The Shopify Affiliate Program lets you earn commissions by referring new merchants to Shopify. It is designed for content creators, bloggers, educators, influencers, review sites, and people who teach others about ecommerce and online business.
You share a unique referral link, and you earn when a referred merchant signs up for an eligible Shopify store plan and becomes a full-price customer.
Shopify currently pays up to $150 USD for a qualified referral, with the exact amount based on the location of the merchant you refer. For merchants in Africa, India, and several other regions, the current listed payout is $150, while some other locations have different rates.
Only the Basic, Grow, and Advanced store plans qualify for the standard affiliate commission. Plus, Enterprise and Retail referrals are not eligible under the standard affiliate program.
The referral process starts when someone clicks your affiliate link and begins a Shopify trial. You only earn once that person becomes a full-price customer.
Shopify can track a referral from the initial click through the trial and conversion process, with a 30-day click window and up to 125 days from the start of a free trial to the full-price conversion.
Shopify provides affiliates with a personal dashboard through Impact. You can create referral links, monitor clicks and conversions, track commissions, and access promotional materials such as banners and other content assets.
The program is free to join, but Shopify reviews applications rather than automatically accepting everyone.
Having an active website, an established audience, original content, and experience with ecommerce or entrepreneurship can improve your chances of approval.
Recommended Reading:Â How to Start Affiliate Marketing for Beginners: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide.
Pay
$150 per new paid Shopify merchant referred. Cookie window is 30 days. Active affiliates with entrepreneur-focused audiences earn $1,500 to $15,000+ per month from consistent referral content.
How You Make Money
You join the free Shopify affiliate program, create content around starting online stores or eCommerce topics, share your unique affiliate link, and earn $150 for each new merchant who subscribes to a paid plan.
Payment Method
PayPal, bank transfer via Impact.com
Withdrawal Speed
You can choose to receive payments when your balance reaches a chosen amount or on a biweekly schedule. Shopify adds commissions to your affiliate balance monthly, generally on the 22nd for the previous month's referrals.
Skill Level
Beginner to Intermediate (content platform or entrepreneurial audience required)
Pros
You can earn up to $150 for a single qualified merchant referral.
Shopify is a well known ecommerce platform that is easy to explain through tutorials and educational content.
The program provides affiliate links, tracking tools, analytics, and promotional materials.
There is no cap on the amount you can earn from qualified referrals.
The program can work well with blogs, YouTube channels, courses, newsletters, and social media content.
You can promote Shopify to audiences interested in ecommerce, dropshipping, print on demand, and online stores.
Cons
Shopify reviews applications, so joining is not guaranteed.
You only earn after a referred user becomes a full price customer.
The commission amount varies depending on the merchant's location.
Building useful ecommerce content and attracting qualified visitors can take time.
Free trials and discounted plans do not generate the standard affiliate commission.
Best For
Bloggers, YouTubers, ecommerce educators, content creators, course creators, and websites focused on online business.
