20+ Best Software Affiliate Programs

The software industry is expected to reach over $650 billion by the end of 2023, so it’s a pretty huge market. Luckily, you can get your own slice of it if you have an active audience and promote a software product or service that resonates with it.

This means finding the right software affiliate program for your blog, site, social media, or YouTube channel. But with so many programs out there, finding the best one for you can be overwhelming. You have to consider your audience’s interests, the commission rates, and the payment methods.

But don’t worry. We’re here to help you make the right decision without wasting your time or losing your audience. We’ll share the top choices for software affiliate programs currently available on the market. Before we delve into them, let’s explain a few things about software affiliate programs and how they work.

What Is a Software Affiliate?

A software affiliate is a third-party publisher that promotes software to their audience and earns a commission for doing so. They market the specific software on their site, blog, social media platform, or podcast in an appealing way to convince their audience to buy it.

The affiliate earns money if someone from their audience does buy the software. How much money they earn depends on several factors, including the commission type, commission rate, and the number of sales or leads they make. 

How Does Software Affiliate Marketing Work?

The affiliate promotes the software on their channel, leaving a unique affiliate link where their audience can find it. When someone clicks their affiliate link and buys the software, they earn a portion of the revenue. So the more sales, the more profit for both parties, the affiliate and the company or brand they promote.

To make more sales, software affiliates should understand what their audience needs and wants so they can promote software their audience is willing to buy. This is why affiliates should stick to their niche because their customers or visitors are most likely there because they like what they read or see.

However, the customers or audience must know that the affiliate is receiving a commission off the software they buy.

Full Providers Review

There are thousands of software affiliate programs out there, so finding the best ones can take a lot of time and energy. To make things easier for you, we’ve scoured the internet and reviewed the best affiliate programs for everyone in the software industry.

Reading them will take a few minutes and save you hours of promoting time. So let’s start with the one we think is great for any audience.

1. Pawns.app

Pawns.app is a legitimate global app that allows you to make passive income by taking online surveys and sharing your unused bandwidth. You can join it no matter where you are in the world and start earning some side cash in your spare time. A survey can take up to 2 minutes to complete and pays up to $2. The bandwidth-sharing feature, on the other hand, allows you to earn some cash, gift cards, or Bitcoin by letting the app run in the background while sleeping or doing anything online.

The Pawns.app affiliate program is great for any audience because it allows them to create a consistent stream of passive income. You can join it for free and earn a lifetime commission of up to 20% on every referral’s payout. So no matter how much money your referrals make with Pawns.app, you get a 20% share of their earnings for life.

The program includes free training and promoting materials, a dedicated account manager, and an easy-to-use dashboard to track your progress. It supports multiple payment options, including PayPal, crypto, and banks. Plus, it has an uncommonly long 90-day cookie duration. And the $1 bonus for each new member makes the program even more attractive, so you’ll probably make plenty of referrals.

• Commission rate – up to 20% lifetime commission from earnings made by referrals.
• Getting paid – 30 days after your referrals join the app and start using it.
• Payment method – PayPal, virtual gift cards, and BTC currency.
• Cookie duration – 90 days.

2. Swagbucks

Swagbucks is a site that pays you for doing several online activities like taking online surveys, watching videos, playing games, surfing the web, etc. It’s a legitimate site that allows people to earn a passive income for over 17 years. However, it’s not available everywhere, so you should check if it supports your location before learning about its SB point system.

As long as Swagbucks is available in your country, you can join its affiliate program and promote it on your channel. You can earn a flat rate of $2.20 for every new user registered on the site who verifies their email address through your original affiliate link. Swagbucks supports PayPal and bank transfers and has a cookie duration of 30 days. The user-friendly dashboard makes it perfect for anyone. The lack of recurring commissions is a downside.

• Commission rate – a flat rate of $2.20 for every new user that joins the app.
• Getting paid – N/A
• Payment method – PayPal and bank transfers.
• Cookie duration – 30 days.

3. Toluna

Toluna is a popular survey site that allows you to earn points by taking online surveys. The points can be redeemed for cash, gift cards, or donations, so it’s an excellent way to earn cash in your spare time. Usually, the longer the survey is, the more points you get, so you get paid by the amount of time you spend on the platform.

The affiliate program of Toluna allows site and blog owners and social media influencers to earn commission by promoting it to their audience. Whenever someone signs up on the platform using your original affiliate link, you get a flat rate of $1.20. The cookie duration is 45 days, and you get paid via PayPal.

The program is free to join, so you can try it no matter your niche, as who doesn’t want to make extra money in their free time? Since the platform doesn’t share much information about its affiliate program, you may want to contact Toluna to learn more about it.

• Commission rate – a flat rate of $1.20 per new user.
• Getting paid – every month before the 20th on paid transactions by the advertiser.
• Payment method – PayPal.
• Cookie duration – 45 days.

4. YouGov

Here’s another global survey platform that lets you take online surveys for money. The data analytics and market research company YouGov gives people a chance to earn a little bit of extra cash in their spare time by answering questionaries’ on different topics. The platform notifies you via email to ensure you don’t miss any available surveys. YouGov uses a point system, so after completing each survey, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for cash.

Its affiliate program is free to join and pays up to $3 per lead. Other than this, we couldn’t find any other information about it, so it’s best to contact the support team to find out more about it before joining it. We still decided to include it on our list of best software affiliate programs because it’s a program that many content creators can promote on their channels.

• Commission rate – up to $3 per lead.
• Getting paid – N/A
• Payment method – N/A
• Cookie duration – 30 days.

5. SiteGround

SiteGround is a popular web hosting service that provides domain registrations, cloud hosting, shared hosting, email hosting, and enterprise solutions. It’s known for its simple user interface and great customer support. The service is very popular with all sorts of clients, from small blogs to large eCommerce sites.

The SiteGround affiliate program has fantastic commission rates of up to 100% per sale, making it one of the highest-paying software affiliate programs out there. Every time someone from your audience uses your affiliate link to sign up on the platform, you earn a commission. The more new users you bring to SiteGround, the higher the commission is.

The cookie duration is 60 days, and you can get paid weekly via PayPal or wire transfer. However, the minimum payout threshold for wire transfers is $5,000, so you have to bring a bunch of new users to the platform before seeing your affiliate earnings.

• Commission rate – up to 100% commission per sale, depending on the number of referrals you bring to the service.
• Getting paid – you’ll be paid on Wednesday of every week following the first 30 to 40 days after the sale.
• Payment method – PayPal or wire transfer.
• Cookie duration – 60 days.

6. SEMRush

SEMRush is a well-known name in the digital marketing industry, currently used by more than 7 million people worldwide. With an arsenal of over 40 digital marketing tools, SEMRush is the place where you can find anything you need to run digital marketing strategies. The SaaS platform allows you to conduct competitor analysis, keyword research, and Google Ad optimization.

The affiliate program offers one of the highest commissions in the market, making it very tempting for any content creator in the industry. There’s a flat $0.01 commission per account signup, a flat $10 commission per new lead, and a flat $200 commission per subscription.

The cookie duration is 120 days which is amazing, and a dedicated team is available to help you promote the software. The minimum payout via PayPal is $50 and $1,000 via wire transfer.

• Commission rate – $0.01 commission per account signup, $10 per new lead, and $200 per subscription.
• Getting paid – twice a month, on the 10th and 25th of every month after reaching the minimum payout threshold.
• Payment method – PayPal or wire transfer, with a $50 minimum payout threshold for PayPal and $1,000 for wire transfer.
• Cookie duration – 120 days.

7. Flywheel

Flywheel is a hosting platform that allows you to build, scale, and manage multiple WordPress sites quickly and efficiently. It’s powered by the Google Cloud Platform so it guarantees high speeds, security, and ease of use. Flywheel offers fantastic tools for web designers, developers, agencies, and freelancers, such as a custom cashing engine, WordPress optimization, and free CDN.

The Flywheel affiliate program is free to join and offers an impressive one-time commission of 300% of the referral’s first payment. No matter what plan they choose, you’ll get this commission. And if they purchase more plans, Flywheel will pay you a commission for each of them, up to $500 per referral source.

There’s no minimum payout threshold, and the cookie lasts for 90 days. You get paid via PayPal, but there’s a waiting period of 90 days before you get your earnings.

• Commission rate – 300% of the referral’s first payment, no matter the plan selected.
• Getting paid – the first week of each month, after a holding period of 90 days.
• Payment method – PayPal, with no minimum payout threshold.
• Cookie duration – 90 days.

8. Norton

The popular antivirus software Norton is a synonym for computer security, protecting computers from online threats and viruses ever since 1991. Norton’s security suite offers real-time threat protection, virus scans, secure VPN, smart firewall, PC cloud backup, etc. The strong virus protection and ultimate malware detection are the reasons why it’s known as one of the best antivirus software ever released.

Joining the affiliate program of this well-known brand gives you a chance to earn some serious cash if you have an audience interested in securing their personal or business data. Norton will give you a one-time 20% commission per sale, which is a nice share. You can promote multiple products and earn from selling each of them. As an affiliate, you get a dedicated affiliate account manager and access to exclusive customer promotions. The cookie duration is 60 days, and there’s no minimum payout. The payments are made once a month via PayPal, wire transfer, or bank transfer.

• Commission rate – a flat 20% commission per sale.
• Getting paid – monthly.
• Payment method – PayPal, wire transfers, and bank transfers, with no minimum payouts
• Cookie duration – 60 days.

9. Crexi

The real estate CRM software Crexi simplifies transactions for brokers and agents with a suite of simple tools that allows them to manage the whole process from listing to closing. The software helps them manage leads, contacts, properties, and more from within a unified platform. In a nutshell, it gives commercial real estate agents the required tools to be successful in their business.

The Crexi affiliate program pays a flat rate of $50 per referral which is higher than the commissions paid by most affiliate programs in the niche. On the downside, the cookie lasts only seven days. The program is run by the Rakuten affiliate network, and the minimum payout threshold is 50 USD/EUR/CAD/GBP/AUD.

• Commission rate – a one-time $50 commission per referral.
• Getting paid – once a month after reaching the minimum payout threshold.
• Payment method – N/A
• Cookie duration – 7 days.

10. Avast

With over 435 million users worldwide, Avast is one of the most popular antivirus software. It’s a trusted name in the antivirus industry, providing top-notch antivirus scans for security and performance problems, allowing you to fix them ASAP. The antivirus is easy to use and doesn’t slow down your PC, Android, Mac, or iPhone.

The Avast affiliate program is perfect for any content creator in the computer and data security niche. It’s free and easy to join and pays up to 35% commission on all Avast product sales. However, this commission rate is only for the first month. After that, you can earn from 15% to 30% commission, depending on the monthly revenue. Also, content sites get a fixed 30% commission. The program provides you with free promo materials and resources to help you generate sales.

• Commission rate – 35% commission per sale in the first month and 15% to 30% commission per sale starting from the second month, depending on the number of sales your link generates.
• Getting paid – monthly payouts.
• Payment methods – PayPal or bank transfer.
• Cookie duration – 60 days.

11. Qustodio

With Qustodio, you can supervise your child’s social media posts and messages to ensure they stay away from strangers. The parental control app makes it easier for you to keep them safe online and use the internet in a safe and healthy way. The desktop and mobile app is easy to use and has excellent features such as time limits, web and app filtering, scheduling, location tracking, etc.

The Qustodio affiliate program is perfect for anyone with an audience full of parents. You can promote it on your channel and earn up to 20% commission per sale. You can refer as many people as you want to earn more money and get better rewards as a top-performing affiliate. Each affiliate is assigned a dedicated account manager to assist you in the process.

• Commission rate – up to 20% per new subscription, no matter the plan selected.
• Getting paid – within 45 days of the sale.
• Payment method – N/A
• Cookie duration – 60 days.

12. Smile Software

Designed for engineers, scientists, web application developers, and desktop publishers, Smile Software improves business productivity and communication. Text Expander, its most known product, lets you easily insert pre-written blocks of text in any application. This makes it useful for both individuals and teams, helping them stay consistent and save time.

The Smile Software affiliate program allows you to earn up to 20% commission per sale. Since the software product works on Mac, Chrome, Windows, iPad, or iPhone, you have a big market to tap into. As an affiliate, you can access daily reporting, ready-to-publish banners, text links, and exclusive discounts and offers.

• Commission rate – up to 20% on products purchased through your affiliate link.
• Getting paid – N/A
• Payment method – N/A
• Cookie duration – 45 days.

13. Surfshark

Surfshark’s most popular product is a VPN service designed to make your browsing more secure and private. It offers fast connection speeds, thousands of servers worldwide, and next-gen AES encryption. The service comes with some really great features, like P2P-optimized servers, fast WireGuard protocol, and Smart DNS. You can use it on unlimited devices simultaneously and ensure they remain protected.

The Surfshark affiliate program offers fantastic commissions of 40% on every referred sale. You can get even higher commissions if you generate more sales. It’s easy to join and use, and you’ll start earning as soon as someone uses your link to purchase a Surfshark product. The program is available on Avant, Impact Radius, and other affiliate networks. The cookie duration is 30 days, and you’ll get paid within 30 days after a purchase has been cleared.

• Commission rate – 40% commission for new sales with a chance to increase it.
• Getting paid – within 30 days after a purchase has been cleared.
• Payment method – PayPal and ACH, with a minimum payout threshold of $100.
• Cookie duration – 30 days.

14. NordVPN

NordVPN is one of the most popular VPN services worldwide, offering servers to 5,700 servers in 59 countries. Next-gen encryption protects private and business data, providing protection for multiple devices. You can use it to add an extra layer of security to your web traffic and block malware, ads, and trackers before they can harm your device and steal your data.

The NordVPN affiliate program pays generous commissions no matter what plan customers sign up for. As an affiliate, you’ll get individual support from a dedicated account manager and a free 15-day trial. You’ll earn a 100% revenue share on monthly plans, a 40% revenue share on annual plans, and 30% for renewals.

• Commission rate – 40% commission on annual plans, 100% on monthly plans, and 30% on renewals.
• Getting paid – N/A
• Payment method – PayPal or bank transfers after the minimum payout threshold of $10 is reached.
• Cookie duration – 30 days.

15. Autodesk

Autodesk is a reputable software corporation that makes a wide range of software products for engineering, architecture, media, construction, etc. Some of them include AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Civil 3D, Maya, etc. The 3D design and engineering software provider is a trusted name in the industry, so there’s a massive demand for these products worldwide.

The Autodesk affiliate program runs on CJ Affiliate, allowing you to earn up to a 7% cut of every referred sale, but not on renewals. You can promote any Autodesk product you want, depending on your audience’s interests. And you don’t even have to own a website. You can use email or social media to promote the brand. There’s no minimum sale requirement or fee to join the program. Affiliates get access to dedicated affiliate managers and free promo materials.

• Commission rate – up to 7% commission per sale, with no chance to earn on renewals.
• Getting paid – once a month.
• Payment method – PayPal and bank transfer, with no minimum payout threshold.
• Cookie duration – 60 days.

16. AWeber

As one of the world’s leading email marketing and automation tools, AWeber is used by over 300,000 small businesses, creators, and site hustlers worldwide. The tool provides support for mobile-friendly HTML email newsletters, subscriber segmentation and management, autoresponder campaigns, signup forms for blogs and sites, etc.

AWeber has a great affiliate program that lets you earn a 30% recurring commission for subscription services. This means you get to earn a 30% revenue share of the money your referral spends on the software every month as long as they stay active. The program pays monthly via PayPal or wire transfer, and the incredibly long cookie duration of 365 days gives you enough time to convert your audience into customers.

• Commission rate – a 30% recurring commission.
• Getting paid – monthly payments.
• Payment method – PayPal, wire transfer, with a $30 minimum payout threshold.
• Cookie duration – 365 days.

17. Adobe

Adobe is a computer software company offering the world’s most popular multimedia and creativity software products. Some of the most widely used Adobe products are Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, and Creative Cloud, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Acrobat, InDesign, and Lightroom.

The demand for each of these products is enormous, so you can earn some serious affiliate revenue by promoting them to your audience. The Adobe affiliate program pays high commissions of up to 85% per sale. You’ll get paid once your referral makes a successful purchase. The commissions vary per product. For example, you’ll get 85% of the first month of Creative Cloud and Document Cloud monthly subscriptions and a one-time commission of 8.33% for a yearly subscription. As an affiliate, you get free promotional materials and exclusive offers.

• Commission rate – up to 85% commission per new subscription.
• Getting paid – the program is run by Tradedoubler, which pays you on a monthly basis.
• Payment methods – direct bank transfer or Payoneer.
• Cookie duration – 30 days.

18. TechSmith

TechSmith is a trusted company that offers software services, products, and apps that allow you to capture your screen, record videos, and create visual content. Over 70 million people worldwide use it to easily create images and videos and share them for better tutorials, training, lessons, and everyday communication.

As an affiliate, you can promote both TechSmith products – Camtasia and Snagit. Joining the affiliate program is free, and in terms of commissions, you get a 12% cut for every sale generated through your original link. You get chances throughout the year to increase your commission rate. The program pays you on a monthly basis via PayPal or bank wire transfer after reaching the $100 minimum payout threshold.

• Commission rate – 12% commission per sale.
• Getting paid – monthly.
• Payment method – PayPal or bank wire transfer, with a minimum payout threshold of $100.
• Cookie duration – 45 days.

19. Panda Security

With over 30 million worldwide users, Panda Security is one of the biggest names in the IT security industry. The Spanish company offers an all-in-one security and full antivirus suite for desktop and mobile devices. It provides antivirus and antimalware solutions to individuals and businesses, ensuring their devices and data stay safe.

If you join the company’s affiliate program, you can earn up to 50% commission and get access to free promo material and exclusive discounts. The program has a fixed commission structure and is run by the CJ Affiliate affiliate network. Payouts are made once a month via PayPal after reaching the minimum payout threshold of $100. The lifetime cookie duration is one of the best things about the Panda Security affiliate program.

• Commission rate – up to 50% commission.
• Getting paid – monthly.
• Payment method – PayPal, after reaching the $100 minimum payout threshold.
• Cookie duration – lifetime.

20. Stellar Data Recovery

Stellar Data Recovery is a trusted software that allows you to retrieve deleted, unavailable, or lost objects from almost any solid-state and local drive. It can show you a preview of recoverable files such as PDF, Office documents, photos, audio, video, ZIP, and RAR files. The software works on both Mac and Windows and offers a free version that lets you fix up to 1 GB.

The Stellar Data Recovery affiliate program allows you to earn real money because you’ll be promoting well-known and high-quality software, which increases the chances of sales. You can earn up to 50% commission for every sale if you make over $12,000 monthly. For sales over $8,000 per month, you get a 40% commission, and for anything below that, you get a 30% commission. The program will give you free promotional material and a dedicated, experienced affiliate executive to assist you in the process.

• Commission rate – up to 50% commission per sale for Powerful affiliates, 40% commission per sale for Performing affiliates, and 30% commission per sale for Entry Level affiliates.
• Getting paid – N/A
• Payment method – N/A
• Cookie duration – 240 days.

21. LastPass

LastPass is a popular password manager that helps you to log in to any app or site. The software provides a secure vault to store your login info, so your credentials will be automatically filled in for you when you visit a site or app. This means you don’t have to remember long and complex usernames and passwords and maintain your online privacy and security.

The LastPass affiliate program pays a 25% commission for each new paying member you bring to the service. It’s easy and free to join, and once you’re in, you can start promoting up to five password management solutions. The program is run by the Impact radius affiliate network, so you’ll be paid directly from them. The cookie duration is only 14 days, which can be considered a flop.

• Commission rate – a 25% commission per every new purchase.
• Getting paid – by the Impact radius affiliate network.
• Payment method – N/A
• Cookie duration – 14 days.

How Can You Benefit from Software Affiliate Networks?

Software affiliate networks are beneficial for both the affiliates that promote the software and the company that’s promoted by the affiliates.

As an affiliate, you can earn generous commissions by marketing the specific software service or product to your audience, provided that your audience is interested in the software you promote. Every time someone uses your link to see and buy the software, you get a revenue share.

As a company or brand, you can increase your brand awareness and generate more sales and more profit. The more affiliates promote your service or product, the more new customers and sales you’ll have.

It’s a win-win situation for everyone!

Why Should You Use Affiliate Marketing?

Companies should use affiliate marketing because it’s one of the best ways to boost their brand awareness and gain new customers. Since most of the marketing activities are done by the affiliates you pay from the sales they generate, it’s a great low-cost marketing tactic. This means a low risk of loss which is very useful for companies on a tight budget. There’s also the benefit of flexibility, as you can always make changes to your program.

As a content creator, you can consider affiliate marketing if you understand your audience’s needs and interests. This way, you can promote a software service or product they are willing to buy. If you put in enough time and effort, you can make serious affiliate earnings.

Conclusion

If you have an active audience and know their interests, finding the right software affiliate program can help you earn money by turning your followers or visitors into customers. To help you avoid wasting your time searching for the best software affiliate programs for 2022, we’ve found 21 of them that are worth considering.

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