Affiliate marketing Vs MLM? Here’s an Honest Comparison
Introduction
Welcome to the affiliate marketing vs MLM article. You’re clearly looking for an answer as to which is better, affiliate marketing or MLM. Right off the bat, let’s say that both might sound easy, but without work or a brilliant idea, it can be hard to make a profit with either one.
However, I can say that both are quite similar. In both, you need to work and put in effort to make them work. Affiliate marketing is easier to do for free. Often MLM companies require you to make an initial investment, whereas affiliate marketing can practically be started for free. But next, I’ll go into more detail.
Examples where you can do affiliate marketing:
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Amazon Associates
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Digistore24
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Fiverr Affiliates
1. What is Affiliate Marketing?
As you probably already know, affiliate marketing simply means that you promote someone’s or a company’s product and receive a personal link. When someone buys through that link, you receive a commission that ranges from 2% to 90%.
You don’t need inventory for affiliate marketing, nor do you need to deal with customer service. However, you often need to respond to emails if you have an email list.
I’ve tried affiliate marketing for years, and I still haven’t gotten any results. That’s why I can honestly say it’s not easy. You might get small income here and there, but in order to scale it to produce more than your day job, you either need to be a real genius or put in a lot of work and do it right. That’s why I switched from affiliate marketing to MLM, Etsy selling, and Amazon KDP.
There are people who make even millions through affiliate marketing, but they are often native English speakers, which certainly helps, and they usually operate in places like the USA. I’m Finnish myself, and my English isn’t native, so affiliate marketing is a bit harder for me. If you’re a native English speaker, then you already have an advantage over those who are not.
What is MLM (Multi-Level Marketing)?
MLM is a bit different than affiliate marketing. You need to make an initial investment (LiveGood approx. $50) and you need to grow a network by recommending people to join. That can be difficult if you don’t know how to get visibility online.
There are also offline MLM companies where you have to market face-to-face. Personally, I recommend LiveGood, which works online. I wouldn’t go for any company where you need to meet face-to-face (speaking from experience).
MLM also won’t bring in income if you don’t get customers. You should choose a company that’s popular, has good products, and a good compensation plan.
There are many companies that overprice their products. Why would anyone buy from an MLM company if they can get the same products cheaper at the local store? In that case, only people interested in the business side might buy.
2. Startup Costs
Affiliate Marketing: As I already mentioned, affiliate marketing can be started even for free, for example by creating a blog on Medium.com and recommending Fiverr products. However, it’s usually a good idea to buy your own domain (costs around $10/year) and hosting ($10–30/month). That way you get your own website, and your marketing looks more credible and professional.
MLM: You need to buy a starter pack and pay something monthly. For example, LiveGood only costs $50 to start and $10/month. A very small risk! Often, you would have to invest several hundred into the starter pack and buy products every month.
So you can start both options with a very small amount. Choose whichever suits you better. If you want to start MLM with LiveGood, I can help you if you use my link to join!
3. Income Earning Logic
Affiliate Marketing: As I mentioned earlier, you earn a commission which varies depending on the product. You don’t need to recruit anyone, just make sales. There is also affiliate marketing where you get paid for every lead – even without a sale.
So you can earn 2–90% commission every time someone buys. It’s smart to choose a product that pays well and check the reviews before you start. Use search engines to find the best possible affiliate programs.
MLM: MLM is different, because you earn a commission from every person you recruit as well as from product sales. The biggest commissions come when you recruit someone and they also become an active recruiter. So you can earn more when you act like a “boss” who helps your downline recruit more people into the system.
4. Marketing Methods
Affiliate Marketing: You can market through many channels. The most popular method is definitely SEO – Search Engine Optimization – especially for Google. If you get on the first page of Google and the keyword has searches, you can get passive income if you make affiliate sales. However, SEO is quite difficult and may cost a lot, because you also need to buy, for example, backlinks – especially for competitive keywords.
Another option is YouTube. You can make a video and start earning passive income when you get viewers. You can also earn ad revenue once you meet YouTube’s criteria. YouTube can be an excellent channel if you do it right. It may even be better than SEO, and combining the two is a very effective combo.
You can also do email marketing, which is very powerful, but for this, you need traffic – and then you can recommend products to your list. You can use, for example, solo ads or paid traffic.
Pinterest is also a great option. It’s a search engine where you use images and short videos. It requires hard work, but it can be very effective – and it’s free.
You can also use paid traffic if you don’t have time to wait, but it can become expensive if you don’t do it correctly. Personally, I haven’t gotten much results from paid traffic – but I also didn’t invest much in it.
MLM:
The common way to market MLM is face-to-face, but it can also be done online. When you market face-to-face, you “put your soul on the line,” which can be emotionally draining, and you might lose friends because they think you only want their money.
You can also do it online, like with LiveGood, and you can market to anyone. I recommend this form. However, it can be lonelier and you have to work from home. If that doesn’t suit you, then it might be better to stick with regular jobs.
5. Passive Income – Opportunity or Myth?
Affiliate Marketing: This model is popular exactly because it enables passive income. You can do the work once and earn from it for years to come. In affiliate marketing, this is definitely possible – and if you put in a lot of effort, you can achieve it and earn more than from your day job.
MLM: You can get passive income once you’ve strengthened your downline. If your downline does the work, you can rest. You can also, for example, create a blog (like I did), and the blog will do the work for you. So MLM also allows for passive income. The only thing you still need to do is train your downline to generate income so that you can also earn more yourself –
but it’s not mandatory.
6. Reputation and Credibility
Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is generally considered honest and acceptable. Some people may lie, for example about their income, and say they’re making money even if they’re not – just to get others to buy what they’re recommending. That’s morally wrong, and I don’t recommend it. But the act of promoting itself is not wrong.
MLM: Many people, often rightly so, consider MLM companies to be scams – if they truly are scams. The products may be too expensive, and the whole goal of the company is just to bring in a lot of money and then shut down. However, there are also honest companies like LiveGood.
7. Chance to Succeed
Affiliate Marketing: You can succeed in affiliate marketing if the product is good and you get traffic that clicks your link. From experience, I can say that traffic is the hardest part. If you don’t have traffic, it’s like putting a kiosk in the middle of a forest. So you need quality traffic in order to succeed.
MLM: MLM requires that you know how to recruit and inspire others to join the business. You should build a network and a team that is efficient and brings in more people. Just selling the products won’t get you very far.
8. Who Is Affiliate Marketing Suitable For?
As stated in this affiliate marketing vs MLM artice, affiliate marketing suits bloggers, YouTubers, introverts, and writers. You should get used to the fact that you’ll often be working alone in front of a computer. For some, that might feel like a bad option. For example, blogging is lonely work and sitting in front of a screen. Personally, this hasn’t been a problem for me, but if you don’t like it, you should do something else.
9. Who Is MLM Suitable For?
MLM suits introverts as well, if you’re doing online business. If you’re doing physical work, it’s good to be a social person who enjoys being around people. So you can choose whether you want to work alone or be around people in offline work. I’ve chosen to work alone, and that’s okay for me.
12. Summary Table
| Feature | Affiliate Marketing | MLM |
|---|---|---|
| Startup Cost | No | Yes |
| Product Selection | Millions of products | Limited per company |
| Recruitment | Not needed | Essential for success |
| Passive Income | Possible | Harder to achieve |
| Reputation | Good | Often questionable |
| Scalability | High | Limited |
10. My Perspective and Recommendation
I used to be on the affiliate marketing side, but since I didn’t succeed at it, I switched to MLM. I can still recommend both. Both are valid options for success. If you want to start for free, start with affiliate business. If you have money to invest and enjoy being around people, start with MLM.
13. My Experience
Years ago, I was in the “Natures Own” MLM company, which was a scam, because it collapsed. They said you had to call through your whole phone list. I made calls and lost my reputation, because everyone noticed I just wanted money from them. Eventually, the company collapsed and changed its name to “Seven International.” They said they would start a mobile phone business, which never happened. I lost €500 and my reputation with Natures Own, and Seven refunded the money.
Affiliate marketing didn’t take off either, and I’ve now stepped away from it. If I had continued, I might have succeeded, but I decided to leave it for now. Now I recommend LiveGood, in case that one takes off.
14. LiveGood – Is It Worth Joining?
LiveGood is a combination of MLM and affiliate marketing, where you can earn commissions from referrals, both from sales and from your team.
Pros:
• Low startup cost: ~$50 to join + $9.95/month
• High-quality wellness products at discounted prices for members
• Affiliate model works even without recruiting
• Great support materials: ready-made landing pages, email series, trainings
Cons:
• MLM part: pressure to build a team to increase income
• Some complaints about deliveries and customer service
• New brand, so limited recognition for now
Who is it for?
• Marketers who know how to drive traffic
• People interested in wellness products
• Those who don’t mind recommending a product to others
Summary:
LiveGood is a low-risk way to start either by recommending products or building a network. If you don’t want to recruit, you can work purely as an affiliate. A great option if you want to test whether online sales is right for you with a small investment.
affiliate marketing vs MLM: Conclusion
As you saw in this affiliate marketing vs MLM article both affiliate, marketing and MLM can offer real opportunities to earn income online – but their approaches and challenges are very different.
Affiliate marketing is best suited for those who prefer to work independently, enjoy writing or creating content, and are patient enough to build traffic over time. It offers scalability, flexibility, and the potential for true passive income – especially if you master SEO, YouTube, or email marketing.
MLM, on the other hand, may appeal to those who enjoy networking, inspiring others, and working as part of a team. The startup costs are often higher, and success usually depends on how well you can build and maintain an active downline. However, modern programs like LiveGood offer an affordable hybrid model that combines the MLM structure with the simplicity of affiliate marketing.
In the end, the best option depends on your personality, risk tolerance, and goals. If you want to start for free and grow steadily, affiliate marketing might be the right choice. If you’re ready to invest and enjoy working with people, MLM may suit you better.
Whichever you choose – commit, stay consistent, and treat it like a real business. That’s the key to success in both models.
Tell me what do you think down below!
