Earning Commissions by Referring Merchants

As a Shopify Affiliate, when you refer a merchant to Shopify, they may start on a Free or Paid Trial. After the trial period, they can choose to become a full-priced store (“Online Sale API” action in Impact reporting).

Please note that for Merchant Referrals, commissions are only earned once the merchant converts to a full-price paid plan. We do not pay commissions while merchants are still on a Free Trial or the $1 Paid Trial.

Please see this visual example:

For more information on program earnings, please refer to this help page: https://help.shopify.com/en/affiliates/earnings 

Referral types eligible for commission

The following table indicates which plan referrals are eligible for commission earnings:

Store plan	Commission	Terms
●    Starter ●    Lite ●    Plus ●    Enterprise ●    Retail	Not eligible for commission	Not applicable
●     Basic ●    Grow ●    Advanced	Eligible for commission according to merchant location	Full price plan referrals are eligible for commission, as detailed in the agreed-upon contract terms in Impact
POS Pro	Eligible for commission according to merchant location	Referred merchants that additionally subscribe at least one of their retail locations to a full-price POS Pro subscription are eligible for commission, as detailed in the agreed-upon contract terms in Impact

Store plan referral commission

Referrals earn commission payments if the merchant signs up by using your referral link. See "Understanding the Shopify Affiliate Commission Timeline" for more details on the commission timeline.

When and how are commissions paid?

The Shopify Affiliate Program supports payment by direct deposit to your bank account or PayPal in most countries. 

The Shopify Affiliate Program requires that you earn a minimum balance of $10 USD before withdrawals can be made. Affiliates can choose to be paid when their balance reaches a certain amount or on a bi-weekly basis. Please note that Shopify issues commissions to your balance only once a month on the 22nd of each month, for the prior month’s referrals. This is independent of your withdrawal settings. 

Affiliate earning by merchant location for store plan referrals

Commission varies by location: The amount of the commission depends on the merchant's location, and is paid after a merchant signs up for a store plan at full price. Countries and regions are listed in Impact reports in ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code format. Referrals for the POS Pro plan have a different payout amount.