# How much do influencers charge per post? Rates by follower count, and what we pay on X

> Influencer rates scale with followers and platform: about $20–$100 per Instagram post for nano creators, and around $2 per 1,000 followers on X. What brands pay, what creators earn and how to set your rate.

**Influencers charge roughly in proportion to their audience and platform. Published 2026 benchmarks put nano creators (under 10k followers) at about $20–$100 per Instagram post and $5–$50 per TikTok, with micro and mid-tier creators from about $100 to $5,000 on Instagram. A common rule of thumb for X is around $2 per 1,000 followers per post.** On Transformer, brands start from default tiers for one X post: $50 under 5k followers, $125 for 5k–25k, $250 for 25k–100k and $625 for 100k–500k. Creators keep 80% of that.

## How much do influencers charge per post?

Benchmarks vary by source, so treat them as ranges. Meltwater's June 2026 guide, which draws on Influencer Marketing Hub data, gives:

| Tier (followers) | Instagram post | TikTok post | YouTube video |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nano (500–10k) | $20–$100 | $5–$50 | $20–$200 |
| Micro & mid-tier (10k–100k) | $100–$5,000 | $25–$1,250 | $200–$10,000 |
| Macro (100k–500k) | $5,000–$10,000 | $1,250–$2,500 | $10,000–$20,000 |
| Mega (500k+) | $10,000+ | $2,500+ | $20,000+ |

For X (Twitter), the same guide cites a rule of thumb of **about $2 per 1,000 followers per post**: roughly $2 for an account with 1,000 followers, up to about $2,000 for an account with a million. Niche matters a lot. B2B, finance and developer audiences are worth more to advertisers than general ones, so their rates sit higher.

## What does Transformer pay on X?

Transformer's suggested prices start from this table, by the creator's follower count:

| Followers on X | Brand pays per post | Creator earns (80%) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| under 5,000 | $50 | $40 |
| 5,000–24,999 | $125 | $100 |
| 25,000–99,999 | $250 | $200 |
| 100,000–499,999 | $625 | $500 |
| 500,000+ | custom | 80% of the agreed price |

The follower count is looked up on X when the offer is drafted. Brands can change their tiers or set any payout on an individual offer, and creators can publish their own rate card. The defaults are above the per-follower rule of thumb, especially for small accounts, because a verified post from a focused audience is worth more than a raw follower count suggests.

## How much do influencers get paid in a year?

A per-post fee isn't an income. The Influencer Marketing Factory's 2026 Creator Economy Report surveyed 1,000 US creators in January 2026 and found:

- **48.7%** earn under $10,000 a year from content;
- **45.6%** earn $10,000–$100,000;
- **5.7%** earn more than $100,000.

Most creators combine several income streams: ad revenue, affiliate links, products and brand deals. Brand deals are the part you price yourself.

## How much does influencer marketing cost a brand?

On Transformer, the cost of a campaign is the sum of its offers:

- **Per post:** the payout you set, for example $125 for a creator with 5k–25k followers.
- **Per campaign:** a test with ten creators in the 5k–25k tier costs $1,250. There's no subscription, seat fee or minimum.
- **The fee:** Transformer's 20% comes out of each payout (the creator receives 80%), so the offer price is the whole cost. An optional commission on tracked sales is split the same way.
- **What you pay for:** only verified posts. The payout is held when the offer is funded and released only when the post is live on X, from the creator's account, with your link and a disclosure. See [How Transformer works](/blog/how-transformer-payment-protection-works).

## How should a creator set their rate?

1. **Start from your tier.** Use the tables above as a floor, not a ceiling.
2. **Adjust for engagement.** If people reply to and click your posts, you can charge more than your follower count suggests.
3. **Adjust for niche.** A focused professional audience (developers, founders, finance) is worth more per follower.
4. **Price the format.** Threads and videos take more work than a single post, so charge more for them.
5. **Price usage rights separately.** If a brand wants to reuse your content in its own ads, that's extra.
6. **Publish it.** On Transformer you can put a rate card (post, thread, video) on your profile, which brands see before they make an offer.

See also [How many followers do you need for brand deals?](/blog/how-many-followers-for-brand-deals)

## Commission on sales

An offer can add a commission on sales (0–50%) on top of the payout. It's split 80/20 like the payout and credited for each sale the brand reports through your tracked link.

## FAQ

### How much do influencers charge per post?
It depends on followers and platform. 2026 benchmarks put nano creators at about $20–$100 per Instagram post and micro to mid-tier creators at $100–$5,000; on X a common rule of thumb is about $2 per 1,000 followers. On Transformer, brands start at $50 per X post under 5k followers and $625 at 100k–500k.

### How much do social media influencers get paid?
Most earn modest amounts. In The Influencer Marketing Factory's 2026 survey of 1,000 US creators, 48.7% earned under $10,000 a year from content, 45.6% earned $10,000–$100,000 and 5.7% earned more than $100,000.

### How much should a creator charge for brand deals?
Start from your follower tier, then adjust for engagement, niche, format (threads and videos cost more) and usage rights. On Transformer you can publish your own rate card and you keep 80% of what the brand pays.

### How much does influencer marketing cost?
On Transformer, a campaign costs the sum of its offers, for example $1,250 for ten posts from creators with 5k–25k followers. There's no subscription or minimum, the 20% platform fee comes out of each payout, and you only pay for posts that are verified.

### How much does a sponsored tweet cost?
On Transformer, brands start from default tiers: $50 for accounts under 5k followers, $125 for 5k–25k, $250 for 25k–100k and $625 for 100k–500k, with larger accounts priced individually.

### Do creators keep the whole sponsorship fee?
On Transformer creators keep 80% of the payout and of any commission; the platform keeps 20%. There are no other creator fees.

## Sources

- [Meltwater: Influencer marketing costs, rates per channel (June 2026)](https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/influencer-marketing-costs-rates-pricing)
- [The Influencer Marketing Factory: 2026 Creator Economy Report (February 2026)](https://www.newswire.com/news/the-influencer-marketing-factory-releases-2026-creator-economy-report-revealing)