Which sales platforms pay recurring commission to referral partners?

The short answer

As of October 2026, HubSpot pays affiliates 30% recurring for up to a year, Pipedrive 20% for 12 months, Close 30% of first-year subscription revenue, Apollo 15–20% for 12 months (20% lifetime for solutions partners) and lemlist 25% for 12 months. SalesARC pays referral partners 10% of each referred customer's recurring monthly fees.

The short list, with the terms that matter

Most sales platforms with a self-serve plan run a referral or affiliate program. What separates them is not whether they pay recurring commission but for how long, on what, and what they ask of you in return. These are the published terms as of October 2026.

Platform and program	Rate	How long	Requirements and fine print
HubSpot Affiliate	30%	Up to one year	180-day cookie; Elite tier (100+ sign-ups a month) is custom
HubSpot Solutions Partner	20% of net revenue	Up to three years	Paid quarterly; customer must stay active; partners must reach Gold within 24 months
Pipedrive Affiliate	20%; 30% at Growth tier	First 12 months, add-ons included	Growth tier needs two to five sales a month for six straight months; 90-day cookie
Close Partner Program	30% of first-year subscription	First year; lifetime "available as you scale"	Lifetime conditions not published
Apollo Affiliate	15% on monthly plans, 20% on annual	First 12 monthly payments; one payment on annual	Customer must pay within 90 days of the click; services excluded
Apollo Solutions Partner	20%	Lifetime	Apply via PartnerStack and complete Apollo certification
lemlist Affiliate	25%	12 months	Paid per license bought through your link
SalesARC Referral Partners	10% of recurring monthly fees	Current terms on the /partners page	One-time fees, such as the Playbook build, excluded

Terms change. Every program above publishes its current rules on the page linked in the sources, and you should read that page, not a third-party list, before you rely on a number.

Affiliate programs versus partner programs

The table splits into two kinds of program, and knowing which you are joining saves a lot of disappointment.

Affiliate programs (HubSpot Affiliate, Pipedrive, Apollo Affiliate, lemlist) are built for anyone with an audience. They pay a high rate for a short window, usually 12 months, track by cookie, and ask nothing of you after the click. They suit content creators and anyone who refers often.

Solutions or services partner programs (HubSpot Solutions Partner, Apollo Solutions Partner) are built for agencies and consultants who implement the software. They pay longer, sometimes for the life of the account, but they expect certification, a services practice, tier progress or all three. They suit a firm that wants to sell implementation hours alongside the license.

Coaches and fractional executives often sit between the two: you refer a few clients a year, you know each one well, and you do not want to become an implementation shop. For you, the questions are how long the commission lasts without volume targets, and whether the vendor does the setup.

What the headline rate hides

Three details change the real value of a recurring commission:

The base. Apollo's terms pay on revenue actually received, after refunds, taxes and chargebacks, and exclude services such as implementation and training. Most programs work the same way.
The window. A 30% rate for 12 months and a 10% rate for three years pay the same amount on the same customer, but only if the customer stays three years.
The tier. Pipedrive's 30% requires sustained monthly sales. HubSpot's Solutions Partner benefits require Gold tier within 24 months. If you refer three clients a year, plan on the base rate.

How to choose among them

Pick the platform you would recommend with no commission at all. A referral that fails costs you more in client trust than the commission is worth, and a referral that works gives you a better coaching relationship and a payment every month the client stays. If two platforms fit equally well, compare total expected payout on a realistic client, then the effort the program asks of you.

Where SalesARC fits

SalesARC is a full sales system for founder-led B2B companies rather than a CRM alone: a Playbook built from the client's calls, Prospect (the CRM and outbound sequences), ArcClaw™ Prospecting Agents that deliver researched leads each week, Propose for quotes, and lead magnets with per-lead personalization. Referral partners earn 10% of each referred customer's recurring monthly fees; one-time fees are excluded, and every customer gets an onboarding call with our team, so you are not their support desk. The rate is lower than most headline rates above; the trade is a product built to keep producing pipeline for your client. Terms and the application are at SalesARC Referral Partners.