SFI has always been different than most affiliate programs. It has never really been able to be called a network marketing program either. Their hypdrid pay plan is really a combination of network marketing and affiliate marketing.

What they have been able to do is combine the best things of both into one excellent home business opportunity anyone can join for free

You have 6 different ways to get paid including retail and building a business. I am not going to try and expain what they all are right now. If you join SFI for free you go and read about it.

Most mlm businesses cost to join. SFI is free to join, which makes it more like an affiliate program. You can become an affiliate for most products without having to join or buy anything.

The most successful SFI business people promote their 2 gateway websites that SFI gives them. One is for selling product and one is for recruiting new affiliates. The downline in SFI is called a powerline which makes it similar to network marketing.

With over 9 million SFI affiliates it is the largest affiliate program in the world. Their top selling product is called the International Association Of Home Business Entreprenuers, or IAHBE for short.

This is an internet based membership product that teaches people how to start and run their own home business. Because it is internet based there is no shipping of any product which makes it easy to sell.

Since an IAHBE membership costs $29.95 a month to maintain there is residual income for selling them. This makes it a very attractive product to sell online and makes it very easy for anyone from the U.S. and Canada, to Australia and China, to sell.

So to answer the question is SFI an mlm program the answer is no. It is better than network marketing and it is better than affiliate marketing because it takes the good things about both and combines them into one great home business.