ClickBank Review: Is It the Right Affiliate Platform for You? + Best Alternatives in 2025

Affiliate marketing platforms are the perfect way to drive business forward. However, finding the right one can be difficult. There are many platforms to pick from, that’s why we’ve put together this CickBank review to help determine whether this platform is right for you.

Working with almost 1/4th of the affiliate advertisers in the industry, ClickBank is a well-known name in the business. If you’re completely unfamiliar with what this platform does, let’s start with a detailed explanation of the ClickBank marketplace.

What Is ClickBank?

ClickBank is an affiliate marketing platform focused on digital products. This includes e-books, online courses, software, and more. This platform was made to make affiliate marketing easier.

How does it exactly do that? Well, there are two main functions ClickBank offers. One is tracking and the other is finding you the right affiliates. In simpler terms, this affiliate solution gives you data regarding your sales and commissions and helps you find the right creators to work with.

But what ClickBank claims to offer, and what the platform delivers on are completely different. In order to present the most complete ClickBank review possible, we’ll be taking a close look at the platform’s features, pricing, real-user reviews, and best alternatives.

There are a few ways to get to know a platform. The most prominent one is to learn about its features. If you learn about ClickBank’s features, then you have a good grip on what this platform is and exactly what it can do for you. That’s why we start our ClickBank review with a detailed list of its features.

ClickBank Features

There are four main features offered by this marketing solution. Starting with the most important one we have:

1. ClickBank Marketplace

An interesting approach ClickBank adopts is marketing to affiliates, instead of businesses. So you won’t be browsing through affiliates, trying to find the right ones. Instead, creators will cycle through products, and find the ones that go with their content. 

While this is a good method to ensure the content and the product are a match, it does take control away from businesses. If you’re looking to have full control over the affiliates you’re collaborating with, then an Amazon affiliate solution such as AlgoRift may be a better choice for you.

2. Payments, Tracking and Data Collection

A time-consuming aspect of affiliate marketing is payment. Most platforms, including ClickBank, help you avoid putting time and effort into this aspect by automating the payment process.

Every time a purchase is made through an affiliate link, the commission is automatically paid to the creator. In addition to that, each sale and payment is tracked and the data is delivered to the business.

Although ClickBank does track some data, information, and presentation is not the platform’s strongest suit. Alternatives that offer more specialization in this area will be introduced further in our ClickBank review.

3. Commission Customization

Customization is important. ClickBank allows you to set up your payment methods in whichever way you like. A revenue share percentage and fixed cost-per-action are both available.

Affiliate percentages on this platform range from 10% to 75% per sale. This customization helps managing micro-details, but the inconsistency can drive away potential collaborators from your business.

4. Training and Education

This platform offers a program called Spark by ClickBank, and another one called the Platinum program. The former belongs to affiliates, but the latter is aimed at bringing resources and information to sellers.

Now that we’ve gone over the key functions this platform offers, it’s time to see how much this set of features costs you. 

ClickBank Pricing

If you’re familiar with most affiliate marketing’s approach to pricing, then ClickBank might surprise you. How much you have to pay is not determined by what features you use, but rather by what sort of user you are.

If you’re an affiliate, you can sign up for free and use the platform. If you’re hoping to use ClickBank to sell a product, then there is a one-time fee of $49.95. Last but not least, if you’re trying to learn and improve your affiliate marketing efforts, alongside selling products, you’ll need to pay the monthly fee of $23.50.  

ClickBank Wholesale Pricing

In addition to the subscription paid by users, there is also a 7.5% commission + $1 taken by ClickBank. What does that mean exactly?

Let’s visualize this together. If you sell a product at the retail price of $200 through ClickBank, you do not receive that amount in full. There are two different commission percentages taken from each sale. One is the amount you have previously set, and the other is ClickBanks’s 7.5% + $1. 

So your product was originally $200 and you’ve set the affiliate commission to 20%. You’ll receive $147.2. This is because you’ll first pay 7.5% + $1 to ClickBank giving you $184, and then 20% is paid to the affiliate, leaving you with $147.2.

ClickBank Pros and Cons

To give you a quick summary of ClickBank, we can go over the pros and cons of this platform together. Let’s start with what this platform does well.

ClickBank Pros

As one of the most popular affiliate marketing platforms, there must be at least a few things that ClickBank excels at. Starting with its large marketplace:

  • Sizeable Affiliate Network: There are more than 100 thousand affiliates on ClickBank.
  • On-time Payments: The platform’s automated payments ensure timely transfers.
  • User-friendly: The interface is simple to learn.
  • Refunds: While arguably unfair to affiliates, ClickBank offers a 60-day refund period to businesses.

ClickBank Cons

No platform is perfect, and ClickBank is not exempt from flaws. To name a few things this platform is doing wrong we can mention:

  • Dubious Products: Many of the products offered in ClickBank’s marketplace seem fraudulent.
  • Dated Interface and UI: The user interface is easy to learn, but very outdated.
  • High Transaction Cuts: ClickBank takes a 7.5% cut of each transaction, plus a $1 per sale. 
  • Unethical Sale Techniques: As already mentioned, the platform offers an educational course for both sellers and affiliates. There have been many instances of users complaining about the platform’s upsell techniques for these courses.
  • Fraud Prevention Dysfunction: The fraud prevention system is supposed to help you avoid dodgy products, but has had many instances of locking affiliates and businesses due to minor dysfunctions. 
  • Focused on Digital Products: ClickBank is made for digital products and is not optimized for the needs of sellers with physical goods.

ClickBank Reviews

Other than learning about the features of a platform, the best way to get to know it is through real-user reviews. That’s why we won’t leave this ClickBank review without a real-user experience section.

One of the issues users faced was a lack of consistency with the policies. Businesses found it difficult to determine why their products are being denied:

Others complain about the upsell techniques, feeling like buying the educational program to use the platform at all:

Some businesses also struggle with getting a refund, especially with their request switching to a tech ticket:

And to wrap it up, there are many users who just refer to it as a scam, and a MLM scheme:

Top ClickBank Alternatives

ClickBank may be one of the oldest names in the industry, but it’s certainly not your best choice. It doesn’t matter if you’re a business or an affiliate, either way, you have the chance to choose a platform that actually cares about your profit.

1. AlgoRift

The number one best ClickBank alternative is AlgoRift. This Amazon affiliate marketing platform is your most comprehensive solution available. Made to connect businesses to affiliates, without any extra steps, this platform makes your affiliate marketing smoother.

The fact is AlgoRift is filled with reputable affiliates and products, which immediately makes it a better choice than ClickBank. However, if safety isn’t enough reason for you, here are some other pros AlgoRift offers.

AlgoRift Features

What sets AlgoRift apart from competitors is its innovative features. While the platform includes every feature you’ve grown to expect, it also has new functions you’re probably not used to. So let’s go over the key AlgoRift features: 

  • Affiliate Discovery: The very first thing AlgoRift offers is a marketplace of more than 100K affiliates. Completed with filters and an AI algorithm to make your search easier.
  • Direct Chat: Looking to contact many affiliates without having to switch between messenger apps? AlgoRift’s direct chat has you covered.
  • Custom Commissions: This platform allows you to set custom commissions based on each individual product.
  • Affiliate Verification: Each affiliate has to go through a verification process, and also verify their social media account. This is done to ensure the legitimacy of creators and create a safe space for all users.
  • Seamless Integration: AlgoRift integrates smoothly into Amazon, and tracks your sales without much effort.
  • Automatic Payments: The integration into Amazon also makes payments easier. All your transactions are automatically managed, and all settings are customizable.
  • AI-driven Analytics: Data and information are not only offered, and also analyzed by an AI algorithm. This analysis is then visualized and reported to you. 
  • Free Tier: If you’re a basic user and new to affiliate marketing, you may want to try AlgoRift’s free tier first. 
  • Landing Page Customization: You can also customize your landing page to give the exact first impression you want.
  • Real-time Analytics: Last but definitely not least, you can access live analytics and make the necessary changes as soon as possible.

There is a lot more that AlgoRift can do for you. If you’re looking to learn more about this platform, you can check out this AlgoRift review.

2. Archer Affiliates

Our second ClickBank affiliate alternative is Archer Affiliates. This platform is easy to work with and has an interesting approach to pricing. As opposed to paying a certain amount upfront, Archer Affiliates takes a 3% to 6% commission.

This affiliate marketing solution offers you a marketplace, commission management, tracking and reporting, and customization. If you’re unsure of how much profit affiliate marketing will offer you, then going for a commission-based platform is a great idea. To learn more about this program, check out our Archer Affiliates review. 

3. AffJet

If easy, affordable, and basic is your goal, then AffJet may be a good choice. This platform can help you handle your earnings and integrate all of your affiliate platforms into one dashboard.

AffJet may not be a comprehensive answer to your affiliate marketing issues, but it is an affordable solution to most of your problems. If you want to learn more about this platform, check out this AffJet review.

Conclusion

Finding a platform that matches your needs, your expectations, and your budget can prove very difficult. In this ClickBank review, we’ve put together all the information you need to make the most informed decision possible.

While it’s also true that you don’t actually need a platform to start affiliate marketing, it is immensely helpful. So make sure to thoroughly check all of your options, before making a choice.

FAQs

Unfortunately, there is no clear answer to this. While the platform will certainly offer you a service for any payments made, it’s not clear if there will be any merit to that service. The platform is legitimate in the sense that you will receive what you pay for; however, its business practices are questionable.

Most importantly, ClickBank is used to make affiliate marketing easier. This stands for businesses and affiliates alike. However, businesses complain about the platform not providing enough assistance, and affiliates complain about policies such as a 60-day refund. So it seems like ClickBank has failed both sides.

No. The platform itself will not scam you, however, there are many scam products and creators on the platform. So it’s safe to use this platform, but the general offers on the ClickBank affiliate marketplace are not safe or vetted.