ClickBank vs JVZoo for Beginners: Which to Start With?

By the pprawat.com team

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Last checked 31 Oct 2026.

Quick answer: If you have no niche yet, start with ClickBank, where the catalog is wider. If your audience already wants software or online business tools, JVZoo is a fair place to begin. Both are free for affiliates, so the real choice is product mix, approval and payout rules.

How we sourced this: JVZoo facts come from JVZoo’s own FAQ, home page, terms and affiliate getting started guide. ClickBank facts come from ClickBank’s site and help center. ClickBank also publishes a comparison page that describes JVZoo. Every JVZoo figure taken from that page is marked “per ClickBank”, and it is one company’s view of a competitor. We have no way to check those figures against JVZoo.

What they are

Both are marketplaces where product owners list offers and affiliates promote them for a commission. You do not make a product, take payments or answer support emails. You pick an offer, get your link and send visitors.

ClickBank says it acts as the merchant of record and routes each order’s funds to the product owner and the affiliate. JVZoo says affiliates join free, with no monthly membership, and are paid through its own system, JVZooPay.

Decision table

Side by side

Catalog sizes are marketing figures from ClickBank’s comparison page. Treat them as a rough sense of scale.

Signup and approval

ClickBank: open a free account, browse the marketplace and pick offers in your niche. ClickBank says most offers allow instant promotion.

JVZoo has two layers, and the sources fit together once you separate them.

1. Account signup: JVZoo’s home page promises “no gatekeeping” and its FAQ says it is free for affiliates. We take that to mean anyone can open an account. All new accounts also start on probation and must pass JVZoo’s account review before a first payout is released (JVZoo FAQ).
2. Product approval: JVZoo’s getting started guide tells affiliates to find a product and click Request Approval on its page, and says “the seller may also include additional terms and requirements that you need to meet to get approval.” So each vendor decides, product by product, who may promote. JVZoo’s terms also refer to “approved Affiliates.”

ClickBank’s claim that JVZoo needs manual approval per product is therefore consistent with JVZoo’s own help article. The practical result: you can sign up at once, but a given offer may take a request, a wait or a refusal.

Product mix

ClickBank lists 23 categories and says it has supported both digital and physical products since 2014. JVZoo is mainly digital. Per ClickBank, roughly 75% of JVZoo products sit in Internet Marketing and E-commerce. JVZoo’s own FAQ says digital products are the most popular on its platform and that it is expanding into supplements and other consumer products.

For a beginner this means a wider catalog is the safer starting point if you have not picked a topic. If your audience already wants online business tools, JVZoo’s catalog is built around them.

Fees: do they matter to you?

The fees you see in comparisons are seller fees. ClickBank’s page lists 7.5% + $1 per transaction and a $49.95 setup fee for sellers, against 5% for JVZoo sellers (per ClickBank). JVZoo’s own FAQ says 8.5% when a vendor uses JVZoo’s payment processing. As an affiliate you pay nothing to join either one.

How and when you get paid

JVZoo payout levels

JVZoo’s FAQ says your JVZooPay level depends on account age, affiliate sales and refund rate. We re-read the FAQ on 31 Oct 2026 and the Bronze and Silver lines match what is below:

Payments go to Payoneer, Trolley (bank or PayPal) or Wise. In plain terms, a brand new JVZoo affiliate starts at Bronze: a 21 day cycle and a 25% rolling reserve.

ClickBank payouts

ClickBank says payouts can arrive up to twice weekly. Its help center says the payment threshold is the balance you need before a payment is issued, that you can choose any amount from $10 to $1,000,000, and that the default is $100. So $10 is the lowest setting, not an automatic minimum. You change it under Account Settings, in the Payment Information box (how to edit your threshold). Deductions such as processing charges can make a payment smaller than the balance.

How to vet an offer before you promote it

Choosing the platform matters less than choosing the offer.

1. Check the sales page against the commission. Read the price, the refund terms and any upsells.
2. Use gravity and launch dates as signals, not verdicts. ClickBank’s marketplace shows gravity, a measure of how many different affiliates recently earned from an offer. A very low number can mean little demand, and a very high number can mean heavy competition. JVZoo lists upcoming launches, which often come with promo windows and fresh swipe emails but are crowded for a few days. Neither number says whether the product helps your readers. Read the offer page last, with your own reader in mind.
3. Read the vendor’s support and refund pages. High refund rates cost you commission and, on JVZoo, can lower your payout level.
4. Buy or read the product if you can. Recommending something you have not looked at is the fastest way to lose a reader’s trust.

A quick worked example

Say you write about home organizing and find two offers: a printable planner pack and a software tool for online store owners. Your readers want the planner pack, so the niche fit points to ClickBank’s wider catalog. The software tool might pay a higher percentage, but your readers would never click it.

Now flip it. You write about starting an online shop, and your readers already ask which tools to use. Here JVZoo’s software-heavy catalog is a better match. In both cases the audience decides, and the platform follows.

Steps to get started on either platform

1. Choose one niche. Write down who you help and what problem they want solved.
2. Open a free account on your chosen platform.
3. Vet the offer with the list above. On JVZoo, send your approval request with a short, honest note about your audience.
4. Read the platform rules. JVZoo’s terms say affiliates must follow advertising disclosure rules and FTC guidelines, and bar false claims and fabricated testimonials.
5. Add a clear disclosure near every affiliate link.
6. Send people to a helpful page of your own before the offer, using a traffic source you control, such as an email list.
7. Track clicks and sales from day one so you know what to change.

Mistakes beginners make

• Promoting ten offers at once. One offer and one audience teaches you more.
• Treating comparison numbers as promises. Every figure above is a platform’s claim, not a result you are guaranteed.
• Never opening the payout settings. A default threshold or a rolling reserve can surprise you.

After signup: a ten minute check

1. Test your link in a private browser window.
2. Open payout settings and note the schedule, threshold and any reserve.
3. Save the platform terms so you can reread the rules on disclosures and prohibited claims.
4. Write down the date you checked each figure. Platforms change their numbers.

FAQ

Is ClickBank free to join as an affiliate?

Yes. You can open a free account and browse the marketplace.

Is JVZoo free for affiliates?

Yes. JVZoo’s FAQ says affiliates pay nothing to join and have no monthly membership.

Do I need approval to promote JVZoo products?

Opening an account is open to anyone, but vendors approve affiliates product by product through a Request Approval button. Some may set extra requirements.

What is ClickBank’s minimum payout?

You choose it, from $10 to $1,000,000. The default is $100.

Do I need my own product?

No. On both platforms you can promote someone else’s offer.

Conclusion

Most beginners with no niche will find ClickBank the easier start, then can add JVZoo once their audience wants software or business tools. Start with one platform so you learn tracking, links and reporting before splitting your attention. Wherever you start, vet the offer and disclose clearly. Platforms change their numbers, so recheck before you rely on any of them.

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