| Cost to join | Often a fee or a paid "upgrade" | Free. No card. No fees. |
| Time to start | Forms, approvals, sometimes weeks | Under 2 minutes. Code live on approval. |
| What you sell | A product you must pitch and close | A free 14-day trial (no card) - the trial does the convincing |
| Commission | Pennies per click, or % with long tails | £25 per retained sign-up, clear and simple |
| Bonuses | Rarely, and usually small | Wheel of Fortune: up to £1,000 every 50 sign-ups |
| Minimums / quotas | Often monthly targets | None. Your pace. |
| Marketing materials | Often none - you create everything | Scripts, emails, SMS, social posts, playbook - all provided |
| Tracking | Murky dashboards, delayed reports | Live dashboard: every referral, every £, every spin |
| Legitimacy / payouts | Some never actually pay out | ID verification (KYC), affiliate agreement, monthly verified payouts |