Who pays your CPA commission when someone signs up, buys, or deposits through your link? The advertiser, who pays only when the action happens.
A single casino deposit pays up to $300 in a rich country, and a CPA network’s dashboard lists hundreds of these campaigns at once.
The post below walks the full path from click to payout, with the numbers at each step, the rules that decide the payment, and 2 real cases with figures.
Table of Contents
- 1 – How CPA works in practice
- 2 – What a CPA network does for the affiliate
- 3 – How much a CPA campaign pays
- 4 – What hold, approval rate and cap mean on a CPA network
- 5 – CPA network or direct advertiser
- 6 – Where CPA traffic comes from
- 7 – How much you can earn with CPA
- 8 – How to choose a trustworthy CPA network
- 9 – How to start in CPA without spending
- 10 – CPA FAQ
- 11 – Is CPA worth it: the bottom line
How CPA works in practice
CPA is the advertising model where the advertiser pays only for the completed action. The name stands for Cost per Action.
The advertiser’s bill is born together with the visitor’s sign-up, purchase, or deposit. Impressions and clicks stay out, and each action has a price the advertiser sets.
- The advertiser publishes an offer: the paid action, the payout, and the traffic rules
- The affiliate picks the offer on the dashboard and gets a link with their code
- The affiliate promotes that link in a group, on a profile, on a site, or in an ad
- The visitor clicks and completes the action on the advertiser’s page
- The system records the lead, the completed action tied to your link
- The advertiser checks the quality, and the payout lands in your balance
Tracking runs on a cookie, the file that stores that code in the visitor’s browser, and on many offers it lasts 30 days. Say a reader clicks your antivirus link on Tuesday and subscribes on Friday. The lead is still yours, and so is the commission.
What a CPA network does for the affiliate
A CPA network is the platform that gathers many advertisers’ offers into a single dashboard. Without it, you’d have to open an account and chase invoices company by company, country by country. Listing offers is just the visible part, because 4 services hold the model up from the inside.
- Payment guarantee: the network bills the advertiser, often with prepayment, and answers for the commission
- Ready-made tracking: clicks, leads, and conversions counted on the dashboard, with the
postback, the automatic conversion notice, and numbers per source - Promo material: banners, pages, and ads already tested by other affiliates
- An account manager: a person who recommends offers, adjusts terms, and settles disputes
With the postback landing in your report, you can see which ad generated each lead. That package has a built-in price of 10% to 30%, which is why the advertiser pays $120 per deposit and the dashboard publishes $90 or $100 (CPA.RIP, 2025).
Offer types: open, private, and exclusive
An open offer shows up for any approved account and concentrates the competition: dozens of affiliates promote the same campaign. A private offer requires the advertiser’s approval, which accepts only people with a track record, and with fewer people the traffic is worth more. An exclusive one runs outside the common dashboard, tied by contract to one partner, and usually pays above the sheet.
How much a CPA campaign pays
The action’s price depends on 2 things: the vertical, which is the offer’s sector, and the GEO, which is the country of the campaign’s audience. The same casino deposit changes value with the player’s country, and that double yardstick applies to every vertical.
The country ranges below come from Conversion’s vertical overview (2026).
| Paid action | Where | Range |
|---|---|---|
| First casino deposit | Tier 1 | up to $300 |
| First casino deposit | emerging markets | from $15 |
| Confirmed sign-up | Tier 1 | $20 to $30 |
| Brokerage deposit | finance and crypto | hundreds of dollars |
| Retail sale | any country | a fraction of the order |
The FTD is the customer’s first deposit, the most valuable action in the gambling and finance verticals. Tier 1 is the group of rich countries, like the US, Germany, Canada, and Australia, where the same action is worth more.
Emerging markets, like Latin America and Southeast Asia, make up for it with cheap ads and high volume. In the US, the same deposit that pays $15 in an emerging country reaches $300. RevShare is the model that trades the upfront payout for a slice of the customer’s spend over time, and the hybrid is the mix of the 2 in the same contract.
The verticals and what each one demands
The higher the action’s payout, the harder the rules tend to be, and each vertical charges its price in red tape.
- Gambling and betting: pay the top of the sheet and demand minimum age, per-country licensing, and a short list of allowed traffic
- Finance and crypto: pay just as well, and demand even more paperwork and rules
- Software subscriptions: pay a high percentage of the sale, because the company earns it back in monthly fees
- Retail: low payouts and giant scale, with a fraction of the order in any country
What hold, approval rate and cap mean on a CPA network
The advertised commission is almost never the one that lands in your account. The difference sits in 3 short rules, listed in every campaign’s description.
The hold is the traffic review period before the money is released. At networks, the usual runs 7 to 14 days, and a long-sale campaign runs up to 45.
The approval rate is the slice of what you sent that the advertiser validates. At 7 approved out of every 10 orders, the $100 campaign earns $70 on average.
The cap is the ceiling of leads the advertiser buys per period. The network splits that ceiling among its affiliates, and each one gets a slice.
The commission on the dashboard is a promise, and the real commission is that promise times the approval. Run that math before paying for the first ad.
CPA network or direct advertiser
The experienced affiliate sometimes skips the network and signs directly with the brand, chasing the full payout. The trade has a cost on both sides.
| Criterion | CPA network | Direct advertiser |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 10% to 30% smaller | full payout |
| Hold | 7 to 14 days | 3 to 7 days |
| Guarantee | the network answers | trust in the brand |
| Offers per account | hundreds | 1 |
| Cap | split among affiliates | all yours |
| Support | dedicated manager | your own negotiation |
The direct route’s risk has a name: shave is the silent cutting of leads from the report to pay less. With no middleman, the dispute is yours.
Whoever’s starting out earns more with the network, for the safety and the variety. The direct contract pays off once you already have monthly volume to negotiate on your own.
Where CPA traffic comes from
Traffic is people passing through your link, and each origin has its own cost and rules. The market works with 2 families: organic costs time, and paid costs budget.
- Your own group and profile: messaging apps and social media, zero cost and reach limited to your audience
- A site or blog: copy that answers a search and leads to the offer, grows slowly and earns for years
- Paid search: ads on the results page, high intent and expensive clicks
- Targeted social: ads by interest and age, the engine of the gambling verticals
- Push notifications: the market’s cheapest format, low conversion and enormous scale
Every campaign lists the traffic it accepts and the traffic it bans. An advertiser buying paid search vetoes affiliates on the same channel, so it doesn’t bid against its own click.
Ignoring that list costs the commission with no appeal, so read the rules before promoting. Start with 1 source only, because whoever measures 1 source learns from it, and whoever opens 5 at once only spends faster.
How much you can earn with CPA
There are 2 public cases with complete numbers showing the market’s 2 ends: the solo affiliate with a small budget and the operation buying traffic at scale.
Case 1: a 2-day solo campaign
In a casino campaign on push notifications published by Traffic Cardinal, the affiliate spent $290 and collected $1,170, an $880 profit in 2 days. The path there ran through 968,000 impressions, 13,434 clicks, and 183 approved leads out of 186 sent. ROI, the return on the money spent, is the math that separates a good campaign from an expensive one.
Case 2: 1,096 deposits in 1 week
At the other end, a casino bought 1,096 first deposits from a single affiliate in Brazil in 7 days, at $15 per deposit. The player’s average deposit sat at $9, and the advertiser earned its investment back in 3 weeks (ZorbasMedia, 2024).
Past that break-even point, the deal switched to a 50-50 profit split. Whoever pays for ads without validating the offer can spend the same $290 and collect zero, and organic traffic risks time instead of money.
There are 2 metrics in the campaign’s description that help predict the result. The CR is the conversion rate, and the EPC is the average earnings per click already recorded on the offer. An EPC above your click’s cost is a green light, and below it, it’s time to switch offers.
In Brazil, 1,096 deposits at $15 in 7 days, and the advertiser earned its investment back in 3 weeks.
How to choose a trustworthy CPA network
A serious network gives public signals before you trust it with any money. The list below applies in any country and fits in an afternoon of research.
- A declared address and years in operation visible on the site
- A minimum payout between $20 and $50 and a fixed payment date
- Hold and approval rate published in every campaign’s description
- Support that answers before you send any traffic
- A reputation on niche forums, with complaints answered
The test worth the most is cheap: run a small organic campaign and compare the network’s dashboard against your own report. A big gap between the 2 is a sign of leads being cut. Test the payout too: request the minimum in the very first month and see whether the money arrives on the agreed date.
CPA RAW’s CPA network reviews apply this checklist with verified data. The ActionPay review runs that check start to finish, on a network that pays out via Pix.
How to start in CPA without spending
Signing up at a network is free everywhere in the world, and the first commission doesn’t require paid ads. The starter plan fits in 5 items.
- Create the account and describe your traffic source in detail
- Pick an offer from a known brand, with a short hold and simple rules
- Read the whole description: payout, approval, allowed and banned traffic
- Promote the link in your group, profile, or blog, on topic
- Check the lead on the dashboard and register your payout method
Explain where your traffic comes from, because moderation rejects vague sign-ups: “a deals group with 4,000 members” opens the door, and “social media” closes it. In the US and Europe, whoever posts paid offers has to disclose earning a commission on the link. Affiliate commission is taxable income, so keep the network’s statements from the first payout on.
CPA FAQ
What does CPA stand for?
The acronym comes from Cost per Action. The advertiser pays when the visitor completes the agreed action: a sign-up, a purchase, a deposit, or an install.
Do I need a website to work with CPA?
You don’t. A messaging group, a social media profile, or a video channel counts as a traffic source at most networks.
How much does a casino deposit pay in CPA?
It depends on the country. In rich markets, like the US and Germany, the first deposit pays $150 to $300; in emerging ones, $15 to $40 (Conversion, 2026).
Does the CPA network charge the affiliate?
There’s no monthly fee. The margin is built in: the advertiser pays the network one amount, and the affiliate receives a share 10% to 30% smaller (CPA.RIP, 2025).
How long does the money stay locked before the payout?
At networks, the usual review runs 7 to 14 days, and a direct advertiser usually releases in 3 to 7 days. A long-sale campaign runs up to 45.
What is the approval rate?
The approval rate is the share of leads accepted. At an approval of 7 in 10, a $100 campaign earns $70 in the final math.
Can you start in CPA without spending money?
Yes. Signing up at the networks is free, and organic traffic from a group, a profile, or a blog costs time. Paid ads come after the first commission.
What’s the difference between CPA and RevShare?
The CPA commission is a fixed amount, paid once per action. In RevShare it becomes a recurring slice of the customer’s spend, and the hybrid combines the 2.
Is CPA worth it: the bottom line
CPA pays for results in any country, and the network delivers offers, tracking, and guarantees in one dashboard. The package’s cost is the margin built into the commission.
- Read the payout, hold, approval, and cap before promoting
- Start with organic traffic and a known brand
- Compare the network’s dashboard against your own report from the first lead
- Test the payout in the first month
The next step is picking the first network with verified data. The other steps in the guide and CPA RAW’s network reviews continue the path.
How we sourced this post
The numbers come from public offers and case reports in the niche, checked in August 2026. Each offer’s terms come from the networks’ own materials.
Commission, hold, and approval rates change without notice, and the catalog turns over every week. Check the offer in the dashboard before putting money on media.
Our fact-checking process is on the About CPA RAW page, and the other guides in this series follow the same method.
Spotted an outdated number? Let us know through the contact page.
This post is informational and not financial advice. Media buying carries risk: you pay for the traffic before you know whether it converts.
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