2.9 million new students enroll in college each year, joining the 19 million existing attendees.
An additional 50 million children attend elementary and high schools each year.
This means the education market is roughly 1/7th of the population of the United States, and that’s without factoring in the education market, which is currently worth at least US$169 billion.
Even the small affiliates in The Affiliate Lab community are earning nice and steady commissions with different educational products.
As someone who’s navigated the complexities of the education market and identified its profitable sub-niches, I’m eager to share my insights and experience, helping you make the most of the best education affiliate programs out there.
Education is a really vast market with many interesting sub-niches we’ve uncovered for you.
Table Of Contents
Top Education Affiliate Programs to Promote
1. 360training
360 Training is an online learning platform covering everything from basic workforce training for the food and beverage industry to OSHA certification.
This education affiliate program could be your “go-to” education provider in industries where meeting specific compliance standards is mandatory.
To date, over 6 million students have taken at least one of their pre-license, exam prep, or post-license courses for their specific role.
They’re also happy to pay you a 15% cut for all sales referred to them via your affiliate website.
So based on an average course cost of $200 you’d make $30 per sale.
They sell online courses that meet very specific compliance demands within different industries and have been doing so for three decades now.
- Commission: 15% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 60 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Workplace training
2. Times Tales
Children learning their timetables for the first time can struggle with them.
Times Tales provides an easier way for them to learn by using stories instead of rote learning.
The story itself is a “memory game” that allows them to recall their tables whenever they need to.
Times Tales also sell other educational products for kids like ‘Pet Match’ and an entire series of ‘Life Skills’ products aimed at teaching math in a friendly and accessible way.
Their program pays a 15% commission rate, and you can expect to earn around $10 per sale.
Their products are designed to meet a very pressing need i.e. teaching kids of all abilities how to learn math in an enjoyable way.
- Commission: 15% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Math for kids
3. Outschool
Out School takes the idea of remote learning to the next level.
Not only can your kids be homeschooled in a diverse selection of subjects, but they also get access to over 10,000 qualified teachers located all over the world.
So they could study Italian with a teacher who’s actually from Italy.
Class sizes are also kept small, so students aged 3 – 18 can get the maximum possible benefit from their teacher.
For parents, this allows them to create a school routine that works for them instead of the other way around.
Their affiliate marketing program pays 10% of all sales sent from your website to their landing pages.
They’re already recognized as an industry disruptor in the K-12 education bracket, so this could be an emerging niche.
- Commission: 10% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit, wire transfer
- Products: Interactive online classes
4. The Linux Foundation
Next up on our list of education affiliate programs is The Linux Foundation.
As their name suggests, their certification courses cover Linux OS training for those who want to become system administrators or Linux Engineers.
But they also have courses that span the entire range of Open Source applications, covering everything from Blockchain to Machine Learning, artificial intelligence, and data science – all delivered by highly qualified instructors.
They offer the types of courses your visitors will need to be considered for employment opportunities with many leading tech companies.
An average course with The Linux Foundation costs roughly $400, and you receive a 20% affiliate commission for all sales sent through the referral link on your affiliate website.
This means you can earn $80+ per sale, more than some credit card affiliate offers.
They have 20 years of experience in an industry that looks set to grow for at least the next decade.
- Commission: 20% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 60 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Open Source software training
5. Bionic Turtle
Bionic Turtle provides online courses and test prep materials designed to help individuals pass their Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Financial Risk Management (FRM) exams.
Students can access instructional videos, test question sets, interactive quizzes, and a community dedicated to helping them earn a passing score.
They have an excellent education affiliate program that also offers a free trial, which you could leverage in your affiliate pitch to your audience.
Some of their courses cost almost $800, earning you $120 per referral based on their 20% commission rate.
That makes it one of the best education affiliate programs featured here, by payout.
They’ve been helping students in this niche since 2004, and their products continue to meet the market’s demands.
- Commission: 20% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 60 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Risk management training
6. The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an exam and test prep provider that helps students pass the entry exams for their desired school, college, or university, including medical and law schools.
Or even just to pass their SAT at the end of high school.
So you can point your visitors in their direction if they need to pass MCAT, LSAT, CFA, or GMAT exams, and many more besides.
They are, however, in no way affiliated with Princeton University but do target a professional audience.
How do they compare to the other education affiliate programs here?
An 8% commission rate combined with a typical order value of around $1,000 means you can earn $80 per successful referral.
They’ve been a recognized brand in the exam prep market for almost 40 years.
- Commission: 8% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 45 days
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit, wire transfer
- Products: Exam prep
7. One Day University
In the 12 years leading up to 2020, One Day University would arrange conferences that featured a series of live speaking events by some of the best and brightest minds in multiple fields.
They moved their courses online, so what you get is similar to attending a TED or TEDx event, except you can choose to attend more in-depth talks with your favorite professors, lecturers, or educators.
Their library currently contains more than 500 different “lessons,” all of which are accessible for under $10 per month.
They operate a two-tier affiliate that pays you $1 for every person who signs up for a free trial and then $9 for everyone who signs up for full monthly membership.
They offer a unique twist on the standard idea of attending an online lecture, allowing your visitors to develop a deeper understanding of a given topic.
- Commission: $1 per free trial and $9 per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Wire transfer, direct deposit
- Products: Education
8. MasterClass
MasterClass is a learning platform that delivers online courses from more than 100 of the world’s leading experts across various disciplines and topics.
So aspiring authors can choose to study under James Patterson, wilderness survival with Jessie Krebs, or cooking with Gordon Ramsay.
Each lesson takes an average of 10 minutes to complete, so you can acquire new skills at a pace that suits you.
And your visitors get access to their entire range of courses for a single monthly price, billed annually.
Affiliate marketers promoting this offer will earn a 25% commission on all sales referred through their affiliate website, with an average payout of just over $44.
They offer an affordable way to access more than 100 courses covering everything from cookery to climbing.
- Commission: 25% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Online training classes
9. TEFL Academy
And now for something a little different in terms of the education affiliate programs you can promote – The TEFL Academy.
The job of a TEFL instructor is in preparing students to speak fluent English, teaching people either in person or online.
The TEFL Academy offers two different Level 5 course offerings, one with in-person tutoring, but there’s also a 100% online course option.
And the fact that they have over 4,000 positive reviews for their course says a lot about the quality of their training.
Affiliates promoting this offer will earn a 10% affiliate commission on all sales they make. So, based on an average order value of $245 you can expect to make around $24 per sale.
Teaching people English is a growth market since an increasing number of people in developing countries want to learn the international language of commerce.
- Commission: 10% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 90 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, Payoneer
- Products: Teaching English
10. Kids Britannica
The first edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was printed 253 years ago in 1768.
Britannica Kids is the latest iteration of the world’s oldest encyclopedia and delivers child-friendly and age-appropriate education via this new online learning platform.
Kids and parents get access to more than 130,000 articles, videos, and images curated and fact-checked by leading educators.
This is then combined with lessons and projects to provide hungry young minds with an immersive education experience.
A 4% commission rate means you’ll only make around $4 per sale, so you’ll need to promote this offer alongside others if you want your site to remain profitable.
They’re a leading name in the distribution of knowledge via multimedia for both kids and adults alike.
- Commission: 4% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: PayPal, Direct deposit
- Products: Encyclopedias
11. TextBooks.com
TextBooks.com sells new and used textbooks to students across North America.
This allows them to save money on whatever books they need for their next semester or college term.
But they can also buy used textbooks direct from other students.
Textbooks.com also sells eTextbooks and student licenses for popular software applications like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Rosetta Stone, and others.
So how do they compare to the other affiliate programs in this roundup?
You’ll earn a 5% affiliate commission per sale and also get access to their library of marketing tools.
Students and parents are always looking for ways to save money on the costs involved with attending higher education.
- Commission: 5% per sale
- Cookie Duration: TBC
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit, check
- Products: Textbooks
12. Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is an online language learning platform that’s been around since 1992.
Their course offerings cover 24 individual languages, including popular foreign languages like French, German and Chinese, but you can also learn to speak Irish, Persian, or Polish, for example.
A new language is taught by showing you an object and then the word for that object, so you learn by association instead of memorization.
Their language training courses allow you to learn a foreign language at your own pace, either via your desktop or laptop PC or by using their mobile app.
This is one of the more popular education affiliate programs we came across, and it pays a 7% affiliate commission on all sales.
They’re a recognized brand that offers a unique and effective approach to learning a foreign language quickly.
- Commission: 7% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, or Payoneer
- Products: Language tuition
13. Discount School Supply
Discount School Supply – as the name suggests – is an online supplier of school supplies suitable for students up to Grade 8.
But they also sell a full range of products aimed at infant/toddler education, including craft supplies and even furniture such as cribs.
So their target audience varies from new parents to the local high or elementary school, which is good news for affiliate marketers because you have thousands of products to pitch to a broad range of visitors.
Anyone even tangentially involved in the education industry should be able to find a product on the site that they’re interested in.
This is one of the more popular education affiliate programs and it offers a 4% affiliate commission rate, which means you’ll need to work towards a high volume of sales.
They’re positioned to serve the more traditional education market i.e. brick and mortar schools and preschools.
- Commission: 4% per sale
- Cookie Duration: 2 days
- Payment Methods: PayPal, Direct deposit
- Products: School supplies
14. AmONE
Financing their education is the first hint of reality for new college students.
The fact that there’s been an 80% increase in college fees in the last 20 years alone doesn’t help, but it also means the education industry is very active.
AmONE – a subsidiary of QuinStreet – is a price comparison site for both student loans and student loan refinancing.
So your visitors can get the best deal for their circumstances, from multiple loan providers, by visiting the one site.
As an affiliate marketer promoting this offer, you’ll earn an $8 commission per sale, regardless of the size of the loan.
30% of all American students attending local and state colleges or universities will require a student loan to pay for their education.
- Commission: $8 per sale
- Cookie Duration: 30 days
- Payment Methods: Direct deposit, wire transfer
- Products: Student loans
15. Lending Tree
LendingTree is a shopping comparison site for financial products such as loans and credit cards.
They’ve been in business for 25 years and facilitated in excess of US$50 billion in loans of all kinds.
Why are they featured in this roundup?
Because college students typically require access to a credit card to pay for other aspects of their education.
Connecting them with LendingTree ensures that they get the best possible deal in terms of interest rate, or even credit card designed specifically with students in mind.
This is one of the CJ network’s more active affiliate marketing programs. This program pays a sliding affiliate commissions scale that tops out at $25 per referral.
They provide students with an easy way to find credit cards and other financial products that best fit them.
- Commission: Up to $25 per sale
- Cookie Duration: 14 days
- Payment Methods: Check, direct deposit, or Payoneer
- Products: Credit cards and personal loans
Can You Make Money With the Education Affiliate Programs?
The education niche has a lot to offer in obvious sub-niches such as online courses and less obvious ones like student loans or finance.
And while the above are, in our opinion, the best education affiliate programs out there right now, there are hundreds of others you could work with to generate affiliate income.
But the real key to success with this stuff is having a rock-solid affiliate marketing strategy.
Which, coincidentally, is exactly what I teach in my Affiliate Lab course.
Follow the exact same steps I use to research, build and profit from high-profit niche affiliate sites.
It really can be that simple.
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