Most guides to health affiliate programs make the same two mistakes. They quote commission rates nobody has verified, and they list affiliate networks alongside merchant software as though those were the same kind of thing.
This page fixes both. Every figure is quoted from the source that published it, with the date. Checked 10 September 2026.
First, a category error worth avoiding
Refersion and UpPromote appear on nearly every “best health affiliate networks” list. Neither is a network.
Both are software that a merchant buys to run its own program. Refersion’s own documentation describes it as a tool that “connects to your ecommerce store and helps you manage every aspect of your program in one place.” UpPromote describes itself as a Shopify app. Neither recruits affiliates and neither pays you. The merchant sets the rate and the merchant pays.
That matters practically. If you compare them to Impact or CJ on payout speed or minimum payout, those columns are structurally empty, and any number filled into them is invented. It also means there is no third party holding your commission if a merchant disputes it.
Networks you join as a publisher
These are the six that carry health, supplement and telehealth advertisers. Payout terms below are published by each network.
| Network | Joining | Minimum payout | Schedule | Public advertiser list? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlexOffers | Application | Not published | Net 60 standard, expeditable to Net 30 or Net 7 | Yes, with rates and cookie windows |
| Impact | Approval, marketplace application | $10 on fixed-day withdrawal | 1st or 15th monthly, or a self-set threshold | No, behind login |
| ShareASale / Awin | Approval, refundable GBP 5 deposit | $20 / GBP 20 / EUR 20 | Twice monthly, 1st and 15th | No, behind login |
| CJ Affiliate | Requires an active site and basic web skills | Publisher sets it, no network floor published | Around the 20th, and the 28th for USD, GBP, EUR | No, behind login |
| Skimlinks | Manual review, reply within 2 business days | $65 / EUR 55 / GBP 50 | Monthly, roughly 90 days from sale to cleared | Partially |
| Rakuten Advertising | Application | 50 currency units per network | Four publisher payments a month | No, behind login |
FlexOffers is the only one with a public, per-program directory carrying rates and cookie windows. If you want to check a health advertiser’s terms before applying anywhere, that is where you can actually do it. Everything on Impact, CJ, Rakuten and ShareASale sits behind a login.
Skimlinks works differently from the rest. It converts ordinary merchant links in your existing content into affiliate links automatically, and takes a cut: its published revenue share is 75 percent to the publisher, 25 percent to Skimlinks.
Programs with published terms
Six of the ten best-known health and supplement programs publish citable terms. Four do not, and the four gaps are the most important rows in the table. Those are exactly the brands where competing roundups invent numbers.
| Brand | Commission, as published | Cookie | Network | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iHerb | “Earn up to 25% commission on all sales you refer” | 7 days | Partnerize, Impact, CJ, Awin and regional | Brand |
| Onnit | “15% Universal Commission” plus a “$10 Trial Signup Bounty” | 45 days | Impact | Brand |
| Momentous | “15% Commission” | 30 days | Refersion | Brand |
| BulkSupplements | “15% base commission on all sales associated with your links” | Not published | Conflicting, see note | Brand |
| Life Extension | “6% commission on all web sales” | 30 days | CJ | Brand |
| Legion Athletics | “8% of sales from new customers (1.6% for existing)” | 3 days | FlexOffers | Network |
| Vitacost | “1.6% in-app sales”, see note | 7 days | FlexOffers | Network |
| Thorne | Not published, tiered and disclosed after acceptance | Not published | Not published | Withheld |
| Transparent Labs | Not published, program pages returned 404 | Not published | Not published | Unavailable |
| Seed | Not published, non-cash benefits only on the published tier | Not published | Superfiliate and Impact portals linked | Withheld |
Three notes before you use that table
iHerb’s rate says “up to.” A 25 percent headline with a 7 day cookie is a very different offer from a flat 25 percent, and the 7 day window is among the shortest in the category. Its published terms also state the cookie ends if overwritten by another affiliate link or a rewards code.
BulkSupplements contradicts itself on its own site. The program page tells you to create an account on Awin. The terms page says “The third party is the ShareASale.com affiliate network.” Awin owns ShareASale, so this is probably a migration artifact, but check before you send readers to the wrong signup.
Thorne withholds its rate deliberately. Its own wording is that the program “offers a competitive commission” and that details follow acceptance, varying by tier. A guide that asserts a Thorne percentage is guessing. Saying it is undisclosed is both accurate and more useful.
The categories, and where to look next
“Health affiliate program” covers several markets with very different economics and very different rules.
| Category | Typical payout model | What constrains your content |
|---|---|---|
| Supplements | Percentage of sale, commonly 6% to 25% | FTC health claim substantiation, structure/function limits |
| Telehealth and weight loss | Flat CPA, roughly $4 to $350 per event | FDA compounding promotion rules, prescription ad certification |
| Research peptides | Percentage of sale, commonly 10% to 30% | Research-use-only labelling, contractual bans on human-use claims |
| Fitness equipment and apps | Percentage of sale | General FTC endorsement rules |
The two categories with the most specific rules have their own pages: weight loss and GLP-1 programs, and peptide programs.
What the FTC requires of you, not of the brand
A common assumption is that the advertiser carries the regulatory risk. The FTC’s published position is that endorsers can be liable in their own right.
- Disclosure has to be unmissable. The Endorsement Guides require that a material connection “must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.” The FTC has stated that the phrase “affiliate link” alone does not adequately communicate that you are paid, and suggests “paid link” next to the link instead.
- Vague tags do not count. FTC influencer guidance explicitly rejects “sp,” “spon” and “collab,” and says a standalone “thanks” or “ambassador” is not enough.
- You cannot outrun a missing substantiation. “You shouldn’t make claims about a product that would require proof the advertiser doesn’t have.”
- You cannot review what you have not used. “You can’t talk about your experience with a product if you haven’t tried it.”
- Citing a study can create a claim. FTC health guidance states marketers “may be legally responsible for claims implied by their reference to third-party literature.”
On earnings claims, which matter if you write about affiliate income: the Business Opportunity Rule requires a “reasonable basis for its claim at the time the claim is made,” and current FTC guidance states that claims “should be about what a typical MLM participant is likely to earn” rather than an outlier.
This is a summary of published regulator guidance, not legal advice. Rules change and enforcement is fact-specific. Consult qualified counsel about your own content.
Related
- Hims affiliate program
- Hers affiliate program
- Noom affiliate program
- BlueChew affiliate program
- Ro affiliate program
- Function Health affiliate program
- Levels affiliate program
- Our affiliate program
Sources
- iHerb affiliates
- Onnit affiliate program
- Momentous affiliates
- BulkSupplements affiliate program
- Life Extension affiliate program
- Thorne affiliate program terms
- Seed University
- FlexOffers publisher compensation
- Impact partner signup
- Awin payment thresholds
- CJ publisher payment cycle
- Skimlinks payments FAQ
- Rakuten minimum payment threshold
- What Refersion is
- FTC Endorsement Guides, what people are asking
- FTC Disclosures 101 for influencers
- FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
- Business Opportunity Rule, earnings claims
Last reviewed 10 September 2026. Commission rates, cookie windows, payout thresholds and program availability change without notice. Verify every figure against its source link before making a commercial decision. Listing a program or network is not an endorsement of it.
This article is for general information. It is not medical advice and it is not a recommendation for any particular treatment. Whether a treatment is appropriate for you is a decision for a licensed clinician who has reviewed your health history and current medications.
