Our affiliate terms outline the methods of calculating recurring commissions. In this Knowledge Base article, we are providing some example calculations. For a full description of the process please refer to the terms and conditions.
One-Time Commissions
One-time commissions shall be calculated and approved once for each WordPress referred customer. In order to generate the one-time commission, the following criteria must be met:
- The Affiliate must be in good standing.
- The referred customer must not be delinquent.
- The referred customer must have been active (subscribed to at least one non-free hosting plan) for a period of more than 2 months, as determined by measuring the passage of time starting from the referral activation date. This time period is referred to as the one-time commission qualification period.
Once these criteria have been met the one-time commission shall be calculated, approved, and shall appear in the Affiliate’s account.
One-time commissions shall be calculated according to the following schedule based on the total income received from the referred customer during the one-time commission qualification period:
| Income received | One-time commission |
| Less than $50 | $0 |
| $50 – $99.99 | $50 |
| $100 – $165.99 | $100 |
| $166 – $999.99 | $150 |
| $1,000 or higher | $500 |
When a customer subscribes to a yearly plan, the one-time commission shall be calculated by dividing the yearly paid plan by 12 months.
The following table illustrates the one-time commission that would be calculated for a referred customer based on each standard hosting plan subscription level, assuming that all criteria are met, plans are not upgraded or downgraded, and there are no additional discounts added.
Please note that this table is provided to illustrate the typical calculation of one-time commissions. In practice, one-time commissions shall be determined based on the schedule above.
| Hosting plan | Typical one-time commission |
| Starter | $50 |
| Pro | $100 |
| Business 1 | $150 |
| Business 2 | $150 |
| Business 3 | $150 |
| Business 4 | $150 |
| Agency 1 | $150 |
| Agency 2 | $150 |
| Agency 3 | $500 |
| Enterprise 1 | $500 |
| Enterprise 2 | $500 |
| Above Enterprise 2 | $500 |
Recurring Commission Examples
The customer is on a Business 2 plan which was active throughout the period.
- The customer paid $225 for a Business 2 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 30 days out of 30 on Business 2
-
The recurring commission for 30 days is $22.50
225 × 0.1 / 30 × 30 = $22.50
The total recurring commission for this subscription period is $22.50
The customer was on a Business 1 plan which was upgraded to Business 2, 4 days into the period.
- The customer paid $115 for a Business 1 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 4 days out of 30 on Business 1
-
The recurring commission for 4 days is $1.53
115 × 0.1 / 30 × 4 = $1.53
- The customer paid $225 for a Business 2 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 26 days out of 30 on Business 2
-
The recurring commission for 26 days is $19.50
225 × 0.1 / 30 × 26 = $19.50
The total recurring commission for this subscription period is $21.03
1.53 + 19.5 = $21.03
The customer was on a Business 4 plan which was downgraded to Business 2, 17 days into the period.
- The customer paid $450 for a Business 4 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 17 days out of 30 on Business 4
-
The recurring commission for 17 days is $25.50
450 × 0.1 / 30 × 17 = $25.50
- The customer paid $225 for a Business 2 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 14 days out of 30 on Business 2
-
The recurring commission for 14 days is $10.50
225 × 0.1 / 30 × 14 = $10.50
The total recurring commission for this subscription period is $36.00
25.5 + 10.5 = $36.00
The customer was on a Business 2 plan which was upgraded to Enterprise 1, 11 days into the period. After another 9 days the customer decided to downgrade to Business 4.
- The customer paid $225 for a Business 2 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 11 days out of 30 on Business 2
-
The recurring commission for 11 days is $8.25
225 × 0.1 / 30 × 11 = $8.25
- The customer paid $675 for a Enterprise 1 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 9 days out of 30 on Enterprise 1
-
The recurring commission for 9 days is $20.25
675 × 0.1 / 30 × 9 = $20.25
- The customer paid $450 for a Business 4 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 10 days out of 30 on Business 4
-
The recurring commission for 10 days is $15.00
450 × 0.1 / 30 × 10 = $15.00
The total recurring commission for this subscription period is $43.50
8.25 + 20.25 + 15 = $43.50
Switching Billing Periods
When switching between billing intervals periods may become shorter. The example below shows a 6 day period – for which commission is calculated as usual. The Business 3 yearly plan upgrade starts a new period which will end – as usual – after one month. Therefore, the example above creates two periods.
Example 1
- The customer paid $225 for a Business 2 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 6 days out of 30 on Business 2
-
The recurring commission for 6 days is $4.50
225 × 0.1 / 30 × 6 = $4.50
The total recurring commission for this subscription period is $4.50
Example 1
- The customer paid $340 for a Business 3 subscription
- The affiliate commission rate for the period is 10%
- The customer spent 30 days out of 30 on Business 3
-
The recurring commission for 30 days is $34.00
340 × 0.1 / 30 × 30 = $34.00
The total recurring commission for this subscription period is $34.00
