A commission model in affiliate marketing where the publisher earns a percentage of the transaction value for every sale they refer. Revenue share (also called percentage commission or rev share) is the most common affiliate commission structure for e-commerce programs. How revenue share works: if a publisher refers a $200 sale and the revenue share rate is 10%, the publisher earns $20; the commission is calculated on the net sale value — typically after discounts and before taxes and shipping (the exact calculation basis should be specified in the publisher agreement). Revenue share advantages: naturally scales with order value — publishers who refer higher-value orders earn more, creating incentive to attract quality buyers; predictable cost structure for brands — affiliate channel COGS is a fixed percentage of revenue regardless of order volume; simple for publishers to understand and calculate. Revenue share rate considerations: competitive positioning: must be at or above category median to attract experienced publishers; margin sustainability: commission rate must be supportable within the brand's gross margin economics; maximum sustainable rate = gross margin % × acceptable affiliate channel COGS %; publisher type differentiation: some programs run different revenue share rates by publisher type (higher for content publishers, lower for coupon publishers) to compensate for last-click attribution bias. Revenue share vs. CPA: revenue share is better for variable-AOV products and programs focused on volume; CPA is better for subscription programs, new-customer-focused programs, and service/lead generation; hybrid models (base revenue share + new customer CPA bonus) combine the benefits of both structures.
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