Top 5 MLM Opportunities In 2024: Are Any Of Them Right For You?

Picture this.

You receive a Facebook message from an old friend you haven’t spoken to in years.

You’re excited to read the message.

That is until you notice the copy-paste sales pitch they used to try to rope you into the latest Multi-Level Marketing scheme – I mean business.

Yeah, you had a good weekend (thanks for asking).

When you hear network marketing, you’re probably thinking of beauty products, meal shakes, Tupperware, kitchen knives, and essential oils..

Or you think of that high school buddy of yours who reaches out only when they’ve got something new to sell.

Chances are, you’re here because MLM piqued your interest. Perhaps the promises of financial freedom have seeped into your brain, and maybe, just maybe, you could find a way to make it work.

But before you go make a hasty decision based on your experiences at a meet-up where vibes were high and “the dream” was presented with no talk of drawbacks with the model, let me share the top 5 MLM opportunities out there.. That way, you can make an informed decision based on facts regarding the companies and business model as a whole.

I’ll dig into what these companies are about and what it would take to be successful. And I’ll even help you decide whether the MLM model is a good fit for you or if there are better alternatives out there that will help get you to the life you’re looking for.

With that said, let’s jump right in..

Brief Overview

If you want my quick and dirty answer, here’s the main 3 MLM companies to consider..

I’ve broken it down into a few categories to add context to the type of person that might find the most value in them.

Top MLM Companies	Product Category	Best For	Score
Amway	Home Products	Families	3.0/5
Herbalife	Health and Wellness	Health-conscious individuals	3.2/5
Avon	Beauty	Beauty enthusiasts	3.5/5
Vector Marketing	Kitchen Cutlery	People looking to learn sales	3.6/5
Enagic	Water filtration systems	Seasoned sellers	3.8/5

But… I’ve taken the time to look into all of these companies in detail; so at the very least, I recommend checking out the breakdowns below if any of these have piqued your interest.

All of them will cover aspects of the company that could affect buying decisions such as: how their compensation plans will affect your ability to be profitable, what you can expect to invest in up-front costs & the extensiveness of the training (or lack thereof) they offer.

Top 5 MLM Opportunities In 2024

#5 - Amway

Best for

Families Due To Product Offerings

Product Category

Wide Selection

Compensation Plan

Stairstep compensation plan

Cost to Join

$76 registration

Key Facts About The Company

What I Like

What I Didn't Like

Overview

Amway is one of the oldest MLMs out there and they’ve had the “longest run of success” in the history of the industry – I do want to acknowledge them for that. They may even be the first company that comes to mind when you think of network marketing.

As is the case with the culture of most companies in the industry, be prepared to be shown the high-life if you find yourself at one of their meet-ups.

Expect to be shown highlights of the company in the form of high performers. Rag-to-riches stories, Lambos and Ferrari’s & designer clothes are just a few examples I can pull from my own personal experiences.

Now there’s nothing wrong with desiring these things or presenting them to a group of people that may or not be driven by this lifestyle. But in my opinion, transparency is extremely important. And the fact of the matter is less than 3% of network marketers ever break even, let alone make millions.

That said, Amway focuses heavily on household products. You’ll find everything under the sun. Items like:

Water & sports drinks
Energy bars & protein shakes
Skincare products
Cookware
Air filtering system

They pretty much made their own mini Walmart..

What that means to you: You get to personalize your sales pitch to what your friends and family are most interested in..

But here’s the thing…

The problem is it’s not as simple as slinging a ton of products to people you know. The math doesn’t really add up unless you recruit a TON of people..

One of the first things you may be told is to replace your current brands that you consistently buy with Amway’s products since you’ll be earning money (through their points system). So now let’s get into the numbers with this in mind.

You get 3% back in commission to start with, which goes up based on the amount of points you accrue.

And for every $4 spent you earn 1 point value (PV). Here’s what the commission structure looks like:

100 PV = 3% commission
400 PV = 6% commission
1000 PV = 9% commission
2000 PV = 12% commission
3250 PV = 15% commission
5000 PV = 18% commission
7500 PV = 21% commission

Alright, let’s do some quick math.

If you spend $800 on Amway products, you earn 200 points..

With a 3% commission, you’ll spend $800 and get back $24 (what…?)

Now…

If you got 4 people on your team to also spend $800 each per month, that’d give you a grand total of 1,000 points. (200 points from each direct recruit, plus the 200 points for yourself).

With 1,000 points, you move up to a 9% commission. So $800 x 9% is $72….Plus, you get a 3% commission on all of your recruit’s spending.

In short, you’ll net $264, with an $800 spend on Amway goods….

So even if 4 people spend $800 a month, you STILL lose money..

And who spends $800 on household items per month anyways?!!!

So here’s the bottom line, you’ll need to recruit more than 10 members to break even.

Now real quick, how many people do you know that would be willing to shell out $800/mo on household goods?

Another quick question, how many of those would also be willing to join an MLM in which they’d be presented with this exact same issue – climbing out of an $800 hole?

Now I’m not saying I’ve got a digital rolodex that would mirror The Most Interesting Man In The World (ya know, the silver-haired, cigar-wielding, pinstriped-clad man sitting in a throne of the royal bloodline), but I would struggle to think of 5 people in my network that would match the first question, let alone the second.

Mind you, all of the products are overpriced and would be much cheaper if you bought them at your local grocer..

For example, a 24-pack of Amway water costs $51..

And if you were to order a standard 24-pack case of water bottles, that’d cost you less than $15 on Amazon..

Probably even cheaper if you go to your local supermarket.

Point being, the money is in the recruiting because selling unaffordable products will be quite challenging. So if recruiting is your thing, maybe Amway is for you.. But a commission structure that offers low profit potential out of the gate, resulting in a real struggle to break even let alone hit it big, is the main reason I couldn’t put them any higher on this list.

Biggest Selling Points

Biggest Red Flags

The compensation plan is highly dependent on recruiting and getting people to spend a lot of money on overpriced products.
They don’t provide digital marketing training, which means you’ll be forced to sell to friends & family if you don’t already have the ability to market and sell.
With products being overpriced and a commission structure that leaves a lot to be desired, your ability to run a profitable business becomes a tall task. At the end of the day, if you can’t run a profitable operation nothing else will matter.

#4 - Herbalife

Best for

Health & Wellness enthusiasts

Product Category

Health and Wellness

Compensation Plan

Stairstep compensation plan

Cost to Join

$94.10

Key Facts About The Company

What I Like

What I Didn't Like

Overview

Herbalife is a publicly traded company that focuses on helping people live healthier and lose weight..

The best thing that Herbalife has going is its mission & vision as a company.

Inspiring people to live a healthy lifestyle is a noble cause and can’t be said about all MLMs.

While the reported health benefits may be exaggerated, there’s no denying that meal replacement shakes are low in calories and high in fiber, so people will see some results when it comes to health-related benefits.

They even offer meal replacement shakes specifically designed for people with allergies. For instance, you can switch to drinks made with pea, rice, and sesame proteins to avoid sensitivities to soy or cow’s milk.

But even if the products bring all the results that the company claims publicly, if the business opportunity isn’t designed to set you up for success then product results won’t matter.

And the reality is that making money with Herbalife is no cakewalk.

They run on a tiered system like Amway, where the more points you earn, the higher commissions you get.

You start with a 25% retail profit when selling products to customers… (still way more than the 3% Amway gives you)

So for every $100 worth of Herbalife products you sell, you make $25…

You’d have to sell $10k worth of products every month to even scratch $2,500, which is about a minimum wage salary…

That’s a lot better than Amway, but getting people to buy expensive meal shakes isn’t gonna be easy when you’re competing with cheaper brands at the supermarket.

And not to mention, your upline (your team members above you in the compensation structure that profit from your sales) can discount their products cheaper, so who’s to say they don’t accidentally undercut your prices?

Herbalife has been around for many years, meaning most people have either been pitched or are relatively familiar with the product line. Which means the market is a bit more saturated than other MLMs.

Biggest Selling Points

Biggest Red Flags

#3 - Avon

Best for

Makeup and skincare enthusiasts

Product Category

Beauty

Compensation Plan

Uni-Level

Cost to Join

$30 to join Avon membership

Key Facts About The Company

What I Like

What I Didn't Like

Overview

Avon is all about skincare, beauty, and makeup products.

It works similar to Herbalife in that you start off with 20 to 25% commissions.

So, for every $1000 of makeup you sell, you get $200 in commissions.

If you sell face to face, you have little expenses, so everything is pretty much pure profit…

That said, if you’re gonna turn this into a real money-making machine, you’re gonna have to get good at running paid ads and building a personal brand.

For example, if you grow a huge online presence, a lot of your followers are gonna wanna know what beauty products you use.

That’s a good way to sell your Avon makeup and skincare products.. So if you can leverage your beauty, just maybe this could work..

Which is a lot easier said than done. Most people spend years trying to build their marketing & lead generation skills, and that’s with mentors & coaches beside them.

On top of that Avon only pays commission on sales over $40, so you can’t accept small orders. Which would be very unfortunate for you as an Avon rep since most people probably want to test a product before buying a bulk.

And to sell directly in person, you need to hand out brochures. Avon constantly changes brochures every few weeks. This means you’re gonna need to buy the brochures from Avon in order to sell.

And honestly, who uses brochures in modern times as a primary mode of marketing? You’d be a lot better off if they’d just commit resources to basic marketing & lead generation training.

So with all that being said, while the start up capital is low, your ongoing fees are high. To add insult to injury, if you don’t sell their minimum order value of $200 in any particular month, you won’t earn a commission.

Biggest Selling Points

Biggest Red Flags

#2 - Vector Marketing / Cutco Knives

Best for

People looking to learn sales

Product Category

Kitchen knives

Compensation Plan

Performanced-Based

Cost to Join

Free

Key Facts About The Company

What I Like

What I Didn't Like

Overview

Vector Marketing is the creator behind CutCo knives… The only way to buy these knives is through in-home product demonstrations, Cutco retail locations, or local events..

First, let’s give Cutco their chops.. I mean props.

The knives are incredibly high quality, and they offer cutlery for just about any occasion. They do last for a long time, which is helpful for cooks and people who live in the kitchen.

Plus, as a seller, they’ll provide a script and a product kit to demo with where you cut leather in half and sell it to your uncle and aunts.

Honestly, much better marketing material than what we’ve seen from most companies on this list.

The problem is Cutco’s commission starts at a pitiful 10%…

If you sell $1,000 in knives, you make 100 bucks. Now keep in mind these knives, while high quality, are at the higher end of the market in terms of cost.

So, low commission rate and a high priced product? The only way to overcome a low commission rate is to produce a high volume of sales. But the product is priced at the high end of the industry standard?

See the problem here? If you have an extensive sales background and consider yourself a sales samurai, maybe this sounds like a challenge you’re willing to take on. But for most people just starting out in the sales or marketing industries, it’s a tough ask.

And while the commission rates are pretty worrisome, their hiring practices might open your eyes a little more.

Vector is notorious for putting up vague job descriptions to lure unsuspecting college kids who end up selling knives to their friends and family.

The people at Vector infiltrate the halls of college campuses and put up posters targeting young adults desperate for a wage.

Students are then tempted by the allure of high earnings, the ability to build their resume, and the promise of a flexible schedule… only to be sold a bill of goods.

The only thing missing?

A concrete explanation of the work itself..

At the bottom of the ad, you’ll find an ambiguous description that reads “sales and customer service.”

In reality, most sellers earn way less than they expect. One investigation found that some sellers in Wisconsin earned less than $3 a day… which is enough to buy you a few pieces of gum and a cheeseburger.

Even worse is that some managers will put unfeasible stress-inducing sales deadlines. And missing those deadlines could result in the termination of the company and harassment from supervisors..

And, you’re forced to attend meetings and training that is unpaid for.

In summary, Vector Marketing is different than other MLMs because it’s more of a pure commission-only sales job than your typical recruitment program.

Biggest Selling Points

Biggest Red Flags

#1 - Enagic

Best for

Experienced salespeople

Product Category

Water filtration systems

Compensation Plan

Uni-Level

Cost to Join

No sign-up fee

Key Facts About The Company

What I Like

What I Didn't Like

Overview

Enagic is a direct selling company that offers water filtration systems.

These systems are called Kangen Water machines, and they’re made to produce alkaline ionized water.

They’re marketed as devices that can help with better hydration and provide antioxidant properties and detoxifications.

While the company claims their machines do something special, that’s heavily debate.

In fact, Dr. Andrew Weil, a nutrition expert from Harvard Medical School, says that it can create conditions that breed cancer and arthritis in the long run..

As far as commissions go, they’re very clear about what you earn.

Basically, you get a certain base earning per sale depending on the category you fall under.

The more sellers you recruit on your team, the more you can leverage their work and get extra earnings…

Let’s say you sell 2 units. You’ll earn $340 for each sale.

$340 x 2 = $680

And, if you get 4 indirect sales from your team, you’ll be earning

$340 x 4 = $1,360

So, in total, you’ll earn $2,040.

And the more you sell, the higher base earning bracket you can climb to.

Out of all of the MLM opportunities, this one has the highest payout potential.

That said, there’s not a lot of people out there who have $5k in disposable income willing to buy water filters.

It’s important to remember that this is a sales gig at the end of the day. And the name of the game in sales is all about your product or service bringing value to someone’s life.

And as I mentioned above, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to show value in water filtration systems to most of the population when bottled spring water has become more readily available in modern times. This isn’t the 70s.

It’s also worth pointing out that there’s a ton of bad reviews on Trustpilot and BBB, which means previous customers found enough reason to take the time to write lengthy reviews about their displeasure with the product or company.

For example, this customer expressed that the water tasted fishy and oily… And the customer service was hard to get a hold of..

This MLM opportunity is like trying to sell ice to Eskimos. In a world where alkaline water has questionable benefits, there’s really not a huge market for it.

Biggest Selling Points

Biggest Red Flags

Buying Guide – How To Choose The Right MLM Opportunity For You

Ever heard of the sniff test?

It’s something we’re all born with..

For example, a puppy isn’t born with pre-built knowledge of the world. But it knows instinctively what food to eat, and what to avoid.

Let’s say you present the puppy with two options:

Option 1: A big, fresh, meaty bone marrow
Option 2: A piece of cardboard box

Which will the puppy be drawn to?

Put the bone in its vicinity, and the puppy’s not gonna hesitate to jump at the meaty bone.

We, as humans, do it too. Take an old milk carton out of the fridge, and we can smell it when it’s gone bad..

In the same way, it doesn’t take rocket science to know what MLM opportunities are good and which ones smell fishy..

That said, sometimes, their sales pitches cloud our judgment. And we can’t see the forest from the trees.

That’s why I’m gonna install a new ‘bullet-proof sniff test’ into your senses so you can quickly analyze MLM opportunities. And you’ll never fall to the whims of cheap marketing ploys only to find that the company has been entangled with the FTC for embezzling distributor funds or making misleading claims.

Best of all, if you happen to decide MLM is worth pursuing, you won’t be persuaded by your network marketing friends trying to coerce you into selling gimmicky products, either.

My advice, trust your gut instinct. If it feels shady, run.

Alright, let’s jump into the buyer’s guide.

Types of Compensation Plan

Before you put pen to paper, it only makes sense that you actually know how you make money…

Otherwise, what’s the fr*cken point?

The good news is that there’s only a handful of ways you will make money from network marketing. But how it’s done and how much you can make all depends on the company’s compensation plan.

Here are the most common ones you’ll see.

Binary Compensation Plan

In this plan, distributors can only recruit two people directly under them. Commissions are paid based on the volume of sales generated by the weaker leg.

That way, each distributor is motivated to support both legs equally to prevent over-reliance on a single leg to do all the selling.

Unilevel Compensation Plan

There’s no limitations to this plan. You can recruit as many people on your frontline. And commissions are earned based on the sales volume of each of your downline members.

Matrix Compensation Plan

Here, you’re limited to a set number of direct recruits and the number of levels it can extend down to.

For instance, a 3×3 matrix means each person can onboard 3 new recruits, and the structure can extend down to 3 levels.

MLM companies like to limit the depth and width of the pyramid to ensure balanced growth. For example, too many direct recruits (AKA width) means the recruits might not get enough attention.

Too much depth can mean you’re over-reliant on one or a few recruits to do all the selling for you.

The problem is once you reach those limits, you’re not really incentivized to recruit more, and all new recruits spill over to someone else. It’s good for the company to create balance, but not good for you if you wanna maximize your earnings…

Stairstep Breakaway Compensation Plan

This structure gives you the chance to advance in rank and earn higher commissions as you meet certain sales or recruitment criteria.

Every time you do, you unlock a new level.

For example:

If a seller adds 10 members, they move up to rank 2.
If they sponsor 25 members, then they unlock rank 3.

While there’s more compensation plan types, these are the most common you’ll see out there.

So which plan is the best?

Personally, if I were forced to do network marketing, I’d go with the stairstep breakaway plan.. Unlocking new levels gives you the opportunity to earn higher commissions.

Of course, with the necessity to elevate rank comes higher commission opportunities. But at the same time, it also comes with more challenges and increased pressure to carry the weight of filling out a team.

It’s a good idea to check out the compensation plans before you go picking an MLM opportunity. I personally don’t like the limitations of Binary or Matrix plans because you’re capped on how many people you can add as your direct recruits, so that can decrease your earnings to some degree.

Product Selection and Quality

Let me ask you a simple question.

If you and I both owned a hamburger stand, what advantages would you like to have on your side?

Is it location?
Is it organic grass-fed hamburger meat?
Is it gluten-free buns?
Is it the lowest prices?

No…

The only advantage I’d want to have is a starving line of people ready for me to serve them what they need to fix their problem.

A starving crowd is a group of people who are hungry for your products.

What I’m getting at is that your MLM company should sell products that people ACTUALLY find value in.

If you gotta pester your family to buy expensive knives or fancy water, there’s not really much of an immediate crowd for it. That’s a luxury product, something that some people might “like” to have – but they don’t necessarily need it.

That can be a lot to ask when you’re talking about products that are typically priced at the high-end of the spectrum compared to their direct competitors.

The product should be unique and solve a big pain point..

If you’ve got a line of skin ointment that removes acne overnight and makes you look 10 years younger, well, you’re gonna have that line of people wanting to buy.

Or maybe you’ve got a meal shake that helps people lose 10 pounds without counting calories.

My point is simple: look for products that are in demand, that people would line up for… The product should be so good that it practically does the selling for you.

If the product sucks, don’t bother joining…

Company Stability

Network marketing lives in a gray area. For years, innocent people were burned by MLM companies who sold them the dream, only to find out none of it was true..

Between 2017 and 2021, over 30 class action lawsuits were filed against popular MLMs – with many being big players like LulaRoe, AdvoCare, and others..

I know a woman who was earning a comfy $100k/month selling LuLaRoe leggings.. But after a bad press cycle, her business vanished overnight..

It all started with multiple lawsuits filed against LulaRoe for deceiving business practices like misleading advertising and failure to pay its bills..

Moral of the story: If you’re gonna spend years of your life pouring your heart and soul into an MLM opportunity, make sure it’s not under FTC investigation and doesn’t have a history of alleged false claims first.

The worst thing that could happen is that you work really hard to build a network of recruits, only to have it wiped away over factors that are outside your control..

Training And Education

MLMs are notorious for giving you a lot of motivation but sharing very little substance.

I know because I’ve been to many of those massive Amway conferences myself.

It’s a lot of rah-rah speeches with a handful of millionaire network marketers who share their rags-to-riches stories.

While motivational speeches are great and all, they don’t move the needle in terms of actually putting money into your pocket..

You’re fired up for a few days before reality sinks in.

Every friend who rejects your offer slowly lowers your confidence. Eventually, you finally ask the question, “What’s the point?”

If you want a snowball chance in hell of even sniffing success, your uplines and mentors better be providing concrete training..

Things like:

Sales training and objection handling
How to meet new prospects that will buy your product or be interested in an opportunity
How to build a social media presence
How to run targeted ads to sell products

You should walk away from these meetings with practical skills, not airy-fairy feel-good self-help lectures.

The reason most people fail in network marketing is because they burn through their list of contacts, and most tell them no. Then they’re left with no one else to sell to.

In order to sell, you need to have a pipeline of fresh leads to sell to. And the fact of the matter is most companies don’t teach you how to generate those prospects.

Lead generation is the key to a successful business after all. And that’s where the ball gets dropped. Because leads are the lifeblood of any business.

Upfront Investment

Every business has startup costs..

It’s good to pick an MLM with low startup costs, especially if you’re a beginner. You never want to invest a fortune into something only to realize it’s a bad fit three months down the road.

Upfront investment when getting started with a network marketing opportunity varies from company to company.

Some companies require a low initial investment of under 100 bucks, while some could be several thousand dollars or more..

Keep in mind there’s a lot of hidden costs.

Besides the registration fees, you probably need to invest in training and events, along with product purchases.

For example, a lot of companies require distributors to purchase a certain amount of products every month to maintain their status and eligibility for commissions.

It’s a very shrewd move by these MLM companies if you ask me, because even if you aren’t bringing new reps or product purchases to the company through others – they’re still making their money off of your purchases as a rep.

Is MLM Even Worth It?

We’ve all been pitched an MLM business opportunity at some point in our lives..

You probably know what it feels like to have a pushy network marketer constantly trying to sell you stuff that you don’t want..

If you’re gonna get into MLM, I suggest you follow the golden rule.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Gone are the days of pitching your friends and family. That’s not a sustainable way to run any business.

If you choose to start an MLM business, it’s better to build a social media presence so you don’t burn bridges with your friendships and family..

Or at least learn the basics of lead generation methods so you give yourself a chance to be successful. The consistent production of new prospects is key.

Otherwise, you might not be invited to family parties anymore…

Or friends will start ghosting your messages..

But, before making your decision… Ask yourself, is this even worth it?

Is it worth burning bridges and being labeled as that “network marketing guy” or “network marketing gal” who never shuts up about their once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity?

Someone who can’t read the room and know when to create a separation between personal and business..

And it’s not like MLMs are a sure-fire ticket to financial freedom either..

Not to sound pessimistic but it’s more likely to burn in flames than to turn profit..

Even the FTC agrees.

Research from the FTC concluded that 99% of distributors LOSE money in an MLM venture.. Meaning only 1% actually turn a profit..

That 1% is generally those at the very tippy-top of the pyramid structure.

I’m no mathematician, but I think you’d have better odds rolling dice in Las Vegas than succeeding in MLMs..

And 95% end up quitting within 10 years…

Unless you’re the exception, I’d save myself the heartache.

Personally, I’d much rather take advantage of a business model that allows me to take full control of my own destiny. Something that has big profit potential sure, but more importantly the ability to at least see a return on my investment.

Conclusion

So, what if there was a better path to achieving the financial freedom you’re looking for…

A way that you could earn $3k to $10k+ EXTRA per month semi-passively working just a handful of hours every week…

Where you don’t have to:

Pester your entire contacts list and Facebook friends
Give up all control to MLM companies (you’re one bad press release away from your business vanquishing overnight)
Sell overpriced products that aren’t a whole lot different than what people could find on Amazon..

If that sounds interesting, I personally recommend a Digital Real Estate program.

It’s the only business model I’ve seen that changes fortunes in a matter of months…

..Single mother of three kids who needs to support her family
..Retired minor league baseball player looking for a post-sports career
..Retired car salesman who couldn’t rely on social security checks

People from all walks of life have followed the blueprint in Digital Real Estate and churned out an extra $2k, $5k and even $10k+.

And let me tell you, they were no different than you.

Many of them didn’t have technical skills.. College degrees or even a background in marketing..

The system is entirely copy-paste, so anyone can do it.

All you do is build simple one-page landers, that bring in interested buyers… And businesses will happily pay you to rent out these landers..

(kinda like this one that nets $2,000 per month)

Once their phone is ringing off the hook and their business is booming more than it’s ever been, you’ve pretty much earned their business for life..

Companies will happily pay you $500 to $2000+ per month..

Because you’re helping them make 2x, 5x, 10x, 20x back in return.

It’s a complete no-brainer.

A lot of students are able to replace their 9 to 5 jobs within 3 to 6 months of starting.

If you can work on a computer and follow step-by-step instructions, you can do this…

And there’s NO reason you can’t be earning a full-time income working a few hours a day or less..

I’ve put together a complete step-by-step guide on how Digital Real Estate works and how you can get started. I also show you why it’s such a lucrative business model…

So if you’re curious about it, I suggest you read up on how to start a digital real estate business.

That said, the worst thing you can do is waste years of your life pouring your blood, sweat and tears into the wrong business. It is my hope that you’ve walked away from this article with a clear head as to what your next move is..

While it is possible to make money with MLM, the goal of my blog is to give you the best fighting chance of reaching financial freedom…

Which is why I can’t in good conscience recommend network marketing..