How many followers do you need to get brand deals?

There’s no minimum follower count for a direct brand deal: brands pay creators with a few thousand followers when the audience fits and the content gets watched. Some platform programmes do set thresholds, for example 1,000 followers for TikTok One brand projects and 10,000 for TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program. Below are the current numbers for each platform, typical pay by follower tier, and how to land deals before you hit any of them.

Direct deals: no minimum

When you pitch a brand directly, or a brand finds you, there’s no rule about follower count. What a brand weighs up is:

• Audience fit: are your viewers their customers?
• Attention: your average views and engagement, not your follower total.
• Content quality: would they be proud to share your video?
• Reliability: will you deliver on time and on brief?

Smaller accounts often win on engagement. In HypeAuditor’s 2026 data, Instagram creators with under 10,000 followers averaged about 1.8% engagement, against about 0.5% for 10K to 50K accounts and 0.3% for accounts over a million. On TikTok, the same pattern held: about 11.6% for nano creators against 6.8% for the biggest accounts (eMarketer).

Platform programme thresholds (October 2026)

Some ways to earn from brands and platforms do have minimums:

Sources: TikTok One, Instagram Help, TikTok Shop US, TikTok Creator Academy, YouTube Help. Requirements vary by country and change often, so check in the app. Most of these programmes are for over-18s only. If you’re under 18, a parent or guardian usually needs to agree any brand deal and handle the payment.

What creators earn at each size

Rates vary hugely between sources and niches, but here’s the shape of the market. On Collabstr’s marketplace, the average collaboration paid about $190, 80% of deals were under $300, and creators with as few as 500 to 3,000 followers were selling packages for $70 to $100 (Collabstr). Benchmarks for a single Instagram feed post look roughly like this:

Source: Shopify, June 2026. Your own rate should come from your average views and engagement: see influencer rates.

How to land deals before you hit the numbers

• Make UGC. Brands pay creators to make videos for the brand’s own ads, and your follower count barely matters. See how to become a UGC creator.
• Pitch local and new brands. They’re more open to small creators with a loyal local audience.
• Go niche. “Vegan meal prep for students” with 4,000 followers can beat “food” with 40,000 for the right brand.
• Start with affiliate programmes (label affiliate posts as ads too), then use your sales numbers to pitch paid deals.
• Package your proof in a clean media kit with your best results.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get brand deals with 1,000 followers?

Yes. Many brands work with creators around 1,000 followers, especially for UGC, local campaigns and niche products. It’s also the follower minimum for brand projects on TikTok One, where brands search for creators (you need to be 18 or over too).

How many followers do you need to get paid on Instagram?

There’s no minimum for brand deals. Some of Instagram’s own tools have thresholds, such as 500 followers for gifts on Reels and 10,000 for subscriptions, and they’re for over-18s. For the creator marketplace, check the current rules in the app.

How many followers do you need to get paid on TikTok?

For brand deals, none. To join TikTok One brand projects you need 1,000 followers, and for the Creator Rewards Program 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days. Both are for over-18s only.

Is engagement more important than followers?

For brands, usually yes. Engagement and average views show how many people actually watch and care. Work yours out with the engagement rate calculator.

What is a nano influencer?

A creator with roughly 1,000 to 10,000 followers. Micro influencers have roughly 10,000 to 100,000. The exact cut-offs vary between agencies and reports.