Anyone who takes affiliate marketing seriously eventually faces the same question: CPA or RevShare. Both have their passionate supporters, and both have good arguments behind them. The answer depends on your niche, traffic source, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
What CPA is and how it works in practice
CPA, or Cost Per Acquisition, is a model where you receive a fixed payout for each confirmed conversion. A conversion can mean a player's first deposit at a casino (FTD), a product sale, an app install, a verified registration, or a completed lead form.
In iGaming, CPA rates for a player's first deposit typically range from $50 to $250 per confirmed FTD, depending on the GEO and operator. In finance, a qualified credit lead can earn you $30 to $120. In crypto, the best rates exceed $300 for a registered and verified user.
The main advantage of CPA is predictability. You know how much you earn per conversion, you can easily calculate ROI, and you can scale paid traffic campaigns because you have concrete numbers to optimize around. This model is particularly well suited for paid traffic. Google Ads, Meta, native advertising.
What RevShare is and where it shines
RevShare is a revenue sharing model. The advertiser pays you a percentage of the net revenue generated by your referred user, often for the entire lifetime of that user in the service. In iGaming, RevShare typically ranges from 25 to 50 percent net. In SaaS and software, often 20 to 40 percent of the monthly subscription.
Why can RevShare be more profitable long-term? Imagine you refer a user to an online casino who generates $2,000 net for the operator over two years. At 35 percent RevShare you'd earn $700 from one conversion. With CPA you might have gotten $150. The difference is massive.
But there are two catches. First, you don't know upfront how much a given user will be worth. You might acquire players who deposit once and disappear. Second, building a meaningful RevShare portfolio takes time. The first few months are usually disappointing in terms of revenue.
Which model is better for SEO and organic traffic
If you're building a content site and relying mainly on organic traffic, RevShare is usually the better long-term choice. Every article you write, every backlink you build. That's an investment that will generate RevShare for months and years. We see this clearly in our own iGaming sites covered in the services section.
For paid traffic the logic is reversed. You're paying per click, so you want to know how much you earn per conversion and how quickly. CPA gives you that clarity and lets you precisely optimize campaigns for a specific ROAS.
Hybrid is often the best solution
Many networks, including MoneyPulse, offer hybrid models. A combination of a fixed CPA rate per conversion plus a revenue share. This lets you get cash immediately while also building a portfolio of passive income.
The best affiliates negotiate terms individually. If you're generating solid volumes of high-quality traffic, you have leverage to get better rates in both models. Don't automatically accept the rates from the standard rate card. It's always worth talking to your account manager.
How to choose in your specific situation
If you're just starting out and want to see your first payouts quickly, start with CPA. You measure more easily, you learn faster what works. Once you've built a foundation and start understanding your niche, add RevShare to your best-converting offers. That's the approach we recommend to all new partners at our network.