2026-09-26
Recurring vs. Bounty: The Fintech Affiliate Math
Not financial advice. Verify claims independently.
A $100 CPA looks better than 30% recurring until month seven. Run the actual math.
The two payout structures, honestly modeled:
Bounty/CPA ($50–150 per funded account):
- Month 1: $500 on 10 conversions
- Month 12: still $500 if traffic holds
- Ceiling: capped by audience churn
Recurring (20–30% of subscription revenue):
- Month 1: $80 on the same traffic
- Month 12: $960/month if subscribers retained
- Ceiling: compounds with retention
The crossover is usually month 6–9. For finance tools with sticky subscribers (charting, data, newsletters), recurring wins long-term. For one-time-use products or high-friction conversions (brokerage funding), bounties win because retention is someone else's problem.
Best play: run both. Take bounties on account-open offers (Stock Picks's program, brokerages) and recurring on subscription tools (TradingView, research platforms).
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