By
Natalie Robin
· Updated
Jan 3, 2024
The VPN niche is one of the most profitable — and competitive — in the affiliate marketing space. What exactly makes it so appealing?
First off, affiliates can earn generous revenue shares on these VPN affiliate programs, with recurring commission rates averaging around 40%.
Add on the fact that most VPN providers offer steep discounts to get their users on multi-year plans, and your average order value skyrockets.
Finally, if you help your audience choose the right VPN for for their needs, you increase your chances of making recurring commissions through subscription renewals.
These are just three reasons why the VPN niche is a favorite amongst affiliate marketers.
But which of these 10+ VPN affiliate programs balances product quality, compelling features, conversion rates, and broad consumer appeal? Read on to find out.
How we compiled this list
To compile this list, we analyzed over 25 of the most popular VPN websites to discover which affiliate programs they promoted most often, using our Affiliate Link Scanner.
We then categorized them into the most linked-to affiliate programs on top blogs in the VPN niche. After all, if a blog or website links to the same merchant hundreds of times, there's a good chance it's because it converts.
The result is a data-backed list of VPN affiliate programs based on what's working for top sites in the niche. All based on publicly available data.
VPN Affiliate Programs
Here are the best VPN affiliate programs to promote in 2024:
- CyberGhost affiliate program
- IPVanish affiliate program
- NordVPN affiliate program
- ExpressVPN affiliate program
- Private Internet Access affiliate program
- VyprVPN affiliate program
- Torguard affiliate program
- VPN.ac affiliate program
- PureVPN affiliate program
- Cactus VPN affiliate program
- Surfshark affiliate program
- Tunnelbear affiliate program
CyberGhost
- Program name: CyberGhost Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: CyberGhost Integrated in Affilimate, Yazing, FlexOffers Integrated in Affilimate, Skimlinks Integrated in Affilimate, CJ Affiliate Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: 0-100% (CyberGhost), 0-100% of Monthly Subscription Sales, 0-45% Annual Subscriptions (Yazing), 80% on monthly subscriptions, 32% on 1-year, 2-year, 3-year subscriptions (FlexOffers), 45-100% (Skimlinks), 40% per purchase, 100% Monthly subscription (CJ Affiliate)
- Cookie duration: 45 days (CyberGhost), Not listed (Yazing, Skimlinks), 30 days (FlexOffers, CJ Affiliate)
- Markets: Global
CyberGhost VPN was founded in 2011, and is based in Bucharest, Romania. It offers VPN services to 91 countries, and is currently owned by Kape Technologies. The company serves a global market, and offers web security services for desktop, gaming consoles, mobile devices, and browser extensions. CyberGhost guarantees total anonymity through its no-log policy, web proxy, and VPN encryption. Its services allow you to connect 7 devices to the VPN at a time.
Customers can purchase coverage for $2.29USD a month within a 3-year plan. The CyberGhost VPN affiliate program is promoted prominently on the company website, which could indicate that this is a marketing channel that CyberGhost VPN is investing heavily in and is seeing a high conversion rate.
IPVanish
- Program name: IPVanish Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: CJ Affiliate Integrated in Affilimate, Sovrn Integrated in Affilimate, Skimlinks Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: 50% (CJ Affiliate), $0.06 EPC (Sovrn), $80.00 (Skimlinks)
- Cookie duration: 45 days (CJ Affiliate), Not listed (Sovrn, Skimlinks)
- Markets: Global (CJ Affiliate), Global (Sovrn), US, DE, ES, CA, FR (Skimlinks)
IP Vanish is a Florida-based company owned by StackPath, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The standout features of this VPN include shared IP addresses, no traffic logs, and secure access to media.
The VPN network offers a yearly plan, priced at $3.75USD a month for the first year. Affiliates can benefit from a fairly high commission rate, ranging from 50% to $80 a sale. A major upside of this VPN affiliate program is that there is no cap on payouts, and affiliates earn recurring commissions as long as referred customers continue their subscriptions.
The website also hosts an educational blog, which affiliates can use to convert this program by eliminating customer confusion about the benefits of virtual private networks.
NordVPN
- Program name: NordVPN Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: NordVPN Integrated in Affilimate, Lemonads, Skimlinks Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: 100% per new sign-up for 1 month offer, 40% per new sign up for 6 months - 2-year offer, 30% per renewal (NordVPN), 30-90% (Lemonads), 60% for new subscriptions (Skimlinks)
- Cookie duration: Not listed (NordVPN, Skimlinks), 30 days (Lemonads)
- Markets: Global
NordVPN was founded by a group of friends seeking to create an accessible internet security tool. The company is based in Panama, with offices around the world. Notable features include a strict no-logs policy, file encryptions, and a secure password manager.
NordVPN has significantly invested into conveying its brand story through quality web design, copywriting and social media marketing. The brand has around 300k followers across social media platforms, which affiliates can tap into when communicating the credibility of the company.
NordVPN has an interesting affiliate program structure, in which affiliates earn different commission percentages based on which program customers sign up for. The commission rate is generous, at 40% to 100%, depending on the package, and 30% for renewals.
ExpressVPN
- Program name: ExpressVPN Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: ExpressVPN Integrated in Affilimate, CJ Affiliate Integrated in Affilimate, Skimlinks Integrated in Affilimate, FlexOffers Integrated in Affilimate, Rakuten Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: $13.00 1-month subscription package, $22.00 6-month subscription package, $36.00 12-month subscription package (ExpressVPN), $13.00 1 month subscription package, $22.00 6 month subscription package, $36.00 12 month subscription package (CJ Affiliate), $19.50-$54.00 default (Skimlinks), $73.60 (FlexOffers), $18.20 base commission, when SKU List is 1-month, $30.80 when SKU List is 6-month, $50.00 when SKU List is 12-month (Rakuten)
- Cookie duration: Not listed (ExpressVPN, Skimlinks), 90 days (CJ Affiliate, FlexOffers, Rakuten)
- Markets: Global
Express VPN is based in the British Virgin Islands and has servers internationally in 94 countries. It is available for every kind of device with a range of apps, makes no activity logs, and offers a DNS leak test.
It hosts influencer, partner, and affiliate programs, demonstrating that it is heavily invested in partnership-based marketing. These efforts are in line with their website claims, which state that they have one of the best converting VPN websites for affiliates.
In addition, Express VPN’s content strategy is community-oriented. For example, they host an annual scholarship program, which students can apply to directly on the website. This approach to content marketing could be a selling point for affiliates with a socially conscious and tech savvy audience.
Private Internet Access
- Program name: Private Internet Access Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: Kape Integrated in Affilimate, FlexOffers Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: 33% commission for the qualifying subscription (Kape), 24% on subscription renewals and yearly plan sales, 80% on monthly plans (FlexOffers)
- Cookie duration: 30 days
- Markets: Global
Private Internet Access is a VPN provider based in Colorado. It is owned by Kape Technologies, the same parent company that owns ExpressVPN and CyberGhost. Its features include split tunneling, a corporate-friendly VPN, and antivirus and encryption software.
Private Internet Access is adamant that it does not retain logs of user data. This, along with end to end encryption, provides users an extra level of privacy and security. You can learn more about Private Internet Access policy here.
If you trust Private Internet Access’ services, you can promote it to your audience to receive a hefty commission of 80%, and an average 30 day cookie period.
VyprVPN
- Program name: VyprVPN Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: CJ Affiliate Integrated in Affilimate, FlexOffers Integrated in Affilimate, Sovrn Integrated in Affilimate, Skimlinks Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: $10.00 per item on Item List: VYPRPVN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_1mo, $20.00 per item on Item List: VYPRPVN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_V2_6mo, $30.00 per item on Item List: VYPRPVN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_V2_6mo (CJ Affiliate), $16.00 for Item List: VYPRVPN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_V2,Item List: VYPRPVN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_V2_6mo, $8.00 for Item List: VYPRPVN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_1mo (FlexOffers), 30.15% network commission rate (Sovrn), $10.00 VyprVPN.com Purchase - Purchase of subscription with a valid form of payment, $20.00 VyprVPN.com Purchase - VYPRPVN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_V2_6mo - Purchase of subscription with a valid form of payment, $30.00 VyprVPN.com Purchase - VYPRVPN_PERSONAL_WEB_2021Q4_V2 - Purchase of subscription with a valid form of payment (Skimlinks)
- Cookie duration: 30 days (CJ Affiliate, FlexOffers), Not listed (Sovrn, Skimlinks)
- Markets: Global
VyprVPN is a Switzerland-based company, with servers in over 70 countries. Its features include public wifi protection, a traffic blocking kill switch, a censorship protocol, and VPN apps for a range of devices.
The VyprVPN platform is promoted in the footer of the company website, which directs users to the CJ Affiliate website. Affiliates can sign up through three other platforms, depending on the kind of ads and commission structures they are looking for.
The CJ Affiliate program offers the highest commissions among the platforms. Affiliates can earn $30USD for one year subscription sign ups, and $10USD for monthly memberships for purchases within the 30 day cookie period.
Torguard
- Program name: Torguard Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: Direct
- Commission: 30%
- Cookie duration: 60 days
- Markets: Global
Torguard is a VPN service that works by providing customers with an anonymous IP and encryption for secure browsing. They also offer a business VPN, email encryption, and VPN routers. The company is based in Orlando, Florida, and has servers in over 50 countries.
Torguard has one of the more pricey VPN services, which starts at $9.99USD a month. Affiliates can take advantage of the generous recurring commission terms of 30% per sale, and a 60 day cookie period. Their website also states that the affiliate program is a large component of their marketing efforts, and affiliates can enjoy added support as a result.
VPN.ac
- Program name: VPN.ac Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: Direct
- Commission: 30% per sale/renewal for the life of VPN accounts
- Cookie duration: Not listed
- Markets: Global
VPN.ac is an information security company based in Romania. Along with a VPN service for personal and business use, the company carries out security audits and consulting services. Other features include encrypted DNS queries, and apps for most devices.
Affiliates can apply to the VPN.ca program directly on the website, through which they can earn a commission of 30% per sale.
VPN.ac publishes blog reports documenting changes to their services so that customers can stay up to date. They also offer easy to access installation tutorials for their VPN products on an easily navigated website. This could be an added bonus or selling point for affiliates promoting VPN services to audiences who have never used them before.
PureVPN
- Program name: PureVPN Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: Direct
- Commission: 35% recurring commission, 100% on monthly plans, $40.00 on every other plan
- Cookie duration: 90 days
- Markets: Global
PureVPN has thousands of servers providing access to their platforms across the world. Features include military-grade encryption, port forwarding, and a VPN kill switch. The company is owned by parent organization GZ Systems Ltd, which is headquartered in the British Virgin Islands.
The PureVPN affiliate program offers an ideal commission structure, with both a high commission rate of up to 100% per sale, and a long cookie duration. PureVPN also has one of the most competitive prices among this list, with 24 month plans starting at $1.99USD.
A standout feature of this VPN affiliate program is that it especially encourages partnerships with the Blockchain community.
Cactus VPN
- Program name: Cactus VPN Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: Direct
- Commission: 25% from every sale
- Cookie duration: Not listed
- Markets: Global
Cactus VPN is based in Moldova, and serves a global audience, with servers in 22 countries.
It offers end to end encryption, 7 VPN protocols, and guarantees no logs. Cactus VPN also allows you to bypass geo-restrictions, and to secure your data on all WiFi connections.
Affiliates can sign up to the Cactus VPN affiliate program directly through the company website. Once in the program, they can earn 25% with every sale they refer. If the referring customer continues to make purchases, the affiliate will make recurring commissions.
Cactus VPN encourages affiliates to write blogs reviewing their experience with the company. Therefore, if your primary platform includes content writing, this VPN affiliate program could be a good fit for you.
Surfshark
- Program name: Surfshark Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: Surfshark Integrated in Affilimate, AvantLink Integrated in Affilimate, Cuelinks, FlexOffers Integrated in Affilimate, Skimlinks Integrated in Affilimate, Sovrn Integrated in Affilimate, Yazing
- Commission: 40% (Surfshark), 40% (AvantLink), ₹1,683.00 for sales over $60 USD (Cuelinks), 32% conversion sale (FlexOffers), 40% (Skimlinks), 304.24% network commission rate (Sovrn), 40% (Yazing)
- Cookie duration: 30 days (Surfshark, AvantLink, Cuelinks, FlexOffers), Not listed (Skimlinks, Sovrn, Yazing)
- Markets: Global
Surfshark is a VPN based in the British Virgin Islands, and according to News.com is owned by parent company Surfshark Ltd. It is available in 17 languages, and serves a global market. Features include an ad and malware blocker, support for unlimited devices, and a VPN bypasser.
Affiliates interested in promoting the Surfshark affiliate program can benefit from up to 40% commission on recurring sales and a 30 day cookie window. Their minimum payout threshold is $100.
In addition to this, Surfshark has a small social media platform around 50k followers across their different platforms. These additional marketing channels can add credibility to their brand, and further explains what they do in an easy-to-digest way.
Tunnelbear
- Program name: Tunnelbear Affiliate Program
- Network / Software: CJ Affiliate Integrated in Affilimate
- Commission: 50%
- Cookie duration: 45 days
- Markets: US
Tunnelbear is a VPN based in Toronto, Canada, and was founded in 2011. The company was acquired by U.S-based McAfee in 2018. Customers can benefit from fast speeds, WiFi protection, support for multiple devices, and the option to try Tunnelbear for free using up to 500MB of data.
Annual Tunnelbear plans start at $4.99USD, and affiliates can enjoy a generous 50% commission on all sales. A major upside of this program is that there are no holdings on earnings. That means that if you make as little as $10, you will be paid at the end of the month.
Tunnelbear markets itself as a great VPN option for frequent travelers, students, and digital nomads, so if these demographics are a part of your audience, this might be the VPN affiliate program for you.
