Among the 82 programs in the PartnersWatch directory that publish a cookie window, the median is 90 days, and only 4 offer 180 days or more (checked 2 October 2026). The shortest stated window is 30 days. Nobody in the sample publishes anything shorter.
That's the answer for programs that say. The more striking number is how many don't: of the 264 programs in our directory that accept affiliates, 182 (68.9%) publish no cookie length at all.
The answer in numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Programs stating a cookie window | 82 of 412 (19.9%) |
| Median | 90 days |
| Middle half (25th to 75th percentile) | 34.5 to 90 days |
| Mean | 78.06 days |
| Shortest | 30 days |
| Longest | 365 days |
| At 90 days or longer | 43 of 82 (52%) |
| At 180 days or longer | 4 of 82 |
| Min | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | Max | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 days | 34.5 days | 90 days | 90 days | 365 days | 78.1 days |
Three lengths cover most of the sample. 34 programs use exactly 90 days, 20 use 30 days and 14 use 60 days. Together that's 68 of 82, or 83%. The rest are scattered: 5 programs at 120 days, 4 at 45, 2 at 180, 2 at 365, and one at 31.
Show the numbers
| Group | Programs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 90 days | 34 | 41.5% |
| 30 days | 20 | 24.4% |
| 60 days | 14 | 17.1% |
| 120 days | 5 | 6.1% |
| 45 days | 4 | 4.9% |
| 180 days | 2 | 2.4% |
| 365 days | 2 | 2.4% |
| 31 days | 1 | 1.2% |
Distribution of cookie windows
The distribution has a long flat shelf up to 90 days and very little past it. 20 programs sit in the 8 to 30 day band, 19 in 31 to 60, 34 in 61 to 90, 7 in 91 to 180 and 2 above 180. No program states a window of 7 days or less.
Show the numbers
| Group | Programs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days or less | 0 | 0% |
| 8–30 days | 20 | 24.4% |
| 31–60 days | 19 | 23.2% |
| 61–90 days | 34 | 41.5% |
| 91–180 days | 7 | 8.5% |
| Over 180 days | 2 | 2.4% |
A median and a 75th percentile that are both 90 days tells you something specific: 90 is the ceiling most programs choose, not a midpoint. Going above it is a deliberate signal, and only 9 programs make it.
By commission model
Recurring programs offer longer windows than one-time programs. The median for recurring programs is 90 days (n=44, middle half 60 to 90). For one-time programs it's 45 days (n=17, middle half 30 to 90).
| Commission model | Median window | Middle half | n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recurring | 90 days | 60 to 90 days | 44 |
| One-time | 45 days | 30 to 90 days | 17 |
| Revenue share | 60 days | 30 to 82.5 days | 10 (indicative) |
| Flat fee / bounty | 90 days | 45 to 90 days | 9 (indicative) |
The pattern makes sense from the vendor's side. A subscription customer is worth more over time, so paying for a late conversion is still cheap. A one-time sale has a fixed margin, and a long window mostly pays affiliates for buyers who would have come anyway. The revenue share and flat fee groups are under our 15-program threshold, so treat them as a hint, not a finding.
The longest cookie windows
Nine programs in the directory publish a window longer than 90 days.
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pabbly | Affiliate | 30% recurring for the life of the customer | Recurring |
| DiscoverCars.com | Affiliate | 70% of DiscoverCars' car-rental profit + 30% of Full Coverage revenue (~$20 average per booking) | Revenue share |
| HubSpot | Affiliate | 30% recurring commission for up to one year (up to $1,000+ per sale); custom commission at Elite tier | Recurring |
| WP Engine | Affiliate | Tiered per-referral commissions that rise with volume | One-time |
| Semrush | Affiliate | $10 per trial activation; $100–$300 per sale (up to $450 with loyalty tiers); $200–$1,500 quarterly content bonus | One-time |
| LiveChat (Text) | Affiliate, Reseller | 20% of each paid subscription, rising to 22% after 5 paying customers, for the life of the subscription | Recurring |
| SE Ranking | Affiliate | 30% commission on payments from referred users | Recurring |
| Hubstaff | Affiliate | Up to 30% of revenue for 12 months | Recurring |
| InboxAlly | Affiliate | 20% recurring for the customer's lifetime | Recurring |
Pabbly and DiscoverCars.com both state 365 days. Pabbly pairs it with 30% recurring for the life of the customer, which is about as affiliate-friendly as published terms get. HubSpot and WP Engine state 180 days. Five programs state 120 days, including Semrush and LiveChat.
A long cookie and a long commission are different promises. HubSpot's 180-day window decides whether a sale is credited to you; its commission is still 30% recurring for up to one year. Read both numbers before you compare programs.
What a short window costs
The cost of a short window depends on how long your readers take to buy, so work it through before you choose between two similar offers.
Say you send 100 trial signups a month to a program, and from past campaigns you know 60 of the buyers convert within 30 days of the click and 25 more convert between day 31 and day 90. On a 30-day window you're credited for 60 sales. On a 90-day window you're credited for 85. At a $100 commission per sale, the difference is 25 × $100 = $2,500 a month, from the same traffic.
That's why the window matters most on products with a free trial plus a buying decision: team software, anything that needs a manager's approval, anything priced annually. For impulse purchases (a theme, a template, a single course) most buyers convert in the first session and the window barely changes your earnings. A 30-day cookie on a $20 one-off product is fine. A 30-day cookie on a tool with a 30-day trial means anyone who uses the whole trial before paying isn't credited to you.
Why most programs don't publish a cookie window
Of the 264 programs in our directory that take affiliates, only 82 state a cookie length. The share across all 412 programs is 19.9%, since referral, reseller and franchise programs rarely use cookies at all.
Show the numbers
| Group | Programs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Not stated | 182 | 68.9% |
| Cookie length stated | 82 | 31.1% |
The pages themselves suggest why. Some programs run on an affiliate network or platform and leave tracking details to the network's dashboard, so the brand page just says "apply". Some attribute by referral link plus account signup, which makes a cookie window a minor detail they don't think to mention. And some keep it vague on purpose so they can change it.
For affiliates the practical rule is simple: if the page doesn't say, ask before you write about the product. A 30-day window on a product with a 60-day evaluation cycle will quietly cost you most of your conversions.
Cookies vs first-party and server-side attribution
A cookie window is a promise about how long a click stays attributed to you. Whether the promise holds depends on how the program tracks.
Classic affiliate tracking sets a cookie in the visitor's browser when they click your link, then checks for it at checkout. That breaks when the buyer switches device, clears cookies, or uses a browser that limits cookie lifetime. Apple's WebKit, which powers Safari, has capped cookies set by page scripts at 7 days since Intelligent Tracking Prevention 2.1, and ITP 2.2 cut that to 24 hours when the visit arrives through a decorated link from a domain it classifies as a tracker. A program can advertise 90 days and, for a Safari visitor tracked that way, get 7 or less in practice.
Programs that track with a first-party cookie set by their own server, or that attach the referral to the account at signup and then follow the customer through billing webhooks, aren't exposed in the same way. Once the referred visitor creates an account, the credit sits on the customer record, and the cookie window only matters for the gap between the click and the signup.
So when you compare programs, the useful question is: "Is the referral stored on the customer account at signup?" If yes, a 30-day window with account-level attribution can beat a 90-day browser cookie. Our partner program glossary defines the attribution terms if you need them.
What window to set if you run a program
Start from your sales cycle, not from competitors. Take the time from first visit to paid conversion for your typical customer, add your trial length, and round up to the next common value (30, 60 or 90 days). If you sell a monthly subscription with a 14-day trial, 60 or 90 days covers almost everyone. If you sell annual contracts with a sales call, 90 days is the floor and 120 or 180 days is reasonable.
Match the market where you can afford it. 90 days is the median and the most common single value, so anything shorter needs a reason affiliates will accept. Publish it on the program page; only about a third of affiliate programs do, so it's an easy way to look more serious than the competition. The commission rate benchmarks and our guide to setting commission rates cover the rest of the offer.
Methodology
Source. The PartnersWatch Network directory: 412 published programs, each curated from the brand's own partner or affiliate page. Every record in this snapshot was checked on 2 October 2026. A cookie window is recorded only when the brand's page states one in days; we don't infer it from network defaults. The editorial policy explains how records are made and corrected.
Sample. 82 programs state a cookie window. All 82 accept affiliates. The "share stating a window" figure uses the 264 programs that accept affiliates as its base, because cookie windows mostly don't apply to reseller, integrator or franchise programs.
Statistics. Medians and quartiles use linear interpolation between ranked values, which is why the 25th percentile (34.5 days) falls between two stated values. Buckets are inclusive at the top (61 to 90 days includes 90). By-model cuts use the commission model recorded for each program; 2 of the 82 programs have no model recorded and are left out of those cuts. Groups under 15 programs are marked indicative.
Exclusions. A window counts only when it's given as a number of days. Programs that say "long cookie" or "extended attribution" without a number are counted as not stating a window.
Limitations
The sample is small and self-selected. 82 programs is enough for a stable median, but the programs that publish a window may be the ones proud of it, which would push the median up.
A stated window is not measured attribution. We record what the program promises, not how its tracking behaves in different browsers, and we can't check whether a program honours its window.
The data is one snapshot. Programs change cookie windows without notice. Each directory listing shows its own checked date and links to the brand's page; check the software category or the individual listing before relying on a number.
FAQ
How long do affiliate cookies last?
Usually 30 to 90 days. Of the 82 programs in the PartnersWatch directory that state a cookie window, the median is 90 days, the shortest is 30 and the longest is 365. 90 days is also the most common single value, used by 34 programs (checked October 2026).
What is a good cookie duration for an affiliate program?
90 days is a good default: it's the median and the most common window among 82 programs that publish one. Recurring programs have a median of 90 days (n=44) and one-time programs 45 days (n=17). Go longer than 90 only if your sales cycle needs it.
Is a 30-day affiliate cookie bad?
It's short but common. 20 of the 82 programs that publish a window use 30 days, and no program in our directory publishes less. A 30-day cookie works for products people buy in one sitting. It loses credit on products with long trials or a sales call.
Which affiliate programs have the longest cookies?
In the PartnersWatch directory, Pabbly and DiscoverCars.com state 365 days, HubSpot and WP Engine state 180 days, and Semrush, LiveChat, SE Ranking, Hubstaff and InboxAlly state 120 days. Only 9 of 82 programs that publish a window go past 90 days.
Does a longer cookie mean a longer commission?
No. The cookie window decides whether a sale is credited to you; the commission terms decide how long you're paid. HubSpot, for one, has a 180-day cookie but pays recurring commission for up to one year.
Do cookie windows still work in Safari?
Partly. Safari's tracking prevention limits cookies set by page scripts to 7 days, and less for visits from known trackers' decorated links, so a browser-cookie window can be shorter in practice than advertised. Programs that store the referral on the customer account at signup aren't affected after signup.