Is Monat a Pyramid Scheme?

Oleksandr Honcharov, CEO at FlawlessMLM 

Updated: October 2026

Whether Monat is a pyramid scheme comes down to one test: do Market Partners earn mainly from product sold to customers or from recruiting?

In short: Monat is a multi-level marketing company, and we found no regulator ruling that calls it a pyramid scheme. Its 2025 income disclosure shows a median of $8 a year for all Market Partners, which is why critics focus on earnings instead of legality.

Monat sells hair care through independent Market Partners who earn on personal sales and on their team's volume. Ranks decide the percentage. The company's own 2025 disclosure, which we summarize in our MLM income statistics article, shows how steep the climb is.

Litigation adds context. In January 2025 Monat settled two lawsuits confidentially, including one from a former top distributor who alleged her commissions fell 75% after 2022. In May 2026 Monat announced that a court had ruled fully in its favor in a case brought by Jessica Barnett. The company said the case involved allegations about its products and business practices, which it denied. Separate hair loss complaints have also produced class actions that were consolidated in a federal proceeding.

None of that answers the legal question alone. A court or regulator decides whether a plan rewards recruiting over retail sales, and the useful signals are public: income disclosure data, buyback terms and complaint patterns. Our checklist on how to spot a bad MLM walks through them. Across the MLM platforms we have built, the plans that hold up in an audit can show how many commissions came from customers who are not participants.

Monat's 2025 income disclosure, as summarized in our income statistics article:

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Averages mislead. The $665 average sits next to a median of $8, because a few high earners lift the mean.
2. Lawsuits are not verdicts. Settlements are often confidential and say nothing about who was right.
3. The inactive share matters. With 44% of the field inactive, activity rules and buyback terms count for more than slogans.
4. Rank titles hide profit. A senior title tells you nothing about earnings after product purchases and expenses.
5. Skipping the refund terms. Written buyback rules show how a company treats someone who quits.

Conclusion: start with the income disclosure, then check refund terms and complaint patterns, because those three sources answer the pyramid question better than any rank claim. If you are launching your own beauty line, copy the disclosure habit, not the rank structure, and publish honest medians from day one.

Is Monat an MLM?

Yes. Monat uses a multi-level compensation plan in which Market Partners earn on their own sales and on their team's sales.

How much do Monat Market Partners make?

The 2025 disclosure shows a median of $8 a year across all Market Partners and an average of $665.

Is Monat still in business in 2026?

Yes. Monat issued a press release on May 14, 2026 about a court ruling in its favor.

Has Monat settled lawsuits?

It settled two lawsuits confidentially in January 2025, one over a distributor's commission cuts and one brought by an executive.