What influencer marketing costs
Two numbers decide the budget: what the creators charge, and what the agency charges on top. The second one is where most of the confusion lives, because agencies price it four different ways and rarely lead with which.
Roughly what a single post costs
| Tier | Followers | Per post | What you are buying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nano | 1K–10K | $10–$100 | Comments read like conversations between people who know each other. |
| Micro | 10K–100K | $100–$1,000 | The best balance on this ladder: enough reach to matter, enough trust to convert. |
| Mid-tier | 100K–500K | $1,000–$5,000 | Professional delivery. Briefs get followed and deadlines get met. |
| Macro | 500K–1M | $5,000–$10,000 | Reach in a single post, and a name that lends the brand credibility. |
| Mega | 1M+ | $10,000+ | Mass awareness fast, and coverage of the partnership itself. |
A £50,000 campaign, broken down
The share that reaches creators is smaller than most first-time buyers expect. This split is typical of a managed mid-size campaign; the two right-hand segments are the ones brands routinely forget to budget for and then find in the invoice.
- Creator fees
- Agency management
- Paid amplification
- Production and shipping
- Tooling and reporting
How agencies charge
Four models, and which one you are being offered changes the incentives considerably.
- Percentage of creator spend — typically 15–30%. Simple, and the standard for mid-size campaigns. Note the incentive: the agency earns more when creators cost more.
- Flat management fee — a fixed monthly or per-campaign amount. Neutral on creator selection, which is its main advantage.
- Retainer — a monthly fee for an always-on programme, usually with a minimum term. Cheapest per campaign if you run continuously, expensive if you run twice a year.
- Performance — fee tied to a defined outcome. Rare, because it requires both sides to agree on attribution before the campaign starts, and most cannot. Linqia and Carusele are the two on this site that build their pitch around it.
Minimums
Most full-service agencies will not take a campaign below roughly $10,000–$25,000 in total spend, because the work of running one barely changes with its size. Below that, your realistic options are a platform with an in-house owner, or working with creators directly. Upfluence and GRIN exist for exactly this gap.
The line items people forget
- Usage rights. A post fee buys the post. Running it as an advert, putting it on your site or using it in a shop costs extra, and costs far more once the post exists.
- Exclusivity. Preventing a creator working with your competitor for six months is a separate fee, and a large one for anyone above micro.
- Amplification. Budgeting creator fees with no media behind them means paying for content and then hoping the algorithm distributes it.
- Product and shipping. Trivial per unit and not trivial across two hundred creators, especially internationally.
- Reshoots. Build in a contingency. Some percentage of delivered content will not be usable.
Is it worth it?
The honest answer is that it depends on whether you can attribute the result, and most of the reason influencer marketing has a reputation for unprovable ROI is that brands buy it without the attribution in place. Set that up before the first brief: which numbers actually mean something.
Keep reading
Creator tiers
Nano to mega, what each tier costs, and why engagement falls as audience grows.
Campaign types
Gifting, paid posts, affiliate, whitelisting, ambassadors and takeovers — and when each one fits.
Measurement
Reach, engagement, EMV and conversions — which numbers mean something and which flatter.
Disclosure
What the FTC requires, what each platform requires, and who is liable when it goes wrong.
Choosing an agency
What to ask, what the answers should sound like, and the terms that matter in the contract.