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Your Full Rate Card
Rates by format so you know what to charge for every type of deal.
| Format | Estimated Rate |
|---|
Ready to get paid what you're worth?
List your rate on AdReady and let brands come to you. Free for creators, always.
How creator rates are calculated
Almost every fair creator rate starts with one number: CPM, or cost per thousand. A brand is really buying attention, so your rate scales with how many people actually see the content, not how many followers sit in your count.
The math is simple. Take your average views per post, divide by 1,000, then multiply by your effective CPM:
(average views ÷ 1,000) × effective CPM = your baselineIf a video averages 40,000 views and your effective CPM is $25, your baseline is 40 × $25, or $1,000. That is your starting point before the format and add-on adjustments below. Your effective CPM is not a flat industry number, it already reflects your platform, your niche, and your engagement, which is why the calculator shows an "Est. CPM" tuned to your inputs.
CPM beats a flat per-follower rule because reach and follower count drift apart fast. A creator with 20,000 followers who pulls 60,000 views per video is worth more to a brand than one with 200,000 followers and 15,000 views. Views are the thing being sold.
Sponsored content vs UGC pricing
These two get lumped together and priced wrong all the time. They are not the same product.
Sponsored content is you posting to your own audience. The brand is paying for your reach and the trust you have built with the people who follow you. That is why it is priced on CPM and views. They are renting your audience, which is exactly what the calculator above estimates.
User-generated content (UGC) is different. You create videos or photos the brand runs on their own channels and ads. There is no audience attached. Nobody is buying your reach, they are buying the asset. So UGC is priced per deliverable, not per view, and typically runs $100 to $500 for a single short-form video, higher once you factor experience and paid usage.
The takeaway: if a brand wants to post it, price on your reach. If a brand wants to own and run it, price on the work and the rights. The strongest deals often bundle a sponsored post with UGC the brand can reuse, so price each piece on its own logic instead of one blended number that shortchanges you.
What changes your rate
Your CPM baseline is the start. These are the same levers the calculator uses to move it.
Engagement
Brands increasingly weigh engagement over raw follower count. Most creators sit at 2% to 5%, and anything above 8% is rare. In the calculator, engagement adjusts your rate by up to 20% either way, centered on a 4% benchmark, so a highly engaged audience earns a premium and a passive one takes a trim.
Niche
Not all audiences are worth the same to advertisers. Finance, tech, and business command the highest rates because a single customer is worth a lot to those brands. Gaming and general lifestyle sit lower despite big view counts. Same views, very different rate. The exact multipliers are in the table below.
Format
A dedicated video costs more than a 60-second integration, which costs more than a story frame or a static post. The more real estate and effort the brand gets, the more it pays. Short-form video usually prices above a static post at the same reach.
Usage rights
If a brand wants to run your content as a paid ad, that is a separate thing you are selling. In the calculator, usage rights add 30% for a 30-day window and 60% for 90 days. Never hand these over for free.
Exclusivity
Agreeing not to promote competing brands for a set window has real cost to you, so it carries a premium. The calculator adds 40% for a 30-day exclusivity term.
Whitelisting
Whitelisting, where a brand runs paid ads from your own handle, is priced separately by your audience size rather than as a percentage, because it is your reach they are renting.
How much each niche multiplies your rate
These are the exact niche multipliers the calculator applies on top of your CPM baseline. Use them as a sanity check on the estimate above.
| Niche | Rate multiplier | Brand demand |
|---|---|---|
| Finance | 1.55x | Very high |
| Tech | 1.45x | Very high |
| Business / B2B | 1.35x | High |
| News | 1.30x | High |
| Education | 1.20x | High |
| Beauty | 1.10x | High |
| Fitness | 1.05x | High |
| Travel | 1.00x | Moderate |
| Food | 0.95x | Moderate |
| Entertainment | 0.90x | Moderate |
| Lifestyle | 0.88x | Moderate |
| Gaming | 0.70x | Moderate |
Baseline multipliers. Some platforms pay an even higher premium for finance, tech, and business, for example finance on YouTube and Facebook. Usage rights, exclusivity, and whitelisting stack on top of these.
Go deeper by channel and niche
Pricing is different on every channel and in every niche. These break down the numbers further:
Creator rate calculator FAQ
Quick answers on pricing your brand deals.
How much should a creator charge for a brand deal?
Start with the CPM method: take your average views per post, divide by 1,000, then multiply by your niche CPM. A creator with 10,000 engaged followers can often charge $100 to $500 per post, and rates climb with engagement and niche. The calculator above gives an estimate tailored to your channel, audience, and niche.
How do I calculate my YouTube sponsorship rate?
YouTube sponsorships pay roughly $15 to $80 CPM (cost per 1,000 views) for an integration, with finance, B2B, and tech niches at the high end and gaming and lifestyle lower. Multiply your average views by your niche CPM, then add a premium for a dedicated video. The calculator handles this for you.
How much should I charge for an Instagram or TikTok post?
A rough starting range is $100 to $500 per 10,000 followers on Instagram and $100 to $500 per 10,000 followers on TikTok, with engagement and niche moving you up or down inside that band. Reels and short-form video usually price higher than a static post or story. Enter your numbers above for a tailored estimate.
Should I charge more for usage rights or exclusivity?
Yes. Usage rights let a brand run your content as a paid ad. In the calculator, they add 30% for a 30-day window and 60% for 90 days. Exclusivity, where you agree not to promote competing brands for a set term, adds 40%. Whitelisting, where a brand runs paid ads from your own handle, is priced separately by your audience size. All are add-ons above so you can see the impact on your rate.
What if a brand's offer is lower than my rate?
Do not accept on the spot. First offers often come in 20% to 40% below market, so counter with a rate grounded in your CPM and audience rather than a single round number. If their budget is genuinely fixed, negotiate non-cash value instead, like shorter usage terms, fewer deliverables, or a longer-term commitment.
What is a good engagement rate for brand deals?
Most creators sit around 2% to 5%, and anything above 8% is exceptional. Brands increasingly weigh engagement over raw follower count, so a smaller, highly engaged audience can command higher rates than a larger passive one. When you know your rate, create a free profile on AdReady and let brands book you directly, with creators keeping 100% of their rate and no middleman fees.
How much should I charge for my first brand deal?
Use the same CPM math everyone else does, and do not discount just because it is your first deal. A creator with 10,000 engaged followers can often charge $100 to $500 per post. The mistake is quoting low out of nerves, which sets an anchor that is hard to raise later. Run your numbers above, quote with confidence, and if the brand's budget is smaller, trade deliverables instead of slashing your rate. For a full walkthrough, see our guide on landing your first brand deal.
Do I need a media kit to get brand deals?
It helps a lot. A media kit is a one-page snapshot of your audience, engagement, and rates that makes you look like a professional a brand can pay. You do not need one to start, but creators with a media kit close faster because the brand does not have to chase you for numbers. Build one free with our media kit generator, and pair it with a rate card so your pricing is clear from the first email.
How much do podcast sponsorships pay?
Podcast ads are usually priced on CPM by download. Host-read mid-roll spots, the most valuable placement, typically run $15 to $50 CPM, with finance and B2B shows well above that. To estimate an episode rate, divide your average downloads by 1,000 and multiply by your CPM. A show with 20,000 downloads at a $30 CPM is around $600 per mid-roll read. See podcast sponsorship rates for more.
What is a rate card and do I need one?
A rate card lists what you charge for each deliverable, so a brand knows your pricing before the back-and-forth starts. It is the fastest way to look established and to stop under-quoting on the spot. You do not strictly need one, but it saves hours of negotiation and signals you have done this before. Generate a free rate card in about a minute and attach it to every pitch.