Affiliate Networks in the Czech Republic and Slovakia: a Guide for Publishers and Merchants

When I set up the first affiliate program for my own online shop years ago, I chose between two networks on a single criterion: which one would answer my email by the next day. I would go about it differently today. There are more networks on the Czech and Slovak market than it seems, and each has a different pool of publishers, different fees and a different way of approving new sites and paying out commissions. A publisher promoting ten programs almost certainly holds accounts in three or four of them at once.

I am writing this overview from both sides. I manage the programs of my own shops and at the same time I run websites that promote other people's programs. The program counts come from the AffilPlanet catalog, which collects publicly available programs across networks, so they reflect the current state of the catalog rather than official figures published by the networks.

What an affiliate network actually does

A network sits between the merchant and the publisher, but it is not just a go-between for contacts. It takes on several jobs you would otherwise have to handle yourself.

Tracking. The network gives the publisher a link carrying their identifier, a measurement script runs on the shop's site, and when an order comes in, the source of the customer is recorded. A cookie with a set lifetime (usually 7 to 60 days) decides whether the order is credited to the publisher even if the customer buys a week later. The network also resolves collisions between publishers when one customer has clicked two different links; the last click usually wins.

Payouts. The merchant sends the network the money for approved commissions and the network distributes it to publishers. The publisher therefore invoices or receives payment from one entity even when promoting twenty shops. For a publisher without a registered business this is often the only workable way to collect commissions, because some networks can pay out under a contractor agreement or as occasional income.

Contracts and terms. The publisher accepts one set of network terms and then only confirms the rules of individual campaigns. The merchant does not have to draw up a contract with every website separately, and in a dispute both sides refer to terms they have already agreed to.

Enforcing the rules. When a publisher breaks the terms, for example by running paid search ads on a brand keyword the shop has prohibited, the network has the tools to cancel commissions and block the account. For the merchant this is insurance; for an honest publisher it is protection against someone in the business cutting into their commissions by unfair means.

Conversion approval belongs here too. The merchant has a window, usually 14 to 45 days depending on the return rate of the goods, in which to confirm or reject each order. The network keeps track of what is approved, what is pending and what has been cancelled, and the publisher sees it all in their dashboard without having to ask the shop about anything.

What a network costs and who pays

The model is similar across all networks in the region: the merchant pays, the publisher usually pays nothing. The merchant pays the network a fee on every commission paid out, typically as a percentage surcharge on top of the publisher's commission, sometimes combined with a monthly flat fee or a setup fee for launching the campaign. Exact rates are a matter of individual contracts and networks mostly do not publish them. You should expect, though, that the network takes a substantial share of what the publisher receives.

A worked example to give you a feel for it: an electronics shop offers publishers 3 percent of the order value. If the network takes, say, 30 percent of the publisher's commission as its fee, every 400 euro order costs the shop 12 euros in commission plus 3.60 euros for the network. This is an illustration, not a price list, but the ratio tends to look roughly like this for smaller shops.

The publisher pays nothing to register or to work in the network. Their costs lie elsewhere: in the payout threshold they have to accumulate before the network sends any money, and in the time lost switching between dashboards. Some networks charge for express payouts or for payouts abroad, but that is usually optional and can be avoided with a little patience.

Networks with programs in the AffilPlanet catalog

The following overview is based on the state of the catalog in autumn 2026. The counts are rounded and shift with every import, because programs launch and close every month. I am stating what is publicly known about the networks plus my own experience. None of the networks paid for or approved this overview.

eHUB

A Czech network with the widest range of programs for the Czech and Slovak market. It has roughly 670 programs in the AffilPlanet catalog, from large electronics and fashion retailers through travel agencies to small specialist shops. For a publisher who is starting out and wants to cover several niches with one account, it is usually the first choice.

Publisher registration runs through the network's website: you fill in details about yourself and your site or channel, the network approves the account, and then you apply to join individual campaigns. Each merchant approves publishers on its own, so an approved network account does not yet mean approval into a specific program. With bigger brands, expect a new site without traffic to be rejected or left waiting for several weeks.

Payouts go through the network once the merchant has approved the commissions and you have reached the payout threshold. The dashboard shows conversions, approval status and per-campaign reports. What to watch out for: eHUB has many programs that stay listed for a long time even when the merchant has stopped actively managing the campaign. Before you place any links, check that the program accepts new publishers and that the merchant really approves conversions within a reasonable time.

Dognet

A Slovak network that is strong in Slovakia and at the same time has many programs in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and other countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. The AffilPlanet catalog holds roughly 500 of its programs that target the Czech or Slovak market. For a Slovak publisher it is often the main network; for a Czech publisher it is a good complement to eHUB, because the two networks' offers overlap only partially.

Registration and approval work much like at eHUB: one account, then applications to campaigns that the merchant confirms. Dognet puts emphasis on showing the publisher, for every campaign, which promotion types are allowed, for example whether coupons, cashback or paid search may be used. Payouts are made in euros or Czech crowns depending on the account settings.

Watch the markets. In Dognet you will find programs that look Czech but in fact serve only Slovakia or only Hungary. The AffilPlanet catalog separates them by country, but verify it yourself in the network dashboard before you start writing a review for Czech readers.

CJ Affiliate and VIVnetworks

CJ Affiliate is one of the largest international networks. On the Czech and Slovak market its programs are managed by the agency VIVnetworks, which publishes public pages for individual campaigns at vivnetworks.com. VIVnetworks is not a network of its own; it is a manager that runs the CJ campaigns on behalf of merchants. The AffilPlanet catalog contains roughly 200 programs managed this way, among them larger shops and international brands that want a single network for several countries.

For the publisher this means registering directly with CJ, where the interface is in English, the contract follows international terms and payouts arrive in a foreign currency or in the local one depending on the settings. Approval into individual campaigns is usually handled by VIVnetworks on the merchant's behalf and tends to be stricter than in smaller networks. If you have an established site with measurable traffic, it is an interesting source of programs that are not available elsewhere. If you are starting out, build a track record in a local network first.

What to watch out for: tax forms during registration, payout thresholds in a foreign currency, and the fact that support runs on two levels, VIVnetworks for the campaign content and CJ for technical and payment matters.

Affial

A mid-sized Czech network with roughly 120 programs in the catalog. It focuses mainly on small and mid-sized Czech shops, often in niches the big networks cover thinly: hobbies, garden, health, regional producers. For a publisher with a narrowly focused site it is worth browsing, because you will find programs with a responsive affiliate manager and less competition among publishers.

Registration and approval work in the classic way, through an account in the network and applications to campaigns. Payouts go through the network. Bear in mind that with smaller shops conversion approval can take longer, because the owner does it personally between packing orders.

AffiliatePort

A network that previously operated under the name AffiliateClub. The AffilPlanet catalog lists roughly 100 of its programs, mostly Czech shops. Older links and materials carrying the AffiliateClub name can confuse a publisher, but the campaigns now run under AffiliatePort. For the publisher it is another network with its own dashboard, its own payout threshold and its own set of programs that mostly do not appear elsewhere.

If you are interested in a specific shop that happens to be here, open an account, because there is no other way to reach it. If you are only broadening your reach, consider whether another dashboard is worth the volume you expect from it.

eSpolupráce and Affilmax

Two smaller Czech networks, each with a handful to a few dozen programs in the catalog. They work on the same principle as the bigger players: publisher registration, approval into a campaign, payout through the network. Their advantage tends to be a personal approach and quick communication; the disadvantage is a smaller selection and lower volume, so you take longer to reach the payout threshold. They make sense when a program that fits your content runs there, not as a first network to start with.

Merchants' own programs

Over 140 programs in the catalog do not go through any network. The merchant runs its own affiliate system, most often on the AffilBox software, or on a module of its e-commerce platform or a custom solution. AffilBox is not a network; it is a tool the merchant rents and in which it approves publishers, conversions and payouts itself. The publisher therefore enters a relationship not with AffilBox but directly with the shop.

Registration takes place on the program page of the given shop, approval is done by the owner or their affiliate manager, and payment comes directly from the shop, usually against an invoice from the publisher. This is also the main difference from a network and deserves a chapter of its own.

In-house program or network from the publisher's view

With an in-house program you talk directly to the person who decides on commissions. You negotiate a higher rate for your site, an individual discount code for your readers or a longer cookie, and nobody stands between you. The merchant pays no network fee, so it has room to give the publisher more. In my experience in-house programs are more open to barter deals and bonuses, because the manager sees directly what the site does for them.

The price is administration and risk. You invoice every shop separately and keep an eye on payment terms and thresholds for each of them. When a shop closes, changes owners or simply stops paying, there is no network to back you up. Tracking runs on the merchant's infrastructure, so its reliability depends on how carefully the shop deployed and maintains it. And in programs that do not have hundreds of publishers, rates and terms change without much announcement.

In practice I handle it like this: I take in-house programs from shops I know or whose program is visibly alive, with current terms, a contact who responds and conversions approved within a reasonable time. With an unknown shop running its own program I start with a small volume and treat the first payout as a test of whether it makes sense to continue.

In-house program or network from the merchant's view

A network brings you the publishers who are already there and takes tracking, payouts and contracts off your plate. You pay a fee on every commission for it and give up some control: a publisher who communicates with you only through the network dashboard is not a partner but a row in a report. For a shop that is starting out and has nobody to spend a few hours a week on affiliate, a network is a sensible start.

An in-house program makes sense when you have publishers you want to approach directly, or when commission volume grows to the point where the network fee exceeds the cost of the software and the time of the person managing the program. The downside is obvious: publishers have to find you, you vet them yourself, handle cancellations yourself and pay dozens of invoices a month yourself. That is why some shops combine both, a network for breadth and an in-house program for key partners they want to give better terms.

Working with several networks at once

Most publishers I know have accounts in two to four networks plus several in-house programs. It is not a whim; the program you want to promote simply runs where it runs. This brings a few practical problems.

Payout thresholds. Every network pays out only once you have accumulated a certain amount. In a network where you have one weaker program, you may reach a payout perhaps once every six months. Meanwhile the money sits with the network and is missing from your cash flow.

Different cookies and approval windows. One program has a 30-day cookie and approves within 14 days; another in the same network has 7 days and approves after 45. If you have not written it down, you cannot tell whether a missing commission means a problem or just waiting.

Different reports. Every dashboard shows different figures in a different way: gross turnover here, commission only there, cancelled orders included in one place and excluded in another. Adding up a monthly result across networks means opening four dashboards and copying numbers into a spreadsheet.

Changes of terms. A shop lowers its commission or bans a promotion type and announces it in a network dashboard you have not opened for three weeks. Meanwhile you carry on under the old rules and wonder why commissions dropped.

That is why I keep records across networks: for each program the network, rate, cookie, approval window, payout threshold, the manager's contact and my own links and codes. Each month I add revenue and commissions. It is not a complicated spreadsheet, but after a year it shows which program really earns after cancellations and which only looks good in the dashboard. It also shows me where I am approaching a payout threshold and where it makes sense to shift attention next month.

Choosing a network as a merchant

A merchant chooses a network less often than a publisher does, but the decision is more expensive, because moving elsewhere means approaching publishers all over again and deploying new tracking. What I would verify before signing:

• Where the publishers in your niche are. Go through your competitors' programs and see which network they run in. If three out of five competitors are in one network, the publishers writing about your kind of products are there too. The AffilPlanet catalog lets you filter programs by network and category, so you can find out in a few minutes.
• Fees and their structure. Percentage of commission, flat fee, setup fee, minimum monthly spend. Ask for a model month based on your turnover rather than a generic price list.
• Support and the account manager. Ask who specifically will look after your campaign and how fast they respond. With a smaller network you often get more attention than with a large one.
• Integration. Does the network have a ready-made module for your e-commerce platform, or will you deploy the tracking script by hand? How does it handle measurement when cookies are refused, and how does it behave when you change your cart or payment gateway?
• Other countries. If you are planning Slovakia, Hungary or Poland, look for a network that has publishers there instead of dealing with a second network for every country a year later.
• Exit terms. Notice period, what happens to unpaid commissions and whether you can take along the list of publishers you have worked with.

One more thing merchants underestimate: the network will not run your program for you. If you do not approve conversions on time, answer publishers and update your terms, the program will die in any network. The network is infrastructure, not an affiliate manager.

All networks in one place

Precisely because programs are scattered across seven networks and hundreds of in-house systems, AffilPlanet came into being. It is a catalog, not a network: it runs no tracking, pays no commissions and charges no fees. In the program catalog you can filter programs by network, category, commission or cookie length, and for each one you see where it runs and how to join it. A publisher no longer has to go through seven dashboards to find out where the program for their niche lives.

A merchant can list a program for free regardless of whether it runs in a network or in-house, and approach the publishers it finds in the catalog. A publisher keeps records of collaborations across networks in their account: promoted programs, codes and links, invoicing reminders and a monthly entry of revenue and commissions with a chart across programs. It is essentially the spreadsheet I described above, only connected to the catalog and to notifications when a program you follow changes its commission or terms.

The networks will stay where they are, and it is good that there are several, because they compete on fees and service. But the work of a publisher and an affiliate manager alike begins with an overview of what runs where, and today that overview can be kept in one place.