How We Earn Money(And How You Benefit)
Last updated: March 2026
The Short Version
When you click a "Buy on Amazon" button on a review and make a purchase, HonestyHive earns a small commission from Amazon. We share that commission with the reviewer who wrote the review. This is how reviewers get paid for being honest.
How It Works
- 1
A reviewer writes an honest review and tags a product they actually have experience with.
- 2
HonestyHive automatically adds a "Buy on Amazon" button using our Amazon Associates account — reviewers never create or control the affiliate links. The platform handles everything.
- 3
When a reader clicks and buys within Amazon's 24-hour cookie window, a commission is generated.
- 4
The commission is split between the reviewer and HonestyHive based on the reviewer's Trust Score tier.
Reviewer Revenue Share
How commissions are divided between reviewers and the platform.
Year 1 Launch Bonus
During our launch year, 100% of affiliate commissions go directly to reviewers. HonestyHive takes nothing.
| Tier | Requirements | Reviewer Share |
|---|---|---|
| New | Getting started | 60% |
| Trusted | Score 60–79, 25+ ratings | 70% |
| Verified | Score 80–89, 50+ ratings | 80% |
| ExpertTop | Score 90+, 100+ ratings | 85% |
Founding Reviewer bonus: Reviewers who joined during the founding window receive a permanent +5% on top of their tier rate, in addition to the Year 1 bonus.
What This Means for You (the Reader)
Reviews are never influenced by affiliate commissions — reviewers have no control over which products get affiliate links.
You pay the same price on Amazon whether you click through HonestyHive or go directly. We receive no price markup.
We do not receive higher commissions for recommending certain products over others.
Reviewers earn more by being honest. A higher Trust Score means a higher revenue share — dishonesty is literally a pay cut.
How Trust Scores Prevent Bias
Every review on HonestyHive can be rated by readers on four dimensions: Accuracy, Detail, Honesty, and Helpfulness. These ratings build the reviewer's Trust Score, which controls two things:
Feed Visibility
Higher trust = more readers see your reviews
Revenue Share
Higher trust = larger cut of affiliate commissions
This creates a self-correcting system: the most honest reviewers get the most visibility and the most income. There is no financial incentive to game the system — the incentive structure runs in the opposite direction.
FTC Compliance
- →HonestyHive is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
- →All affiliate relationships are disclosed on every page where a "Buy on Amazon" button appears, in accordance with FTC guidelines on endorsements and testimonials.
- →This page serves as our full affiliate disclosure. Questions? Email legal@honestyhive.com