CPL vs CPA + CRG — which works better in practice?

[ErenCometaAds]

Hey everyone,

I’d like to hear your thoughts and real-world experience. In your opinion, which model is more effective: CPL or CPA + CRG?

• CPL seems more straightforward (fixed payout per lead), but sometimes quality control becomes a challenge.
• CPA + CRG, on the other hand, gives a clearer picture of actual performance, but the entry threshold and risks are higher.

Which one do you prefer working with, and why? Have you noticed differences depending on vertical (Crypto, FX, Nutra, Gambling, etc.)?


Looking forward to your insights!

 

[T J Tutor]

Hey everyone,

I’d like to hear your thoughts and real-world experience. In your opinion, which model is more effective: CPL or CPA + CRG?

• CPL seems more straightforward (fixed payout per lead), but sometimes quality control becomes a challenge.
• CPA + CRG, on the other hand, gives a clearer picture of actual performance, but the entry threshold and risks are higher.

Which one do you prefer working with, and why? Have you noticed differences depending on vertical (Crypto, FX, Nutra, Gambling, etc.)?


Looking forward to your insights!

Well, your username suggests you already have an opinion about this. Why not tell us your experience with these.

CPL is highly viable as well as CPA. I do both. As for CRG with CPA, for most businesses it is not a feasible or scalable model.

 

[ErenCometaAds]

Well, your username suggests you already have an opinion about this. Why not tell us your experience with these.

CPL is highly viable as well as CPA. I do both. As for CRG with CPA, for most businesses it is not a feasible or scalable model.

Yeah, we’ve worked with these models before, but I’d be curious to hear what others think as well.

From my side, I’d say СPA + СRG gives a decent level of security and peace of mind. Lately there’s just been way too much scamming and shaving going on from brands.

I believe that if a company does its job well, both sides will benefit.

 

[Graybeard]

I worked out a theoretical dating (other subscription type site) using AI with a CPL+revshare commission payout

In the end, is it always this way?
It really depends on the individual affiliate’s conversion rate. Their ability to turn free registrations into paying customers determines whether a CPL model with a fixed payout—or a CRG+revshare model—makes sense.

In other words, the economics hinge on the affiliate’s traffic quality. With CPL, you get paid per registration no matter what. With CRG+revshare, you earn a baseline per registration plus a share of revenue from actual conversions, which can either enhance or erode margins depending on performance.

The other question is about scalability. If an affiliate can consistently increase high-quality traffic, then yes, the model can scale. The challenge is that you need a large enough pool of affiliates who can actually deliver quality traffic. Since those affiliates are relatively scarce, scaling may be difficult in practice.

 

[Ariel-ActiveRevenue]

Which one do you prefer working with, and why? Have you noticed differences depending on vertical (Crypto, FX, Nutra, Gambling, etc.)?

i think the answer really depends on your appetite for risk and how much control you want over quality. cpl feels simpler and can help you scale faster at the beginning, but you’re often at the mercy of how affiliates treat traffic — so quality dips can hit hard. cpa + crg on the other hand gives you a tighter feedback loop since you’re paying for actual performance, but yeah, the bar to entry is higher and so are the risks.

in practice, i’ve seen that verticals like nutra or gambling tend to benefit more from cpa + crg since you get a clearer sense of ltv and can optimize aggressively, while in softer leadgen niches cpl might make sense to move volume quickly.

if you’re open, we work with direct traffic sources on cpc/cpm and help teams scale both models with more predictability. happy to share what’s been working for us across different geos and verticals — dm me if you want to chat