Web hosting affiliate programs with the longest cookie windows, and the gap before launch
By the LinkedAffiliate team ·
A reader finds your hosting guide while their site is still a folder of drafts. They open two hosts, compare the plans and close the tab. Six weeks later the site is ready, the domain is bought, and they come back to pick a host. Whether you get paid for that sale depends on one number in the program's terms, and on a few things the number does not tell you.
Cookie length is a fair way to compare hosting programs, because hosting is often bought well after the reader first starts looking. This page ranks the hosting programs in our directory by it. It then covers what decides whether a long window actually pays: the gap before launch, free credits on cloud platforms, readers who already have an account, money-back periods and the last click before checkout.
Web hosting programs ranked by cookie window
These are the 14 web hosting programs in the directory with published terms, longest cookie window first. Each name links to its listing, which shows the terms we read and the page we read them from.
| Program | Best rate | Cookie window | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| BigCloudy | See listing | 365 days | Direct (in-house) |
| MilesWeb | See listing | 365 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Veeble Hosting | See listing | 365 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Ecenica Hosting | 10% | 90 days | Direct (in-house) |
| HostSailor | 34% | 90 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Lifetime Commissions with Cherry Servers | 10% | 90 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Middlehost | 15% | 90 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Kinsta® | See listing | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Icedrive | 20% | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
| Servebolt | 100% | 60 days | Direct (in-house) |
Here is how the category looks as a whole:
- Programs with published terms
- 14
- Median best commission
- 20%
- across 8 programs that publish a percentage
- Median cookie window
- 60 days
- across 14 programs that publish one
A program shown as "Not published" did not state a window on the page we read. That does not mean it has none: some programs only show it after approval, and some keep it in the agreement. The list is also not every hosting program out there, and it changes as we add programs and as companies correct their own listings. Use it as a shortlist, then read each source page before you build content around a program.
To rank the same category by commission instead, see our guide to the highest paying web hosting affiliate programs, which also covers bounties, tiers and qualifying plans.
Why the window matters more on hosting
Most purchases a reader researches are made when they are ready to use the product. Hosting is different, because people often research it before they need it. A blogger reads about hosts while still writing the first posts. A small business owner compares plans while a designer builds the site. An agency checks hosts for a client who has not signed yet.
All of those readers come back later, and a short window can expire in the gap. That is the case where a long window earns its keep. A reader who buys on the day they find your page pays you the same under a short window as under a long one. Our cookie windows explainer covers when the clock starts and what resets it.
Does the cookie window need to cover the signup or the first payment?
It depends on what the program counts as the sale, and hosting programs differ here more than most. On shared and managed hosting, the account is usually created and paid for in one checkout, so the window only has to reach that day. On cloud and VPS platforms with free credits or a free tier, the referral is often recorded at signup but the commission only qualifies once the customer has paid or spent a minimum. Check whether your referral is locked in at signup, or whether the purchase itself has to land inside the window.
The difference is large. If the referral is locked in at signup, a reader who creates a free account today and starts paying in three months can still be yours. If the payment has to fall inside the window, the same reader may earn you nothing, however long the window looked on the sign-up page. The terms usually describe this as a "qualifying" purchase or a minimum spend, so search for those words.
Readers who already have an account
Many hosting programs pay only for new customers. A reader who already has an account at the host, even an old one for a different site, may not count, whether or not your cookie is still live. Some programs check by account, some by email address and some by payment details.
This matters most on content aimed at people moving hosts. A reader moving from one host to another is a new customer at the second, but a reader adding a second site to a host they already use usually is not. If your audience is mostly experienced site owners, check the new-customer rule before you count on the window.
The money-back period is a separate clock
Hosting is commonly sold with a money-back period. That clock starts at the purchase, after the cookie has done its work, and a refunded sale usually takes your commission with it. Many programs hold commission until the refund period has passed, so a sale inside your window may still show as pending for weeks. A long window does nothing to protect a sale from a refund. Our guide to affiliate payout terms explains holds and thresholds in more detail.
Coupons and the last click
Hosting checkouts often have a promo code box, and a reader who sees one may go looking for a code before paying. If they click through a coupon site on the way, most programs use last-click attribution, so that click replaces yours, however much time your window had left. The same goes for a reader who reads one more hosting review after yours and clicks its link last.
Some programs give affiliates their own codes or a custom landing page with the discount built in, so the reader has no reason to search. Others say in the terms that a code from another source wins. Check which applies before you assume a long window protects you at checkout.
Other devices and other people
A reader can research on a phone during a commute and buy on a laptop at the desk. The cookie sits in the phone's browser, so the purchase on the laptop is not credited to you unless the program tracks the referral some other way.
The person who buys is not always the person who read your page, either. A freelancer may recommend a host to a client, and the client pays from their own computer. On content for freelancers and agencies, check whether the program offers a reseller or partner account that credits the referral without relying on the client's browser. Our guide to web hosting affiliate programs with recurring commission covers what happens to those accounts once they start renewing.
Checking the window before you join
Five questions to answer from the program's own pages:
- How many days is the window, and is it on the public page or only in the agreement?
- Is the referral locked in at signup, or does the first payment or minimum spend have to fall inside the window?
- Does the program pay only for new customers, and how does it decide who is new?
- How long is the money-back period, and is commission held until it ends?
- Does it offer affiliate coupon codes, and which wins when a reader uses a code from elsewhere?
Most of these answers sit in the agreement rather than the sign-up page, so save a dated copy when you join. Our guide on how to read an affiliate agreement shows where clauses like these usually sit.
Where to go from here
Browse every program in the web hosting category, open the listings with the longest windows and read each source page for two things: what counts as the sale, and who counts as a new customer. On hosting, those two answers decide whether a long window pays.