About Hostwinds
Hostwinds is a customer-centric web hosting solutions provider that was founded in 2010. A key philosophy of the company is ownership and control, as they own all of their infrastructure, including servers and systems, which they state allows them to pass savings on to their customers and ensure service reliability without relying on a middleman.
Hostwinds offers a wide range of hosting services, including:
- Web Hosting: Shared Hosting, Business Hosting, and Reseller Hosting.
- VPS Hosting: Virtual Private Servers (Linux and Windows).
- Cloud Services: Cloud Servers, Load Balancers, and Storage.
- Dedicated Servers.
The company emphasizes redundancy with a 99.9999% uptime guarantee and is committed to providing reliable, secure, and future-proof hosting tools.
Hostwinds Affiliate Program Overview
The Hostwinds Affiliate Program is a popular way for partners to earn commissions by referring new customers to Hostwinds’ hosting plans and services. It is free to join and offers high commission rates.
| Attribute | Description |
| Industry | Web Hosting, Internet Services, Software/Digital Products |
| Product Type | Digital Service (Web Hosting, VPS, Cloud, Dedicated Servers) |
| Affiliate Program Type | Pay-Per-Sale (CPS) / Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) |
Hostwinds Affiliate Program Offers
The program provides affiliates with the necessary tools and a competitive structure to drive successful referrals. Note that a common requirement is that the referred client must keep their account active for a specified period (often 60 days) for the commission to be validated.
| Feature | Detail |
| Promotional Materials | Banners, textual links, and a unique referral link. |
| Affiliate Cookie Duration | 60 days (A 30-minute cookie duration was also noted in one non-Hostwinds source, but 60 days is often listed on hosting affiliate pages, so it’s best practice to confirm the official terms). |
| Accepted Traffic Source | Websites, blogs, social media, and other platforms (text and banner links allowed). |
| Accepted Countries | Worldwide (Hostwinds has a global customer base). |
| Explicit Content | Not explicitly accepted; sites promoting unlawful, defamatory, or obscene content are unsuitable and may lead to rejection/termination. |
| Religious or Political Content | Not explicitly addressed, but generally, sites must not incorporate harassing or otherwise objectionable content. |
Hostwinds Affiliate Commissions & Payments
Hostwinds is known for its high, tiered commission structure, which rewards affiliates for higher sales volume.
| Feature | Detail |
| MLM | Single-Tier (Affiliates earn commissions only on sales they directly generate). |
| Commission Rate | Up to $135 per sale. |
| Commission Structure | Tiered Fixed Commission (Based on the number of new sales per month):
|
| Payout Frequency | Monthly (typically on the tenth of the month for the previous month’s commissions). |
| Payout Methods | PayPal, Bank Wire (or Skrill/Wire transfer depending on the source). |
| Minimum Payout | $100.00 USD. |
Suitable Affiliates for Hostwinds Affiliate
The Hostwinds Affiliate Program is primarily suited for individuals and businesses with an audience interested in creating, managing, or growing a website, especially those who prioritize high performance and reliability in their hosting.
| Affiliate Type | Suitability | Rationale |
| Bloggers | High | Especially those in the web design, blogging tips, technology, and ‘make money online’ niches. They can create reviews, comparisons, and “how-to-start-a-website” guides. |
| YouTubers / Video editors / Livestreamers | High | Creators who focus on web development, small business technology, hosting reviews, or tutorials (e.g., “How to set up WordPress”) are highly suitable. |
| Influencers (KOL) / KOC | Medium | Suitable if their content niche is focused on business, tech, or entrepreneurship. Less suitable for general lifestyle/fashion/beauty influencers. |
| TikTokers | Low-Medium | Can work if they create short-form content focused on specific tech/web-building tips or hosting comparisons, but the audience may be less conversion-ready than blog/YouTube audiences. |
Hostwinds Affiliate Software
Hostwinds utilizes third-party affiliate management software to track referrals and manage the program.
- Affiliate Software: The program is often noted to use iDevAffiliate software to manage its portfolio.
3 Alternatives for Hostwinds Affiliate Program
The web hosting affiliate space is highly competitive. Here is a comparison of Hostwinds with three other popular web hosting affiliate programs: Bluehost, SiteGround, and Hostinger.
| Comparison Factor | Hostwinds | Bluehost | SiteGround | Hostinger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Bill (Host Price) | Mid-range to High-end (Starting at ~$5.24/mo for basic shared hosting) | Low-range to Mid-range (Starting at ~$2.95/mo intro price) | Mid-range to High-end (Starting at ~$3.99/mo intro price) | Low-range (Starting at ~$2.99/mo intro price) |
| Entry Fees | $0 (Free to join) | $0 (Free to join) | $0 (Free to join) | $0 (Free to join) |
| Withdrawal Threshold | $100 USD | $100 USD | $50 USD | $100 USD |
| Payment Frequency | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly | Monthly (with a 30–90 day validation period) |
| Commission | Tiered Fixed Rate: $65 – $135 per sale | Fixed Rate: Typically ~$65 per sale (higher for volume/custom deals) | Tiered Fixed Rate: Starts at ~$50 per sale (up to ~$100+ for higher volume) | Percentage/Fixed Rate: Typically ~60% of the sale OR a fixed amount per plan |
| Conversion | Moderate–High (Known for performance/redundancy; appeals to more tech-savvy users) | High (Strong brand recognition, beginner-friendly, huge market share) | Moderate–High (Known for speed and premium WordPress features) | High (Aggressive pricing, strong appeal to budget-conscious users) |
| Marketing Materials | Text links, banners | Banners, ads, links | Banners, custom landing pages, detailed tracking | Banners, landing pages, many creative assets |
