ShareASale Review: The Good, The Meh, and The Money
If you’ve ever dipped your toes in affiliate marketing, you’ve probably heard of ShareASale. It’s one of the OG networks connecting affiliates and merchants dating all the way back to 2000. So, in this ShareASale review, we’ll break down whether this business is legit, how its affiliate program works, and what makes its pricing stack up (or not) against the competition.
Whether you’re exploring ShareASale affiliate marketing, comparing ShareASale with others, or just trying to figure out what it offers before you sign up, this guide has you covered.
And of course, we’ll let you know how to mix it up with PropellerAds to max up on your performance, transparency, and ROI.
Probably by now, when you hear about another “top affiliate network,” you roll your eyes and think: here we go again! But as we’ve said, ShareASale.com isn’t the new kid on the block. It actually been around since 2000, got acquired by/merged with Awin in 2017, and has survived for over two decades.
Now it became an important part of Awin and is in the process of finalizing its client migration to it. So, if you’re just looking to become their client, keep in mind that you’ll be joining the latter through ShareASale.com.
Image Source: ShareASale.com
And this is not a bad thing. Quite the opposite. Awin is an even greater power, that usually pays on time, provides access to many big brands, and offers exceptional conversion tracking capabilities. Also, since they share resources, working with ShareASake/Awin, you get better global reach but also more overlap
With over 30,000 businesses and thousands of affiliates paid every month, it’s one of the oldest and most reliable affiliate networks out there. These according to InfluencerMarketingHub, EasyAffiliate,and G2.
However, some users on Trustpilot and Reddit mention slow merchant approvals, delayed support, and the occasional voided sale. That said, ShareASale’s legitimacy isn’t in question, but its patience test might be. Read on to find out everything you need before working with ShareASale/Awin.
If you’re new to the game, ShareASale is an affiliate marketing platform that connects you with brands willing to pay for results. The network covers 30,000+ merchants across fashion, finance, tech, and even some rather unusual niches. (Yes, there’s an affiliate program for pretty much everything. Probably even cat hammocks.)
The system is mainly pay per sale (PPS), so you earn when your audience actually buys. That means no random clicks, you’ll need content, funnels, and a bit of patience.
So, what’s the ShareASale affiliate program really like? It’s pretty much plug-and-play: you join, browse merchants, apply, and start generating affiliate links.
Image source: ShareASale.com
They offer deep-link tools, performance reports, and real-time tracking. Plus, a massive marketplace full of brands begging for affiliates. All of which you can filter by category, commission rate, or even “auto-approval” if you’re tired of rejection emails.
The downside? Some merchants can be picky. They might void sales if traffic sources aren’t squeaky clean or make the approval process slower than your Wi-Fi during a thunderstorm.
Still, once you’re in, payments are regular, and for affiliates with good traffic, it’s a reliable revenue stream.
Here’s the deal: if you’re a merchant, you’ll need to pay $550 upfront, plus a $100 deposit to join. On top of that, 20% of your commission goes to ShareASale as a transaction fee. If you don’t generate enough volume, there’s a $35 monthly minimum, according to EasyAffiliate.
If you’re an affiliate, the cost is time and patience. There are no upfront fees, but you’ll need to build real campaigns to see real money.
Let’s talk competitors
CJ Affiliate is the other heavyweight in the room. CJ has bigger global brands but less transparency in pricing.
The second runner-up is Rakuten Advertising, or the fancy cousin. It showcases sleek brands, deep reports, global reach, and overall polished partnerships.
So, while CJ Affiliate is the data nerd, Rakuten Advertising’s the corporate pro, and ShareASale the chill one with easy setup and quick wins: less spreadsheets, more earnings.
In short: ShareASale is great for niche offers and smaller brands, while CJ and Rakuten Advertising cater more to the enterprise-level players.
What’s Our Verdict
After analyzing the affiliate marketing platform, we realised that if you’re a seasoned affiliate who loves optimizing landing pages, building SEO funnels, and geeking out over conversion rates, ShareASale affiliate marketing has plenty to offer. It’s stable, transparent, and filled with thousands of programs waiting for traffic.
However, ShareASale moves at the pace of SEO. You build content, wait for rankings, and then (hopefully) get clicks that turn into commissions. Meanwhile, here at PropellerAds, we’re talking instant traffic, faster tests, and conversions today. Notice there’s no maybe?
And we get it. Affiliate marketing is your playground, but why wait for algorithms to notice your content? Paid traffic lets you scale fast, test creatives, and target buyers across verticals (from eCommerce to finance to gaming).
So, if you’re ready to get the best of both worlds, just combine your ShareASale affiliate links with our Push Ads, Interstitials, or Onclick traffic, and you’ll see where the real power lies.
To wrap it up:
✅ ShareASale is legit: reliable, established, and packed with merchants
⚠️ It’s not instant, but like all good things, it take patience
🚀 With PropellerAds paid traffic, you get results you can actually measure, and scale
So, go ahead, try the ShareASale affiliate program. And if you’re ready to take those offers global, PropellerAds is here with clicks that actually convert on the spot.
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