How much do influencers charge in the UK? The honest answer is a wide range: published GBP benchmarks run from about £50 to £200 for an Instagram post from a nano creator with under 10,000 followers, to £10,000 or more for a creator with over a million. Most deals sit at the small end. On the Collabstr marketplace, 80% of collaborations cost under $300. The fee you are quoted is only part of the price, though. Usage rights, exclusivity and extra formats can add as much again, and those are where UK brands most often overspend.
This guide gives you the sourced 2026 rates by tier and platform, explains what pushes a quote up, and finishes with a six step budgeting method and a checklist you can use before you brief anyone.
The short version
- Follower tier sets the starting point. Published GBP ranges: nano £50 to £200, micro £200 to £1,000, 100K to 1M followers £1,000 to £10,000, and £10,000+ for mega creators.
- YouTube costs more per deal. It had the highest average payout on Collabstr ($255) and sponsorships are often priced at $15 to $30 per 1,000 views.
- Usage rights are the hidden cost. 77% of brands repurpose creator content in paid ads, and creators commonly charge 15% to 35% of their base rate per 30 days of usage.
- Gifts are payment in the UK. HMRC treats gifted products as income for creators, and the CMA treats any reward as payment that must be disclosed.
- Price views, not followers. Benchmark every quote against recent average views to get a cost per 1,000 views you can compare.
How much do influencers charge in the UK? Rates by tier
Follower count is still the way most rate cards are built, so it is the right place to start. The table below puts the GBP ranges published by Kolsquare next to the most recent US dollar benchmarks from Influencer Marketing Hub, updated at the end of August 2026. Treat them as the opening position in a negotiation, not as prices.
| Tier (followers) | Instagram post, GBP ranges (Kolsquare) | Instagram post, USD (IMH) | TikTok video, USD (IMH) | YouTube video, USD (IMH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano (1K to 10K) | £50 to £200 | $10 to $100 | $50 to $200 | $20 to $200+ |
| Micro (10K to 100K) | £200 to £1,000 | $100 to $500 | $200 to $800 | $200 to $1,000+ |
| Mid (100K to 500K) | £1,000 to £10,000 (100K to 1M band) | $500 to $5,000 | $800 to $5,000 (100K to 1M band) | $1,000 to $10,000+ |
| Macro (500K to 1M) | £1,000 to £10,000 (100K to 1M band) | $5,000 to $10,000 | $800 to $5,000 (100K to 1M band) | $10,000 to $20,000+ |
| Mega (1M+) | £10,000+ | $10,000+ | $5,000 to $50,000+ | $20,000 to $50,000+ |
Sources: Kolsquare (GBP ranges, November 2024); Influencer Marketing Hub Instagram, TikTok and YouTube rate guides (USD, updated August 2026). These are published benchmark ranges, not quotes.
How much do micro influencers charge in the UK?
Micro creators (10,000 to 100,000 followers) sit at roughly £200 to £1,000 per Instagram post on the GBP benchmarks. This is the tier most UK brands use for always on programmes, because the fee is low enough to test several creators at once. The Influencer Marketing Hub Instagram guide notes that Reels command higher prices than static posts, and that engagement, niche and audience location move rates as much as follower count does.
Why the averages look so low
Benchmarks and averages tell different stories. Pay is highly concentrated: CreatorIQ reports that creators earned an average of $11.4K per campaign but the median was $3K, and the top 10% of creators took 62% of all payments in 2025. A handful of very large deals pull the average up, while most creators are paid far less. We covered what that means for strategy in our creator marketing guide.
Influencer rates by platform: Instagram, TikTok and YouTube
Platform changes the price because the work changes. A YouTube integration means scripting, shooting and editing inside a longer video that keeps earning views for months. A TikTok or Reel is faster to make but often needs a sharper hook and more creative freedom.
Average paid per collaboration by platform (USD)
How much does a YouTube sponsorship cost?
YouTube is usually priced on views rather than followers. Influencer Marketing Hub reports that YouTube sponsorship CPMs frequently fall between $15 and $30, depending on niche, audience geography and demand. As an illustrative example, a creator whose recent videos average 50,000 views would quote somewhere around $750 to $1,500 for an integration at that rate. Dedicated videos, where the whole video is about your product, cost more. If you want to judge whether those views will be good ones, our guides to YouTube click through rate and audience retention show what to look for in a creator channel.
Pay for the audience a creator can prove, not the follower count on their profile. Ask for average views from their last ten videos and price from there.
What pushes the price up: usage rights, whitelisting and exclusivity
The base fee usually covers the creator making and posting the content on their own channel. Everything else is extra, and most brands now want some of it. According to Aspire, 77% of brands actively repurpose creator content in their paid ads and 67% include paid usage in the creator’s initial contract or rate. Speaking to Digiday in September 2026, the agency Movers+Shakers said usage and exclusivity “are additional costs almost 100% of the time.”
| Cost driver | What it means | What the data says |
|---|---|---|
| Paid usage rights | The brand runs the creator video as an ad, on its own channels or in paid social | Creators commonly charge 15% to 35% of the base rate per 30 days, or a flat $500 to $1,000 extension (Aspire) |
| Whitelisting or Spark Ads | Ads run from the creator handle using their identity | Usually priced with usage rights; agree the window and spend cap up front |
| Exclusivity | The creator cannot work with competitors for a set period | "Additional costs almost 100% of the time" (Movers+Shakers, via Digiday) |
| Extra formats | Stories, a Short cut down, raw footage, a second hook | Price each line item; bundles are cheaper than add ons later |
| Speed and revisions | Rush turnaround or extra rounds of edits | Agree rounds in the brief so they are not billed later |
Advertain guidance built on the sources shown. Always ask for line item pricing.
UK rules that change what you are really paying for
Two UK rules matter for any budget. First, gifting is not free. HMRC’s guidance for content creators says creators “must include the value of any gifts or services you received from promoting products online” because “these count as income”. Expect experienced creators to factor that in when you offer product instead of a fee.
Second, the CMA guidance on social media endorsements says any incentive, including gifts of any products, is payment, so the post must be clearly labelled with words such as “ad” or a platform paid partnership tool. Build disclosure into the brief. Our influencer brief template covers the exact wording.
Fair pay is part of the price
A UK survey of 300 creators by SevenSix Agency, reported by Net Influencer, found white creators were paid on average 45% more per sponsored Instagram Reel than Black and Asian creators. It is a small, self reported sample, but it is a good reason to set rates from views and deliverables rather than from what a creator happens to ask for.
How to budget for influencers in the UK: six steps
1. Start from the objective and the deliverables
Decide what one creator must deliver: platform, format, number of posts, and whether you need the content for ads. A clear deliverables list is the single biggest driver of a fair quote.
2. Shortlist by tier and benchmark the range
Use the tier table above to set a ceiling for each creator before you ask for prices. If a micro creator quotes macro rates, you need a reason, such as a niche audience you cannot reach elsewhere.
3. Convert every quote to cost per 1,000 views
Divide the fee by the creator’s recent average views and multiply by 1,000. This puts Instagram, TikTok and YouTube quotes on one scale and exposes inflated follower counts.
4. Price usage, whitelisting and exclusivity separately
Ask for line items with time limits, for example 30 days of paid usage, then decide what you actually need. Paying for usage you never run is an easy way to waste budget.
5. Choose the payment model
Flat fees remain standard, with gifting, affiliate commission or a hybrid on top. Promo codes (45.9%) and affiliate links (26.0%) are the most common ways brands measure results, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub benchmark report, so agree tracking before you agree a bonus.
6. Put it in writing
Confirm fee, deliverables, usage window, exclusivity, approvals, disclosure and payment terms in a short contract before anything is filmed.
Influencer budget checklist
- Deliverables listed by platform, format and number of posts.
- Tier benchmark noted for every creator on the shortlist.
- Average views from the last ten posts or videos collected.
- Every quote converted to cost per 1,000 views.
- Usage rights, whitelisting and exclusivity priced as separate line items with dates.
- Payment model and tracking (codes or links) agreed.
- Disclosure wording in the brief and contract.
- Payment terms and approval rounds confirmed in writing.
If you would rather have a team that plans creator partnerships around views and outcomes, see our work or talk to us.
Frequently asked questions
How much do influencers charge per post in the UK?
Published GBP benchmarks put an Instagram post at about £50 to £200 for nano creators, £200 to £1,000 for micro creators, £1,000 to £10,000 for creators with 100,000 to 1 million followers, and £10,000 or more above that. Engagement, niche and usage rights move the final figure.
How much do influencers charge for usage rights?
Aspire reports that creators commonly charge 15% to 35% of their base rate per 30 days of usage, or a flat extension fee of $500 to $1,000. Exclusivity is usually charged on top.
How much does a YouTube sponsorship cost?
Many YouTube sponsorships are priced at roughly $15 to $30 per 1,000 views, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. Multiply that by the creator’s average views to estimate a fair range, and expect to pay more for a dedicated video.
Do gifted products count as payment in the UK?
Yes. HMRC treats gifts received for promoting products as income for the creator, and the CMA treats gifts as payment, so the post must be clearly labelled as an ad.
