Affiliate EPC Calculator
Compare affiliate programs the way professionals allocate traffic: by earnings per click — because the highest headline rate is frequently not the highest EPC, and your traffic goes to whichever program actually pays it.
Affiliate EPC Calculator
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- Three program slots; deeper portfolios need per-pair runs.
- Network-published CVRs are averages; realise your own.
- No cookie-window or attribution modelling.
In short: Program A pays 8% on a 128.00 AOV converting at 2.6%: 0.26624 EPC. Program B pays 12% — a bigger headline — but on a 90.00 AOV at 1.8% it earns 0.19440: 0.73x the EPC. Over 10,000 clicks that is 2,662.40 versus 1,944.00.
Formula
EPC = rate × order value × conversion rate
monthly earnings = clicks × EPC
catch-up CVR = leader EPC ÷ (rate × order value)
[('EPC', 'earnings per click — the ranking number'), ('the rate trap', 'the top headline rate is not the top EPC'), ('catch-up CVR', 'what a lagging program must convert'), ('target', 'the clicks your monthly goal requires')]
Worked Example
- Multiply each program's rate by its order value and CVR for EPC.
- Rank the three programs by EPC, not by rate.
- Price the gap in monthly currency across your clicks.
- Solve the catch-up CVR or order value for any laggard.
- Convert the earnings target into the clicks it requires.
Program A: 8% × 128.00 × 2.6% = 0.26624 EPC. Program B: 12% × 90.00 × 1.8% = 0.19440 — the biggest rate, 0.7302x the EPC, needing a 2.4652% CVR (+36.95% relative) or a 123.26 order value to match. Program C: 5% × 220.00 × 2.2% = 0.24200. Over 10,000 clicks the spread is 2,662.40 versus 1,944.00 and 2,420.00, and the 3,000 monthly target needs 11,268 clicks at the winning EPC.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- Ranks by EPC while exposing the rate trap
- Solves the catch-up CVR and order value exactly
- Same EPC identity as the merchant-side page
Where it stops
- Three slots only
- Assumes stable conversion rates within the month
Practical Use Cases
Program selection
Rank offers by EPC before allocating placements.
Rate negotiations
Ask for the CVR or AOV the arithmetic demands.
Traffic planning
Clicks required for a monthly earnings target.
Merchant pitches
Show a partner what your traffic is worth to them.
Portfolio reviews
Retire programs that lose the EPC rank.
Methodology & Editorial Standards
EPC is computed identically for all three programs as rate times order value times conversion rate, and the ranking — not the rate order — drives every card. The catch-up solver inverts the identity for conversion rate and order value, so a lagging program's deficit is stated as the exact CVR lift or basket growth required. Monthly earnings are clicks times the best EPC, and the target card inverts the same identity for the clicks a monthly goal requires. Program A's EPC is identical, by construction, to the merchant-side commission page's EPC.
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
Affiliate EPC Calculator — 10 Expert FAQs
10 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
What is EPC in affiliate marketing?
Earnings per click: commission rate times order value times conversion rate. It is the currency professionals use to rank programs, because it folds the three things that determine income into one number per click.
Why can a higher commission rate lose to a lower one?
Because the rate is only one of three factors. A 12% rate on a 90.00 order converting at 1.8% yields 0.194 per click; 8% on 128.00 at 2.6% yields 0.266. The merchant controls order value and conversion — the brochure only advertises the one you cannot bank.
Where do I find a program's conversion rate?
Networks publish EPC directly; ask for it. Failing that, measure your own clicks-to-sales over a meaningful sample, since your audience's fit changes the merchant's average.
Should I still join the lower-EPC program?
Sometimes — complementary products can lift total basket value, and a second program hedges payout risk. But the primary placement goes to the highest EPC, and the secondary earns a secondary slot, not your best inventory.
How do cookie windows and attribution change EPC?
They change the FRACTION of sales you are credited for, which is why the practical comparison is realised EPC on your own traffic, not the network's published average. Longer windows and first-attribution favour you; coupon overlays suppress you.
What CVR would program B need to match A?
Leader EPC divided by rate times order value. Here that is 2.4652% against a current 1.8% — a 36.95% relative lift the merchant would have to deliver before B catches up at today's rate.
How many clicks do I need for my income target?
Target divided by EPC. At the winning 0.26624 EPC, a 3,000 month takes 11,268 clicks; the same target on the losing program takes 15,432. The gap is the price of ranking by rate instead of EPC.
Does a high-AOV program always have a high EPC?
No — high-ticket offers usually convert more rarely, and the product multiplies straight into the rate. Program C's 220.00 basket at 2.2% still loses to A here. Rank by the product of all three, never one.
Is realised EPC different from published EPC?
Yes — published figures are network averages across all affiliates. Your audience, placement and geography shift both CVR and accepted-sales share, so track your own clicks and payouts as the ground truth after a meaningful sample.
How often should programs be re-ranked?
Quarterly is a sensible cadence, or after any merchant change to rates, site or checkout. Conversion rates drift with seasonality and merchandising, and a ranking older than that is allocating this quarter's traffic on last year's arithmetic.