Last checked · Written by the Advoratise team
The short answer
Buy direct when you know the audience fits and want control over the message and timing. Use an affiliate network when you only want to pay after a sale and can accept less control. Many teams use both — but make sure one sale is never paid twice.
How direct ad space works
You agree a price with a publisher — a newsletter, podcast, website or community — for a clearly described placement. You pay for the placement itself, whether or not it leads to a sale. In return you choose the message, the date and the audience, and you talk to the person who runs the space.
How affiliate networks work
You offer a commission for each sale or sign-up, and the network passes your tracking links to many partners. You usually pay only when tracking records a result, plus whatever fees the network charges. You get reach with less upfront risk, but less say in where and how your brand appears.
The real differences: risk, cost and control
With direct space you carry the risk that the ad does not convert; with affiliates the partner carries most of it, so good partners expect higher rewards. Direct deals have one known price; affiliate costs depend on the commission, network fees and how many sales are counted. Direct deals let you check every placement; affiliate programmes need rules and monitoring to stay brand-safe.
Using both without paying twice
If a reader sees your sponsored newsletter and later buys through an affiliate link, two partners may claim the same sale. Decide in advance which one is paid for what: for example, the direct placement is a fixed fee and is never also paid commission. Write that rule into both agreements.
Worked example — made-up round numbers, not market data
Comparing the cost of one customer
A direct placement costs €500 and brings 5 customers: €100 per customer. An affiliate partner earns €80 commission per sale and the network adds a €10 fee per sale: €90 per customer. Affiliate looks cheaper here — but the direct placement also delivered your exact message to a chosen audience, and you owned the relationship with the publisher.
How to decide
Know what one customer is worth
Work out roughly what a new customer is worth to you over time. That sets the most you can pay for one, by either route.
Decide how much risk you can carry
If paying for a placement that might not convert is hard for you right now, start with pay-per-result. If you can test, a direct placement teaches you faster.
Decide how much control you need
Regulated, technical or premium brands often need to approve every mention. That points to direct deals or a small, hand-picked affiliate group.
Test both, compare cost per customer
Run one direct test and one affiliate test with separate tracking. Compare what each new customer really cost you, including all fees.
What we can and cannot promise
We do not quote the fees of any named network, because they differ by programme and change over time — check each network's current terms. We cannot promise that either route will be profitable for you. Advoratise focuses on direct relationships between advertisers and publishers; affiliate offers we list are always marked as such.
Try a direct placement
See ad spaces where you can talk to the publisher directly, with prices in euros and the source of every number.
Questions people ask
- Which one is cheaper?
- Neither is always cheaper. Compare the full cost of one new customer by each route, including every fee, and remember that control and brand fit have value too.
- Can a publisher be both a direct partner and an affiliate?
- Yes, but agree in writing which placements are paid as a fixed fee and which as commission, so one sale is never paid twice.
- Do affiliate links also need an advertising label?
- Yes. In the EU a paid relationship must be made clear to readers, whether the payment is a fee or a commission.