How much to charge brands for a sponsored Instagram post

The most common question creators ask, and the one most often answered badly: how much to charge brands for a sponsored Instagram post. Here is a method you can defend in an email.

Start with a baseline by follower tier

A widely used starting point is roughly $100 per 10,000 followers for a single in-feed post. In practice, working ranges look like this:

• Nano (1K–10K): $50–$250 per post
• Micro (10K–50K): $150–$700 per post
• Mid-tier (50K–250K): $500–$2,500 per post
• Macro (250K+): negotiated per campaign

These are anchors, not prices. See typical influencer rates in 2026 and the four types of influencers for where you sit.

Apply an engagement multiplier

Reach is what a brand buys, and engagement rate predicts reach far better than follower count. If your engagement rate sits well above your tier average, price above the range; if it sits below, either price lower or lead with a different metric such as saves or story clicks. Our guide to engagement rate for media kits shows how to calculate and present it honestly.

Price the deliverable, not "a post"

A sponsored post is rarely one asset. Quote each piece: the feed post or reel, the story frames that support it, the number of revisions, exclusivity in the category, and how long the content stays live. A three-story set plus a reel is a different job from a single static image, and should carry a different price.

Charge separately for usage rights

If the brand wants to run your content as a paid ad, that is usage rights, and it is a separate line. A common approach is 25–50% of the content fee for 30 days of paid usage, scaling with duration, platform and exclusivity. Whitelisting — running ads from your handle — costs more again. Never include rights silently in a production fee.

Put the number where brands can find it

Quoting once is fine. Quoting twenty times a month is a job. Publish an influencer rate card with deliverables and prices on your media kit so budget-qualified brands arrive already knowing your rates. See a rate card example with real numbers and the deeper rate card pricing guide.

Hold your floor

Decide the smallest scope you will accept and stop discounting below it. If a brand cannot meet it, offer a smaller deliverable at your price rather than the same work for less. Free product is not payment; what brands look for in a media kit explains why professionalism, not discounting, wins repeat work.

Ready to publish your prices? Build your rate card in a few minutes.

Build it online instead of in a file

If you would rather use an online media kit maker than edit a document, compare the options first: media kit maker vs builder vs generator, or see what a free online media kit creator should include.