How much to charge for a brand deal: set your rates

Short answer: start from a ballpark for your follower count, move up or down based on your views, engagement, niche and how much production the job takes, check that the hourly rate holds up, and charge separately for usage rights, exclusivity and rush deadlines. Put each part on its own line so a brand can drop something instead of haggling over everything.

"What should I charge?" is the question that most often makes creators leave the price field empty, or write a number they regret the moment the brand says yes straight away. There's no official price list, and anyone who claims to know the exact market rate is guessing. But there are levels where conversations usually start, and there's a method for arriving at a price you can stand behind.

Where do rates usually start?

Rates vary a lot by country, platform and niche, so be wary of any single table that claims to cover everyone. Follower count is where most conversations start, because it's the number both sides can see, but it's only the starting point.

When you build your media kit with Mediakitster, a price guide next to the rate field shows a ballpark range for creators with your follower count, based on Nordic creator rates and shown in your currency. Treat it, and any other benchmark you find, as an opening for the conversation, not a quote. Two accounts with the same follower count can be worth completely different amounts to a brand, which is where the rest of this guide comes in.

Why is follower count only a starting point?

A brand isn't really paying for your followers. It's paying for the right people to see the product and for the content you produce. That's why these things move your price up or down:

• Average views. If your videos regularly reach more people than your followers, you're worth more than your follower count says. If they only reach a fraction, you're worth less.
• Engagement. Comments and shares show that your audience actually reacts. If you're not sure how to calculate it, read how to calculate your engagement rate.
• Niche. A clear audience in an area where every customer is worth a lot to the brand gives more room to negotiate than a broad audience that likes a bit of everything.
• Production. A polished video with a script and editing is a different job from a story filmed on the go.

Work out your rate in four steps

1. Pick a base rate

Start from the ballpark for your size and place yourself high or low in the range based on the points above. The base rate covers one deliverable: one post, one reel or one video, published on your account.

2. Count the hours

Write down how long the job actually takes: idea, script, filming, editing, emails and one or two rounds of revisions. Divide the base rate by the number of hours. If the hourly rate is something you wouldn't work for in any other context, the base rate is too low, whatever a benchmark says.

3. Add usage rights

If the brand wants to use your content in its own ads, or run ads from your account, that's a separate service. The content then works for them long after your post has stopped showing up in feeds. Put a separate price on it, and say how long the rights last and on which channels.

4. Add exclusivity and rush

If you can't work with competitors for a period, you're turning down money during that time. That should cost. The same goes for short deadlines that force you to move other work.

A worked example

Say you have 18,000 followers on Instagram and your reels usually reach more people than that, so you place yourself in the upper half of your range. A quote could look like this (the amounts are an illustration of the structure, not a recommendation):

• One reel, including one round of revisions: €450
• Three stories the same week: €135
• Usage rights in paid ads for three months: €180

The point is the structure: each part has its own price, so the brand can remove something instead of haggling over everything.

Packages make it easier to say yes

A package, for example one reel and three stories, is easier for a brand to approve than five separate prices to add up. Always state exactly what's included, how many revision rounds are part of it and when the content is published. Then there's no argument afterwards about what "a collaboration" meant.

What to say when a brand asks for your rate

Many brands answer a pitch with "what are your rates?", and even more ask what you'd do for a certain amount. Reply with a range and a question about scope in the same breath:

My collaborations usually land between €350 and €650 depending on the format and whether you want to use the content in your own ads. What scope did you have in mind? Then I'll send you an exact proposal.

That sets a level without locking you in, and the conversation continues about the content instead of a single number.

Free products as payment

Products instead of money are common, especially for smaller accounts. There's nothing wrong with that in itself, but treat it as a deal. If the product is something you'd have bought anyway and the job is small, it can be perfectly reasonable. If it's a product you don't need, the collaboration costs you time and gives you something you can't pay rent with.

Two things apply either way: the post still has to be disclosed as an ad even if you were paid in products rather than money, and products you receive as payment can count as taxable income in many countries. Check your local rules before you accept anything of significant value.

Put your rates in your media kit

Once you know your rates, write them in. A clear price range in your media kit means the requests that come in already know roughly what it costs, and those without a budget filter themselves out. Where the rates should sit and what else belongs in the document is covered in what to include in a media kit.

In Mediakitster, rates are one of the guided steps: you list the services a brand can book and the price of each, in whichever currency your kit uses, with the price guide right beside the field. You decide the prices; we lay them out so a brand can book you without a single follow-up question.