Ask ten creators what they charge for a sponsored Instagram post and you will get ten numbers with no shared logic behind them. Brands, meanwhile, work from a formula. Here is the formula, so you can quote a price you can defend.
The starting point
The industry default is a rate per thousand followers:
Base price = (followers / 1,000) x rate
Our Instagram pricing calculator starts at $10 per 1,000 followers for a feed post. A 50,000-follower account starts at $500, a 200,000-follower account at $2,000.
That is the starting point, not the answer. Two accounts of the same size are rarely worth the same, and the adjustments below are where the real number comes from.
Engagement moves the number
A brand is buying attention, not a follower count. An account whose engagement rate sits well above the typical rate for its size delivers more attention per follower and should charge more. One well below delivers less.
The calculator applies a multiplier based on how your rate compares with the benchmark for your tier. If you do not know your tier's benchmark, our Instagram engagement benchmarks lists them: roughly 4% for accounts under 10K, sliding to under 1% above a million.
Run your numbers through the engagement rate calculator first. If you come out above your tier's typical rate, that is the single strongest argument you have in a negotiation, and it is worth quoting the figure explicitly.
What each format is worth
Formats are not interchangeable. Relative to a standard feed post:
| Format | Roughly | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Feed post | 1x | The baseline everything else is quoted against |
| Reel | Higher | Reaches beyond your followers, so it delivers more views per post |
| Story frame | Lower | Disappears in 24 hours, but can carry a link |
| Story series | Between | Several frames with a narrative and a swipe-up sell harder |
| Carousel | Around a feed post | More dwell time, similar reach |
The pricing calculator quotes a feed post, a story and a reel separately so you are not converting in your head during a call.
What the formula does not include
These are separate line items. Quote them separately or you are giving them away:
- Usage rights. The brand wants to run your content as an ad on their own account or in paid media. This is the most commonly missed charge and the most expensive thing you can forget. Typical practice is an additional 20% to 50% of the fee for a defined period and defined channels. Unlimited perpetual rights should cost multiples, not a rounding error.
- Exclusivity. Not working with competing brands for three or six months has a real cost to your future income. Price it.
- Whitelisting. Letting a brand run ads from your handle is more valuable to them than reposting, because it borrows your credibility. Charge accordingly.
- Extra revisions and approvals. Two rounds included, more billed. This protects your time from a committee.
- Rush turnaround. A week's notice is normal. Two days is a premium.
Quote a range, then anchor
Give a range rather than a single number. "A reel with one round of revisions runs $1,400 to $2,200 depending on usage rights" tells a brand you understand the variables. A single flat number suggests you looked up a rule of thumb, and invites a counter.
Then anchor on your strongest number. If your engagement is above your tier, lead with that. If your saves and shares are strong, lead with those, because they signal the content travels. If your audience is concentrated in a market the brand cares about, lead with that.
Common mistakes
- Pricing on followers alone. A 100K account with dead engagement is worth less than a 30K account with a real community, and experienced brands know it.
- Forgetting usage rights. The fee you agreed covers one post on your grid. It does not cover six months of paid media unless you said so.
- Undercharging the first deal. Brands talk to each other and keep records. Your first rate becomes your reference rate.
- Bundling everything into one number. When the brand asks to cut the budget, an itemised quote lets you remove a deliverable instead of discounting your rate.
Get your number
Run your followers and average engagement through the pricing calculator. It returns a range for a feed post, a story and a reel, with the tier adjustment shown so you can see how it got there. Take the range into the conversation, not a single figure.