Work out what to charge a brand for a sponsored integration, then price the usage rights, whitelisting, and exclusivity they will ask for on top. Rates are built from subscriber count, engagement, niche, format, and deal type.
Your multiplier is 1.5x. On YouTube, count likes and comments against views rather than subscribers.
General / Other carries a 1x multiplier. Finance is the ceiling at 2.0x and entertainment the floor at 0.8x, because niche pricing tracks what an audience is worth to an advertiser, not how hard the content is to make.
Integration carries a 1x multiplier. Format alone moves this rate by 5.0x from the cheapest to the most expensive, which is why "one post, everywhere" is the worst deal you can sign.
This only drives the monthly tile. Your per post rate does not change with volume, and discounting for volume is a choice you make in the negotiation, not a rate.
$525
mention integration, before usage rights and whitelisting
Open at the top, settle above the middle. Brands expect a range and the first number you say is the ceiling.
Monthly at 2 deals
$1,050
Per 1,000 subscribers
$53
Per post, before tax and before agency fees. Usage rights and whitelisting stack on top. Methodology
Against your tier
Rate set
YouTube rates are built from subscriber count and integration length rather than a follower engagement band. Your multiplier is 1.5x.
At 10,000 subscribers with 3.5% engagement in general / other, a mention integration on YouTube prices at $300 to $750, around $525. That is the post alone. Usage rights, whitelisting, and exclusivity are priced separately below.
These three get folded into "the package" for free more often than anything else in creator deals. Each one is a separate license and each one has a price.
Usage rights, organic
They re-share, screenshot, or repost your content in their own feeds. A license, not a favour.
+$394
+75% of base
Whitelisting and paid amplification
They run paid ads through your handle. This is the one creators give away most often, and it is the most expensive thing on the list.
+$788
+150% of base
Exclusivity window
You agree not to promote a competitor. Every day of it is a deal you cannot take, so it is priced by length.
Not priced
No window agreed
Nothing is priced in yet, so this matches the base rate. If the brief mentions ads, re-posting, or competitors, one of these three applies.
Follower count is the slow lever. These are the fast ones, priced at your current settings.
Cross 5% engagement
You are at 3.5%. The multiplier steps up at 5%, which is worth $175 more per post. Nothing between here and there changes the number.
Sell a dedicated video instead
Dedicated Video carries a 2x multiplier against integration at 1x. Same audience, same effort bracket, $525 more per post.
Charge for whitelisting
If they want to run ads through your handle, that is $788 on this deal. Most creators hand it over inside the base fee because nobody names it on the call.
Quote a dedicated post
A mention is 1x. A dedicated post is 2.5x, worth $788 more here. If the brief already reads like the whole post is theirs, you are doing dedicated work at mention rates.
| Format | Multiplier | Rate per post |
|---|---|---|
| Integrationthis deal | 1.0x | $300 to $750 |
| Dedicated Video | 2.0x | $600 to $1,500 |
| Short | 0.4x | $120 to $300 |
| Pre-Roll | 0.6x | $180 to $450 |
Your rates as plain text, ready to paste into a reply.
SPONSORED CONTENT RATES YouTube, 10,000 subscribers, 3.5% engagement Integration $300 to $750 Dedicated Video $600 to $1,500 Short $120 to $300 Pre-Roll $180 to $450 Deal type: Mention (1x) Add-ons: none included All-in for this deal: $300 to $750 Rates hold for 30 days. Usage rights, whitelisting, and exclusivity are priced separately and are not included unless listed above.
Mega accounts charge roughly 350 times nano, so a linear axis would flatten everything under 100K into one line.
Every tier above is priced at your engagement rate, niche, format, and deal type. Change any of those and the whole column moves, which is the point: tier is the slow lever and the rest are fast.
Sell the niche, not the size
Budgets keep shifting toward smaller creators for return on spend. Bring audience demographics and any conversion data you have. A 20,000 follower account with buyers beats 200,000 browsers.
Never quote a single number
Quote a range and let them pick. A single number is a ceiling you set for yourself, and the first figure said out loud anchors the whole negotiation.
Offer packages, not discounts
A 10% to 15% discount for three or more posts earns you more total revenue and gets the brand a better per post rate. Discounting a single post just lowers your rate for next time.
Charge for the long tail
A sponsored integration keeps earning views for months or years after upload. Social posts are gone in 48 hours. Price the evergreen exposure, and ask for a rate review if the video outperforms your average by a wide margin.
The per post rate starts at a base of $20 to $50 per 1,000 subscribers for a standard YouTube sponsored post. That base is multiplied by your engagement band, your niche, the content format, and the deal type.
Engagement is a stepped band, not a smooth curve. Under 1% multiplies the base by 0.5. From 1% to 3% is 1.0. From 3% to 5% is 1.5. Above 5% is 2.0. Crossing a band edge is worth more than a slow climb inside one, which is why the tip cards point at the edges.
Niche multipliers run from 0.8 for entertainment to 2.0 for finance. They reflect what an audience is worth to an advertiser, not how hard the content is to make. Format and deal type stack on top of that, and the four deal types are the difference between a passing mention and a video built around the product.
Add-ons are quoted as a percentage of the base post rate because that is how brands ask for them. Usage rights at 75% and whitelisting at 150% are the conservative end of what creators publicly report charging. Real whitelisting deals run higher, sometimes far higher, once the brand's media spend is on the table.
YouTube sponsorship rates are generally higher than Instagram or TikTok because YouTube videos are evergreen: they continue generating views, engagement, and conversions for months or years after upload. YouTube content also requires significantly more production effort (scripting, filming, editing) compared to a Stories post or a TikTok clip. Additionally, YouTube’s longer format allows for deeper product storytelling, which delivers higher conversion rates for sponsors and justifies premium pricing.
Integration (1.0x):a sponsored segment within your regular video, typically 60–90 seconds with a product demo and call-to-action. Dedicated Video (2.0x): an entire video focused on the brand or product, offering maximum sponsor exposure and detailed storytelling. Short (0.4x): a YouTube Shorts sponsorship, lower per-video rate but faster to produce and growing in demand. Pre-Roll (0.6x):a brief sponsor mention at the start of a video, typically 30–60 seconds, with minimal content disruption.
Sponsorship base rate per 1,000 followers
| Platform | Rate range | Base rate per 1,000 followers |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | $20–$50 | |
| $10–$25 | ||
| X (Twitter) | $8–$20 | |
| TikTok | $5–$15 | |
| $5–$15 |
Where people go next from this page.
Reference tables and longer guides behind the numbers above.
Creator survey data, rate cards, and sponsorship pricing benchmarks.
Engagement Rate Benchmarks 2026, a 350,000-account study across six platforms, filtered for fraudulent accounts.
Add-on uplifts reflect the conservative end of publicly reported creator deals. No single source is used in isolation; the ranges represent the consensus across them. Full formulas and the update schedule are on the methodology page.