ShareASale for Merchants in 2026: What Changed With Awin and How to Set Up Now
ShareASale closed on 6 October 2025. What carried over for merchants, what works differently on Awin, how fees now appear on invoices, and the route a new brand takes instead.
If you are searching for a ShareASale merchant setup guide in 2026, the most useful thing we can tell you is that the ShareASale platform no longer exists as a separate place to set up. Awin, which acquired ShareASale in 2017, moved its merchants and affiliates onto the Awin platform and closed ShareASale on 6 October 2025 (Awin). Today shareasale.com redirects to an Awin page headed "ShareASale is now part of Awin".
That leaves two kinds of reader. Former ShareASale merchants who need to know what carried over and what changed, and brands that were planning to start on ShareASale and now need the equivalent route. This guide covers both, using Awin's own help pages as sources.
The short version
- The ShareASale platform closed on 6 October 2025. Account access ended that day, and Awin said reports and historical data would no longer be available after it.
- Upgraded merchants received a new Awin ID, and their partnerships moved across. Commission rates were carried over.
- Some ShareASale habits changed: auto-validation replaces the monthly lock, commission cuts have limits, and upgraded programs run on prepayment with links that go offline at a negative balance.
- New brands cannot sign up for ShareASale. The closest route is Awin, usually starting on the Access plan.
Current status of ShareASale and Awin
Awin announced in August 2025 that it had completed the ShareASale upgrade, with all active customers onboarded to Awin. The same announcement said the ShareASale platform would close on 6 October 2025, that account access would end on that date, and that advertisers should complete any data exports before then because reports and historical data would no longer be available (Awin and ShareASale unite). Awin's post-upgrade checklist confirms the closure date (Awin help: Post-upgrade checklist).
In practice this means there is no ShareASale merchant dashboard to log in to and no ShareASale application form. If a guide still walks you through ShareASale's own merchant sign-up and setup screens, it is out of date.
If you were a ShareASale merchant: what carried over
According to Awin's upgrade FAQ and help centre:
- Your partnerships. Affiliates did not need to reapply to existing programs; partnerships were transferred to Awin (Upgrade FAQ).
- A new ID. Each upgraded merchant received a new Awin ID that replaces the ShareASale Merchant ID. Update it anywhere you reference it, including your recruitment page and partner emails.
- Commission rates. Awin says commission rates and custom rates were replicated in your Awin program, with default rates in a Default Commission Group, custom affiliate groups recreated with publisher tags and individual rates handled as Publisher Commission Rates (Awin help: Commission rules (SaS)).
- Most tracking links. Most existing ShareASale links continue to track, but ShareASale short links with no clicks in the 12 months before the migration stopped tracking and show a "This link is inactive" page (Upgrade FAQ).
Some things did not carry over. Affiliates' ShareASale feedback and ratings were not moved, because Awin uses a different system. ShareASale payment statements can no longer be retrieved now that the platform is closed. And Awin notes that some advertisers did not complete the upgrade, for example because of a negative account balance or a decision not to proceed.
What works differently on Awin
Awin's feature comparison for upgraded merchants lists the changes that catch people out (Awin help: ShareASale vs Awin feature comparison):
| On ShareASale | On Awin |
|---|---|
| Sales locked on the 20th of each month | Auto-validation: transactions are approved automatically after a set period unless you approve or decline them first |
| Commission changes | Cuts of at most 20% per change, no more than once every 30 days, with at least 7 days' notice to partners |
| Conversion Lines | Attribution Manager and commission flexibility; Awin says not every Conversion Line scenario has a direct equivalent |
| ShareASale ecommerce plugins | Awin's own plugins; the ShareASale plugins are in maintenance-only mode |
Two more differences are worth knowing:
- Soft click partners. Awin treats browser extensions, cashback, loyalty and content discovery tools as soft click partners whose cookies do not overwrite another partner's click. Awin describes this as new for ShareASale advertisers.
- Prepayment and link status. Upgraded programs on Awin's prepayment model show a link status. When your available balance falls below $0, links go offline and send traffic to each partner's fallback URL until you add funds, and partners can see that status on your profile (Awin help: Understanding link status). Awin recommends auto-deposit with a secondary payment method, and the lowest minimum balance allowed for auto-deposit is $50 (Awin help: Payment settings (SaS)). PayPal is not supported.
Post-upgrade checklist for merchants
Awin's own list of post-upgrade actions is short: review your new account (terms, commissions, product feeds, payment settings, users), move to Awin's ecommerce plugins, understand validations, set up APIs and get familiar with the platform. Here is how we would work through it:
- Check the commission groups. Rename groups so partners understand them, and confirm product and new customer rules fire with a test order.
- Set your validation routine. Decline returns and cancellations before the auto-validation period ends, every week or two.
- Fund the account properly. Turn on auto-deposit with a backup card, and set a top-up amount that covers your busiest weeks so links never go offline.
- Replace dead links. Ask your top partners to check for inactive short links and swap in Awin links.
- Update every reference to your old ID. Recruitment page, partner emails, terms and internal docs.
- Tell partners what changed. One clear email covering your Awin ID, rates, validation timing and who to contact.
Once the account is in order, growth comes from new partners: our guide to recruiting publishers on Awin covers the directory, outreach and activation. If you are also weighing a move to a different network, our affiliate program migration checklist covers how to move without losing revenue.
Fees: what upgraded merchants pay
Awin says upgraded merchants' overall costs did not change; what changed is how invoices present them (Awin help: Understanding invoices and pricing terms (SaS)). The first Awin invoice included the full Monthly Minimum Spend carried over from ShareASale. After that, a Tech Fee line replaces the old Monthly Minimum Spend, the rest of the tracking fee appears as a Network Fee, and a former Monthly Platform Fee shows as a line labelled Accelerate. Your exact rates are in your own agreement, so read your first few invoices against it.
Setting up today: the Awin route
For a new brand, the closest thing to ShareASale's old self-serve setup is Awin Access. The Awin page that shareasale.com now redirects to offers "the same reliable affiliate marketing services you know and trust through the Awin network", and Awin's ShareASale-branded Access page lists unlimited access to its vetted partners, including ShareASale's affiliate network, a 3.5% tracking fee and a three-month minimum term (Awin Access). Awin's US pricing page lists Access at $49 a month plus the 3.5% tracking fee, with the first month free (Awin pricing).
The setup steps are Awin's, not ShareASale's: request the application, connect tracking with the MasterTag or a plugin for Shopify, WooCommerce or Adobe Commerce, test an order, then recruit. Our guides to launching an affiliate program on Awin and Awin Access cover each step and the costs in detail.
Should new brands still start on ShareASale?
They cannot. The better question is whether Awin is the right first network for you. It suits ecommerce brands that want a large partner base with published self-serve pricing. A SaaS brand may be better served elsewhere, and a brand with a big creator following may want a platform built around creators. Our guide to choosing an affiliate network compares the main options, and running a program on multiple networks explains when using Awin alongside another network makes sense.
Need help with your Awin program?
We run affiliate programs on Awin for former ShareASale merchants and new brands alike, from commission setup and validation to recruiting partners. See our affiliate program management service, or get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
Is ShareASale still open to merchants?
Did my ShareASale affiliates move to Awin?
Do old ShareASale links still work?
Did fees change after the move to Awin?
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