How much to pay TikTok and Instagram influencers

Each creator sets their own price, and any average rate you read mixes countries, niches, formats and account sizes. What you can work out is the CPM, or cost per mille: what a quote costs for every 1,000 people who watch. It puts a large account and a small one on the same scale.

Followers are the first number on the profile, and a weak basis for a price:

• Feeds are recommended, not chronological. TikTok's For You feed and Instagram's Reels show posts to non-followers, and plenty of followers never see a given post, so equal followings can get very different plays.
• Followers pile up. The count includes people who stopped watching long ago.
• Followers can be bought. So can likes and views. Our guide to spotting fake followers covers the checks.

Median plays on recent posts is the better unit, because it's what the next post is likely to get. Keep followers as a cross-check: median plays ÷ followers shows how much of the following still turns up.

The TikTok engagement rate calculator and the Instagram engagement rate calculator work out the median for you. Where counts aren't public, ask for screenshots of a run of recent posts, not the best one: Instagram's post insights show accounts reached on each post, for professional accounts.

A TikTok play, a Reel view and a YouTube view are counted differently, so compare TikTok quotes with TikTok quotes, and Reels with Reels.

The numbers below are made up to show the method.

A TikTok video. A creator's last 12 videos, leaving out 2 pinned ones and one posted yesterday, have a median of 30,000 plays. They quote £600 for one video, an effective CPM of £600 ÷ 30,000 × 1,000 = £20.

Each sale leaves you £12 after product, shipping, fees and the discount code. If you expect 1.5 sales per 1,000 plays, your break-even CPM is £12 × 1.5 = £18, and the break-even fee at 30,000 plays is 30 × £18 = £540. The quote is a little over. You could offer £540, offer £450 plus a commission on tracked sales, or accept it as a test that gives you a real sales figure.

An Instagram bundle. Another creator quotes $1,500 for one Reel, 3 Story frames with a link sticker, and 30 days of partnership ads. You ask them to price each line: $800 for the Reel, $300 for the Stories, $400 for the ads permission.

• The Reel. The Reels tab shows a median of 25,000 views, so $800 ÷ 25,000 × 1,000 is a $32 CPM.
• The Stories. Screenshots show recent Stories reaching around 5,000 accounts. The frames are watched in sequence by largely the same people, so count that reach once: $300 ÷ 5,000 × 1,000 is a $60 CPM.
• The ads permission. This isn't priced on views. It's a licence to run the Reel as an ad from the creator's handle for 30 days, with the ad spend yours on top. Compare it with what it would cost you to make an ad that good.

With $20 profit per sale and 1.5 sales per 1,000 views, your break-even CPM is $30. The Reel at $32 is close. The Stories at $60 would need 3 sales per 1,000 people reached, twice what you expect from the Reel. You might take the Reel and the ads permission and drop the Stories.

Spark Ads and partnership ads

Running a creator's post as an ad from their handle needs their permission. On TikTok the creator authorises a Spark Ad for a period that suits the campaign. On Instagram they give partnership ad permission for one post or the whole account, and can take it back. Price it as a licence for a set window; a shorter one should cost less. See Spark Ads and partnership ads.

Other usage rights

Reposting on your account, using the video on product pages, and receiving raw footage to cut your own ads are separate permissions. Raw footage gives you the most freedom, so expect to pay for it.

Exclusivity

Asking a creator to turn down your competitors costs them other deals. Keep it narrow: named competitors, one category, a short window.

Deliverables

A TikTok video, a Reel, Story frames and a carousel are different jobs. A carousel needs photos and layout, a video needs filming and editing, and Stories vanish after 24 hours unless saved to a highlight. A link in bio for a month, or pinning the post, are extras.

Revisions

One round of feedback on a draft is reasonable. Concept and script approval plus two rounds of edits is a bigger job.

Turnaround

A fixed date or a short deadline may mean moving other work, so it can fairly cost more.

• Gifting. You send the product with no obligation to post. It buys no guaranteed post, so work out the cost per post that appears: send 20 products at £30 each, all in, and if 4 creators post, each post cost £150.
• Affiliate. The creator earns a commission on sales through their code or link, and nothing else. It suits creators who already post about products like yours, and puts the risk on them. Check it leaves you a profit: with £25 profit per sale before commission, 20% of a £60 order is £12, which leaves £13.
• A lower fee plus commission. This shares the risk, and it's a fair counter-offer when a quote is above your break-even.

Gifts and commissions still count as a paid relationship. The FTC says free or discounted products are a material connection to disclose, even when you didn't ask for a post. See disclosing paid posts on Instagram and TikTok.

1. 01

   Send everyone the same package, and ask for itemised prices

   Describe the deliverables, usage rights, exclusivity and dates in writing, and ask for one price per line. A bundle price hides which part is expensive.

2. 02

   Get median plays or reach for each format

   From the profile for TikToks and Reels, and from insights screenshots for Stories and carousels.

3. 03

   Turn each content line into a CPM

   Fee ÷ median plays × 1,000. Leave licences such as Spark Ads out of this sum: they buy permission, not plays, so compare them by length of window.

4. 04

   Check each CPM against your break-even

   Profit per sale × sales per 1,000 plays. If a quote is above it, negotiate scope before price: drop exclusivity, shorten the usage window or loosen the date.

5. 05

   Check the audience before you sign

   A low CPM on the wrong audience is still expensive. Check where the followers are and read the comments.

Nakodo doesn't quote or predict anyone's rates. For each TikTok account it finds, it reads the plays on recent videos and works out the median. On Instagram, the official API it reads doesn't share other accounts' views, so it reports likes and comments per follower instead. When it emails creators for you, it answers what it can from your offer and passes the rest to you.