AppSumo
AppSumo is a marketplace that sells lifetime software deals, mostly to solo founders and small businesses.
- Market Place
- tools
What it is
AppSumo is a marketplace that sells lifetime software deals, mostly to solo founders and small businesses. Purchases are usually one-off, in the $50 to $100 range, rather than subscriptions. The affiliate program runs on Impact and accepts affiliates worldwide.
The deal
The headline rate applies only to a customer’s first ever AppSumo purchase, and the cap bites: a $69 deal pays $50, not $69. Once someone has bought before, the same customer earns you somewhere between nothing and a low percentage, set by whatever contract covers that particular deal. The tracking window is unusually short — a week, where most programs give a month. Credit goes to the last affiliate link clicked, so a reader who compares several review sites before buying only counts if yours was last.
Getting paid
There is a long gap between a sale and money arriving. Commissions are not even calculated until two months after the purchase month closes, and payment goes out the month after that, so budget for roughly a quarter. Everything is paid in US dollars through Impact, and AppSumo does not publish which payout methods Impact offers. A return wipes out the commission entirely.
The rules
You cannot buy AppSumo deals through your own link — the terms class that as improper fees. Promoting on cashback, coupon, discount or deal sites is banned, as are lifetime-deal aggregators and buy/sell facilitators. You cannot bid on AppSumo’s brand or any current or past partner’s brand, and you cannot target ads at people who are already AppSumo customers. Audiences other than entrepreneurs and businesses are off-limits. There is also a one-year non-compete and a ban on approaching the software vendors AppSumo lists.