Verdict
Use a network for tracking, contracts and payments. Use an agency for strategy, publisher recruitment and optimisation. Buying only a network usually means paying for a programme that stands still.
What a network does and does not do
A network records clicks and sales, handles commission settlement and gives publishers a place to find your programme. That is infrastructure, not growth.
What it does not do: approach partners actively, design commission tiers per publisher type, plan campaigns or negotiate placements.
What an agency does and does not do
An agency selects the right network per country, recruits and activates publishers, sets commissions, checks traffic quality and reports on incremental revenue.
An agency does not replace tracking. It works on top of the network or on top of your own software.
Costs side by side
Networks typically charge a setup fee, a monthly fee and an override of 20 to 30 percent on paid commissions. Those costs scale with your volume.
DIKKE KASSA charges €299 per country per month plus a 3% performance fee on realised affiliate revenue, so management costs are known upfront and the rest follows results.
When is a network alone enough?
If you serve one market, have a small partner base and someone in-house works on affiliate full time, you can go without an agency. The moment you open several countries at once, that breaks.
Dominant networks, commission levels and publisher types differ per country. That is exactly the work an agency makes scalable.