earnings. Always verify programme terms on the network portal.

Conversion rate in the Jargon Buster

Affiliate Networks (Awin, Impact, CJ) are third-party hubs that connect thousands of merchants with creators. They consolidate multiple payouts into a single monthly deposit.

Direct Programs are hosted directly by the merchant using partner software (like FirstPromoter or Rewardful). Because the brand does not pay 20%–30% platform override fees to a legacy network, they often pass these savings directly to affiliates in the form of 20%–40% recurring lifetime monthly revenue (MRR).

Network vs Direct in the Jargon Buster

The cookie window is the number of days tracking remains active in a customer’s browser after they click your link.

If a program offers a 60-day cookie, you will receive full commission credit if the customer signs up anytime within 60 days of your initial recommendation. Longer cookie windows protect your traffic investment on complex, high-ticket products with long deliberation cycles.

Cookie in the Jargon Buster

The All Networks filter aggregates deals across Awin, Impact, CJ, and Direct in a unified view. If you already hold an active publisher account on a specific platform (like Awin or Impact), you can select that network in the filter to view only programs you can promote instantly without signing up for new networks.

Click Networks in the top navigation to open the affiliate network comparison engine. This directory features 10+ major networks (Awin, Impact, CJ, Partnerize, Everflow, Travelpayouts, and more) with rich profile data:

Each network card displays a Community Sentiment Score aggregated from Reddit and publisher forum discussions, minimum payout thresholds, payment frequency, publisher pros/cons, and real sample deals from that network.

Toggle between Publisher and Merchant perspectives to see network fees, contract terms, and take rates relevant to your role. Click any network to open a detailed modal with full Reddit intel quotes and a searchable sample deal table.

Publishers vs Merchants in the Jargon Buster

You can submit your program directly via our in-app submission modal by clicking the "Submit Deal" button in the top navigation, or by contacting our research team at partners@payoutdeals.com.

Submissions are reviewed by our editorial team within 48–72 hours for commission competitive health, tracking reliability, and landing page security.

To maintain directory quality for our publisher audience, we enforce high standards:

1. Competitive Payouts: Programs must offer above-average commissions (e.g. £50+ CPA or 20%+ recurring MRR).
2. Transparent Attribution: Minimum 30-day cookie window and transparent tracking terms.
3. Verified Solvency: Active payment rails and a positive publisher payment track record.