How Much to Charge for a Brand Deal
There's no fixed price for a brand deal. Most creators start from one of four methods: a views-based (CPM) rate, a follower-based rate, an engagement-based rate, or a flat project fee. That base rate covers the content itself. Then you add for anything beyond a standard organic post: extra deliverables, usage rights, paid ads (whitelisting), exclusivity, rush timelines and extra revisions.
The fastest honest answer: price from your average views, not your follower count, then add a line item for every right the brand wants beyond "post it once on my channel."
Below is how each method works, what moves the number, a worked example with the math shown, and how to counter an offer.
The four common pricing methods
1. Views-based pricing (CPM)
CPM means "cost per mille," or cost per 1,000 views. You take your typical views on that kind of content and multiply.
Formula: (average views ÷ 1,000) × CPM = base rate
Use views from a realistic window, like the median of your last 10 to 20 videos, not your one viral hit. Brands will check.
What CPM to use varies a lot by platform, niche and audience location. As one industry estimate, Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 YouTube rates guide says sponsorship CPMs frequently fall between $15 and $30, with niche, audience geography and creator demand moving the number (Influencer Marketing Hub). Treat that as a starting range, not a rule; finance or B2B channels often price differently from entertainment channels.
Pulling a median from your last 15 uploads by hand is tedious. If your channels are connected to STAKD, CreatorSync puts your YouTube, Instagram and TikTok numbers in one dashboard, so you're starting from your own data rather than a guess.
Best for: YouTube and long-form, where views per video are fairly stable.
2. Follower-based pricing
This is the oldest rule of thumb: a set amount per 1,000 or 10,000 followers. It's simple, which is why brands and creators still use it, but it rewards audience size rather than reach.
Industry guides publish tier ranges. For example, Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 planning benchmarks put Instagram micro-creators (10K–100K) at roughly $100–$500+ per post and YouTube micro-creators at $200–$1,000+ per sponsored video (Influencer Marketing Hub). It describes these as general planning guidelines, not rate cards.
Best for: A sanity check, or platforms where views per post swing wildly.
3. Engagement-based pricing
Here you price on interactions (likes, comments, shares, saves) instead of views. Some creators set a price per engagement; others use engagement rate to justify charging above or below the follower-tier range.
Engagement rate is usually calculated as engagements ÷ impressions (or ÷ followers, depending on who's measuring). Say which one you're using so the brand compares apples to apples.
Best for: Smaller creators with tight, active communities whose views don't yet reflect how much their audience trusts them.
4. Flat or project-based fee
You quote one number for a defined package: "One 60–90 second YouTube integration, one Instagram Reel, three Stories, 30 days of organic usage — $X."
Under the hood, most flat fees are built from one of the methods above plus add-ons. The flat price just hides the math from the brand.
Best for: Multi-deliverable campaigns, ongoing partnerships, and creators who don't want to renegotiate every line.
What changes the price
Your base rate assumes one piece of content, posted once, on your channel, with normal timelines. Anything beyond that is extra. Put each item on its own line in your quote so the brand can see what it's paying for, and so you have something to remove if they push back.
Deliverables
More pieces, more work. A dedicated video costs more than a 60-second integration. A Reel plus three Stories costs more than a Reel alone. Cross-posting to a second platform is a second deliverable, not a free bonus.
Include scripting, filming days, travel, props and anything you have to buy.
Usage rights
Standard sponsorship fees generally cover organic posting on your own account. When a brand wants to reuse your content on its own channels, website, email or ads, that's licensing, and it's usually priced separately (Influencer Marketing Hub).
Influencer Marketing Hub's usage-rights guide suggests organic reposting is often bundled into the base rate for a defined period, with paid social usage at roughly 15–25% of base rate per 30 days (Influencer Marketing Hub). Treat that as an industry estimate.
More detail in our guide to usage rights and exclusivity fees.
Whitelisting / paid usage
Whitelisting (also called allowlisting, or Spark Ads on TikTok) means the brand runs ads through your handle or boosts your post with its ad budget. Your content reaches far more people than your organic post, under your name.
Creators price this as a percentage of base rate per period, a flat monthly fee, or occasionally a share of ad spend. Influencer Marketing Hub puts whitelisting fees at about 20–30% of base rate per month of paid usage, with Spark Ads closer to 30% (Influencer Marketing Hub).
Exclusivity
If the brand wants you to avoid competitors for a period, you're giving up future income. Charge for it. The longer the window and the broader the category ("no beverages" vs. "no energy drinks"), the more it costs. Influencer Marketing Hub suggests category exclusivity over a window such as six months merits a 15–30% premium on total fees (Influencer Marketing Hub). Published estimates vary widely, so price it against the deals you'd be turning down.
Rush timelines
If the brand needs the content faster than your normal turnaround, you're bumping other work. Many creators add a rush fee. There's no reliable published benchmark for this, so set your own number and state it plainly ("Turnaround under 7 days: +25%").
Revisions
Include a set number of revision rounds (one or two is common) in your base fee and price additional rounds. Define what a revision is: script edits are cheap, a reshoot is not.
Worked example
Here's a made-up YouTube creator so you can see the math. The numbers are illustrative, not a recommendation.
The creator
- Median views per long-form video (last 15 uploads): 40,000
- Chosen CPM for an integration: $25
The brand asks for
- One 60–90 second integrated sponsorship in a YouTube video
- 60 days of paid usage (they'll run the clip as an ad)
- 60 days of category exclusivity
- Delivery in 10 days (your normal is 21)
Step 1: Base rate
40,000 ÷ 1,000 = 40 40 × $25 = $1,000
Step 2: Add-ons (percentages are this creator's own policy)
| Line item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Base integration | 40 × $25 CPM | $1,000 |
| Paid usage, 60 days | 30% per 30 days × 2 × $1,000 | $600 |
| Category exclusivity, 60 days | 20% × $1,000 | $200 |
| Rush (under 14 days) | 25% × $1,000 | $250 |
| Total quote | $2,050 |
Notice the base is only about half the quote. That's normal when a brand wants ad rights and exclusivity. If you'd quoted "$1,000 for a video," you'd have given away more than $1,000 in rights.
If the brand comes back with "we only have $1,500," you now have options other than discounting your base: cut usage to 30 days (−$300), drop exclusivity (−$200), and you're at $1,550 without touching what your content is worth.
The base-rate step is where most creators guess. STAKD's PricePoint calculator suggests a rate range from your platform stats and the deal details, so step 1 starts from your own numbers.
How to negotiate and counter
Ask before you quote
Get the brief first. Before naming a number, ask:
- What exactly are the deliverables and platforms?
- Do you want to use the content anywhere besides my channel? For how long?
- Will you run it as an ad or boost it from my account?
- Any exclusivity? Which category, how long?
- What's the timeline, and how many revision rounds?
- What's your budget for this campaign?
Brands often have a budget. Asking doesn't hurt you.
Quote in line items
A single number invites a single counter: "Can you do it for less?" A line-item quote changes the conversation to "Which of these do you actually need?" That protects your base rate.
Counter with scope, not discounts
When the offer is low, adjust what they get rather than what you charge for it:
- Shorter usage window
- No exclusivity, or a narrower category
- Fewer deliverables (one Reel instead of Reel + Stories)
- Longer timeline (no rush fee)
A simple counter: "Thanks for the offer. At $X I can do the integration with 30 days of organic usage. If you want the 60 days of paid usage, the total is $Y."
Know your floor
Decide your walk-away number before the call. If a deal doesn't cover your time, gear and the opportunity cost of exclusivity, it's fine to decline politely and leave the door open.
Get it in writing
Before you start, confirm deliverables, usage terms, exclusivity, payment amount, payment terms (net 30 is common; net 90 is worth pushing back on) and who approves the content. A short email summary that the brand replies "confirmed" to is better than nothing; a signed agreement is better still. If you get a contract, uploading it to STAKD pulls out the key terms (dates, deliverables, payment terms) so you can check them against what you quoted.
Common pricing mistakes
- Pricing on followers when views are lower. Brands look at views. If your views are a fraction of your followers, a follower-based price won't hold up.
- Giving away usage rights. "Can we repost this?" is a usage question. So is "Can we use it in an ad?"
- Forgetting cross-posts count. Each platform is a deliverable.
- Quoting before the brief. You can't price what you haven't seen.
- Never raising rates. Recalculate as your views grow. Re-check your median every few months.
How STAKD handles this
Pricing a deal well means pulling current stats, doing the math, writing it up and then keeping track of what you agreed to. STAKD covers each of those steps:
- Current numbers. CreatorSync shows your Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Twitch (beta) analytics in one dashboard, so you aren't screenshotting three apps to find your median views.
- A starting rate. PricePoint suggests a rate range from your platform stats and the deal details. Its usage-rights setting (organic only, 30 days, 90 days or perpetual) adjusts the rate for how long the brand can use the content, and you can export the breakdown as a PDF to send with your quote. Whitelisting, exclusivity and rush fees are still yours to add as separate lines, using a policy like the one in the worked example.
- The terms you agreed to. Upload the contract and STAKD's AI extracts the dates, deliverables and payment terms.
- The deal itself. Each brand deal becomes a campaign with its deliverables (amounts, due dates, completion), status, notes and the brand contact.
- Getting paid. Invoices are pre-filled from the campaign and sent through your connected Gmail with the PDF attached. If one goes overdue, STAKD drafts a payment-reminder email for you to review and send.
STAKD is free to start on the Starter plan with no card, and there's a 14-day free trial of Pro features.