Highest paying VPN affiliate programs, and what decides the payout
By the LinkedAffiliate team ·
Someone who buys a VPN through your link usually picks a plan length on the checkout page: a month, a year, or two years or more at a lower monthly price. That choice, made after the click and out of your hands, decides most of what the commission is worth. So the rate on a program page tells you less than it seems to.
This page ranks the VPN and security programs in our directory by the best commission they publish, then covers what turns that rate into money: which plan your readers pick, what a money-back guarantee does to your commission, whether renewals pay, and the promotion rules that are stricter here than in most categories.
VPN and security affiliate programs ranked by commission
These are the 12 VPN and security programs in the directory with published terms, best rate first. The category covers VPNs and the tools that tend to be sold beside them, such as password managers and antivirus. Each name links to its listing, where you can see every program the company runs, the terms we read and the page we read them from.
| Program | Best rate | Cookie window | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxylabs | 50% | 30 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Surfshark | 40% | 30 days | Direct (in-house) |
| VPN Secure | 35% | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Optery | 30% | 90 days | Direct (in-house) |
| MalCare | 20% | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Icedrive | 20% | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Geonode | 10% | 90 days | Direct (in-house) |
| IPRoyal.com | 10% | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Internxt | See listing | 30 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Kaspersky | See listing | 30 days | Direct (in-house) |
Here is how the category looks as a whole:
- Programs with published terms
- 12
- Median best commission
- 20%
- across 8 programs that publish a percentage
- Median cookie window
- 60 days
- across 12 programs that publish one
The list is not every VPN program in the world, and it changes as we add programs and as companies correct their own listings. A program with no rate in the table states more than one rate, or a rate with conditions, so the listing shows the full terms instead of a single number. Use the table as a shortlist, then read the source page before you write about any one program.
Plan length decides the commission
VPN providers sell the same service at very different prices depending on how long the customer commits. A long plan costs more up front and less per month. Programs that pay a percentage of the sale pay a percentage of that up-front amount, so a reader who picks a multi-year plan can be worth several times a reader who picks one month.
Programs handle this in a few ways, and the terms page usually says which one applies:
- one percentage on every plan, so the long plans pay the most;
- a different rate per plan length, often higher on the monthly plan to make up for the smaller sale;
- a fixed amount per sale, sometimes set per plan, so the rate on the program page does not move with the price at all.
You cannot choose the plan for your reader, but you can be honest about it. A reader who wants a VPN for one trip abroad should hear that a monthly plan exists. A reader who wants it on every device for years is better served by a long plan, and that happens to pay you more too. Our guide to commission types shows how to put a fixed amount and a percentage on the same scale.
Refunds and the money-back window
Many VPN and security products come with a money-back guarantee: the customer can ask for a refund within a set number of days and get it without much argument. A refunded sale almost always reverses its commission.
That has two effects on you. First, the program usually holds commissions until the refund window has passed, so a sale you made today shows up as approved weeks later. Second, if your readers buy on impulse and then cancel, a share of your commissions disappears before you see them. Content that helps people pick the right product keeps more of what it earns than content that pushes them to buy fast. Our guide to affiliate payout terms explains holds, thresholds and net terms.
Do VPN affiliate programs pay on renewals?
Some do and many do not. A program that pays only on the first purchase earns you nothing when the customer renews, however long they stay. A program that pays on renewals keeps paying for as long as the customer does, often at a different rate from the first sale. The terms page says which kind it is, and it is worth finding before you compare rates.
With long plans, a renewal can be a year or two away, so renewal income builds slowly. It is still worth counting. Two programs with the same first-sale rate are not equal if only one of them pays when a two-year customer comes back for another two years. Our guide to VPN affiliate programs with recurring commission covers what a renewal is worth and what can stop it from paying.
Cookies, coupons and comparison sites
A VPN purchase is often quick once the reader has decided, but the deciding can take a while. People read several reviews, compare prices and come back later. A cookie window long enough to cover that gap keeps the sale credited to you. Most programs use last-click attribution, so if your reader later clicks someone else's link before buying, the sale usually goes to them. Privacy-minded readers also block or clear cookies more than most, which is why our guide to VPN affiliate programs with the longest cookie windows looks at how each program tracks, not just how long its window lasts.
Coupon codes are the other thing to watch. VPN checkouts often have a promo code field, and a reader who searches for a code before paying can land on a coupon site whose link replaces yours. Some programs give affiliates their own codes, which tie the sale to you whichever link was last. If a program offers that, it is worth asking for.
Read the promotion rules first
VPN and security programs tend to have stricter rules than most. Before you spend time or money on traffic, check the terms for these:
- Brand bidding. Many programs forbid ads on searches for their own brand name, including misspellings.
- Coupon use. Some ban publishing codes they did not give you, or listing the program on coupon sites at all.
- Claims about privacy and security. Programs often limit what you may say about what the product protects against. Saying a VPN makes someone fully anonymous, or that antivirus stops every threat, can break the terms and mislead your reader.
- Where you may promote. Some programs exclude certain countries, traffic sources or types of site.
- Self-referrals. Buying through your own link rarely counts.
Breaking one of these usually means reversed commissions or a closed account, so it costs more than the sale was worth.
How to compare two VPN programs
Answer the same questions for both:
- Which plan length would your typical reader pick?
- Is the commission a percentage or a fixed amount, and does it change with the plan?
- Does the program pay on renewals, and at what rate?
- How long is the money-back window, and how long are commissions held?
- How long is the cookie window, and does the program offer affiliate coupon codes?
- What is the minimum payout, and how often are you paid?
Work out the commission on the plan your reader is most likely to buy, then add any renewal you can reasonably expect. That figure is fairer than the headline rate, and it often reorders the table above.
Match the program to your readers
A traveller wants a VPN that works abroad and on hotel Wi-Fi. A streamer cares about which services and regions it unblocks, within what the provider allows. A small business wants a password manager its whole team can share. Someone who just bought a laptop may want antivirus more than either. The best rate earns little on a product your readers did not come looking for.
If your audience leans towards software in general, the highest paying SaaS affiliate programs covers subscription tools and how recurring commission works over time.
Where to go from here
Browse every program in the VPN and security category, open the listings on your shortlist and read the source pages for the plan rates, the refund window and the promotion rules. If affiliate marketing is new to you, how affiliate programs work covers the basics first.