Kinsta Affiliate Program
ActiveManaged WordPress host paying a bounty of up to $500 plus 10% lifetime recurring commission.
We do not currently earn commission from this program. Outbound links carry our UTM tags only. Full disclosure.
Quick answer
Yes. Kinsta runs an active in-house affiliate program paying a one-time bonus of up to $500 depending on the plan referred, plus 10% monthly recurring commission for the lifetime of the customer's WordPress hosting. Application and database hosting earns 5% recurring. The cookie is 60 days with last-touch attribution.
Program overview
Kinsta provides managed WordPress, application and database hosting on Google Cloud infrastructure. Its affiliate program is run entirely in-house on a custom dashboard and uses a hybrid structure: a substantial one-time bounty sized by plan tier, followed by a monthly percentage that continues for as long as the referred customer stays.
Commission details
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)
- Commission type
- Hybrid
- Recurring
- Yes — for the lifetime of the referred account
- Currency
- USD
Cookie duration
60-day tracking cookie with last-touch attribution, stated on Kinsta's own affiliate page.
Payment and payout details
- Payout frequency
- Monthly
- Minimum payout
- Not publicly disclosed
- Payment methods
- Not publicly disclosed
- Payout currency
- USD
Requirements
Kinsta publishes the reasons applications are rejected: unfinished websites, no domain ownership, undetailed tool lists, missing affiliate disclosures, coupon and deals sites, and social profiles with no site.
- A completed website on a domain you own
- Visible affiliate disclosure
- Detailed content rather than a bare list of tools
Promotional restrictions
- Coupon and deals sites are explicitly listed as a rejection reason
- Applications require a finished website on a domain you own
- Affiliate disclosures must be present on your site before you apply
- No adult, inappropriate or illegal content
Who this is best for
Good fit
- WordPress developers and agencies
- Publishers writing detailed hosting comparisons
- Affiliates who want compounding monthly income rather than one large payment
Poor fit
- Coupon and deal sites, which Kinsta rejects outright
- Social-only creators with no website
Pros and limitations
Pros
- Genuinely lifetime recurring commission, not capped at twelve months
- The hybrid structure pays a large bounty up front and keeps paying afterwards
- Transparent in-house tracking with a custom dashboard
- Kinsta publishes its rejection criteria, which is rare and makes applying less of a lottery
Limitations
- 60-day cookie is shorter than most enterprise SaaS programs
- Kinsta does not publish a payout threshold or the payment methods it supports
- In-house tracking means no neutral third party holds the attribution data
- Coupon-led promotion is not permitted
How to join
- 1Publish a complete site with an affiliate disclosure before applying
- 2Apply through the Kinsta affiliates page
- 3Access the in-house dashboard and tracking links once approved
Estimate earnings from this program
Prefilled with Kinsta's published terms. Adjust plan value and retention to match the audience you would actually send.
Editor's notes
Kinsta is unusual in publishing both its rejection criteria and a churn assumption (2%) used in its own earnings illustrations. It does not publish a payout threshold or payment methods, so those fields are recorded as not disclosed rather than filled from third-party sources.
Sources and verification
Frequently asked questions
Is Kinsta's affiliate commission really lifetime?
Yes for WordPress hosting. Kinsta describes the 10% monthly payment as lifetime, continuing for as long as the referred customer keeps hosting with them. Application and database hosting pays 5% on the same basis.
How much does Kinsta pay per referral?
A one-time bonus of up to $500 depending on the plan tier, plus 10% of what the customer pays every month thereafter.
Why do Kinsta affiliate applications get rejected?
Kinsta lists the reasons publicly: an unfinished website, not owning the domain, a tool list with no detail, no affiliate disclosure, being a coupon or deals site, or applying with only social profiles.
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