Affiliate networks
How the two affiliate networks compare after ShareASale moved to Awin, and where an offer network that charges per install, sale or event fits.
Choose Awin if
your customers are in Europe or spread across countries, or you want a published self-serve plan with a 3‑month term.
you run coupon, cashback, content or incentive traffic and want 30,000 advertisers to apply to, by Awin's count, after a $1 refundable deposit.
Choose CJ if
you're a large retail, travel or finance brand that wants managed service, lead generation run for you and a review of every publisher before payment.
you want to join free with no deposit and work with established retail, travel and finance brands.
Choose if
you pay per install, sign‑up, funded account, trial start or sale, mostly from US users, and want rewarded publishers already in place.
you run a rewarded app, offerwall or survey panel and want app, sign‑up and finance offers with payouts in dollars, without applying brand by brand.
Test events are free. Verify each required event before you go live.
Sign-up is by request. We reply by email.
01Side by side
Rows for
| For advertisers | Awin | CJ | this is us |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay partners | A commission you set: a fixed fee or a percent of the sale, per lead, sale or click.1 | Commissions for sales, leads or traffic.2 | Your choice: a price at install, a percent of each purchase or sale, or a price per level or other event. How advertisers pay |
| Platform price | Access $49 a month plus 3.5% per transaction; Accelerate from $99 a month plus 2.5%; Advanced custom.3 | Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026). A free consultation sets it.4 | No monthly fee. You pay the prices you set from a prepaid balance. |
| Fee with no sale value | Alternative rates on request. Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026).3 | Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026) | Nothing on top. The event price is the whole charge. |
| Minimum term | Access: 3 months, with 14 days' notice. The first month is free.3 | Not listed publicly (as of 29 Oct 2026) | No minimum term. A $50 balance to submit a campaign; deposits are non‑refundable. |
| Who it's built for | A transactional website that meets a traffic threshold.1 | An ecommerce store with checkout.4 | App, web and retail brands paying per install, sale, sign‑up, deposit or trial. |
| Where customers are | 19 local sites, 14 of them in Europe.5 | Consumers in over 240 countries and territories, by its own count.6 | Mostly the US. Smaller sets in Canada, Australia, the UK and much of Europe. |
| For publishers | Awin | CJ | this is us |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you earn | Each advertiser's commission: usually a percent of the sale, fixed in some sectors.1 | Commissions set by each advertiser.2 | A payout in dollars per install or event, shown on every offer before you run it. Today's top offers |
| Joining | A refundable $1 deposit in the US, and a verification check before you can join.1 | Free, with an active website.4 | Request access. Our team reviews each publisher, and there's no deposit. |
| Working with a brand | Apply to each advertiser's program. Advertisers can approve you by hand.1 | Join programs inside the platform.7 | No program applications. Our team sets the offers your account can run. |
| Rewarded traffic | A Virtual incentives partner type, for in-game rewards.8 | Lists Incentive Partners among its publisher types.9 | Built for rewarded apps, offerwalls and panels, with signed postbacks. Signed postbacks |
| Offer mix | 30,000 advertisers by its own count, mostly with a sale value.15 | 3,800+ brands in retail, travel, finance and home services, by its own count.10 | 10,000+ offers, counting direct and marketplace offers. Mostly app installs and games, plus sign‑ups, finance and trials, most of them for US users. |
Accurate as of 29 October 2026. Facts about Awin and CJ come from their own public pages, numbered in the sources. Terms change, so check each source before you decide.
02The two you searched
Awin is an affiliate network that has run since 2000 and is part of the Axel Springer group, and 14 of the 19 local sites in its territory menu are in Europe.5 Its self-serve Access plan is $49 a month plus 3.5% per transaction, with a 3‑month minimum.3 Publishers pay a refundable $1 deposit to join in the US, then apply to each advertiser's program.1
Their site, awin.com (opens in a new tab)ShareASale closed. Eligible advertisers and their partnerships moved to Awin.1112
CJ, formerly Commission Junction, has run since 1998 and is part of Publicis Groupe.10 Brands pay commissions for sales, leads or traffic, and can run the program themselves, through an agency or with CJ's own service team.26 It doesn't list advertiser prices; you apply and get a consultation.4 Publishers join free with an active website.4
Their site, cj.com (opens in a new tab)Since 1998 Reaches consumers in over 240 countries and territories, by its own count.6
03Head to head
Awin's Access plan is $49 a month plus 3.5% of each sale, with the first month free and a 3‑month minimum. Accelerate starts at $99 a month plus 2.5%.3 For businesses without a sale value, such as app installs or sign‑ups, Awin shares alternative rates on request.3 CJ doesn't list advertiser prices.4
AffiliateOS has no monthly fee for advertisers and nothing on top of the event price. You need $50 in a prepaid balance to submit a campaign, and deposits are non‑refundable.
Bottom line
For a sale with an order value, Awin's price is on its page. For an install or a sign‑up, neither network lists its fee. Ours is the price you set.
14 of the 19 local sites in Awin's territory menu are in Europe.5 CJ says it reaches consumers in over 240 countries and territories.6
Most of our offers are for US users. Smaller sets run in Canada, Australia, the UK and much of Europe.
Bottom line
If most of your customers are in Europe, Awin has local sites there. Most of our offers run for US users.
ShareASale closed on 6 October 2025. Eligible advertisers moved to Awin with new IDs and kept their partnerships.1112
If you're rebuilding after the move, you can add AffiliateOS next to Awin for installs, sales, sign‑ups or in-app events. Our events are separate calls from your server, so your Awin tracking stays as it is.
Bottom line
If your ShareASale program was eligible, it runs on Awin now. Adding us doesn't touch it.
Awin asks for a refundable $1 deposit in the US, and every publisher goes through its verification process before joining.1 CJ is free with an active website.4
AffiliateOS reviews each publisher, with no deposit. Tell us about your app or site and its users, and we reply by email.
Bottom line
A refundable $1 on Awin. Nothing to join CJ or AffiliateOS.
ShareASale closed on 6 October 2025. Its publishers moved to Awin only if they met Awin's criteria, and the rest register on Awin directly.1112
AffiliateOS is a separate request, and your Awin or CJ links stay where they are.
Bottom line
If your ShareASale publisher account didn't move, register on Awin directly. Asking us for access doesn't touch it.
Once Awin approves you, you apply to each advertiser's program, and advertisers can approve you by hand and set terms for their campaign.1 On CJ you join programs from inside the platform, then use its links, deep link generator and APIs.7
AffiliateOS has no program applications. Our team sets the offers your account can run, and you get them through the Offer API, the Top Offers Feed, a Hosted Offerwall link or Offer Links.
Bottom line
Awin adds an approval for each advertiser's program after your account is approved. We have no program step: our team sets your offers.
Awin and CJ are built for advertisers with a sale value: Awin says its commission is typically a percent of the sale, and CJ advertisers need an ecommerce store with checkout.14
Our offers are mostly app installs and games, plus sign‑ups, finance and trials, each with its payout in dollars.
Bottom line
On Awin, commission is typically a percent of the sale, and CJ is built for stores with a checkout. Ours show a dollar payout for an install, sign‑up or trial.
Awin defines a Virtual incentives partner type, for audiences that take offers for in-game rewards.8 CJ lists Incentive Partners among its publisher types.9
On AffiliateOS every postback to your server is signed with HMAC‑SHA256, and none goes out unsigned. When a conversion is reversed, a second postback with the same action ID tells you, with a reason when we have one.
Bottom line
Both take rewarded traffic. With us, credits arrive signed and reversals arrive on their own.
04Worked example
List prices for a brand paying per sign‑up or install, from each company's own pages. Commissions to partners come on top on all three.
Awin
Access
Year one, platform fees
$539
$49 a month, first month free13
CJ
Any plan
Year one, platform fees
Not listed
A free consultation sets the price4
Every campaign
Year one, platform fees
$0
No monthly fee and no contract term
Example arithmetic on list prices checked 29 October 2026: Awin Access for 12 months is 11 paid months at $49. Custom prices aren't public.
Test events are free. Verify each required event before you go live.
04Worked example
Live US offers from our public Top Offers Feed. No deposit to join and no program applications to run them.
Sign-up is by request. We reply by email.
05The honest part
AffiliateOS fits if
Awin or CJ fits better if
AffiliateOS fits if
Awin or CJ fits better if
06Running both
Your existing postbacks stay live. Nothing you run today changes.
Your Awin or CJ program and its tracking stay as they are.
Create a campaign for one sale, sign‑up, deposit, trial or install, and send a free test.
Run both and compare what each action cost you, in your own reports.
Tell us about your app or site and its users. We reply by email.
The Offer API, the Top Offers Feed, a Hosted Offerwall link or Offer Links.
Your current links, walls and postbacks stay where they are.
07Questions
Where your customers are and who runs the program decide this one.
For brands: choose Awin if your customers are in Europe or spread across countries, or you want a published self-serve plan with a 3‑month term. Choose CJ if you're a large retail, travel or finance brand that wants managed service, lead generation run for you and a review of every publisher before payment.
For publishers: choose Awin if you run coupon, cashback, content or incentive traffic and want 30,000 advertisers to apply to, by Awin's count, after a $1 refundable deposit. Choose CJ if you want to join free with no deposit and work with established retail, travel and finance brands.
A refundable $1 deposit at sign‑up in the US, per Awin's FAQ. CJ doesn't charge publishers to join.
CJ doesn't publish advertiser prices, so a fair answer needs a CJ quote. Awin's are on its pricing page.
Yes. You can pay at install, a percent of each purchase or sale, or per level or other event. Publishers choose what they run, so an offer that doesn't let them make money won't get traffic.
Yes. Our events are separate calls from your server, so the tracking you run for other partners stays as it is. Publishers keep their existing programs, links and postbacks; our offers come through your own API key, wall link or Offer Links.
Each read on 29 October 2026. Numbers match the markers in the table and the text.
Awin Success Center
ShareASale to Awin platform upgrade FAQ (opens in a new tab)Checked 29 Oct 2026 Page dated 8 Sep 2026
We read each company's own public pages on 29 October 2026: pricing pages, docs, help centers and terms, plus SEC filings where a company files them. We compared what each offers the same kind of buyer at list terms. We didn't use custom quotes, review sites or anything told to us privately. Facts about AffiliateOS come from our product as it runs today, explained in our developer docs.
Awin and CJ are trademarks of their owners. AffiliateOS is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by either company. If something here is wrong or out of date, email hello@affiliateos.ai and we'll correct the page and its date.
Advertisers start a campaign and test each event free. Publishers request access, and we reply by email.
I'm buying installs, sales or in-app events
Test events are free. Verify each required event before you go live.
I run an app or site
Sign-up is by request. We reply by email.
