“What’s your rate?” is the question that makes new creators freeze. Quote too high and you might lose the deal. Quote too low and you’ve worked for less than minimum wage and set a price you’ll struggle to raise.
There’s no single right number, and “rate per follower” formulas you see online are rough guesses at best. But there is a reliable way to build a rate you can explain and defend. Here it is.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
Sponsorship or UGC? They’re priced differently
A sponsored video is posted on your account, in your voice, to your audience. The brand is paying for access to your viewers, so your typical views matter.
A UGC job (user-generated content) is a video you make for the brand to post on its own accounts or run as an ad. It may never appear on your profile. The brand is paying for the video itself and the right to use it, so your follower count barely matters. UGC is priced on the work and the usage rights, not your reach.
Many deals mix both. Price each part separately.
Step 1: Get the details before you quote
If a brand asks for your rate before saying what they want, ask first:
- Which platforms, and how many videos?
- How long is each video?
- What would they like shown, and are there talking points?
- Deadlines for draft and final?
- How many rounds of changes?
- Will they run it as an ad, and for how long?
- Do they want the raw footage?
- Any exclusivity (not working with competitors)?
Quoting before you know is how creators undersell.
Step 2: Price the work
Count your real hours for the whole job: reading the brief, planning, scripting, filming, editing, revisions, posting and replying to comments. Most people underestimate this by half.
Then put a fair value on your time, and add real costs: props, travel, extra gear, anything you have to buy.
Work price = hours × your hourly value + costs
Step 3: Price the reach (sponsored posts only)
For a video on your own account, add a value for the audience you bring. Use your typical views on similar videos (the median of your last 10 to 20), never your one viral hit. A video that reliably reaches the brand’s customers is worth more than a bigger number that reaches the wrong people.
For pure UGC, skip this step.
Step 4: Add the extras
These are the parts creators most often give away without noticing. Price each one separately:
| Extra | What it means | Why it costs more |
|---|---|---|
| Paid usage | The brand spends money to show your video as an ad | It can reach far more people than your post, for weeks or months |
| Usage length | 30, 60 or 90 days, or longer | Longer use is worth more |
| Usage places | Their social accounts, website, emails, stores, TV | More places, more value |
| Exclusivity | You can’t work with competitors for a while | It costs you future deals |
| Rush | A short deadline | You move other work |
| Extra revisions | Beyond the rounds agreed | More of your time |
| Raw footage | All your clips, not just the edit | They can make many more ads from it |
Avoid “perpetual,” “worldwide” and “in all media” unless you’re paid for it. That means forever, everywhere, in any form, which is a lot to give away for the price of one video. Ask for a set time and named places instead. And usually, you should keep ownership of your video while the brand gets a license to use it.
Putting it together: a worked example
Made-up numbers, purely to show the arithmetic. They’re not typical rates or targets.
A brand wants one 30-second UGC video for TikTok ads, two rounds of changes, and 90 days of paid usage.
- Work: 6 hours × $40 + $20 in props = $260
- Reach: it’s UGC, so $0
- 90 days of paid ad usage: priced as an add-on, say +50% of the work price = $130
- Quote: $390, with a note that extra rounds of changes and longer usage are priced separately.
Then present options so the brand can choose:
One 30-second video, two rounds of changes, organic use only: $260.
Plus 90 days of paid ads: $390 total.
Plus raw footage: $___.
Options make it easier to say yes, and make clear that each right has a price.
Step 5: Check against reality
Ask creators you trust, around your size and in your niche, what they charge. Many will tell you. Rates vary hugely by niche, country, platform and experience, so peers are a far better guide than a number from a blog post.
Then write it down as a simple rate sheet, so you’re not inventing prices on the spot every time someone asks.
Gifted-only offers
A free product is a fine start if you’d genuinely want it and the brand asks for nothing in return. But if they want a post, a deadline, or the right to reuse your video, that’s work, and it’s fair to ask to be paid:
“I’d love to feature it. For a dedicated video with 30 days of usage, my rate is ___.”
Many brands expect this, and the worst they can say is no. And remember: a free product doesn’t buy usage rights. If a brand that only sent a product wants to run your video as an ad, that’s a paid license.
When the deal grows
- Scope creep (“can you also do a story and three photos?”): “Happy to. That’s an add-on at ___.”
- Endless changes: the agreement should say how many rounds are included; more cost extra.
- Late payment: a polite reminder with the invoice and due date, then a firmer one a week later. Next time, ask for part of the fee up front.
Honesty rules still apply
A paid creator can’t be presented as an ordinary, unpaid customer. If the video appears on your account, disclose it clearly. If it’s UGC used in the brand’s ads, it must not be passed off as an independent review. And never say anything about the product you can’t stand behind. The Platform Rules reference covers paid partnership labels and the main ad rules in the U.S., U.K. and EU.
Try it
Think of the last brand video you made, or one you’d like to make. Write down your real hours for every step, your hourly value and your costs. Then price 30 and 90 days of paid usage as add-ons. That’s your first rate sheet. Ask two creators your size whether it looks right.
Worth Watching includes a Rate Worksheet and a Deal Checklist among its 35 templates, each tied to the chapter that explains them.
