Amazon Influencer Program vs Amazon Associates: what is the difference?

The short version

Amazon Associates pays you when someone buys on Amazon through your link. The Amazon Influencer Program is an extension of it for creators with a social media account. Same account, but you also get your own page on Amazon and can publish videos and photos on Amazon itself.

Side by side

	Amazon Associates	Amazon Influencer Program
For	Websites, blogs, apps, social media	Creators with a social media account
Account	Associates account	Same account, plus influencer application
Your own page on Amazon	No	Yes, storefront at amazon.com/shop/name
Where your content lives	Your channels	Your channels and Amazon
Commission	Associates rates by category	Associates rates for your own traffic, onsite rates for purchases through your content on Amazon
Who brings the buyers	Only you	You, plus Amazon for onsite content
Approval	Sign-up and review	Review of content, engagement and followers

How Amazon Associates works

With Associates you create links to products on Amazon and share them on your site, in a newsletter or on social media. If someone buys within 24 hours of the click, you earn a commission. Rates depend on the product category and are listed in Amazon’s official commission schedule for each marketplace.

In the US, payment starts at $10 by direct deposit or gift certificate, and Amazon pays roughly 60 days after the end of the month.

What the Influencer Program adds

Your own storefront

As an influencer you get a storefront with a vanity URL like amazon.com/shop/yourname. Instead of many single links you share one, for example in your bio. See how to build your storefront.

Content on Amazon itself

The bigger difference: your videos and photos may appear across Amazon, including product detail pages, search results and the homepage, according to Amazon. You reach people who are already looking at a product, even if they have never heard of you.

When a shopper clicks your content on Amazon and buys, you earn the onsite commission, under a separate onsite store ID. Onsite rates are their own table; the US table is in the guide Amazon onsite commission. Traffic you send yourself keeps the standard Associates rates.

Which one fits you?

• You run a site, blog or newsletter but no social account? Associates is your route. The Influencer Program requires a social media account.
• You make product videos and post on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or Facebook? Apply as an influencer too. Onsite videos keep working even on days you don’t post.
• Both? That’s the usual setup: Associates links for your own channels, onsite videos for reach on Amazon.

Same rule for both: disclosure

Both programs require the statement “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” in the US, plus FTC-compliant disclosure of other material connections such as gifted products.

Where onsite videos are won or lost

Once you start with onsite videos you notice quickly that products are not equal. Some do not accept influencer videos, others already have plenty, and onsite rates swing by category. Reelgap shows you all of this on the product page before you make a video.