The software industry has developed dramatically over the last 40 years.
Along the way, it created the world’s wealthiest man and has supplied us with tools and applications that have changed how we live our lives.
But is it a good niche to build a site around?
The short answer to this is “Yes” – we should know because we’ve made a stack of affiliate commissions over the years selling software products and services:
The truth is that most affiliates gloss over the software niche because it just doesn’t seem all that interesting or relevant to them.
Big mistake, guys. And we’ve put together a list of the top software affiliate programs spanning a number of niches to demonstrate that.
Let’s get to it.
Software Affiliate Programs
- Norton Software
- My Choice Software
- Crexi
- Qustodio
- NordVPN
- Smile Software
- Aweber
- iRidium Mobile
- Autodesk
- Adobe
- Intuit Quickbooks
- Tech Smith
- Dashlane
- Stellar
- Planable
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Norton Software
Norton is one of the most well-known brand names in computer security today, even though they started out selling a tool called Norton Utilities in 1982. Symantec Corporation acquired the company in 1990 and then released its first antivirus product in 1991.
Since then, Norton has gone on to acquire LifeLock, and release new computer security products and suites each year.
This is the top performer of all the software affiliate programs listed on CJ. Regarding affiliate commissions, you get a 20% cut for Norton software or a flat $20 on LifeLock subscriptions.
- URL: Norton
- Commission: Up to 20% per sale
- EPC: $283.63
- Cookie duration: 60 days
My Choice Software
My Choice Software specializes in selling volume licenses for software products from Microsoft, Nuance, Corel, and others. But they do also sell pretty much everything you’d need for a small business, from antivirus software to furniture and printers.
This program provides a way to sell these products if you were declined for the Microsoft affiliate program, for example.
This affiliate program pays up to 8% commission per sale. And with an average order value of $387, which means roughly $15 in your pocket for each referral.
- URL: My Choice Software
- Commission: Up to 8%
- EPC: $94.51
- Cookie duration: 90 days
Crexi
Crexi is typical of what happens to entrepreneurs – a simple idea grows to become so much more. In the case of Crexi, it was a simple online marketplace for commercial real estate listings that has grown into a real estate intelligence platform.
Basically, Crexi gives commercial real estate agents the tools they need to run a successful business.
Niche affiliate programs tend to pay that bit more than mainstream stuff, and the same is true of Crexi – affiliates earn a flat $50 per referral. So if you’re looking for high paying affiliate programs, you’ve found one.
- URL: Crexi
- Commission: $50 per lead
- EPC: TBC
- Cookie duration: 7 days
Qustodio
The Internet isn’t a safe place for kids to wander around on their own for any length of time. The fact that many kids now also own a smartphone can make it very difficult for parents to keep them safe.
That’s where Qustodio comes into play – a free parental control app that covers Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices.
This program is run by Awin, so you’ll need an account with them to get started. In addition to the 20% commission rate, this program also has a very high approval rate (good for a newbie affiliate), and a 9% conversion rate.
- URL: Qustodio
- Commission: 20% per sale
- Cookie duration: 60 days
NordVPN
These days, products like NordVPN are the norm because governments and big tech companies want access to more of your personal data than they have any right to. NordVPN is one of the leading virtual private networks on the market, offering protection for multiple devices and access to 5,700 servers in 59 countries.
Their prices start at $3.10 per month.
As an affiliate, you can earn anywhere up to 100% commission of a monthly plan, or 40% of an annual plan. This is definitely up there with the most generous affiliate marketing programs featured here.
- URL: NordVPN
- Commission: 40%
- EPC: $127.27
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Smile Software
And now something for the Mac affiliates – Smile Software. Text Expander is probably the better-known product here, allowing you to include pre-written blocks of text in your documents with just a few keystrokes.
This product also works on Windows PCs, so you have a pretty big market to tap in to. You’ll receive a 20% cut of every referred sale, which should average out to $8.75 in affiliate commission per transaction.
- URL: Smile Software
- Commission: 20%
- EPC: $41.36
- Cookie duration: 45 days
Aweber
Aweber is still one of the most popular autoresponders in the digital marketing space. That’s probably because they’ve been refining their product since they first launched it in 1998.
But is it actually any good?
You’ll earn 30% of what your referral spends each month with Aweber, for every month they remain a customer.
We love affiliate programs that offer recurring commission.
- URL: Aweber
- Commission: 30%
- Cookie duration: 365 days
iRidium mobile
iRidium is a software platform designed specifically for smart building installers. Basically, it allows all the different devices of a home or commercial automation system to talk to each other. So it can be used in everything from a home cinema setup, to providing voice control access to rooms in an office building.
This is the most tangential of the affiliate programs in this roundup, but that usually means very little competition for you.
You’ll need an account with Avangate (2Checkout) to promote this offer. But its average commission of €322.44 makes it worth looking at in more detail.
- URL: iRidium Mobile
- Commission: 46%
- EPC: €55.14
- Cookie duration: 120 days
Autodesk
Autodesk is the company behind products like AutoCAD, Maya, Revit, and 3ds Max. So anything that’s been prototyped in a 3D modeling environment, before being manufactured, was probably designed with an Autodesk product.
These software packages do come with a premium price tag attached. And for affiliates, that can mean a windfall – 9% commission on a product worth $1,690 means $152.10 in commission for you.
- URL: Autodesk
- Commission: 9%
- EPC: $86.87
- Cookie duration: 60 days
Adobe
Adobe is the leading creator of photo and video manipulation software on the planet. Nobody has nailed the market quite like Adobe has. And instead of your visitors having to pay hundreds of dollars upfront for software, they can now sign up for a Creative Cloud account instead. In terms of commission, you’ll earn up to 85% of a monthly subscription or 8.33% of an annual subscription.
- URL: Adobe partner program
- Commission: Up to 85%
- EPC: TBC
- Cookie duration: Unknown
Intuit Quickbooks
Managing business accounts is about as boring as tasks come. QuickBooks can help make that chore a little bit more bearable though.
And with prices starting at just $1 per month, they’re very affordable, which makes them easier to pitch.
This program pays up to $50 per sale for a completed QuickBooks Online lead or a 7% commission rate for all other online sales. Their flat-rate payment rate makes this one of the best affiliate offers in the roundup.
- URL: QuickBooks affiliate program
- Commission: Up to $50 per sale
- EPC: $144.39
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Tech Smith
TechSmith is the company behind both SnagIt and Camtasia – two of the best screen capture and video recording apps money can buy. In fact, if you’ve watched a video tutorial on YouTube, there’s a very good chance it was created with Camtasia.
You can earn up to 15% in affiliate commissions for every referral. Both products offer a free trial, so that’s a good place to start with your affiliate marketing efforts.
- URL: TechSmith affiliate program
- Commission: 15%
- Cookie duration: 45 days
Dashlane
Managing dozens of different passwords for web sites and services is a nightmare. Or it was until products like Dashlane came along. Using Dashlane means you should never have to click on a ‘Forgot password’ link ever again.
So how does Dashlane compare to the other affiliate programs on this list?
Well, you’ll receive a flat $2 for everyone that creates an account. But you also get paid 25% in affiliate commissions on all paid subscriptions.
- URL: Dashlane
- Commission: 25%
- EPC: $145.76
- Cookie duration: 24-hour
Stellar
There’s no feeling quite like losing several years worth of family photos or business documents. Stellar has a data recovery software solution, though for everything from a corrupted inbox to specialized photo and video recovery software.
You’ll receive 20% commission for every referral you send their way, but if you can send them more than $6k of business per month they’ll bump that up to 25% instead.
- URL: Stellar
- Commission: 20% per sale
- EPC: $41.02
- Cookie duration: 120 days
Planable
Planable is a social media approval tool for marketing agencies that allows users to manage multiple clients’ social content via separate workspaces.
According to Planable, the platform enables agencies to get clear feedback and approval on planned social media posts six times faster than with existing processes. So no wonder it’s used by some of the biggest agencies in the world, including Social Chain, Fat Media, and Tribal Worldwide.
The platform offers a free pricing tier that allows one user to create 50 total posts — plenty to learn the ropes and figure out if Planable is right for their agency.
After that, standard prices vary from $9 – $19 per month, although there’s also an enterprise-level tier with custom pricing based on the needs of the largest organizations.
Planable’s affiliate program pays 20% recurring commission for the first six months of an active subscription. So if you refer a 10-person agency to the $19-per-month Pro plan, that equates to a $38 commission every month for half a year — not bad.
- URL: Planable
- Commission: 20% recurring for six months
- Cookie duration: 30 days
Software Affiliate Networks
So far, we’ve covered several different software affiliate programs for you to promote.
Now it’s time to suggest two of the leading software affiliate networks you can sign up for.
- Avangate (2CheckOut)
- OneNetwork Direct (Digital River)
There are other similar affiliate networks out there, but I’ve had the most success with the ones listed above.
Over to You
And that wraps it up for our roundup of lucrative software affiliate programs.
The variety of programs, products, and affiliate networks featured here should give you something to work with, almost regardless of your niche.
That’s if you actually have a niche.
If not, then do yourself a favor and join us for our free training session on affiliate marketing.
There’s nothing to buy and no sleazy sales pitches.
Just tons of actionable info you can put to use straight away.
