Affiliate marketing income calculator
Affiliate money moves through a chain, from visitor to click to sale to commission, and refunds can claw some of it back at the end. Put in a figure for every link, along with any recurring commission and what your traffic costs, and the calculator returns your monthly income and earnings per click. It then points to the one improvement that would add the most money.
The improvement worth most
Extra monthly income from a 20 percent improvement in one input at a time. Work on the longest bar first.
Earnings as traffic changes
Every rate stays fixed while visitor numbers change. Traffic cost is held too, so a paid funnel only gets better if the new visitors cost the same.
| Visitors a month | Clicks | Sales | Income | After traffic cost |
|---|
How affiliate income is calculated
Each sale begins with a visitor, so the calculator follows that visitor through every step and multiplies the rates. Refunds are taken off last, and recurring commissions are counted for as many months as you expect them to pay.
Clicks
Visitors who go through to the merchant's site.
clicks = visitors × click-through
Sales
Clicks that end in an order.
sales = clicks × conversion
Commission on each sale
A percentage of the order plus any flat bonus, for every month it pays, minus refunds.
per sale = (order value × rate + bonus) × months × (1 − refunds)
Income
Sales multiplied by commission per sale, less what traffic costs.
income = sales × per sale − traffic cost
EPC and break-even
Earnings per click and per visitor. The per-visitor figure is the most you can pay for a visit without losing money.
EPC = commission ÷ clicks
Affiliate income FAQ
How much money can affiliate marketing make?
Anywhere from pocket change to a full-time living. It depends on how many people see your recommendations, how many click, how many of them buy and what each sale pays. The same 10,000 visitors a month can produce $50 or $5,000 depending on the product and how convincing the page is.
What does EPC mean?
Earnings per click: commission income divided by the clicks you send to merchants. It is the fairest way to compare programs, since a 50 percent commission on something nobody buys can earn less per click than 4 percent on a product that sells itself.
What conversion rate do affiliate links usually get?
Many programs turn 1 to 5 percent of clicks into sales. Large retailers with a checkout people already trust often beat unknown brands. Readers who came from a search with buying intent, like "best running shoes for flat feet", convert far better than casual browsers.
How do recurring commissions change the result?
Software and membership programs often pay a share of every monthly bill for as long as the customer stays. A $15 monthly commission that lasts 10 months is worth $150, not $15, so the calculator multiplies each sale by the months you expect to be paid.
Do I need to allow for refunds?
Yes. Merchants cancel commission on returned or refunded orders, and some products see 10 percent or more come back. Ignoring refunds overstates what you earn.
Does paid traffic work for affiliate sites?
Only when each visitor earns you more than they cost. The calculator deducts traffic costs and shows the break-even price per visitor, so you can check before spending.
Are the results guaranteed?
No. Every rate is an assumption. Swap them for the click-through, conversion and EPC numbers in your affiliate dashboards once you have them.