Four researched programs for managed WordPress, managed cloud/VPS and website-building workflows. This shortlist is not an exhaustive host survey or a tested performance ranking.
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Choose the website problem you can help readers solve before choosing a hosting commission. A WordPress migration, a visual-builder decision and a VPS configuration need different evidence.
This shortlist covers Cloudways, Kinsta, Hostinger and ScalaHosting. Start with the reader fit below, then check what earns credit and when it can become cash. A simple static site deserves its own requirements check before you recommend paid WordPress or VPS hosting.
Compare hosting programs
| Program & reader need | Direct commission | Check before applying |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudways Help readers assess managed hosting before choosing a direct commission model.1 | Advertised Hybrid customer reward $30 + 7% · Upfront + recurring; at least two paid invoices before approval. Eligible recurring revenue is not fully defined. Higher advertised maximums conflict.2,1 | Higher advertised maxima conflict. Confirm Hybrid’s revenue base and second-tier plan coverage.2,1,32,1,3 Conflicting terms |
| Kinsta Help WordPress publishers assess a managed-hosting migration and its configuration limits.4,5 | Published managed WordPress offer 10% recurring · Eligible fees + income-based one-time bonus. Discounts/deductions and new-customer/active-account conditions. Bonus can be $0; qualification and exact $50 payout boundaries conflict.6,7,8 | No root access. Bonus can be $0; exact qualification and $50 payment boundaries conflict.9,6,85 Conflicting terms |
| Hostinger Help website owners choose a WordPress or visual-builder workflow.10,11,12 | Published hosting ceiling Up to 40% · Qualifying initial purchase; assigned rate unknown. Programme says starts at 40%, terms say up to 40%. No renewals/upgrades. Specific AI offers differ; revenue-share cap and deductions apply.13,14,15,16 | Normal hosting needs an initial 12+ month purchase. Assigned percentage and payment hold need confirmation.15,13,1412 Conflicting terms |
| ScalaHosting Help technical publishers assess managed VPS and SPanel workflows.17,18,19 | Published starting CPA $50 web / $120 VPS · Eligible new-customer sale; monthly volume bands. Up to $500 is custom, not guaranteed. Boundaries overlap at 15 VPS/20 web sales; the 45-day hold, active customer account and promotion exclusions apply.20,21 | Entry traffic/content rules apply. Web/VPS bands differ; custom volume thresholds overlap.20,21,2219,23,18 Conflicting terms |
The offers use different calculation bases. A larger percentage is not a ranking of value. These are researched program terms, with no firsthand performance or payout test.
Start with the website
Use the reader's requirements to narrow the shortlist. The suggestions are our editorial assessment; the product limits come from the linked documentation.
| Reader needs to… | Option to investigate | Material tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Move an existing WordPress site | Kinsta | No root access; custom Nginx rules go through support. Check multisite and staging requirements against the selected plan. 4,5 |
| Host WordPress or another PHP application | Cloudways Flexible | The offering includes Magento and Laravel as well as WordPress. Confirm the exact product's affiliate eligibility; do not assume other Cloudways products share the same offer. 24,2 |
| Choose WordPress versus a visual builder | Hostinger | Manual-mode builder export excludes layout, store features, forms/submissions, integrations and SEO settings. A future move may require rebuilding those parts. 10,11,12 |
| Manage sites with server-level requirements | ScalaHosting | Optional root and SPanel tools merit a configuration check. Commercial LiteSpeed has a separate licence cost; confirm backup retention rather than assuming unlimited history. 17,18,19,23 |
A provider's feature list gives you questions to test. It does not establish the fastest host, a successful migration or better conversions.
A cookie is not a payment promise
Read attribution → qualification → approved balance → payment separately. A tracked signup can still fail the purchase or retention conditions.
| Program | Customer attribution | Qualification and cash timing |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudways | 90-day cookie; precedence remains unknown | At least two paid invoices before sale approval. PayPal: $250 approved monthly earnings; wire: $1,000 per cycle. Last-week processing is not guaranteed arrival. Carry-forward is unconfirmed; $100 account funds are hosting credit, not cash. 2 |
| Kinsta | 60-day, same-browser last-touch; signup browser determines credit | FAQ: two active, paid months; calculation guide: more than two months. Terms: balance at least $50; FAQ: more than $50. Confirm both boundaries. FAQ describes eligible PayPal payments on the 15th–20th; account credit is a separate option. 6,8,7 |
| Hostinger | Up to 30 days; another affiliate's cookie can replace yours | $100 PayPal/$500 bank plus three approved conversions; exact balance boundary needs confirmation. The 45-day requirement conflicts with 30-day help wording. Payment requires a request; monthly release wording also differs. Confirm the cycle before relying on it. 13,14,25,26 |
| ScalaHosting | Advertised 60-day cookie; priority and overwrite unknown | No refund/cancellation during 45 days; customer still active and paid at payout. $100 threshold, monthly 5th–10th cycle with weekend/holiday adjustments. Day 45 is not immediate payment. Currency and fees remain unknown. 20,21 |
For recurring offers, customer retention and ongoing eligibility matter too. Kinsta's annual-billing method can credit the remaining eligible annual portion at once; “recurring” does not promise identical monthly cash payments. Cloudways' precise Hybrid revenue inclusions remain incomplete. 7,6,2
Use the recurring versus one-time guide to compare payment structures without treating an advertised ceiling as your starting reward.
What about two-tier rewards?
Cloudways currently documents an opt-in 7% of a referred affiliate's per-sale commission. It is not 7% of the customer's hosting bill. The example uses Slab; coverage of Hybrid recurring components, duration and recruitment attribution remain unconfirmed. 2
Current second-tier rewards for Kinsta, Hostinger and ScalaHosting remain Unknown. Direct sales-volume increases, customer referral payments and one-time bonuses do not establish rewards from recruited affiliates' qualifying sales. Affiliate Orchard's enrollment and downstream credit are not confirmed. 9,6,15,13,20,22
Turn one reader problem into a useful page
Hypothetical evidence plan: help a publisher decide whether moving several WordPress sites makes sense. This is proposed work, not a completed migration.
- Write the requirements. List the CMS, plugins, runtimes, email, editing workflow, access and recovery needs. Decide what would rule out an option.
- Plan a fair comparison. Record current checkout and renewal costs, required licences and the migration, staging and restore checks you will perform. Keep merchant claims separate from your test results.
- Set a stop condition. Resolve a material compatibility or recovery gap before recommending a purchase. Publish speed, uptime and migration results only after documenting the relevant tests.
Then use the program-selection lesson to assess whether you can contribute useful evidence. Check each profile's application, traffic and promotion rules before planning a campaign; the four programs have distinct restrictions and approval conditions. 2,3,6,13,20,21
Sources and open questions
Selected profiles and their official evidence were reassessed on October 7, 2026. Cloudways' profile retains its October 2 check date; its help and product pages were reread on October 7. The help guide displays April 28, 2026. Source-specific dates appear below. 2
Older document dates stay visible: Kinsta's terms display December 12, 2024; Hostinger's main agreement displays August 19, 2026, with a March 24 version linked from its application; ScalaHosting's agreement carries V2. 12.14.19. A fresh read does not establish newly effective terms or an accepted account offer. 6,13,16,21
This is a scoped shortlist. Domain-only programs, specialist static/application hosts and broader provider coverage remain research gaps. Exact account offers, eligibility, payment conflicts and unknown downstream terms remain on the profiles. No application, provider contact, purchase, product, migration, tracking or payment test was performed.
Research and editorial review: Affiliate Orchard with AI assistance. Public sources, with no firsthand product or payout test.
How our research works