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EPC

General

Earnings Per Click

The average commission an affiliate marketer earns per click sent to a merchant offer, typically expressed as earnings per 100 clicks.

Definition

EPC (Earnings Per Click) is the average commission an affiliate marketer earns for every click they send to a merchant's offer, commonly expressed as earnings per 100 clicks for readability. EPC is one of the primary metrics affiliates use to compare the profitability of different offers and networks, since it captures both conversion rate and commission value in a single number.

Unlike CPC, which represents an advertiser's cost per click, EPC represents a publisher's or affiliate's revenue per click — the two metrics describe the same transaction from opposite sides of the affiliate relationship.

Formula

EPC = (Total Commission Earned / Total Clicks Sent) × 100

(the × 100 converts the figure into earnings per 100 clicks, the industry-standard convention)

EPC decomposed into its drivers:

EPC = Conversion Rate × Average Commission per Sale × 100

Worked Example

An affiliate sends traffic to a software affiliate offer over one month:

Metric Value
Clicks sent 10,000
Sales generated 150
Conversion rate 1.5%
Average commission per sale $40
Total commission earned $6,000

EPC = ($6,000 / 10,000) × 100 = $60 per 100 clicks

This means for every 100 clicks the affiliate sends, they can expect roughly $60 in commission on average. Use the Affiliate EPC calculator to project earnings for different click volumes based on this rate.

Key Things to Know

  • EPC is a comparison tool, not a guarantee: Historical EPC reflects average performance across all affiliates and traffic sources for an offer — an individual affiliate's actual results depend heavily on how well their traffic matches the offer's ideal customer profile.
  • EPC combines conversion rate and commission value: Two offers with the same EPC can have very different underlying dynamics — one might convert well at a low commission, the other might convert poorly but pay a large commission per sale.
  • Compare EPC only across offers with similar traffic requirements: An offer requiring highly qualified B2B traffic will have a different EPC profile than a mass-market consumer offer, so EPC comparisons are most meaningful within the same vertical.
  • EPC informs which offers to prioritize in limited ad inventory: Affiliates running paid traffic should compare EPC against their own CPC cost to ensure a positive margin before scaling spend on a given offer.
  • Track EPC trends over time, not just a snapshot: Seasonal demand, merchant payout changes, and landing page updates can all shift EPC — reviewing it monthly rather than relying on a single historical figure avoids stale assumptions.

Related Calculators

Affiliate EPC Calculator →Calculate your affiliate EPC (Earnings Per Click) instantly. Enter total commissions and clicks to see EPC per 100 clicks and project your monthly earnings.

Related Terms

CPCCost Per ClickConversion RateConversion RateROASReturn on Ad Spend

Frequently Asked Questions

Affiliate commissions per individual click are typically fractions of a cent, so networks and merchants report EPC per 100 clicks to make the number easier to read and compare (e.g. '$45 EPC' meaning $45 earned per 100 clicks sent). Use the [Affiliate EPC calculator](/affiliate-epc-calculator/) to convert raw earnings and click data into this standardized per-100-click figure.
[CPC](/glossary/cpc/) (Cost Per Click) is what an advertiser pays for a click, viewed from the advertiser's or platform's side. EPC (Earnings Per Click) is what an affiliate earns per click sent to a merchant, viewed from the publisher's side — the two are related but calculated from opposite ends of the transaction and for different audiences.
EPC benchmarks vary enormously by vertical and network: general retail affiliate programs often show EPCs of $5–$30 per 100 clicks, while high-ticket categories like finance, insurance, and software can range from $50 to several hundred dollars per 100 clicks. Affiliates should compare EPC across similar-traffic-quality offers rather than against a single universal benchmark.
Not necessarily — EPC reflects average historical performance across all traffic sent to an offer, including traffic quality mixes that may not match an affiliate's own audience. A high EPC on a network-reported average doesn't guarantee the same result for a specific affiliate's traffic source, so testing with a limited click volume before scaling is standard practice.
EPC is a function of [conversion rate](/glossary/conversion-rate/) and average commission per sale: EPC = Conversion Rate × Average Commission. A higher conversion rate or higher commission per sale both raise EPC, so affiliates evaluating two offers with similar EPC should still check which factor is driving the number, since traffic quality affects conversion rate more than it affects fixed commission structures.