Two things this page is not. It is not market research: we did not survey creators and we do not have a database of signed contracts. It is not scraped from invoices. These are 2026 planning estimates from our calculator model and public rate cards, built to sanity check a quote and to budget a campaign. Where we cite real data, which is the shape of our creator index, we say so explicitly and show the number.
The numbers
| Deliverabletypical, then low to high | Nanounder 5k followers | Micro5k to 25k followers | Mid25k to 100k followers | Established100k+ followers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production | ||||
| UGC video, 15 to 30sper finished video | $150$100 to $250 | $225$150 to $350 | $375$250 to $600 | $650$400 to $1,000 |
| UGC video, 30 to 60sper finished video | $195$130 to $325 | $295$195 to $455 | $490$325 to $780 | $845$520 to $1,300 |
| UGC video, 60s and overper finished video | $240$160 to $400 | $360$240 to $560 | $600$400 to $960 | $1,040$640 to $1,600 |
| Photo set (5 edited photos)per set | $175$100 to $250 | $225$125 to $350 | $350$200 to $550 | $550$300 to $900 |
| Raw footage pack (10 clips)per pack | $150$100 to $200 | $200$150 to $300 | $300$200 to $450 | $450$300 to $700 |
| Add-ons | ||||
| Raw footage add-onper video, 30% with a floor | $50$50 to $75 | $70$50 to $105 | $115$75 to $180 | $195$120 to $300 |
| Hook variationper extra opener, 20% with a floor | $30$25 to $50 | $45$30 to $70 | $75$50 to $120 | $130$80 to $200 |
| Rights | ||||
| Paid usage, 3 monthsper video, added to production | $40$25 to $65 | $55$40 to $90 | $95$65 to $150 | $165$100 to $250 |
| Paid usage, 6 monthsper video, added to production | $75$50 to $125 | $115$75 to $175 | $190$125 to $300 | $325$200 to $500 |
| Paid usage, 12 monthsper video, added to production | $150$100 to $250 | $225$150 to $350 | $375$250 to $600 | $650$400 to $1,000 |
| Whitelistingper video, ads from the creator handle | $45$30 to $75 | $70$45 to $105 | $115$75 to $180 | $195$120 to $300 |
| Category exclusivity, 3 monthsper video, added to production | $40$25 to $65 | $55$40 to $90 | $95$65 to $150 | $165$100 to $250 |
| Category exclusivity, 6 monthsper video, added to production | $75$50 to $125 | $115$75 to $175 | $190$125 to $300 | $325$200 to $500 |
| Category exclusivity, 12 monthsper video, added to production | $150$100 to $250 | $225$150 to $350 | $375$250 to $600 | $650$400 to $1,000 |
2026 planning estimates from our calculator model and public rate cards. Not a quote, and not drawn from our creator database. Production rows are per finished asset, add-on and rights rows are per video. Every figure is derived from the same model as the UGC rate calculator.
Estimate your own brief
The same model as the table, with your inputs. Nothing is sent anywhere and there is no signup.
How to read the benchmark
Production rows are per finished asset. Add-on rows are per video. Rights rows are added on top of the production fee for each video you want the right to. That last distinction is where most budget mistakes happen: a brand agrees a video fee, runs the video as an ad, and discovers that the licence to do so was a separate line nobody bought.
The three figures in each cell are a band, not a precision estimate. Low is what a straightforward brief with a long lead time and a single setup should cost. Typical is the figure to budget. High is a narrow brief, a specific creator or a short deadline. If a quote sits outside the band in either direction, that is a signal worth a question rather than proof of anything.
The methodology, in full
The model has one base and a set of multipliers. Each tier carries a low, typical and high production figure for a video, a photo set and a raw footage pack. Video length scales that base: 15 to 30 seconds is the reference at a multiplier of 1, 30 to 60 seconds is 30% more, 60 seconds and over is 60% more. Every result is rounded to the nearest 5 dollars, which is why the numbers in the table are clean.
Add-ons are a share of the video figure with a floor, because the work does not scale linearly on small orders. The raw footage add-on is 30% of the video fee with a floor of $50 per video. Each hook variation is 20% with a floor of $25. Rights are a straight share of the production fee: 25% for 3 months of paid usage, 50% for 6 months, 100% for 12 months, and 30% for whitelisting. Category exclusivity uses the same three shares as paid usage. Rush delivery under seven days adds 25% to the whole subtotal, which is why rushing a batch is expensive and rushing one video is not.
That is the entire model. There is no niche multiplier, no country multiplier and no engagement multiplier in it, deliberately: we do not have verified data for any of those, and inventing a coefficient would make the output look more precise than it is. Where niche and country genuinely change what you should expect, it shows up in which tier you can realistically book, not in a hidden percentage.
What we actually know about creator supply
Our creator index holds 24,032 UGC-qualified Instagram and TikTok creators, with a median of about 1,400 followers. 22,393 are on Instagram and 1,639 on TikTok. We track 15 niches with at least 40 creators each and 11 countries with at least 100. That is real data from a Firestore export, not an estimate, and it is the one place on this page where we are describing the market rather than modelling a price.
It matters for budgeting because of where the mass sits. A median around 1,400 followers means the deep, liquid part of the market is the nano and micro columns of the table. If your plan assumes established creators across a batch of ten videos, you are planning against the thinnest part of the supply and you will pay for the scarcity. Briefing into the nano and micro bands is not a compromise in UGC; it is where the format works.
The four cheapest moves on any rate card
First, ask for a bundle price before a single video price. Three videos in one session share the setup, the brief and the shipping, so the creator has room there that they do not have on one video. Second, buy 3 months of paid usage across a batch and extend only the video that performs. The 12 month line is four times the 3 month line, so buying it everywhere multiplies your content budget for optionality you will discard.
Third, plan two weeks out and the rush line disappears entirely. Fourth, buy raw footage on the first order rather than the second. A creator who still has the project files can export in minutes; three weeks later they may have deleted them, and then you are paying for a reshoot to get footage you already commissioned.
Questions people ask
What is the average UGC rate in 2026?
There is no single average worth quoting, and we do not compute one, because a rate without a deliverable attached is meaningless. The most useful reference figure is a 15 to 30 second video from a micro creator, which our model puts at $225 typical in a $150 to $350 band. Everything else on this page is priced against that.
Are these rates based on real contracts?
No. They are 2026 planning estimates from our calculator model and public rate cards, and the model is written out in full above so you can check it. The only real data we cite is the shape of our creator index: 24,032 UGC-qualified creators with a median of about 1,400 followers.
Do UGC rates include usage rights?
No, and this is the most expensive assumption in the category. Production buys the file. Paid usage buys the right to put media spend behind it, priced at 25% of production for 3 months, 50% for 6 months and 100% for 12 months in our model.