Guide
How to start an affiliate program for a Stripe SaaS
If your SaaS runs on Stripe, you can launch an affiliate program in an afternoon. The work is four steps: track referrals, set commission terms, recruit affiliates, and pay them.
Step 1 — Set up tracking
Connect your Stripe account (read-only) and add a one-line attribution snippet to your checkout so referral references are recorded on each payment. This is the foundation: without reliable tracking, everything downstream is guesswork.
Step 2 — Decide commission terms
Choose a rate (e.g. 20–30% is common for SaaS), whether it is one-time or recurring, and an attribution window. Recurring commissions are attractive to affiliates for subscription products; a flat one-time bounty is simpler to reason about. You can set a program-wide default and override it for top performers.
Step 3 — Recruit affiliates
This is where most programs stall — a blank affiliate list. Options: invite existing happy customers, share a public application link, and reach out to relevant creators. affilut ships with a curated candidate database of pre-vetted creators by niche, with ready-to-send outreach, so you can start recruiting on day one instead of cold-prospecting.
Step 4 — Approve and pay
When referred customers pay, review and approve the commissions. affilut shows a balance due per affiliate with the payout details they provided; you pay them directly (bank, PayPal, Wise) and mark it settled. Paying directly keeps you in control and avoids payout fees.
Frequently asked questions
What commission rate should I offer?
For SaaS, 20–30% is a common starting point, sometimes higher for recurring plans or top affiliates. Start conservative; you can raise rates for performers later.
How do I find my first affiliates?
Start with happy customers and a public application link, then use affilut's curated candidate database to reach relevant creators with prepared outreach.