Amazon Associates, or Amazon’s affiliate program, used to be a great way for bloggers and content creators to generate revenue via recommending products, but not anymore.
Especially since they’ve cut down on the commissions.
In fact, publishers and content creators have always been underpaid by these big guys, whether it be Amazon or Google.
I’ve been there before, but I finally made it out of that trap and want to help you do the same! In this post, you will discover some of the best Amazon Associates alternatives to help you boost your revenue drastically.
Let’s jump right in and learn about the companies/networks now!
- Amazon Associates Alternatives
- 1. Rakuten LinkShare
- 2. ShareASale
- 3. ClickBank
- 4. CJ Affiliate
- 5. JVZoo
- 6. Digistore24
- 7. Waltmart Affiliate
- 8. Etsy Affiliate
- 9. eBay Affiliate
- 10. Target Affiliate
- 11. AliExpress Affiliate
- 12. Zappos Affiliate
- 13. Awin
- 14. Refersion
- 15. Avantlink
- 16. VigLink
- 17. Skimlinks
- 18. Niche Affiliate Programs
- In Conclusion
Amazon Associates Alternatives
- Rakuten LinkShare
- ShareASale
- ClickBank
- CJ Affiliate
- JVZoo
- Digistore24
- Walmart Affiliate
- Etsy Affiliate
- eBay Affiliate
- Target Affiliate
- AliExpress Affiliate
- Zappos Affiliate
- Awin
- Refersion
- Avantlink
- VigLink
- Skimlinks
- Niche Affiliate Programs
1. Rakuten LinkShare
LinkShare is not really an affiliate program. It’s a network.
Okay…but what does that mean? Well, it’s an affiliate network that you can join as a publisher or affiliate marketer and find a wide range of partnership opportunities to work on.
Just like Amazon’s products, you can find various companies to partner with in all niches here and work with them to earn commissions.
Unlike Amazon, most of the companies that manage their affiliate programs on Rakuten pay high commissions to affiliates.
And you know what? Even if some of them have a low commission structure, it’s still higher than what Amazon typically offers.
We (affiliates) are the people who helped Amazon get this big by promoting the products to hundreds of millions of customers, and today, they no longer care about our incomes.
You can join LinkShare and apply for affiliate programs to earn a better amount of money.
All you have to do is visit the official LinkShare website and fill out a form that looks something like this:
They accept partners from the major countries of the world. Whether you are from the US, the UK, or India, you can join Rakuten easily.
Pros Of Rakuten LinkShare
- Fairly easy to use for beginners
- A wide range of companies to partner with
- Merchants pay higher commission rates
- Responsive support team
- A trusted affiliate network that pays on time
- Trustworthy reporting
Cons Of Rakuten LinkShare
- Not as easy as Amazon Associates
- Affiliates have to apply for each program individually
- Not as fast and intuitive as Amazon
- A longer process to join and get started
Official Website: https://rakutenadvertising.com
Payment Methods: Bank transfers, PayPal, checks
Cost To Join: Free
2. ShareASale
If you are a blogger/publisher or content creator and you haven’t heard of ShareASale before this post, you have no idea about how much money you were leaving on the table.
ShareASale is also a network that allows bloggers and content creators to join various affiliate programs in niches like food, health, wellness, fashion, drinks, fashion, jewelry, gardening, etc.
Affiliates who have joined the ShareASale network earn billions of dollars every single year, and you can be one of them, too!
As of now, there are over 1650 companies you can be an affiliate partner for on ShareASale, and we all know that the numbers will only grow with time.
Earlier, the ShareASale user interface wasn’t impressive at all, but now they have leveled up their game, and it’s all pretty easy to use. Hence, you won’t face problems regarding usability.
ShareASale helps some of the biggest companies like Sun Basket, Etsy, and Candid manage their affiliate programs with ease so that companies can scale their numbers with the help of marketers and vice versa.
To join ShareASale, you will have to have a website with traffic. You don’t really have to have hundreds of thousands of visitors by any means, but a little bit of traffic is required.
You can create an affiliate account for free by visiting this page and filling out a form, as shown below.
ShareASale is a great place for publishers to increase their revenue if they don’t want to work with Amazon Associates anymore.
Pros Of ShareASale
- Easy to use for beginner marketers
- Thousands of companies to partner with
- Pays competitive commission rates
- Pays commissions on time
- Longer cookie durations compared to Amazon
Cons Of ShareASale
- Some merchants might have lower conversion rates than Amazon
- A website is required to join
- The application review process takes a lot of time
Official Website: https://shareasale.com
Payment Methods: Direct deposit, mailed check, Payoneer
Cost To Join: Completely free
3. ClickBank
The third Amazon affiliate alternative here is ClickBank. ClickBank has been in the affiliate marketing industry for a very long time now.
I have personally used ClickBank for years, and I still do! It’s one of the top places to find physical and digital products to promote that are proven to sell and make you money.
Btw, before we discuss more about ClickBank, check out my guide, where I walk you through crucial steps of generating income with ClickBank.
The affiliate network has been active since the year 1998, and as of now, it is based in San Diego, California, United States.
You can join CB from anywhere around the world, and it’s absolutely free and easy to get started.
Once you create an account, you can head over to their marketplace and find products to promote in various different industries, as shown:
I personally promote a lot of ClickBank products and see some great numbers. I stopped using Amazon when they deactivated one of my accounts just because I used the word ‘we’ in my commercial blog posts.
That’s really funny! Anyways, let me share some positives and negatives of ClickBank now.
Pros Of ClickBank
- Extremely easy to sign up
- Proven products to promote as an affiliate
- Up to 90% commission on products
- Long cookie duration of 60 days
- A lot of promotional resources offered by merchants
Cons Of ClickBank
- A lot of bad products (you need to choose the products wisely)
- Pays commissions after 5 different sales (in the beginning)
- Support is extremely slow
Official Website: https://clickbank.com
Payment Methods: Direct transfer, checks
Cost To Join: Free to join
4. CJ Affiliate
Have you ever heard of ‘Commission Junction’?
If yes, that’s the former name of CJ Affiliate. CJ Affiliate is one of my favorite affiliate marketing networks of all times that is used by thousands of bloggers and content creators just like you to skyrocket their revenue.
I have talked about a lot of affiliate programs in my previous posts that are managed on CJ Affiliate.
Even some of the biggest companies like Google, Yahoo, and ABBYY uses CJ Affiliate to attract affiliates.
Once you join CJ Affiliate, you can search for advertisers (merchants) to partner with in a lot of niches/industries, as shown below.
Sure, you will have to spend a little bit of time finding some good affiliate offers, but once you find will find out good companies to work with, you will definitely see a significant increase in earnings.
Pros Of CJ Affiliate
- Over 3,100 companies to partner with
- Payments are made on time
- Reputable network with reputable advertisers
- Generous commissions
- Longer cookie durations
- Various payment options for affiliates
Cons Of CJ Affiliate
- Time consuming process
- Not available in all countries
Official Website: https://cj.com
Payment Methods: Direct deposit, Payoneer, checks
Cost To Join: Free of cost
5. JVZoo
JVZoo is also a great and popular affiliate network that is used by a lot of the big marketers out there on the planet.
This company not only allows publishers/affiliate marketers to partner with companies and promote products to earn commissions but also trains all the affiliates to generate the maximum revenue possible.
This is absolutely fantastic because sometimes you might have the right products, but you might not be optimizing the pages, links, funnels, and creatives well.
Whether you have a site that interests people interested in physical products like food, drinks, equipment, and jewelry, or you have an audience interested in digital products…JVZoo has got you covered.
You can promote all types of products, and I must say that the tracking and reporting are way better than Amazon.
You, as a website owner or marketer, will know exactly what people do after clicking your links for you to have an idea of what needs to be corrected.
There are low ticket as well as high ticket offers you can promote to generate an income. It’s one hundred percent free to signup.
You just have to register and verify your accounts. That’s really it is.
Pros Of JVZoo
- Different types of products and services to promote
- High commission rates
- Considerable cookie duration
- Effective tracking
- Promo materials available
Cons Of JVZoo
- A lot of products to promote but not as many as on Amazon
- Affiliate support is quite slow
- The company tries to sell you ‘courses’
Official Website: https://www.jvzoo.com
Payment Methods: Checks, PayPal, Payoneer, direct deposit
Cost To Join: Free to get started
6. Digistore24
Digistore24 is one of the leading affiliate marketing networks giving solid competition to major networks such as ClickBank.
As a matter of fact, it’s a really great replacement for Amazon Associates as well. Well, how exactly?
Let me share the details with you…hang tight!
Digistore24 is a Germany-based affiliate network that currently has over 336 merchants you can work with to earn affiliate commissions.
And most of the products, of course, are digital products. Now some of you might not be in favor of promoting digital products, but you know what…we’re in the digital age!
Having said that, if we don’t promote digital products in the digital age, there’s definitely a lot of money that we can lose.
And also, the affiliate commission digital products can offer is always going to be higher than physical ones for there’s no inventory, shipping, and heavy customer support required.
I believe Digistore24 can be a great platform for you no matter what industry you are in:
You can signup for this network easily by visiting the homepage, which I have linked down below.
Pros Of Digistore24
- One of the easiest platforms to use for affiliates
- Decent cookie duration
- Fast support
- Variety of products to promote
- Huge commissions
- Creative material provided
- Custom dashboards are provided as well
Cons Of Digistore24
- Most of the products are digital in case you’d like to promote physical ones
- Honestly, there should be more products
Official Website: https://digistore24.com
Payment Methods: PayPal, bank transfer
Cost To Join: No cost to join
7. Waltmart Affiliate
We have all heard about Walmart. It’s one of the biggest competitors of Amazon and other online marketplaces out there on the planet.
When the talk is about the Amazon program alternatives, how can I forget Walmart, right?
What I love about Walmart is that, just like Amazon, the conversion rates are really impressive. Just like people trust Amazon, they trust Walmart as well.
Hence, Walmart’s affiliate program is a great fit!
And yeah, can you promote physical products? Definitely!
Oh, I just made a silly mistake!! Can you promote physical products in all niches?
Well, still, the answer is a big YES as long as we are not talking about products that they deliberately don’t sell (you know what I mean).
Though the maximum commission rate Walmart offers is 4%, but in a lot of cases, you have more chances of generating higher revenue as the cookie duration is of 3 days.
That’s 3 times Amazon’s cookie length (24 hours).
Walmart uses Impact Radius to manage its affiliate program. You can join the program by clicking here.
Pros Of Walmart Affiliate
- A reputed company to work with
- High (and growing) conversion rates
- Longer cookie duration
- Program is managed on Impact Radius (no payment issues)
- Easy to use user interface for affiliates
Cons Of Walmart Affiliate
- Commission rates are still quite low
- I don’t like the design of their official website. It must have been more professional like Amazon’s
- You will have to promote products that Walmart’s physical stores are in acute of
Official Website: https://affiliates.walmart.com
Commission Rates: Up to 4% commission
Payment Methods: PayPal, bank transfer
Cost To Join: Free to start
8. Etsy Affiliate
The eighth alternative I have for you is Etsy.
Yes, the Ecommerce brand is what I’m talking about!
Ah, but there might be some people who probably don’t know about Etsy. Possible, right?
Anyways, for those of you who have no clue about Etsy, it is HUGE Ecommerce brand that sells millions of products to millions of customers.
Well, if you have a pet food blog, you might not be able to partner with Etsy to be able to promote ‘treats,’ but you can surely promote items such as vintage products, bags, pet gifts, pet toys, jewelry, etc.
Etsy is what I call a ‘rocking’ alternative to Amazon for sure.
The Etsy affiliate program is managed by Awin (Affiliate Window), and you can join the program by signing up on Awin.
The company pays a four percent commission on all qualified sales and also offers a lot of bonuses/rewards.
Did I again miss something? Oh yes, the cookie length – it’s 7 days for the App (mobile App)) and 30 days for the web.
Pros Of Etsy Affiliate
- Good conversion rates
- Trusted brand
- Managed on reputed affiliate network
- Marketing material provided to affiliates
- 30 days cookie duration
- A mobile app to boost mobile conversions
Cons Of Etsy Affiliate
- Some products are not available (like food, chocolates, etc.)
- A $5 refundable fee for application
Official Website: https://www.etsy.com/affiliates
Payment Methods: Checks, international wire, bank payments via ACH
Commission Rates: 4% commission
Cost To Join: $5 refundable
9. eBay Affiliate
There might be only a small group of people that haven’t heard of eBay!
Well, I think that’s over appreciation! There are still a lot of people who don’t know about eBay, but as a publisher, you might definitely know about this company.
But wait, did you know eBay also has an affiliate program?
Fortunately, yes! The company does have an affiliate program!
But before we talk about the program, let’s see what you have to promote in case you partner with eBay:
- Clothing, shoes, apparel, accessories
- Books and video game copies
- Gaming products
- Electronics
- Home and garden related products
- Toys
- Etc. Etc. Etc. (you feel me?)
Now, coming to eBay’s affiliate program, the commission rate is up to four percent! That’s right, up to 4%.
But considering the conversion rates, trust, and average order value, 4% is pretty considerable compared to the competitors.
The cookie duration is still 24 hours!
I think that it’s really absurd that these companies are can’t even extend the cookie life! I mean, that’s so mean!
Anyways, moving on! There is a dedicated team to help affiliates. However, the team isn’t going to be as responsive as it would be with the individual merchants.
You can join the program by clicking here if you want to. It’s free!
Pros Of eBay Affiliate
- A growing company with millions of interested buyers
- Millions of products to promote
- A lot of resources for affiliate marketers and publishers
- Creative assets are made available
- Smart links are provided
- You can also monetize websites in niches like ‘real estate’
Cons Of eBay Affiliate
- Commission are still quite low but a lot of industries win compared to Amazon Affiliates
- Slow support due to a lot of requests
Official Website: https://partnernetwork.ebay.com
Payment Methods: EFT, PayPal
Commission Rates: Up to 4% commission
Cost To Join: Free to join
10. Target Affiliate
The tenth amazing alternative to Amazon Associates we have got is Target’s affiliate program.
Target is also one of the biggest general merchandise retailers in the United States and many other countries of the world.
I just analyzed their domain via Ahrefs, and I see some crazy numbers! Have a look at that right below:
This screenshot speaks all for Target, and I don’t need to explain to you any further how big the platform is.
There are millions and millions of various different products you can promote from Health and wellness to pets and earn affiliate commissions.
What makes this company stand out is that the commission rates they offer to their affiliate partners are pretty impressive compared to the competitors.
The company pays up to 8% commission to bloggers and marketers. And yea, Target also doesn’t have lower conversion rates. The conversion rates are pretty high as well.
You can head over to affiliates.target.com to join the Target affiliate program.
Don’t worry about the payments! They pay all affiliates timely with no hidden charges.
Pros Of Target Affiliate
- Higher commission rates than competitors
- A trusted retailer with solid reputation
- A decent cookie life of seven days
- Provides marketing materials to partners
Cons Of Target Affiliate
- Location specific affiliate program
- The presence of physical stores lowers the conversion rate slightly
Official Website: https://affiliates.target.com
Payment Methods: PayPal
Commission Rates: Up to 8% commission
Cost To Join: No fee to join
11. AliExpress Affiliate
AliExpress is extremely popular in the dropshipping industry.
Did you know the company runs an affiliate program as well? And this smart blogger and marketer (me) is a part of AliExpress’s affiliate community.
I can’t think of a product that people buy online, and it’s not available on AliExpress…and that too for really cheap!
This retailer is based in China and is mainly popular for selling and shipping at affordable prices.
Is the company reputed?
Of course, it is! AliExpress has been in the market for a very long time now, and a lot of marketers/entrepreneurs all across the world make money with its affiliate program.
The commission rate AliExpress’s affiliate program offers is just so freaking amazing! Affiliates get paid anywhere from 8.5% to a whopping 50% commission per sale.
They pay over $100,000 a month to affiliates every single month on a consistent basis. You can signup for the program for free by visiting this page.
They provide all kinds of promotional stuff and necessary affiliate support for better growth.
Pros Of AliExpress Affiliate
- Extremely high commission structure
- Responsive affiliate support team
- Available in over 200 countries
- Longer cookie duration (72 hours)
- A wide range of products to promote for affiliates
Cons Of AliExpress Affiliate
- Unusual fee charge from affiliates
- Variable commission rates
- Stats and insights aren’t well designed
Official Website: https://portals.aliexpress.com
Payment Methods: Varies according to the network
Commission Rates: Up to 50% commission
Cost To Join: Completely free to join
12. Zappos Affiliate
Zappos is a perfect platform/marketplace to partner with if your website falls into categories like clothing, swimwear, fashion, kids, and accessories.
The funny thing is, Zappos is also owned by Amazon.
But don’t worry about the affiliate program. It’s not the same!
Zappos has its own affiliate program that you can join and promote millions of in-demand products.
Well, you surely don’t want to know where the company is based, but I’m going to tell you anyway.
Zappos has been around in the Ecommerce industry since 2009 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.
Zappos has also called its affiliate program as Zappos Associates Program. It’s totally free to join the program, but there’s a problem…you can only join Zappos as an affiliate if you belong to the US.
Okay…what about the commission rates?
Affiliates earn about 7% commission on all qualified sales. That’s cool, isn’t it?
The program is managed by CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction). You can visit this page to learn more about Zappos Associates Program.
Pros Of Zappos Affiliate
- Up to 7% commission per sale
- High conversion rates
- A trusted Amazon-owned company
- Marketing material
- A decent cookie length of 14 days
- Zappos Associates isn’t a part of Amazon Associates
Cons Of Zappos Affiliate
- International websites can’t join (only sites with US traffic can join)
- Very very slow support
Official Website: https://www.zappos.com/associates-program
Payment Methods: Payoneer, check, direct transfer
Commission Rates: 7% commission
Cost To Join: Absolutely free
13. Awin
Have you noticed Awin or Affiliate Window a couple of times in this post?
If yes, you really are a keen observer. If no, don’t worry. You are still pretty smart (not as smart as me, though)!
Awin is a trusted affiliate network that has been around since the year 2000.
Also, Awin is counted among the top affiliate networks on the planet. Yes, you read that right – on the planet!
You can promote over 16500 brands on Awin to earn nifty commissions.
They claim that their platform is joined by over 260 new affiliates on a daily basis. I think that’s fantastically cool!
There is a small fee you will have to pay to join the platform ($5), but that’s refundable.
So, indirectly, it’s free to join but considering directly, it isn’t…
There are the right tools to help affiliates track their revenue/sales/numbers, and there’s a dedicated management team as well, which they can contact in case of any problem.
They keep the listings updated so that you don’t waste a single second looking at a company that no longer allows affiliates (that actually happens a lot with other affiliate networks).
You are free to click this navigation link and visit the signup page of Awin. The page is going to look something like this:
All of the advertisers pay competitive rates (commission) on the Awin affiliate network. Let’s look at some pros and cons now.
Pros Of Awin
- All merchants pay generous commission rates
- A lot of companies to work with
- An average cookie duration of 30 days
- Advanced tracking tools
- Updated data
Cons Of Awin
- A $5 refundable fee might stop everyone from joining
- Most of the affiliate programs’ primary region is United Kingdom
Official Website: https://www.awin.com/gb/publishers
Payment Methods: Payoneer, bank transfer
Cost To Join: $5 refundable fee
14. Refersion
The next option we have as an Amazon Associates alternative is Refersion.
So, what is Refersion?
Refersion is an affiliate management software/platform that allows companies to run affiliate programs and grow their businesses.
On the flip side, it also allows affiliates to partner with some of the most reputed/well-known companies and make money through affiliate marketing.
But when you visit Refersion, there will be no place where you will be able to look for companies to partner with.
Hence, you will have to use a strategy…
You will have to search “your niche” + “Refersion” on Google to find amazing affiliate programs.
This way, you will be able to join hundreds if not thousands of well-established affiliate programs that pay high commissions and pay on time.
Pretty cool, isn’t it?
Pros Of Refersion
- Super easy to use for beginner affiliate marketers
- Advanced and effective tracking
- Higher commission rates are offered by most of the companies
- A lot of companies you can find
- You can contact companies individually and ask to raise commissions
Cons Of Refersion
- You will have to find programs manually
Official Website: https://refersion.com
Payment Methods: PayPal, Payment Rails
Cost To Join: Not upfront fee to join
15. Avantlink
Avantlink is also an affiliate network that is slowly growing with time.
Hey, but that doesn’t mean there are fewer affiliate programs you can join on the network.
You still have thousands of advertisers to work with.
There are over 800 advertisers you can work with in various different niches to earn the money you deserve.
I highly recommend checking out Avantlink as an alternative to Amazon’s affiliate program.
Whether you are a blogger, a YouTuber, an influencer, or simply an individual who is looking to make money on the internet, Avantlink is worth checking out.
I also had a look at their backlink profile, and it turns out the platform is really well-established.
The website is super sleek and professional. You can visit it here.
Pros Of Avantlink
- Reputed affiliate network
- Good merchants to partner with
- Easy to use affiliate network
- Easy tracking setup
- You can create smart links
- Promotion material is made available
Cons Of Avantlink
- Not as many merchants as you get to work with on other networks
- Support is difficult to contact
Official Website: https://www.avantlink.com
Payment Methods: Bank transfers
Cost To Join: No cost of joining
16. VigLink
If you are seeking some affiliate offers that are ready to pay you for both clicks and sales, VigLink is the right choice for you.
It’s a monetization service that allows publishers/bloggers to monetize their traffic.
And yes, monetize well. You can also call VigLink an affiliate network if you want to because that’s how it works.
You earn commissions as well as reap other CPA benefits too!
Loads of companies to partner with using VigLink, as you can see below:
I highly recommend you check out VigLink (Sovrn) once, and you will surely fall in love with it.
Pros Of VigLink
- VigLink makes impossible possible in a lot of cases
- Easy to join
- Easy to use
- Good commission rates
- Good companies or merchants to work with
- Payments are made on time
Cons Of VigLink
- A lot of programs are inactive
- Takes a bit of time for a person to understand how everything works
Official Website: https://viglink.com
Payment Methods: Direct transfers, PayPal, checks, wire transfer
Cost To Join: Free ($0.00)
17. Skimlinks
Skimlinks is the second last Amazon affiliate alternative we have got on this list.
It’s also a trusted affiliate network that has been active since 2007.
What I really like about this network is that you can look for affiliate programs directly without having to signup/register, as shown below.
Some of the most renowned companies like Chewy use Skimlinks to manage and run their affiliate program.
I really believe Skimlinks is a goldmine for anyone who has got the fire to join high paying affiliate programs.
The commission rates are through the roof, and the cookie durations are considerable as well.
Pros Of Skimlinks
- Skimlinks is quite easy to use
- A lot of affiliate offers to promote
- Timely payments (that’s good)
- No cost to join
- Available in all countries
Cons Of Skimlinks
- Platform isn’t well designed
- Not very popular
Official Website: https://signup.skimlinks.com
Payment Methods: Direct deposit, PayPal
Cost To Join: No cost for joining
18. Niche Affiliate Programs
And the last and final alternative of Amazon Associates we have isn’t really an affiliate network or an individual affiliate program.
It’s actually a method to find affiliate programs using Google.
Just head over to Google and type in something like – “dog affiliate programs” or “food affiliate programs,” or “cat affiliate programs.”
When you do that, you will have a lot of websites popping up ‘like mine,’ sharing with you some of the best affiliate programs in various niches.
You can also visit this page to find thousands of affiliate programs in different niches.
I have shared hundreds of them in various posts, and I constantly update articles every 3 months. You can rely on Shivansh Bhanwariya Digital for affiliate programs.
In Conclusion
So, this was it!
Amazon isn’t doing justice to many of the publishers, and it’s time for us to move on and find other companies that care about their affiliate partners.
I hope this post and all of my articles are helpful for you. In case there are any questions or suggestions popping up in your mind, do let me know those in the comments section.
