Rates guide
How much to charge for sponsored posts: influencer rates in 2026
Most creators price a sponsored post in one of three ways: about $10 (roughly £8) per 1,000 followers as a starting point, a CPM on their average views (commonly $15 to $45 per 1,000 views for Reels and $7 to $25 for TikTok), or a price per engagement. Then they add fees for paid usage, exclusivity and rush jobs. Real deals for smaller creators are modest (the average Collabstr collaboration paid about $190 in 2025), so use the benchmarks below and the calculator to find your own range.
What brands really pay (the data)
Most published rate guides are estimates. The most useful numbers come from actual payments:
- On Collabstr’s marketplace (21,000+ collaborations in 2025), the average final payout was $193 on Instagram, $186 on TikTok, $255 on YouTube and $154 for UGC. 80% of deals were under $300 and 2% over $1,000 (Collabstr 2026 report).
- In brand campaigns run through CreatorIQ in 2025, the top 10% of creators earned 62% of all payments: the median creator earned about $3,000, while the average was about $11,400 per campaign (CreatorIQ, Jan 2026).
So the range is enormous. Your rate depends on your views, engagement, niche, format and what the brand wants to do with the content.
Method 1: price per 1,000 followers
The simplest starting point: about $10 per 1,000 followers for an Instagram or TikTok post, and about $20 per 1,000 subscribers for YouTube (Hootsuite, Sprout Social). With 20,000 Instagram followers, that’s around $200 for a post.
It’s easy, but it ignores how many people actually see your content. Use it as a sanity check, not your final number.
Method 2: CPM on your average views
CPM means cost per 1,000 views. Brands think in CPMs because that’s how they compare creators with ads. Your fee = average views ÷ 1,000 × CPM.
| Format | Typical CPM (USD) |
|---|---|
| Instagram Reels | $15 to $45 |
| Instagram Stories | $20 to $50 |
| TikTok video | $7 to $25 |
| YouTube integration (60 to 90 seconds) | $15 to $35 |
| YouTube dedicated video | $50 to $75+ |
Source: Modash, based on experience in the US and UK. With 25,000 average views on TikTok at a $15 CPM, a video comes to about $375.
Niche moves CPMs a lot. For YouTube, one 2026 analysis put finance at $35 to $50+, tech and B2B at $30 to $50, beauty at $15 to $25, gaming at $10 to $20 and entertainment at $8 to $15 (1of10). Finance sponsorships come with extra legal rules: in the UK, promoting most investments, including crypto, can be a criminal offence unless an FCA-authorised firm has approved the promotion, and in the US the FTC and SEC have their own rules. Check them before you say yes.
Method 3: price per engagement
Fee = followers × engagement rate × price per engagement. Shopify suggests about $0.10 to $0.15 per engagement for beauty and fashion and $0.05 to $0.08 for lifestyle (Shopify). It rewards creators with small but very engaged audiences. Work out your engagement with our engagement rate calculator.
Benchmarks by platform and tier
These are compiled ranges for a single deliverable, in USD. Treat them as a map of the market, not a price list.
| Tier | Instagram Reel | Instagram Story | TikTok video | YouTube integration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano (1K to 10K) | $50 to $300 | $15 to $75 | $50 to $200 | up to about $500 |
| Micro (10K to 100K) | $750 to $5,000 | $125 to $1,000 | $200 to $1,000 | $500 to $1,500 |
| Mid (100K to 500K) | $2,500 to $15,000 | $500 to $3,000 | $1,000 to $5,000 | $500 to $5,000 |
| Macro (500K to 1M) | $10,000 to $50,000 | $2,000 to $10,000 | $5,000 to $10,000 | $5,000 to $20,000 |
| Mega (1M+) | $25,000 to $75,000+ | $5,000 to $30,000 | $10,000+ | $20,000 to $80,000+ |
Sources: Influee (Instagram, compiled from Shopify, Modash and Influencer Marketing Hub), Modash (TikTok and YouTube). Nano estimates in particular vary between sources, from $10 to over $500 per post.
Platform deep dives: Instagram rates, TikTok rates, YouTube rates.
Work out your own range
This calculator uses the same method as the suggested rates in Brand Deals HQ. It blends your followers with your average views (where you have them) and adjusts for engagement.
How it works: Instagram Reels at £8 to £15 per 1,000 followers and 3 Stories at £3 to £6 per 1,000; TikTok at the higher of £12 to £25 per 1,000 average views or £4 to £8 per 1,000 followers; YouTube integrations at the higher of £20 to £40 per 1,000 average views or £15 to £30 per 1,000 subscribers. Engagement of 6% or more adds 20%, under 3% takes off 15%. US dollars are about 1.25 times the pound figures and euros about 1.15 times.
Add-on fees: where creators leave money on the table
Your base fee covers making the content and posting it on your channel. Charge separately for:
| Add-on | Common pricing |
|---|---|
| Paid usage (ads, whitelisting, Spark Ads, partnership ads) | 20% to 50% of base per month |
| Exclusivity (category) | +15% to 30%, more for longer periods |
| Rush (under about 2 weeks) | +25% to 50% |
| Raw footage | +25% to 50% |
| Extra revision rounds | Priced per round (one is usually included) |
Sources: Influencer Marketing Hub, Later, Influee. Influencer Marketing Hub’s worked example turns a $2,000 Reel into $4,200 once 60 days of paid usage, 60 days of exclusivity, raw footage, an extra revision and a management fee are added. More in our guide to usage rights pricing.
Format and timing adjustments
- Reels and TikToks usually sit 20% to 30% above a static post; Stories around half; carousels slightly more than a single image (Later).
- Bundles (for example, a Reel plus 3 Stories) can be priced 10% to 20% below the parts to win the bigger order.
- Peak season (Q4 especially) often supports rates 20% to 30% higher.
When to raise your rates
- You’re booked out or saying yes to every offer.
- Your average views or engagement have grown for 2 to 3 months.
- A brand rebooks you or asks for a long-term deal.
- You have results to show: sales, codes used, clicks, saves.
Raise rates for new clients first, and give repeat clients notice.
Add your followers, average views and engagement once, and Brand Deals HQ suggests a starting range for every format, ready to drop into a pitch.
Create my account and try itIt’s free with a Growth Club account.Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for a sponsored post?
Start at about $10 (£8) per 1,000 followers, then check it against a CPM on your average views ($15 to $45 per 1,000 views for Reels, $7 to $25 for TikTok). Adjust for engagement and niche, and add fees for paid usage and exclusivity.
How much do micro influencers charge?
Creators with 10,000 to 100,000 followers commonly charge from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand per deliverable, depending on platform, views and niche. Compiled ranges put an Instagram Reel at roughly $750 to $5,000.
Should I charge by followers or views?
Views, where you have reliable averages. They show how many people will actually see the content. Followers are a quick starting point and a floor for accounts with low recent views.
How much do brands pay for 10,000 followers?
As a rough guide, around $100 (£80) for an Instagram post using the per-follower method, often more for a Reel or a highly engaged niche audience. Your average views and engagement should set the final number.
Should I put my rates on my media kit?
Many creators list “from” prices or packages to filter out brands without budget. Others share rates on request. Either way, have a rate card ready: see how to make a rate card.
Good to know: this guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rates and earnings are estimates, not promises, and platform rules change, so check the official pages we link to. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Threads, X, LinkedIn and the other names mentioned are trademarks of their owners; Growth Club isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by them.