One-time commissions pay once. Recurring commissions pay every month for as long as the customer keeps their subscription. That distinction is the entire reason SaaS affiliate marketing compounds in a way that Amazon Associates never will.
Here’s the math that makes this tangible: if you refer 10 customers to Kit this month, and each of them pays $25/month for the Creator plan, you earn $125/month — every month for a year. That’s $1,500 from one month of content performance, paid out over 12 months. Refer 10 more customers next month, and now you’re earning $250/month in baseline recurring revenue before writing another word.
That compounding is what makes SaaS affiliate programs the core of a sustainable affiliate income — not the occasional big Amazon commission on a hardware review.
The Best Recurring Programs for a Tech and Online Business Audience
1. Kit (ConvertKit) — 50% for 12 Months
Kit’s affiliate program is the most generous of any mainstream email marketing tool: 50% of what a referred customer pays for their first 12 months. Kit’s Creator plan is $25/month at 1,000 subscribers — so one referral pays you $12.50/month for a year. Refer 20 customers and that’s $250/month recurring from a single month’s conversions.
Kit converts well from content audiences because the free plan is genuinely useful — your recommendation is honest, the reader doesn’t have to pay immediately to see the value, and when they do upgrade, the commission starts. There’s no pressure to push readers to pay for something they don’t need yet.
👉 Apply at kit.com/affiliate | Cookie window: 90 days | Payout: Monthly via PayPal
2. Make — 35% for 12 Months
Make’s affiliate program pays 35% of every payment from a referred organization for their first 12 months. Make’s Core plan is $9/month — modest — but business users who build real workflows often upgrade to the Pro ($16) or Teams ($29+) plans, which increase your commission per referral significantly.
What makes Make stand out as an affiliate program beyond the commission rate: retention. Once someone builds three or four automations they rely on daily, they don’t cancel. The lifetime value of a Make referral is higher than the 12-month window suggests because the churn rate is low.
👉 Affiliate link: make.com/en/register?pc=futuretechstack | Payout: Wise, minimum $100
3. Jasper AI — 25% Recurring (Indefinitely)
Jasper pays 25% recurring commissions — not for 12 months, but ongoing for as long as a referred customer remains a subscriber. At $39-$59/month per customer, one referral pays roughly $10-15/month indefinitely. Jasper’s retention is strong because users invest time training their brand voice into the platform, creating genuine switching costs.
The compound math here is different from Kit and Make: instead of 12 months of commissions and then nothing, a single Jasper referral could pay for 3-5 years if the customer stays. A handful of long-term Jasper customers can represent meaningful monthly recurring revenue from a relatively small absolute number of referrals.
👉 Apply at jasper.ai/affiliates | Paid via Impact.com
4. Beehiiv — 50% for 12 Months
Beehiiv matches Kit’s 50% rate for the first 12 months. Their Scale plan at $99/month and Creator Pro at $39/month mean referrals can be worth $20-50/month in commissions. If your content touches newsletter creation and you genuinely recommend Beehiiv for certain use cases (newsletter-as-product rather than newsletter-as-marketing-channel), this is a program worth adding.
👉 Apply at beehiiv.com/affiliates | Cookie window: 30 days
How to Promote These Programs Without Being Annoying About It
The affiliate recommendations that convert are the ones that appear in context — solving a problem the reader has right now. A Make affiliate link in a post about content automation converts because the reader came looking for automation help and you’re giving it to them. A Make affiliate link randomly inserted into a post about laptop reviews doesn’t.
Match program to content category. Kit links belong in email marketing and list-building posts. Make links belong in automation and workflow posts. Jasper links belong in AI writing and content production posts. When the recommendation is contextually relevant, it reads as helpful. When it’s not, it reads as sales.
Email sequences are also underused for recurring program promotion. A welcome email that introduces the tools you use and trust, sent to every new subscriber, is one touchpoint that continues generating affiliate conversions without requiring additional content.
Disclosure: FutureTechStack has active affiliate relationships with Kit, Make, and Jasper. Commission rates and program terms are accurate as of April 2026 and may change.