The short answer
- 5,000 to 25,000 followers
- 17.7%5,862 creators
- 25,000 to 100,000
- 5.6%1,851 creators
- Micro creators with a portfolio
- 39.4%highest of any size
- Hired by consumer brands
- 37Kmedian program's median creator
- Most creators are smaller than micro. 74.1% of UGC creators have under 5,000 followers, so an unfiltered search returns mostly nano accounts.
- Micro creators are the most work-ready. 39.4% link a portfolio and 17.9% mention collabs in their bio, the most of any size.
- Consumer brands hire in the 10,000 to 100,000 range. The median consumer program's median creator has 36,900 followers; app programs hire far smaller, around 1,294.
- They still call themselves UGC creators. 31.7% of 5,000 to 25,000 creators say "UGC" in their bio, against 20.2% at 25,000 to 100,000.
How many UGC creators are micro
Definitions vary. We call 5,000 to 25,000 followers micro and 25,000 to 100,000 mid; many agencies call the whole 10,000 to 100,000 range micro. Either way, filter by follower count first or nano accounts drown the list.
What micro creators show on their profile
| Followers | Link a portfolio | Mention collabs | Say "UGC" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5,000 | 33.2% | 16.6% | 39.1% |
| 5,000 to 25,000 | 39.4% | 17.9% | 31.7% |
| 25,000 to 100,000 | 34.6% | 14.9% | 20.2% |
| 100,000 and over | 17.9% | 10.0% | 3.5% |
A portfolio link and a collab mention are the two quickest signs a micro creator takes paid brand work. See where to find UGC creators for where their emails sit.
Ways to find micro-influencers
- Hashtag and niche search (free). Search your niche on Instagram and TikTok, open profiles, and keep the 5,000 to 100,000 accounts. Slow, but costs nothing.
- Your own customers (free). Customers who already post about you are often micro-sized and convert well as creators.
- Influencer databases. Modash, HypeAuditor and Heepsy filter by audience data at a higher price; compared in influencer databases.
- A UGC creator database. UGC Agent (our product) filters 33,029 UGC creators by follower range, niche and country, each with a public email. Browse the free micro creator directory first.
Method
Creators: 33,029 Instagram and TikTok accounts in the UGC Agent creator index qualified as UGC creators, follower counts as of the snapshot (31 October 2026). Bio signals are matched on bio text; portfolio means a link-in-bio page. Program figures: 121 published brand UGC programs, 14 May 2026 to 30 October 2026.
Download the numbers on this page as a CSV file. Free to reuse with a link to this page under CC BY 4.0.
Cite this answer: UGC Agent, "How do brands find micro-influencers?", UGC Agent answers, published 9 November 2026, https://ugcagent.app/answers/how-to-find-micro-influencers/
Limitations
- These are UGC creators, people brands hire to make videos, not every influencer on the platforms; influencer databases hold far more accounts.
- Follower counts change; these are the snapshot values.
- Size bands are ours; other sources draw the micro line at 10,000 followers.