How Much You Should Be Paying Influencers: A Definitive Guide to Influencer Pricing And Determining a Content Creator’s Rate (2023)

Overview: There are many factors that determine influencer pricing, but here is a rough, generalized framework to start with:

Instagram 

  • Nano influencers (1,000-10,000 followers): $10 - $100 per post
  • Micro influencers (10,000-100,000 followers): $100 - $500 per post
  • Macro influencers (100,000-1 million followers): $500 - $10,000 per post
  • Mega influencers (1 million or more followers): $10,000+ per post

TikTok

  • Nano influencers (1,000-10,000 followers): $5 - $25 per post
  • Micro influencers (10,000-100,000 followers): $25 - $125 per post
  • Macro influencers (100,000-1 million followers): $125 - $2,500 per post
  • Mega influencers (1 million or more followers): $2,500+ per post

YouTube

  • Nano influencers (1,000-10,000 followers): $20 - $200 per post
  • Micro influencers (10,000-100,000 followers): $200 - $1,000 per post
  • Macro influencers (100,000-1 million followers): $1,000 - $20,000 per post
  • Mega influencers (1 million or more followers): $20,000+ per post

However, there are many other factors to consider when evaluating the fair price for an influencer post, including the social media platform, compensation structure, the deliverable and perhaps most important: the expected impressions. Impressions refers to the number of unique people who viewed the piece of content. Rather than starting with the general pricing framework above, a better starting point is using a CPM, or a cost per one thousand impressions. The CPM also varies by platform, but in our experience, the following rates can be expected:

  • Instagram: $5-15 CPM, or $5-15 for every 1,000 impressions
  • TikTok: $5-15 CPM, or $5-15 for every 1,000 impressions
  • YouTube: $15-30 CPM, or $15-30 for every 1,000 impressions

How do I estimate expected impressions: The short answer is: look at the creator’s past videos/posts. If you are going to be measuring the impressions on the influencer’s video over a 30 day period as an example, look back at their content and estimate the average impressions on their content over a 30 day period. Then adjust for other factors like content type, subject, etc. 

Factors to Consider

Using the above CPMs as a starting point, you can adjust the pricing for each influencer according to the below factors:

Engagement rate: Can refer to two things: 

  1. (Comments+Likes)/Impressions
  2. Impressions/Followers

Both measure how loyal or engaged one's follower base is and should lead to adjustments to the standardized CPMs. 

Add Ons: In addition to paying for the post, there are other add-ons that might make sense for a brand, including:

  1. Usage rights: This refers to the right to use the influencer’s post in advertising on your own social accounts, on your website, etc. Typical terms range from 30 days to 1 year, and could add $250 - $2,500 to the cost of the deliverable. 
  1. Exclusivity: This refers to the clause preventing creators from advertising your competitor's products, and could add $100 - 500 to the cost of deliverable. 
  1. Whitelisting: This refers to the right to boost the influencer’s piece of content on their social accounts. The brand can put its own money behind boosting the piece of content to a wider audience, all through the influencer’s social account(s). Typical terms range from 30 days to 1 year, and could add $250 - $2,500 to the cost of the deliverable. 

Influencer effort: This one is self explanatory, but the harder the deliverable is to execute for the influencer, the higher the rate they would require. Influencers value a balance between specific directions and talking points vs. creative freedom to deliver the best piece of content for their audience. Skewing too far in one direction could make it harder or less appealing for the influencer to execute, and thus warrant a higher price.

Type of content: The price of a deliverable varies greatly depending on the type of content. For example, an IG story post is a much cheaper deliverable than a dedicated YouTube video. Here is an unofficial order from least expensive to most (focusing on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube only):

  1. IG Story
  2. UGC*
  3. IG Post
  4. IG Reel or TikTok post or YouTube short
  5. YouTube Integration
  6. YouTube Dedicated Video

*UGC, or user generated content, refers to an influencer creating a piece of content (typically a 30 second - 5 minute video) and sending it directly to the brand without actually posting it on their social media accounts. Brands use UGC videos in their own advertising on their own social media accounts, so they typically involve usage rights.

Pricing Structures

So far we have talked about how to determine pricing in a flat rate agreement, i.e. the brand offers the influencer a set rate for the deliverable. However, there are many other pricing models to consider, with a few laid out below.

Performance-Based

In this model, the brand agrees to pay the influencer a certain rate per a certain metric. The most common is a CPM based pricing model, or a rate per one thousand impressions. For example, if the deliverable is an Instagram Reel, and the creator is in the top quartile of engagement rates, perhaps the brand would offer the influencer $15 for every one thousand views on the Reel over a 30 day period. As views on the Reel come in, the brand’s bill increases in proportion. If the Reel ends up generating 100,000 views over 30 days, the influencer will receive $1,500.

Affiliate-Based

In affiliate marketing, influencers are paid on a commission-based model, whereby they receive a set rate for every conversion (or another relevant metric) that their post generates. The influencer urges viewers to click on their unique link to buy the product, and the influencer receives a commission from the brand whenever a viewer purchases the brand’s product or service via that link for a specified period of time.

Free Product

Brands could also offer a free product in exchange for the deliverable. Influencers will typically look at the retail price of the product to extrapolate the rate. This can be an effective way for brands to engage with influencers, as the influencer is now a customer and user of the product.