impact.com

What impact.com is

impact.com is a partnership management platform rather than a classic affiliate network. Founded in 2008 as Impact Radius and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, it is the software brands use to run affiliate, influencer, creator, B2B and app partnerships. Its partner side is where publishers find programs, accept contracts, track sales and get paid. The company lists 19 offices worldwide, says its marketplace holds more than 6,500 vetted brands, and reports over $100 billion in gross transaction value through the platform.

Offers and verticals

Programs are run by the brands themselves, so the catalog leans toward retail and e-commerce, travel, software and SaaS, financial services and subscription businesses, many of them well-known consumer names. The Marketplace lets partners search by vertical, region, payout model and eligibility, and apply to up to 10 programs at once. Partners get access to more than 9 million products for product-level links, can request custom promo codes, and can take on Performance Campaigns, where a brand pays for defined deliverables.

Commission models and payouts

Each brand sets its own contract: commission rate, model (CPA or percentage of sale, flat fee or hybrid), referral window, locking period and payout schedule. A tracked action stays Pending until its lock date, and during that window the brand can adjust or reverse it for returns or cancellations. Once locked it becomes Approved and is released on the scheduled clearing date shown on the action. Brands fund their accounts and impact.com pays partners from one consolidated balance. Partners pick a payout schedule: a balance threshold, processed on the following Tuesday or Thursday, or a fixed day on the 1st or 15th of the month. The minimum is $10 USD or the local equivalent, and payouts go to a bank account or PayPal in 70+ currencies. PayPal withdrawals carry a 2% processing fee, while a beta Anytime PayPal option pays out balances under $500 within minutes for $2 plus 2%, capped at $20. Changing bank details triggers a 48-hour withdrawal hold, and when a brand funds late, partners on a fixed day wait for the next cycle for that brand’s money. Accounts that cannot be paid for six months because tax or payment details are missing are charged a monthly fee from month seven: $10, or £25 where invoicing runs through an impact.com entity.

Tracking, tools and platform

Tracking runs on each brand’s impact.com integration, so partners generate tracking links, product links and promo codes inside the dashboard instead of installing anything. The Performance Reporting Suite breaks results down by brand, category, promo code, referring domain, referral type and day or month. A mobile app lets partners create links from any website, and a partner API is available for pulling reports and catalogs into publisher tools.

Traffic rules and compliance

Promotional rules are set brand by brand in each contract, typically covering paid search and trademark bidding, coupon usage, incentivized traffic and social or email promotion, so every contract needs reading before links go live. Breaking a brand’s terms usually means reversed actions during the locking window. Payouts also require completed prerequisites: phone verification for two-factor login, valid payment details and tax information. US partners, and non-US partners working with US brands, must file an electronic tax form once earnings reach $2,000 in a calendar year, and payouts are held until it is approved.

Support and getting started

Signup is free. Partners create an account, add their websites or social properties and promotional methods, then apply to brands from the Marketplace. Each brand approves or declines separately, and brands can also send invitations directly. Platform questions go through the partner help center and its ticket system, while commercial questions such as rate increases or exclusive codes go to each brand’s partnership team.

Who it suits

impact.com suits content publishers, coupon and cashback sites, creators and comparison sites that want direct relationships with established brands and a single consolidated payout. It is a poor fit for media buyers looking for CPA offers on pop, push or native traffic, for anyone who needs a smartlink, and for affiliates who need fast weekly cash flow, since payment waits for each brand’s lock period to pass.