AI Tool Referral Cookies Range From 30 to 180 Days — a Sixfold Gap: Six Official Programs Compared, Plus a Three-Step Way to Work Out What You Would Actually Earn

Most comparisons of referral programs look at one number: the commission percentage. After reading six AI tools’ official terms in full, the pattern is clear — what decides your income is usually the other three numbers: how long the cookie lasts, how many cycles it pays, and when it actually clears.

Everything below is from the brands’ official pages, verified 2026-09-06.

1. Six programs side by side

On cookie alone: 30 days at the low end, 180 at the high end — a sixfold gap.

2. Why cookie length outranks the percentage

The cookie is how long after a click a purchase still counts as yours. Buying an AI tool is rarely a same-day decision: people try the free tier, compare two or three options, and pay weeks later.

• 30 days: the reader must decide within a month. Suits urgency-driven content — limited-time offers, the end of a tutorial video.
• 90 days: a full quarter. A reasonable fit for reviews and comparisons.
• 180 days: half a year. Best for evergreen content like guides and getting-started posts.

One caveat: all of these use last-click attribution. However long the cookie, a click on someone else’s link in between transfers the credit. Long cookies pay off most on niche topics where yours is the only article the reader sees.

3. Cycles widen the gap further

Same percentages, very different totals:

• First payment only (Surfer): a large one-time bounty.
• 3 months (HeyGen): short recurring.
• 12 months (ElevenLabs): the longest here.
• Year-one revenue (Notion): annual basis.

Worked example on a US$20/month plan:

• 22% × 12 months ≈ US$53
• 35% × 3 months ≈ US$21
• 125% × 1 = US$25
• Flat fee = US$25

The lowest percentage produces the highest total, because it pays the longest. That is precisely why comparing headline rates leads people astray.

4. A three-step method

Step 1: convert percentages into money. Multiply plan price × percentage × cycles. Run annual plans separately using the annual percentage.

Step 2: subtract what you will not keep. A 60-day verification means two to three months of delay; a clawback rule means dashboard figures can fall; refunds and chargebacks never count.

Step 3: check you can actually withdraw it. A US$100 floor is a real barrier when you close one or two sales a month — the balance can sit there for a long time. That is where a no-minimum, paid-monthly flat fee wins on practicality.

5. The overlooked filter: is your format even allowed?

Terms restrict how you promote, and that is harder than any number:

• HeyGen’s page states original video content only — no SEO/blog-only promotion, no paid search, no self-referrals, and at least 5,000 followers on one platform.
• Grammarly’s terms ban promotion via gig sites, network-to-network brokering, incentivised placements and phone sales, stating there are “NO exceptions”.
• Surfer’s page names bad fits explicitly: coupon, incentive or cashback sites, and anyone with no website, channel or profile.

Confirm your format qualifies before comparing rates — doing it the other way round wastes the work.

6. Still unverified

• Cookie length for ElevenLabs and Descript: not stated. Unverified.
• Minimum payout for Notion, Grammarly and Surfer: not published. Unverified.
• Grammarly’s actual amounts per qualified action: not published. Unverified.

All terms verified 2026-09-06 from the official affiliate pages: Notion, Grammarly, Surfer, HeyGen, ElevenLabs, Descript. Terms can change; the official pages are authoritative. For the tools themselves, see our Grammarly tool page and HeyGen tool page.