Key facts

MLM Plan Calculator

Model the payout and structural cost of a binary, matrix or unilevel plan. Everything runs in your browser — no data is sent anywhere.

Results

Positions in a full structure: 126
Volume generated per cycle: $12,600
Gross commission payable: $5,000
Commission ratio: 39.7%

This ratio sits inside the range most direct selling companies can fund.

Payout by level

A binary plan pays on matched pairs at cycle level rather than per level, so the level breakdown below shows positions and volume only.

Level	Positions	Volume	Payout
1	2	$200	—
2	4	$400	—
3	8	$800	—
4	16	$1,600	—
5	32	$3,200	—
6	64	$6,400	—
Total	126	$12,600	—

A full structure assumes every position below the sponsor is filled to the depth entered. Real structures never are — read this as the ceiling, not the forecast.

Commission ratio

Every unit of volume pays a percentage to every upline inside the paid depth, so a position five levels down triggers five payouts on the same volume. That is why 5% per level over 5 levels costs far more than 5% of volume — and why plans are usually found to be unfundable after launch rather than before.

This calculator models plan structure only. It does not account for breakage, rank qualification, caps other than the one entered, clawbacks, tax or fulfilment cost. Treat the output as a first sanity check, not as a compensation plan.

Reference tables

The interactive calculator needs JavaScript. These tables are computed at build time from the same formulas, at the default inputs shown above each one.

Binary

Levels paid: 6 · Volume per distributor per cycle: $100 · Commission per matched pair: $50 · Pairs matched per cycle: 100 · Cycle cap (% of group volume): 40

Level	Positions	Volume	Payout
1	2	$200	—
2	4	$400	—
3	8	$800	—
4	16	$1,600	—
5	32	$3,200	—
6	64	$6,400	—

Gross commission payable: $5,000 · Commission ratio: 39.7%

Matrix

Levels paid: 5 · Volume per distributor per cycle: $100 · Matrix width: 3 · Payout per level (%): 5

Level	Positions	Volume	Payout
1	3	$300	$15
2	9	$900	$90
3	27	$2,700	$405
4	81	$8,100	$1,620
5	243	$24,300	$6,075

Gross commission payable: $8,205 · Commission ratio: 22.6%

Unilevel

Levels paid: 7 · Volume per distributor per cycle: $100 · Average frontline per distributor: 4 · Payout per level (%): 4

Level	Positions	Volume	Payout
1	4	$400	$16
2	16	$1,600	$128
3	64	$6,400	$768
4	256	$25,600	$4,096
5	1,024	$102,400	$20,480
6	4,096	$409,600	$98,304
7	16,384	$1,638,400	$458,752

Gross commission payable: $582,544 · Commission ratio: 26.7%

FAQ

Questions operators ask before they switch

Straight answers on plan mechanics, migration risk and compliance. If yours is not here, ask us directly.

Why does 5% per level over 5 levels not cost 5% of volume?

Because each unit of volume pays a percentage to every upline inside the paid depth, not to one person. A position five levels below the sponsor triggers five separate payouts on the same volume. Summed across a full 3-wide, 5-deep structure that comes to roughly 22.6% of volume, not 5%. This is the arithmetic error that most often makes a plan unfundable, and it is usually found after launch rather than before.

What commission ratio can a direct selling company actually fund?

Most companies run total commission between 30% and 45% of sales volume. Above roughly 45% there is not enough left to cover product cost, fulfilment, payment processing, support and overheads at typical direct selling margins. The threshold is not a legal limit — it is a solvency one, and it depends on your own gross margin, so check the ratio against your product economics rather than against an industry average.

Is the calculator modelling earnings for a distributor?

No, and deliberately not. It models what a plan costs the company as a share of the volume the structure generates. It makes no claim about what any individual distributor earns, because that depends on recruitment, retention and personal sales — none of which a structural model can predict. Income claims are regulated by the FTC in the United States and by the Consumer Protection Act in South Africa, so distributor earnings should never be projected from a plan diagram.

What does the calculator leave out?

Breakage, rank qualification, compression, caps other than the one entered, fast-start and matching bonuses, clawbacks on refunds, tax and fulfilment cost. It also assumes a fully filled structure, which no real organisation ever is. Every one of those moves the real number, usually downward for payout and upward for complexity. Treat the output as a first sanity check before you commission a plan, not as the plan.

Ready to Transform Your Direct Selling Business?

Send us your plan rules and we will run a live commission cycle against them, on your numbers, before you commit to anything.

Configured in a sandbox before the call, usually within two business days
No slide deck and no card — you watch your own plan pay out
Your plan document stays confidential and is deleted on request

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