How the program fit score is calculated
The fit score is a 1.0-5.0 figure derived from four inputs that are already printed on every program page. It is not an editorial rating, it is not influenced by commercial relationships, and it cannot be bought.
Why a derived score rather than a rating
Directories in this category typically publish a network score and a category score with no stated method. A number nobody can check is worth very little, and inventing one would breach the rule we hold ourselves to everywhere else on this site: never publish a figure you cannot substantiate.
So this score is arithmetic over public fields. Every input is visible in the terms panel of the program it describes, which means you can reproduce any score on this site by hand.
The four inputs
| Input | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Commission per conversion | 40% | The commission rate applied to the average basket, so a low percentage on a high order value is not unfairly penalised. |
| Cookie window | 25% | Attribution window in days, ranked within the category. |
| Average order value | 20% | Typical basket size, ranked within the category. |
| Region breadth | 15% | How many markets accept traffic, capped at five. |
The calculation
Each input is converted to a percentile between 0 and 1 against the other programs in the same category. Those percentiles are multiplied by the weights above and summed, giving a figure between 0 and 1. That figure is then mapped onto a 1.0-5.0 scale.
Nothing scores below 1.0. A program that appears in the directory at all has already passed the quality gate, so a zero would misrepresent it.
What the score does not tell you
It is a comparison within a category, not across categories. A 4.2 in pet supplies and a 4.2 in travel are not the same commercial opportunity, because the underlying economics differ.
It also says nothing about whether a program suits your audience, which is usually the decisive factor. The highest commission is rarely the most profitable program for a given creator. The “which creators this suits” section on each program page is a better guide to that than any single number.
Finally, it does not include earnings-per-click. We do not publish EPC data yet, because our volume on most programs is not large enough for the figure to be honest. When it is, EPC will appear on program pages and this formula will be revisited in public.
Browse the directory
Every program carries its terms, its fit score and a first-party note from our own creator network.