MLM compensation plans: compare all 20
A compensation plan decides how your distributors earn: from personal sales, team volume, depth or leadership. MLM.ERP supports 20 plan types and hybrids of them, with every rule configurable from the admin panel.
Classic plans
Time-tested structures that most direct selling companies are built on.
Binary Plan
Two legs, one balanced team – pairing commissions calculated the moment volume lands.
Team-friendlyMatrix Plan
A fixed-width grid that fills itself – predictable depth, shared spillover, clear payouts.
LeadershipGeneration Plan
Reward leaders who build leaders – commissions follow ranked generations, not just levels.
CyclingBoard Plan
Fill the board, exit at the top, split into new boards – every move tracked automatically.
SimpleLevel Income Plan
A fixed percentage for every level below you – the easiest plan to explain and audit.
Sales-ledUnilevel Plan
Sponsor without limits and earn on product volume across the levels your rank unlocks.
Advanced plans
Specialised models for product-led, social-selling, utility and performance-driven businesses.
Stair Step Plan
Climb volume-based steps, earn a higher percentage, and break away as a leader.
Single lineMonoline Plan
One company-wide line in joining order – everyone benefits from the joins that follow.
SustainableRepurchase Plan
Reward repeat product orders, not just sign-ups – income that follows real consumption.
RegulatedGrowth Plan
Package-based growth and level income, with the controls a regulated model needs.
Social sellingParty Plan
Run home and online parties, reward hosts and pay consultants on every party order.
Daily useRecharge Plan
Turn everyday recharges and bill payments into a commission-earning network.
Crypto & Web3 plans
Blockchain-based payouts, smart contracts and token economies. These need careful legal review in every market.
Crypto MLM Plan
Run any MLM plan with crypto deposits, payouts and wallets – on-chain where it matters.
Fully on-chainDecentralized MLM Plan
Compensation rules written into smart contracts – peer-to-peer payouts, no central wallet.
HybridSemi-Decentralized MLM Plan
On-chain payments with off-chain flexibility – change rules without redeploying contracts.
High riskCrypto Auto Bot MLM
Trading-bot subscriptions with network rewards – designed with compliance first.
Digital assetsNFT MLM Plan
Sell NFTs with real utility and reward your network on mints, sales and royalties.
Audit-readySmart Contract MLM Plan
Your compensation plan as tested, verifiable code – deployed on the chain you choose.
Regulated riskStaking MLM Plan
Lock-ups, reward schedules and referral tiers – engineered with legal review in mind.
Own tokenToken-Based MLM Plan
Reward your network in your own utility token – with vesting, limits and a clear ledger.
MLM plan comparison table
Structure, how income is calculated, and which business each plan suits best.
| Plan | Structure | Payout basis | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binary Plan | Two legs: left and right | Matched (paired) leg volume | Product companies that want simple team-building rules and are ready to manage weaker-leg balancing carefully. |
| Matrix Plan | Fixed width × depth grid | Level-wise volume in matrix | Businesses that want a capped, predictable structure where spillover helps newer members fill their positions. |
| Generation Plan | Rank-based generations | Group volume per generation | Established direct-selling companies with a rank ladder that want to reward leaders for developing other leaders. |
| Board Plan | Small boards that split | Board completion and exit | Companies running a simple product-linked cycling model that want transparent, rule-based board progression. |
| Level Income Plan | Unlimited width, fixed depth | Percentage per downline level | New and small businesses that want a transparent plan members can understand in one sentence. |
| Unilevel Plan | One unlimited front line | Monthly product volume | Consumer-product brands with regular repeat purchases, such as wellness, personal care or household goods. |
| Stair Step Plan | Volume steps plus breakaway | Percentage differential between steps | Product companies with healthy margins that want to reward high-volume distributors and leaders. |
| Monoline Plan | Single line by join order | Joins below your position | Companies that want an easy-to-explain launch structure where early members see the line grow below them. |
| Repurchase Plan | Works with any tree | Repeat order volume (BV/PV) | FMCG, wellness, agriculture and personal-care brands whose customers reorder regularly. |
| Growth Plan | Package plus level tree | Package value and term | Businesses with a licensed, legally reviewed product or service model that need precise package and schedule automation. |
| Party Plan | Consultants, hosts and guests | Party sales volume | Brands selling cosmetics, kitchenware, fashion, jewellery or home décor through demonstrations and social events. |
| Recharge Plan | Level or unilevel tree | Transaction margin per recharge | Fintech, telecom-retail and digital-services businesses that want commission on high-frequency, low-value transactions. |
| Crypto MLM Plan | Any plan, crypto-settled | Crypto or stablecoin value | Digital-product and Web3 businesses with an international member base and a clear legal position on crypto payments. |
| Decentralized MLM Plan | Smart-contract tree | On-chain wallet transfers | Web3-native projects that want transparent, verifiable rules and accept that deployed logic is hard to change. |
| Semi-Decentralized MLM Plan | Off-chain tree, on-chain funds | Server-calculated, chain-settled | Projects that want crypto-native payments but expect to adjust plan rules, add products or run complex reports. |
| Crypto Auto Bot MLM | Subscriptions plus level tree | Subscription fees, not profits | Licensed fintech or software vendors selling genuine trading-tool subscriptions with full risk disclosures. |
| NFT MLM Plan | Referral tree plus marketplace | NFT mint and sale value | Creators, communities and brands offering NFTs with genuine utility, such as access passes, memberships or collectibles. |
| Smart Contract MLM Plan | Any plan, coded on-chain | Automatic contract execution | Teams that need trustless, publicly verifiable payout logic and are prepared to invest in testing and audits. |
| Staking MLM Plan | Stake pools plus referral tree | Staked amount and duration | Token projects with genuine on-chain staking utility and a legal opinion covering their reward model. |
| Token-Based MLM Plan | Any plan, token-paid | Token rewards and redemptions | Ecosystems where the token has real utility, such as product discounts, platform access or loyalty redemption. |
Not sure where to start? Read Binary vs Matrix vs Unilevel, or ask us to review your plan during a demo.
Choosing a compensation plan
Which MLM compensation plans does MLM.ERP support?
MLM.ERP supports 20 plan types: binary, matrix, unilevel, generation, board, level income, stair step, monoline, repurchase, growth, party, recharge, crypto, decentralised, semi-decentralised, crypto auto bot, NFT, smart contract, staking and token-based plans. Plans can also be combined into a hybrid, such as binary plus repurchase.
Which MLM plan is best for a new company?
There is no single best plan. Product-led companies often start with unilevel or repurchase plans because they are simple to explain and reward ongoing sales. Binary plans suit businesses that want team-building incentives, and generation plans reward leadership. Choose the structure that fits your products, margins and target distributors.
Can I combine two MLM plans?
Yes. Many companies run hybrids, such as a binary plan for team volume with a repurchase or unilevel bonus for product sales, or a matrix with a rank-based generation bonus. MLM.ERP's engine evaluates each bonus type independently and shows the breakdown on every payout.
Can I change my compensation plan after launch?
Yes. Percentages, levels, caps, qualification rules and rank criteria are configurable from the admin panel without code. For structural changes, MLM.ERP lets you test the new rules on sample data first and schedule the switch from a specific payout cycle, so past earnings remain untouched.
Get a second opinion on your compensation plan
Tell us about your products, plan and markets. A product specialist will show you the admin panel, member back office and mobile app configured the way you work, then send a written proposal.