Best MLM Compensation Plans: Your Guide to a Successful At-Home Business

There are a lot of factors to consider when you’re looking for the best MLM company. One of these is the compensation plan, which will dictate how much money you make in commissions and bonuses.
The best commission plans typically have a few things in common: They offer big incentives for recruiting new members, and they pay out commissions on both purchases and sales. These two components work together to provide an income that can be large enough to replace your day job. We’ll discuss more about this below – read on!
What is multi-level marketing compensation?
MLM compensation is the way that a company pays you for your work as an independent contractor.
In the MLM industry, there are two types of compensation: commissions and bonuses. Commissions come from sales to customers or purchases made by people in their downline. Bonuses typically come after the sale is completed (and not all companies offer them).
Commission and bonus income is calculated on two components-sales and purchases. Sales are divided into different parts:
- Personal consumption: The money you spend to buy products for yourself.
- Direct sales or team volume: Income from the products that your team buys in order to make their own sales.
The more personal consumption, buying power, and product sales you have, the more money you’ll make.
Other factors that affect commission and bonus income are product discounts and downline purchases (the more people in your team who buy products from their personal consumption or as part of their sales, the higher your commissions will be.
The best MLM compensation plans offer a wide range of bonuses because they offer both a great commission structure and the opportunity to earn extra income.
Some companies will provide you with glossy brochures, others may have an in-house training program for their distributors on how to become successful at marketing themselves and selling products. Still other companies will provide you with a website to help recruit team members, and some companies will even provide you with the option of working from home.
Types of MLM compensation plans
If you’re interested in network marketing, it’s essential to know about the different types of MLM compensation plans. Compensation programs can vary from company to company and are designed for a variety of reasons. Some companies offer more incentives than others or some might be tailored specifically to your geographic region. It is important that you do your research before deciding on which company to join.

Types of MLM compensation plans
If you’re interested in network marketing, it’s essential to know about the different types of MLM compensation plans. Compensation programs can vary from company to company and are designed for a variety of reasons. Some companies offer more incentives than others or some might be tailored specifically to your geographic region. It is important that you do your research before deciding on which company to join.
The following is a list of different MLM compensation plans and what they entail:
- Unilevel Compensation Plan: These plans work by compensating members based on the number of people they’ve recruited and how much time has passed since their last recruit was made. This plan is good for those who want to be rewarded as quickly as possible but it might not provide a long-term solution when it comes to compensation.
- Matrix Compensation Plan: These plans work by compensating members based on the number of people they’ve recruited and how much time has passed since their last recruit was made, but also take into account any other members that might be under them in a matrix formation. This plan is great for those who want an even, long-term payout.
- Tiered Compensation Plan: This plan offers different levels of compensation based on how many products they have sold and how much time has passed since their last sale. The idea behind this type of MLM plan is to motivate members to keep selling.
- Binary Compensation Plan: This plan is similar to the tiered plan, but it has only two levels of compensation. Members are paid based on how many people they’ve recruited and if they have any other members below them in a matrix formation.
- Stairstep Breakaway Compensation Plan: This plan offers a higher level of payout to those who have reached the top levels in their matrix. However, members are left with fewer people in their downline and will be more difficult for them to get back up to that highest tier.
- Board Compensation Plan: This plan is in between the Binary and Stairstep plans, with three levels of payout. Members are paid based on how many people they’ve recruited as well as if they have any other members below them in a matrix formation.
- Party Compensation Plan: This plan offers a higher payout for the levels at the top of your matrix, but offers more opportunity as members are coming in from all angles.
- Manoline Compensation Plan: This plan uses a two-tier system in which the first level is paid for volume, while the second tier pays on commission.
- Generation Compensation Plan: This plan is a hybrid compensation plan that pays members for their volume and recruits.
- Leverage or Enterprise Compensation Plan: These plans are the best MLM schemes to use if you’re looking to make your at-home business into an enterprise. They give greater payout for the levels on top of your matrix, but offers more opportunity as members come in.
- Passive Recruitment Compensation Plan: Members are paid for every qualified person they recruit into their organization, but this is only when the recruitment reaches a certain level. This type of plan has lower payout rates as it takes time to reach those high levels and there’s less opportunity for recruiting others at each stage.
What are the most common MLM compensation plans?
The unilevel compensation plan is the most common MLM compensation plan, where members are paid for each qualified person they recruit. This type of plan has lower payout rates as it takes time to reach those high levels and there’s less opportunity for recruiting others at each stage.
Other popular compensation plans include the binary plan and matrix plans.
The hybrid compensation plan is a combination of any of the above three types, with bonuses for both recruiting others as well as other business activities. This type is more complex than unilevel MLM plans but can pay off better if you have high levels of self-discipline in your work ethic to complete tasks.
Most MLM companies will have one of these compensation plans, but some may offer more than one type to the same degree.
If you’re looking for a plan that has high payout rates and is easy enough to understand even if you don’t want to become an expert in marketing or sales, there’s no better option than unilevel MLM plans.
Because there are many different types of compensation schemes used in multi-level marketing, and it’s important to know what you want before joining any company as a distributor.
Examples of MLM companies that have the best compensation plans?
Currently, the top three MLM companies are Amway, Avon and Tupperware. These companies offer different types of compensation plans that may be more beneficial for you depending on your needs.
Amway is a network marketing company with one type of plan: unilevel MLM plan. This means that distributors will make money off of people they recruit and their recruits’ sales.
Avon is a direct selling company with unilevel MLM plans as well, but it also has other ways to make money such as residuals or commission-only marketing.
Tupperware is a company that offers unilevel MLM, binary and matrix plans.

How to choose the right compensation plan
The best plan you should choose is the one that will work for your needs regardless of what type it may be. For instance, if you want to quit your job but only have a few hours per week to do so then Amway might not be the best choice because they require a significant amount of time and effort. On the other hand, if you are content with your job but want to make some additional money on the side then Amway might be a perfect choice for you because it only requires about 20 hours per month and has no start-up cost.
Don’t make a hasty decision
Before you decide on an MLM, take a moment and write down what type of at-home business you are looking for. This will help you determine which company is the best fit for you because they all have different requirements and expectations from their distributors.
We hope this information has been helpful to you in determining which compensation plan might work for your at-home business based on network marketing. If you want to know about the best MLM companies, check out our review of the top 25 here.

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