Skimlinks
Tool · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
Skimlinks is an affiliate network that works with commerce content. The title of the homepage is "Home - Industry Leader In Affiliate Marketing Solutions | Skimlinks"; "Industry Leader" here is part of a self-description in the page title, not the result of an independent measurement.
Skimlinks differs from most of the networks covered here in the way the commission is arranged: the network not only counts the actions but also keeps a share of its own from every sale. That changes the question worth asking: not only "how much does the advertiser pay" but also "how much of it will stay with the network".
The terms of work are published openly — Terms of Service — and almost everything here rests on them. The second source is the page of questions about payments. There are discrepancies between them, and they are stated directly below.
Who is admitted
No formal requirements for the platform, the audience or the country are announced at all. Instead there is a reservation about the network's entire discretion, clause 3.1 of the terms: "Skimlinks may approve or reject an application to register for the Service at its entire discretion, without obligation to provide reasoning".
It should be read literally: the network is entitled to refuse without explaining why, and it does not publish the criteria by which it admits. Preparing for an application in advance by bringing your platform up to known requirements will not work here — there are no known requirements.
No list of countries was found either in the terms or on the page of questions about payments. Indirectly geography does show through — but not in admission, in the payout methods (see below).
How much they pay
The network has a share of its own, and its size is not named. The wording of the payments page: "we work on a revenue share basis, meaning that for every sale your commerce content drives, we take a small percentage of it". The terms, clause 6.1, speak of the "Publisher's share of the Total Revenue, which may be viewed in the Publisher Hub" — the publisher's share is visible in the dashboard.
The key caveat of this deep dive: the percentage is named neither on the payments page nor in the terms. The word "small" is not a number, and your share can be seen only inside the Publisher Hub, that is, only after registering. No figure can be substituted here.
The advertiser's own rate the network, like other networks, does not name: it is set in the advertiser's offer.
The lifetime of the click tag is not announced. We looked for it on the page of questions about payments and in the terms of service — there is no number in either place.
When and how they pay
Threshold
The threshold is named precisely: "$65 / €55 / £50" on the payments page. In the terms, clause 7.2, the same threshold is written with a fourth currency — "less than $65 / £50 / €55 / ¥8000 … (the “Minimum Threshold”)". The ¥ currency is present only in the contract and absent from the payments page; this discrepancy is not resolved.
An amount below the threshold does not expire but is carried over to the next month.
Schedule
Here the two sources diverge on the substance, and the difference is worth keeping in mind.
The payments page says simply: "You're paid at the end of each month". The terms, clause 7.1, are far more cautious: payment is made "within 92 days after the end of that month or within 30 days of receiving payment from the Merchants, Affiliate Networks and/or Monetisation Partners, whichever is later".
These are different promises. The first reads as "at the end of each month", the second allows up to 92 days after the end of the month — and if the money from the advertiser arrives later, then longer still: the period is counted from the later of the two events. The questions page itself notes that the usual commission confirmation cycle is around 90 days. It is more sensible to count on the contractual version: it is the one written into the terms.
Payout methods
The method of withdrawal depends on the country of your bank account: "Publishers with US or UK bank accounts can be paid by direct deposit or PayPal. Publishers outside of the UK and US can only receive payment via PayPal".
For everyone whose account is not in the US or the UK, exactly one method remains — PayPal. This is not a ban on taking part from other countries, but it is a practical restriction: without access to PayPal there is nothing to receive the money with. The network names no withdrawal fees on the pages we checked.
What must be disclosed
There is a disclosure requirement in the terms, but it concerns a narrow case — the network's own referral programme: "Publisher will clearly and fully disclose Publisher's affiliation with Skimlinks when promoting the Referral Program".
The difference must be stated directly: this is an obligation to disclose your affiliation with Skimlinks when promoting its own referral programme, not a general requirement to mark affiliate links as advertising. No general requirement was found in the terms.
This is silence on the part of the source, not permission not to disclose: an obligation to disclose an advertising relationship may exist under the law of your country regardless of whether the network writes about it.
What the network will not do
It will not show the size of its own share before registration. A "small percentage" is not a number, and the share can be seen only in the Publisher Hub.
It will not name the advertiser's rate — that is set in the advertiser's offer.
It does not publish the lifetime of the click tag.
It does not announce admission criteria and expressly reserves the right to refuse without explaining why.
It does not state which countries it accepts publishers from.
It will not pay by direct transfer outside the US and the UK: only PayPal is available there.
It does not promise fast money. The contractual period is up to 92 days after the end of the month or 30 days after receiving the money from the advertiser, whichever is later.
It does not require affiliate links to be marked as advertising — disclosure is stipulated only for the referral programme.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
How the money works here
https://www.skimlinks.com/
the page opened, title "Home - Industry Leader In Affiliate Marketing Solutions | Skimlinks"
source, checked 2026-08-04
Payout minimum. "$65 / €55 / £50" on the payment page; in the terms 7.2 — "less than $65 / £50 / €55 / ¥8000 ... (the “Minimum Threshold”)"
an amount below the threshold is carried over to the next month
source, checked 2026-08-04
When they pay. «You're paid at the end of each month»; in the terms 7.1 — «within 92 days after the end of that month or within 30 days of receiving payment from the Merchants, Affiliate Networks and/or Monetisation Partners, whichever is later»
the questions page states that the usual commission confirmation cycle is about 90 days
source, checked 2026-08-04
How they pay. «Publishers with US or UK bank accounts can be paid by direct deposit or PayPal. Publishers outside of the UK and US can only receive payment via PayPal»
the withdrawal method depends on the country of the partner's bank account
source, checked 2026-08-04
Where the terms are. https://www.skimlinks.com/terms-of-service/
the current Skimlinks terms of service
source, checked 2026-08-04
Commission. «we work on a revenue share basis, meaning that for every sale your commerce content drives, we take a small percentage of it»; in the terms 6.1 — «Publisher's share of the Total Revenue, which may be viewed in the Publisher Hub»
neither the payment page nor the terms names the publisher's share as a percentage
source, checked 2026-08-04
Who is admitted. «Skimlinks may approve or reject an application to register for the Service at its entire discretion, without obligation to provide reasoning» (terms 3.1)
no formal requirements for the site or the audience are announced; the decision is at the network's discretion
source, checked 2026-08-04
What must be disclosed. the disclosure requirement is stipulated only for the referral programme: "Publisher will clearly and fully disclose Publisher's affiliation with Skimlinks when promoting the Referral Program"
no general requirement to disclose affiliate links was found in the terms
source, checked 2026-08-04
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