Affiliate for WooCommerce plugin helps you to add, manage affiliates, and track performance from a single place – commissions, sales, payouts, leaderboard, etc. Earn money without hard work. Increase your brand outreach, and get potential customers.
You can create performance-based commission structures in Affiliate for WooCommerce using a combination of performance rules, such as Revenue, Valid Referral Orders, Customers, and Last Referral (Days).
These rules let you reward affiliates dynamically based on their performance – helping you build a scalable, engaging affiliate programme.
What is a volume-based tiered commission?
↑ Back to topA tiered commission (volume-based) means affiliates earn different commission rates depending on how much they contribute over time.
You can reward affiliates based on:
- The total revenue they generate.
- The number of referral orders they bring in.
- The number of customers they have referred.
- How active they’ve been recently.
Using these rules, you can design tiered commission levels that automatically adapt to an affiliate’s performance.
Available rules for volume-based tiered commissions
↑ Back to topThe plugin’s commission plan engine provides different rules for setting up different conditions.
You can learn more about the commission plans from this doc.
| Rule | Purpose | Operator(s) | Input example |
| Affiliate – Revenue | Checks the total referred sales value by the affiliate. | >, >=, <, <=, =, != | Enter revenue amount (e.g., 10000). |
| Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders | Checks the number of successful referral orders by the affiliate. | >, >=, <, <=, =, != | Enter referral order count (e.g., 50). |
| Affiliate – Customers | Checks the number of unique customers referred by the affiliate. | >, >=, <, <=, =, != | Enter customer’s count (e.g., 100). |
| Affiliate – Last Referral (Days) | Checks how recently the affiliate made a referral – supports activity. | in last, not in last, older than | Enter number in days (e.g., 30, 90). |
How to configure volume-based tiered commission plans with examples?
↑ Back to topRevenue-based tiered commissions
↑ Back to topReward affiliates based on the total revenue they generate for your store.
| Plan name | Rules/Conditions | Commission |
| Starter tier | Affiliate – Revenue < 1000 | 5% |
| Growth tier | Affiliate – Revenue >= 1000 AND Affiliate – Revenue < 2000 | 10% |
| Elite tier | Affiliate – Revenue >= 2000 | 20% |
How it works:
- Affiliates start in the Starter tier if their total referred revenue is below 1000.
- They move to the Growth tier once they reach 1000.
- They enter the Elite tier after exceeding 2000 and earn 20% on new referrals.
How to create these plans:
- Starter tier: Add one rule → Affiliate – Revenue < 1000
- Growth tier: Add two rules to the same plan →
- Affiliate – Revenue >= 1000
- Affiliate – Revenue < 2000
- Elite tier: Add one rule → Affiliate – Revenue >= 2000
Order volume-based tiers
↑ Back to topReward affiliates based on the number of successful referral orders they bring in.
| Plan name | Rules/Conditions | Commission |
| Basic | Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders < 10 | 10% |
| Pro | Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 10 AND Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders < 50 | 20% |
| Elite | Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 50 | 30% |
How it works:
- Affiliates start in the Basic tier until they reach 10 referral orders.
- After reaching 10 orders, they move to the Pro tier and earn 20 percent.
- When they achieve 50 or more total referral orders, they move to the Elite tier and earn 30 percent going forward.
How to create these plans:
- Basic: Add one rule → Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders < 10
- Pro: Add two rules →
- Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 10
- Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders < 50
- Elite: Add one rule → Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 50
Customer-acquisition-based commission tiers
↑ Back to topReward affiliates based on how many unique customers they have referred to your store. This is useful when you want to focus on customer acquisition rather than total sales value.
| Plan name | Rules/Conditions | Commission |
| New referrer | Affiliate – Customers < 25 | 10% |
| Consistent referrer | Affiliate – Customers >= 25 AND Affiliate – Customers < 50 | 12% |
| Power referrer | Affiliate – Customers >= 50 | 15% |
How it works:
- Affiliates begin at the New referrer tier when they have fewer than 25 referred customers.
- They move to the Consistent referrer at 25 customers.
- They become Power referrers after 50 customers and earn 15%.
How to create these plans:
- New referrer: Add one rule → Affiliate – Customers < 25
- Consistent referrer: Add two rules →
- Affiliate – Customers >= 25
- Affiliate – Customers < 50
- Power referrer: Add one rule → Affiliate – Customers >= 50
Tip:
This rule counts unique customers, not orders. Returning customers referred by the same affiliate are only counted once.
Activity-based tiered commissions using the last referral days
↑ Back to topEncourage ongoing engagement by offering higher commissions to affiliates who refer regularly.
| Plan name | Rules/Conditions | Commission |
| Active affiliates | Affiliate – Last Referral (Days) → in last → 30 | 20% |
| Inactive affiliates | Affiliate – Last Referral (Days) → not in last → 90 | 10% |
How it works:
- Affiliates who have made at least one referral within the last 30 days automatically qualify as Active and earn 20 percent commission on new referrals.
- Affiliates who haven’t referred anyone in the last 90 days fall to the Inactive tier.
- This structure rewards ongoing engagement and motivates affiliates to promote consistently.
How to create these plans:
- Active affiliates: Add one rule → Affiliate – Last Referral (days) → in last → 30
- Inactive affiliates plan: Add one rule → Affiliate – Last Referral (days) → not in last → 90
Revenue plus order count combination tiers
↑ Back to top| Plan name | Rules/Conditions | Commission |
| Silver | Affiliate – Revenue >= 5000 AND Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 25 | 12% |
| Gold | Affiliate – Revenue >= 10000 AND Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 50 | 18% |
How it works:
Affiliates qualify for a tier when all of the conditions are met.
How to create these plans:
- Silver: Add two rules →
- Affiliate – Revenue >= 5000
- Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 25
- Gold: Add two rules →
- Affiliate – Revenue >= 10000
- Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 50
Advanced multi-condition tiers
↑ Back to top| Plan name | Rules/Conditions | Commission |
| Growth tier | Affiliate – Revenue >= 20000 AND Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 25 AND Affiliate – Customers >= 20 | 20% |
| Elite tier | Affiliate – Revenue >= 50000 AND Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 50 AND Affiliate – Customers >= 50 | 25% |
How it works:
Affiliates must meet all conditions together to qualify.
How to create these plans:
- Growth tier: Add three rules →
- Affiliate – Revenue >= 20000
- Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 25
- Affiliate – Customers >= 20
- Elite tier: Add three rules →
- Affiliate – Revenue >= 50000
- Affiliate – Valid Referral Orders >= 50
- Affiliate – Customers >= 50
Tips for building effective tiered plans
↑ Back to top- Start with 3–4 clear levels so affiliates can easily understand their growth path.
- Combine activity rules (like last referral) with performance rules (like revenue, customers, or order count).
- Use Affiliate tags to segment special affiliate groups (for example, B2B or influencers).
- Configure storewide default plan so all affiliates earn a base rate.
- Review and adjust thresholds as your program scales.
- Make sure each tier remains profitable for your business.
Real-world examples
↑ Back to topHere are five real-world examples:
Example 1: Clothing brand rewarding long-term performance
A fashion brand wants to reward affiliates who consistently drive sales by increasing commission based on total revenue generated over time.
Their tier structure looks like this:
- Affiliates who generate under $1,000 earn 8%
- Affiliates who cross $1,000 earn 12%
- Affiliates who pass $5,000 earn 20%
This setup encourages affiliates to continuously drive higher-order-value purchases.
Example 2: Digital course creator focusing on student acquisition
A business selling online courses wants to incentivize affiliates to bring more new learners rather than just repeat buyers.
Their tier structure:
- Fewer than 25 new students → 10% commission
- 25–99 new students → 15% commission
- 100+ new students → 20% commission
This encourages affiliates to focus on customer acquisition rather than only promoting discounts.
Example 3: Supplement company using order-based tiers
A health supplements brand tracks performance by the number of orders, not revenue, because their product pricing is fixed.
Their tier setup:
- 1–9 orders → 10%
- 10–49 orders → 18%
- 50+ orders → 25%
This model suits brands with consistent product pricing and high repeat-purchase behavior.
Example 4: SaaS company offering flexible performance paths
A SaaS provider wants to reward both “high-volume” advocates and “high-ticket” affiliates.
Their structure:
- Affiliates qualify for 12% commission if they generate either
- $5,000 in total subscription revenue, or
- 20 subscription signups
- Affiliates qualify for 20% if they generate either
- $15,000 revenue, or
- 50 signups
This allows affiliates with different strengths (volume vs value) to succeed.
Example 5: B2B software reseller using multi-metric performance
A B2B software company wants its top-tier partners to excel across multiple metrics: revenue, number of clients onboarded, and number of deals closed.
Their tier looks like:
- Affiliates earn 18% only if they achieve:
- $20,000 in revenue
- 25 referred deals
- 15 referred clients
- Top earners who hit:
- $50,000 revenue
- 50+ deals
- 40+ clients
This ensures only high-quality partners reach elite status.
Use cases
↑ Back to topThese are common business scenarios where volume tiers help solve a problem.
1. Reward high performers
A business wants top-performing affiliates to earn higher commissions once they hit certain revenue or referral milestones.
2. Encourage consistent sales
A store wants affiliates to earn gradually increasing commissions as they bring more sales over time.
3. Motivate customer acquisition
A program wants to give better rates to affiliates who bring more new customers, not just more orders.
4. Give affiliates multiple ways to qualify
Some affiliates bring high-value orders, while others bring high volume. Flexible tiers allow either pathway to earn higher commissions.
5. Reward overall quality, not just quantity
A business wants to use a combination of sales amount, referral count, and customer count to determine affiliate value.
Feature request
↑ Back to topHave a feature request or enhancement suggestion for Affiliate For WooCommerce? Submit a request or send it to us from here.
