How much should you charge for a brand deal? The real answer.
Most rate calculators only look at follower count. Here's how to actually price a brand deal, factoring in usage rights, exclusivity, and whitelisting.
Most creators Google “how much should I charge for a brand deal” and get back a rate calculator that asks for their follower count. The calculator spits out a number. They use that number. They get underpaid.
Here's the honest answer: follower count is the least important thing. What actually determines your rate is what the brand is asking you to do, and what they're asking to do with the content afterwards.
The short version
A fair brand deal rate is built from three things, in this order:
- Base rate for the deliverables (the posts themselves)
- Premiums for the terms (usage rights, exclusivity, whitelisting)
- Adjustments for your niche and engagement (not follower count)
Most rate calculators only do the first step, use follower count instead of engagement, and skip the premiums entirely. That's why they give you numbers that are wildly different and usually too low.
Step 1: Base rate for the deliverables
Start with what the brand is asking you to make. A rough framework most working creators use:
- Instagram Story: $50-$150 per frame
- Instagram Reel: 2-3x the cost of a static post
- Instagram static post: $100-$500 for micro range
- TikTok video: comparable to Reels
- YouTube integration: $500-$2,000+ depending on length
These are wide ranges on purpose. The number depends on your niche (beauty and finance pay more than lifestyle), your engagement rate (not followers), and production quality.
Follower count is a weak signal
A creator with 25K followers and 8% engagement is worth more to a brand than a creator with 100K followers and 1% engagement. Rate calculators that use follower count alone systematically underpay engaged micro-influencers.
Step 2: Add premiums for the terms
This is where most creators leave money on the table. If the brand is asking for any of the following, your rate needs to go up:
Usage rights
Usage rights let the brand use your content in their paid ads, their website, or their marketing materials. The longer the duration, the bigger the premium.
- 3 months: add 15-25% to your base rate
- 6 months: add 25-40%
- 12 months: add 40-60%
- Perpetuity / “in perpetuity”: avoid or charge 2-3x base
Exclusivity
Exclusivity stops you from working with competing brands for a set period. This directly costs you income, so it needs to be priced in.
- Category exclusivity for 3 months: add 25-50%
- Category exclusivity for 6 months: add 50-100%
- Broad exclusivity (not just direct competitors): significantly more
Whitelisting
Whitelisting(sometimes called “dark posting”) means the brand can run your content as paid ads from your own account. Your face, your handle, their ad spend, their targeting.
- Add 30-50% to your base rate if whitelisting is included
- Some creators charge 2x the base rate when whitelisting is involved
Step 3: Adjust for niche and engagement
Once you have a base + premiums number, consider your specific context:
- High-value niches (beauty, finance, tech, B2B) can charge 20-50% more than general lifestyle
- Engagement above 5% is a strong signal to brands - you can justify the higher end of the range
- Portfolio of past deals with recognisable brands gives you leverage
- Exclusivity to the brand category in your content (e.g. you only post about skincare) also justifies higher rates
A worked example
The deal: A skincare brand offers a micro-influencer with 30K Instagram followers and 6% engagement $400 for 1 Reel + 2 Stories. They want 12 months of usage rights, whitelisting, and 6-month category exclusivity.
Here's how to actually price this:
- Base rate for 1 Reel: $300 (beauty niche, strong engagement)
- 2 Stories at $75 each: $150
- Subtotal: $450
- + 12-month usage rights (~50%): +$225
- + Whitelisting (~40%): +$180
- + 6-month exclusivity (~75%): +$338
- Fair total: $1,193 ($1,200 rounded)
The $400 offer is less than a third of what the deal is actually worth. A counter in the $1,100-$1,400 range is fair given what they're asking for.
How to actually quote this
When you reply, don't just send a number. Break it down so the brand understands where it came from. Something like:
“For the 1 Reel + 2 Stories, my base rate is $450. With the 12-month usage rights, whitelisting, and 6-month exclusivity, my rate for this deal is $1,200. Happy to discuss if any of the terms are flexible.”
Transparency works in your favour. It signals that you know the space and it opens the door for the brand to drop some terms (rather than drop you entirely).
The bottom line
If you remember nothing else: the terms are the money. Usage rights, exclusivity, and whitelisting can double or triple the fair value of a deal. A calculator that only looks at your follower count is going to underprice you every time.
When a brand sends you an offer, don't just read the dollar amount. Read what they're asking for after the shoot. That's where the real value is.