Find when recurring commission catches up with a fixed CPA. Every assumption is editable.
Jump to the calculator ↓CPA and revenue share reward different parts of an affiliate relationship. A CPA deal pays a fixed commission when a referred player meets the qualification rules. A revenue share deal pays a percentage of a revenue base. A hybrid deal combines a CPA payment with recurring revenue share. Compare these arrangements over the same player cohort, currency, qualification criteria, and measurement period before deciding which produces the stronger outcome.
This calculator compares gross affiliate commission from one initial cohort of qualified players. It finds the first month when modeled revenue share equals or exceeds the CPA payment. That crossover is a commission comparison, not a guarantee of profit. Traffic acquisition costs, operating expenses, payment delays, taxes, and financing costs are excluded. An affiliate can earn more commission while still losing money if the costs of acquiring that traffic exceed the resulting receipts.
Deposits are not net gaming revenue. A deposit transfers funds into a player account; it does not establish the operator’s gaming result or the amount eligible for commission. The relevant input is monthly commissionable revenue per active player under the agreement. Where that amount is estimated from deposits, the conversion requires assumptions about deposit frequency and the relationship between deposits and eligible revenue. Those assumptions should come from reconciled cohorts, rather than industry figures.
Let M represent monthly commissionable revenue per active player, r the revenue share fraction, and q the proportion of players retained into each following month. Month one produces M multiplied by r per acquired player. Month two produces M multiplied by r multiplied by q. Continuing this sequence gives cumulative commission after n months. With full retention, the total is n multiplied by M multiplied by r. With attrition, later months contribute less, and total commission has a finite ceiling.
For an illustrative example, suppose commissionable monthly revenue is $100, revenue share is 30%, and retention is 100%. Monthly commission is $30 per player. Against a $100 CPA, cumulative commission is $90 after three months and $120 after four months, so the first completed crossover month is four. If retention falls to 50%, the lifetime revenue share ceiling is $60. Under those assumptions, revenue share never reaches the $100 CPA, however long the comparison runs.
Conversion rate changes the expected number of qualified players produced by a fixed click volume. It therefore changes total commission for that traffic. When both deals use identical qualification rules and the same conversion rate, it does not change their crossover per player. The calculator displays expected commission per 1,000 clicks to make that distinction visible. Fractional players represent expected values across comparable cohorts, rather than a claim that an individual campaign produces part of a person.
For hybrid negotiations, separate the fixed component from the recurring component and compare each offer using its own rates. Check deductions, negative carryover, qualification exclusions, contract duration, and payment timing against the signed terms. Treat every displayed result as a transparent scenario that can be challenged, revised, and reconciled with observed performance.
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Illustrative scenario, not an industry benchmark. All amounts are USD. Results compare gross commission; acquisition costs are excluded.
RevShare reaches the CPA at
Cumulative commission per qualified player
View the monthly calculation table
| Month | CPA | Cumulative RevShare | RevShare minus CPA |
|---|
Formula and scope
M = average deposit × monthly deposit frequency × commissionable NGR/deposit fraction, or your direct monthly NGR entry.
Cumulative RevShare = M × r × (1 − qⁿ) / (1 − q). When q = 1, use n × M × r.
Break-even month = the first whole n for which cumulative RevShare ≥ CPA. With attrition, the lifetime ceiling is M × r / (1 − q). Reaching that ceiling only in the limit is not a finite crossover.
r is RevShare as a fraction; q is retention as a fraction. Month one assumes every qualified player is active. Both deals use the same initial player cohort. Revenue per active player and retention stay constant; there is no reactivation or new acquisition after month one.
Conversion determines expected players per 1,000 clicks. It cancels from the per-player crossover when qualification and conversion are identical. Zero conversion produces no commission for that click cohort.
The model uses nonnegative NGR and a flat RevShare rate. Negative carryover, tiers, caps, qualification reversals, payment delays, and discounting require a separate contract-specific model. A hybrid offer adds its own fixed payment to its own recurring component.