How much do YouTubers charge for sponsorships?

Any single "average rate" you read online mixes niches, countries, formats and channel sizes, so it tells you little about the creator in front of you. The more useful number is what you'd pay for every 1,000 people who see the video. That's the CPM, or cost per mille, and it turns any quote into something you can compare.

1. 01

   Collect views for recent long-form videos

   Note the view counts of the last 10 to 20 long-form uploads on the channel's Videos tab. Leave out Shorts, and anything from the last week or so, which is still gathering views.

2. 02

   Take the median, not the average

   Sort the numbers and take the middle one. One video that took off can double the average; the median is what a typical upload gets.

3. 03

   Decide the CPM you can afford

   Use your break-even CPM from the next section. If you don't know it yet, pick a CPM you'd be comfortable losing on a first test.

4. 04

   Do the sum

   Fee = median views ÷ 1,000 × CPM. Turn it round to check a quote: CPM = fee ÷ median views × 1,000.

5. 05

   Adjust for what the deal includes

   A dedicated video, usage rights, exclusivity or a tight deadline all add cost. See "What changes the price" below.

A worked example, with made-up numbers: say a creator's last 12 long-form videos have a median of 40,000 views, and you're willing to pay a $25 CPM. 40,000 ÷ 1,000 × $25 = $1,000 for an integration. If the creator quotes $1,500 instead, that's a $37.50 CPM. Whether that's fair depends on your margins, not on anyone else's rates.

A CPM only means something next to your own numbers. Your break-even CPM is the most you can pay per 1,000 views before the video loses money on first purchases:

Break-even CPM = sales per 1,000 views × profit per sale.

Another hypothetical: past campaigns, or a careful guess, suggest 2 sales per 1,000 views, and each sale leaves you $15 after product, shipping and payment costs. Your break-even CPM is 2 × $15 = $30. The $1,500 quote above, at $37.50, loses money on first orders. It may still be worth it if customers come back: use the profit from a customer's first year instead of one sale, if you know it.

If you've never sponsored a video, you don't know your sales per 1,000 views yet. Treat the first deal as a measured test with a tracked link and code, then use the real figure next time. Our guide to measuring YouTube sponsorships shows how.

How you pay matters as much as how much. The three common structures share the risk differently:

Affiliate-only deals put all the risk on the creator, who still has to script, film and edit the segment, so established channels may turn them down for anything more than a description link. Free product alone is a different arrangement, covered in product seeding.

Dedicated video or integration

A whole video about your product takes more work and gives you more of the audience's attention than a segment inside another video, so it costs more. Our guide to sponsorship formats compares them.

Usage rights

Running the creator's footage in your own ads, or on your site, is a separate permission. Agree where, for how long and whether paid ads are included. See usage rights.

Exclusivity

Asking the creator not to work with your competitors for a period costs them future deals, so expect it to be priced in. Keep it narrow: named competitors, a short window. See exclusivity.

Deadlines

A fixed go-live date may mean reshuffling the creator's schedule. Flexible timing is worth something to them.

Revisions and approval

Each review round is more work. One round of feedback on the sponsored segment is reasonable; script approval plus two rounds of edits is a bigger job.

Extras

A pinned comment, a Shorts cut-down, a link kept in the description for a year, or mentions on other platforms are each separate deliverables.

Ask whether the creator has a rate card or media kit. Wait until they've said they're interested, and describe the deal so they can price the right thing:

• Negotiate scope before price. If a quote is above your break-even CPM, offer to drop something (exclusivity, usage rights, a fixed date) rather than asking them to work for less.
• Show your arithmetic. "Your median is around 40,000 views, and we can afford about $25 per 1,000" is easier to discuss than "Can you do it cheaper?"
• Don't ask for work in exchange for exposure. Free product is fine as an offer, but say so plainly and accept a no.
• Accept a no gracefully. If the numbers don't meet, thank them and leave the door open. Rates change, and so do budgets.
• Pay on time. Agree payment terms in writing and keep to them.

The CPM method needs one number per creator: median views. Nakodo works it out for every creator it finds, from up to 20 recent uploads, using videos at least 3 days old and preferring long-form over Shorts. It doesn't quote or predict anyone's rates. The first emails it sends on your behalf state your offer exactly as you set it and never invent payment amounts, and when a creator asks about rates, the question comes to you to answer. The full method is on how Nakodo works.