RevShare (Revenue Share)
RevShare, or revenue share, is a payout model that pays the affiliate a percentage of each conversion's revenue rather than a flat fee. It aligns affiliate earnings with the actual value of the sale, so bigger orders pay bigger commissions.
RevShare (revenue share) pays the affiliate a percentage of the revenue each conversion generates, instead of a fixed amount per action. If the deal is 30% RevShare and a conversion brings in $200, the affiliate earns $60; if the next one brings in $500, they earn $150. The payout floats with the value of what was sold, which aligns the affiliate's incentive with yours: they earn more when they send customers who spend more.
RevShare vs flat models
- CPA and CPL pay a flat amount per conversion — predictable, easy to forecast.
- RevShare pays a percentage — variable, but self-adjusting to order size and often used for subscriptions and recurring revenue, where the affiliate can earn on renewals.
RevShare shines when order values vary a lot or when you want partners invested in customer quality, not just volume. Flat models shine when the conversion value is consistent and you want a simple, comparable EPC.
A worked example
You offer 25% RevShare. An affiliate drives three conversions this week:
- A $120 order → payout $30
- A $340 order → payout $85
- A $1,050 order → payout $262.50
Total revenue $1,510, total payout $377.50, leaving $1,132.50 before other costs. Notice the affiliate is rewarded most for the big-ticket customer — exactly the behavior you want to encourage.
The one thing RevShare requires
RevShare can only be calculated if the conversion reports its revenue. The conversion pixel or postback must pass the sale amount; a RevShare conversion with no revenue can't be priced and is flagged as revenue-missing. So a RevShare offer's integration is slightly stricter than a CPA one: always send the amount.
How this works in LimeliJourney
In LimeliJourney, RevShare is a contract Format on the offer's Contracts tab — pick RevShare and the payout and received fields switch from dollars to percentages, and the actual dollars are computed from the revenue your pixel reports. Managing it is part of running your partners and offers. Pass the sale amount as rev on the conversion (a RevShare conversion without it shows a "Rev missing" warning in reports). Because economics are frozen at click time, changing the percentage only affects future clicks. And as with flat models, the precedence for overrides is sub-ID → campaign → contract, so you can hand one strong source a richer share without touching the base deal.