Kinsta Affiliate Program
ActiveManaged WordPress host paying a one-time $50–$500 commission plus 10% of the monthly fee for the customer’s lifetime.
Quick answer
Yes. Kinsta pays a one-time commission of $50–$500 depending on the WordPress plan referred, plus 10% of the plan’s monthly fee for the lifetime of the customer, through its in-house affiliate dashboard. The cookie lasts 60 days with last-touch attribution, and commissions are paid once your balance reaches $50.
At a glance
SaaS Affiliate Score
An editorial, data-based rating — not an objective measure, and never influenced by sponsorship. See the method.
- Commission
- 10%
- Recurring
- Lifetime
- Cookie window
- 60 days
- Minimum payout
- $50
- Network
- In-house
About Kinsta
Kinsta sells managed WordPress hosting alongside application, database and static site hosting. Its affiliate program is run in-house on its own dashboard and pays on Managed WordPress Hosting referrals: a one-time commission of $50 to $500 set by the plan bought, then 10% of the plan’s monthly fee, after discounts and excluding add-ons, every month until the customer cancels their WordPress plan. Existing Kinsta customers are approved automatically; other applicants are reviewed by hand against a published list of site types Kinsta turns down.
Listed in: Best recurring affiliate programs for SaaS · Lifetime recurring affiliate programs · High ticket SaaS affiliate programs
Commission details
One-time bonus of $50–$500 depending on the plan, plus 10% monthly recurring commission for the lifetime of the customer's WordPress hosting plan
- Commission type
- Hybrid
- Recurring
- Yes — for the lifetime of the referred account
- Commission currency
- USD
Payouts and tracking
- Payout frequency
- Monthly
- Payment methods
- PayPal, Kinsta account credit
- Payout currency
- USD
Attribution window. Kinsta’s affiliate page states a 60-day tracking cookie with last-touch attribution, so the most recent affiliate link clicked before signup gets the credit.
Promotional rules
What Kinsta allows and forbids before you promote it.
- Paid ads are allowed if they drive traffic to a page on your own site and avoid Kinsta branded terms; the terms separately forbid sending PPC traffic straight to Kinsta.
- No bidding on keywords containing Kinsta branded terms, and no affiliate links in ads that impersonate Kinsta.
- No links to Kinsta on coupon websites, and no promoting non-existent Kinsta discounts or presenting its standing discounts as coupon codes or exclusive deals.
- No incentivised, cashback or reward schemes built around Kinsta sign-ups.
- Affiliate links may not go directly on third-party social networks or content platforms; video platforms such as YouTube and code repositories such as GitHub are the exceptions.
- Self-referral in any form is banned, and the referred customer must never have been a Kinsta customer before.
- The one-time commission is approved only after a 2-month qualification period in which the customer keeps an active WordPress plan and settles all payments; recurring commission starts accruing after that approval.
Requirements
Existing Kinsta customers register in one step and are approved automatically. Everyone else is reviewed manually, and Kinsta’s FAQ lists the applicants it turns down: publishers without much relevant, high-quality content, unfinished sites, sites without their own domain, bare lists of tools, sites with no affiliate disclosure, coupon and deals sites, and social media profiles.
- A finished website on its own domain, with relevant, detailed content
- An affiliate disclosure on the site, which Kinsta’s terms also require in promotional content
- Tax documents such as a Form W-9 on file before commissions are approved
- A PayPal account able to receive payments, or use of MyKinsta account credit instead
Who this is best for
Good fit
- WordPress developers who publish tutorials on YouTube or GitHub, both of which Kinsta allows for affiliate links
- Hosting reviewers whose referrals stay for years, because the 10% continues until the customer cancels
- Existing Kinsta customers, who are approved automatically
Poor fit
- Coupon and deal sites, which are on Kinsta’s published rejection list
- Social-only creators: links cannot go directly on third-party social networks, and social profiles are rejected
- Affiliates who cannot receive PayPal, since it is the only cash payout method
Pros and limitations
Pros
- 10% of the monthly fee is paid for the lifetime of the customer’s WordPress plan, with no 12-month cut-off
- The one-time $50–$500 commission is paid on top of the recurring 10%, not instead of it
- Payouts start at a $50 balance, sent by PayPal between the 15th and 20th of each month
- Unlimited deep links: Kinsta lets you point affiliate links at any page on its site
- Kinsta publishes the seven kinds of applicant it rejects, so fit can be checked before applying
Limitations
- Only Managed WordPress Hosting referrals have a published rate; nothing is stated for application or database hosting
- A 2-month qualification period passes before the one-time commission is approved and recurring earnings begin
- PayPal is the only cash payout, and moving earnings to MyKinsta hosting credit needs $500 in approved commissions
- Add-ons are excluded from the 10% calculation, and customer discounts reduce it
How to join
- 1Publish a finished site on your own domain with an affiliate disclosure
- 2Apply on kinsta.com/affiliates, or register in one step from an existing Kinsta account for automatic approval
- 3After manual review, log in at affiliate.kinsta.com (separate from MyKinsta) for links and reports
- 4Submit a W-9 or other requested tax documents and connect PayPal
Estimate earnings from this program
Kinsta vs the Web Hosting median
| Term | Kinsta | Category median | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission rate | 10% | 22.5% | 4 |
| Recurring term | Lifetime | One-time | 5 |
| Cookie window | 60 days | 60 days | 6 |
| Minimum payout | $50 | $50 | 5 |
Medians across published Web Hosting programs that disclose each term. Undisclosed terms are left out, not counted as zero.
Program change history
Recorded changes to this program's terms. Older values are kept so you can see the direction of travel.
commissionText Up to $500 one-time bonus per referral plus 10% monthly recurring for the lifetime of the WordPress hosting account (5% for application and database hosting)One-time bonus of $50–$500 depending on the plan, plus 10% monthly recurring commission for the lifetime of the customer's WordPress hosting plan
Observed on recheck. The vendor did not publish the date of the change, so this is the date we saw it.
Source
Editor's notes
Kinsta gives two churn figures: the earnings calculator on its affiliate page factors in a 2% churn rate, while its affiliate docs page says churn is less than 4%. Cash payouts start once approved commissions reach $50 and go out by PayPal between the 15th and 20th of each month; taking MyKinsta hosting credit instead needs $500 in approved commissions.
Sources and verification
Frequently asked questions
Is Kinsta’s affiliate commission really lifetime?
Yes, for Managed WordPress Hosting. Kinsta’s FAQ says the 10% is paid every month for the lifetime of the customer and stops only if they cancel their WordPress plan.
How much does Kinsta pay per referral?
A one-time commission between $50 and $500, set by the plan the customer buys, plus 10% of the plan’s monthly fee after discounts, with add-ons excluded.
What is Kinsta’s affiliate minimum payout?
$50. Kinsta’s terms pay commissions only once the balance reaches $50, via PayPal or as account credit, and the FAQ puts PayPal payments between the 15th and 20th of each month.
Why do Kinsta affiliate applications get rejected?
Kinsta’s FAQ lists the site types it declines: thin publishers, unfinished sites, sites without their own domain, bare lists of tools, sites with no affiliate disclosure, coupon and deals sites, and social media profiles.
Alternatives to Kinsta
Open programs in the same category. Each row shows the one published term that differs most in the affiliate's favour.
