Monetization models: CPL, CPA, RevShare, Hybrid
How payout models work in MeerPartners: what the commission is paid for, calculation formulas, who each model suits and worked examples with numbers.
A monetization model defines two things: which event triggers the commission and how its amount is calculated. The model is set by the business at the offer level — the influencer sees it in the offer card and understands what they will be paid for. Four models are available: CPL, CPA, RevShare and Hybrid.
Rates are locked at the moment of conversion
If the business changes the offer rate, already accrued commissions are not recalculated. Each conversion remembers the rate it was calculated with (grandfathering). This means the numbers in your statistics will not "shift" retroactively.
Which event triggers the accrual
A conversion arrives at the platform as a postback from the business server and carries the event type (event_kind). The offer model determines which event generates the commission:
| Model | Trigger event | When it fires |
|---|---|---|
| CPL | lead | Registration / application without payment |
| CPA | sale | Payment fact (sale) |
| RevShare | sale (+ opt. recurring) | Payment, including recurring subscription charges |
| Hybrid | sale (+ opt. recurring) | Payment: both components are calculated |
The event must match the model
If a recurring event arrives on a CPA offer, the conversion is recorded, but the commission is not accrued — the model did not match the event. This is normal protection, not an error: the business configures exactly what it pays for.
CPL — pay per lead
What is paid for: a referred user who completed a target action without paying — registered, submitted an application, signed up for a trial period.
Formula — a fixed amount for each counted lead:
commission = rate_per_lead (fixed, in offer currency)Who it suits: offers with a long sales cycle (education, B2B, insurance), where the fact of interest matters rather than an immediate payment. For the influencer — when traffic generates registrations well, but not everyone reaches a purchase.
Protection against lead inflation
CPL has a deduplication window: a repeat lead from the same user within the window is not paid a second time. More details — in the KYC and limits section.
Example. Offer "online school", rate 300 ₽ per registration. You brought 40 people who submitted an application. Unique ones (after dedup) — 38.
commission = 38 × 300 = 11 400 ₽CPA — pay per action (sale)
What is paid for: a completed payment — a purchase, a subscription signed up for, a paid order. The amount is fixed and does not depend on the order value.
Formula:
commission = rate_per_sale (fixed, in offer currency)Who it suits: products and services with a clear price, where the business is ready to pay a known amount for each sale. For the influencer — this is predictable earnings: you know the exact amount per conversion before traffic even starts.
Example. Offer "VPN subscription", rate 500 ₽ per payment. You brought 12 payments.
commission = 12 × 500 = 6 000 ₽RevShare — percentage of turnover
What is paid for: a percentage of the order amount (amount) the business sent in the postback. The larger the order value — the larger the commission.
Formula:
commission = order_amount × percent / 100 (rounded to 4 decimals)Who it suits: offers with varying order values and subscription services. Beneficial for the influencer when traffic brings in large or recurring payments — RevShare can yield more than a fixed amount.
Recurring (repeat payments). If recurring is enabled on the offer, each subscription renewal arrives as a separate conversion and accrues the commission again — by the same rules. The number of paid periods may be capped by the offer settings.
Example. Offer with RevShare 30%. The user paid an order of 1000 ₽:
commission = 1000 × 30% = 300 ₽If recurring is enabled on the offer and the user renews the subscription 3 more times at 1000 ₽ — you earn another 3 × 300 = 900 ₽ (within the offer's period limit).
Hybrid — fixed + percentage
What is paid for: two components of one sale at once — a fixed amount (like CPA) plus a percentage of turnover (like RevShare).
Formula:
commission = rate_per_sale + order_amount × percent / 100Who it suits: offers where the business wants to guarantee the influencer a minimum per sale and at the same time reward large order values. For the influencer — this is a "cushion" (fixed) plus upside on large orders.
Example. Hybrid: fixed 200 ₽ + RevShare 10%. Sale of 1500 ₽:
commission = 200 + 1500 × 10% = 200 + 150 = 350 ₽Comparison table
| CPL | CPA | RevShare | Hybrid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | lead | sale | sale (+recurring) | sale (+recurring) |
| What is calculated | fixed per lead | fixed per sale | % of turnover | fixed + % |
| Depends on order value | no | no | yes | partially |
| Repeat payments | no | no | yes (opt.) | yes (RevShare part) |
| Income predictability | high | high | medium | high |
| When it favors the influencer | many registrations | steady sales | large/recurring orders | mixed traffic |
Tiered rates (volume tiers)
An offer can set a higher rate once a conversion threshold is reached — the more you sell, the higher the percentage. The rate is selected by accumulated volume for the period (since the start of the month).
0 conversions → RevShare 20%
from 100 → RevShare 25%
from 500 → RevShare 30%The applied rate is frozen
The tier is determined at the moment each conversion is calculated and locked into it (applied_rate). A later revision of volume does not rewrite what was already accrued. If a business rule provides for paying the difference once a threshold is reached — it is processed as a separate adjustment accrual, not by editing old commissions.
Multi-currency
The order currency (amount) and the commission currency may differ: the commission is accrued in the offer currency. On a mismatch, the rate at the moment of conversion is applied and frozen for audit — recalculation in hindsight is forbidden. If a rate is temporarily unavailable, the commission is not lost: it goes into hold with the reason FX_RATE_MISSING and is accrued as soon as the rate becomes available.
Rates are static
The platform currently uses fixed exchange rates (live FX is not yet connected). For single-currency offers this does not matter.