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. You have three options: invite existing happy customers, share a public application link, and reach out to relevant creators. For the last of these, affilut ships with a curated candidate database of pre-vetted creators by niche, with ready-to-send outreach. 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.