Free Tool

UGC Rate Calculator

Price a brand video properly: start from your base rate, then stack usage rights, paid-ads whitelisting, exclusivity, rush and revisions on top. You get an itemised quote you can paste into a proposal — plus what you actually keep after commission and tax.

1. Base content fee

How do you want to set your base rate? Both options use the hours below to work out your effective hourly rate at the end.

Flat base rate per video ($) Used when the option above is "Flat rate per video". Production only — no usage rights yet.

Your hourly rate ($) Used when you build the base rate from hours.

Filming hours per video Include set-up, product prep and re-shoots.

Editing hours per video

Admin & comms hours per video Briefing calls, script approval, emails, uploading files.

Number of videos in the deal

Extra hook variations per video Alternate opening lines cut from the same footage. 0 if the brand only wants one version.

Price per hook variation (% of base video rate) Hooks reuse the footage, so they are usually priced well below a full video.

Extra editing hours per hook variation Only used for the effective hourly rate.

2. Usage rights & exclusivity

Uplift period length (months) The block of time your usage and exclusivity uplifts are quoted in. Use 3 to quote in quarterly blocks, 1 to quote monthly, or 12 to quote annually.

Usage rights term (months) How long the brand may run the video. 0 = no licence beyond your own post.

Usage uplift per period (% of base content fee) Your number, not an industry standard — organic-only licences sit at the low end, broad multi-channel ones much higher.

Paid ads / whitelisting uplift (%) One-off uplift for running the video as a paid ad or from your handle. 0 if the deal is organic only.

Exclusivity term (months) How long you are barred from working with competing brands. 0 if there is no exclusivity clause.

Exclusivity uplift per period (%) Set this against what you would realistically earn from competitors in that category.

3. Add-ons, costs & deductions

Raw footage add-on ($) Flat fee for handing over unedited files.

Rush fee (%) Applied to the creative fee (content + rights + add-ons), not to reimbursed costs.

Revision rounds included in the fee Write this number into the proposal. It does not change the price — it is what stops scope creep.

Extra revision rounds to quote for

Price per extra revision round ($)

Product cost to be covered ($) Only if you are buying the product yourself rather than being gifted it.

Travel & expenses to be covered ($)

Agency / platform commission (%) What a marketplace, agency or manager takes off the invoice. 0 if you booked it direct.

Tax set-aside (%) Your own figure — tax rates differ by country and by your total income. Ask an accountant where you live rather than trusting a default.

Recommended total quote

$0.00

Price per video

$0.00

Effective hourly rate

$0.00

Across 0 hours of work

Itemised quote

Base video fee	$0
Hook variations	$0
Base content fee (what the uplifts below are a % of)	$0
Usage rights	$0
Paid ads / whitelisting uplift	$0
Exclusivity	$0
Raw footage add-on	$0
Extra revision rounds	$0
Revision rounds included at no extra charge	0 rounds
Rush fee	$0
Creative fee (everything above)	$0
Product cost reimbursed (at cost)	$0
Travel & expenses reimbursed (at cost)	$0
Total quote to the brand	$0

What you actually keep

Agency / platform commission	$0
Cash received	$0
Tax set-aside	$0
Net to you, after tax set-aside	$0

Assumptions, so you can argue with them: the base content fee is videos × base rate, plus hook variations priced as a percentage of that base rate — and usage, paid-ads and exclusivity uplifts are all percentages of that base content fee, never of the reimbursed costs. Usage and exclusivity are charged pro-rata and linear — six months at 25% per three-month period costs twice three months. Many creators instead tier their licence fees so longer terms get a discount, or charge a flat multiple for perpetuity; if that is you, enter a blended percentage rather than the per-period one. Paid-ads/whitelisting is charged once as a flat uplift covering the same term as the usage licence. The rush fee applies to the creative fee only. Product and travel are treated as pass-through reimbursements at cost with no markup — add a handling percentage to the rush field if you mark them up. Commission is assumed to be taken off the whole invoice including reimbursements — check your own agreement, because some agencies and marketplaces take it on the creative fee only. Because of that assumption the effective hourly rate subtracts the full cost of product and travel from what reaches you, and it is shown before the tax set-aside, not after. The tax set-aside is your percentage applied to everything you receive: rates vary by country, by income level and over time, deductible expenses may reduce the amount you actually owe, and this tool is not tax advice. The price per video is simply the total quote divided by the number of videos, reimbursements included, so it is a headline figure rather than a per-deliverable licence price. Figures are shown in US dollar format, but the arithmetic is currency-agnostic — read "$" as your own currency.

How do you price a UGC video with usage rights?

Plenty of "UGC rate" tools online ask for your follower count and multiply it by some factor. That answers the wrong question. When a brand buys user-generated content it is buying ad creative to run on its channels, so your audience size is close to irrelevant. What actually drives the price is how the video will be used, for how long, and what you give up by agreeing.

The clean way to build a quote is in two parts. The first is production: what it costs you to make the thing. Take your filming, editing and admin hours per video, multiply by an hourly rate you would be happy to work at all year, and that is your base rate. If you already quote a flat rate per video, use that instead and let the hours field do nothing but check your effective hourly rate at the end — a base rate that looks generous can quietly collapse to minimum wage once you count re-shoots and briefing calls.

The second part is the licence, and it is where most creators leave money behind. Usage rights are a rental: the brand pays for a defined window in which it may run your video, on defined channels. Price that window as a percentage of the base content fee, per block of months, and the arithmetic stays explainable in a proposal. Whitelisting — running the ad from your handle, or as a paid Spark/partnership ad — is a separate right and deserves its own uplift, because it puts your name and face behind ad spend you do not control.

Exclusivity is the third lever, and the most expensive one to give away by accident. If you cannot work with competing brands for six months, you are selling future income, not just this video. Price it per period, keep the competitor category narrow, and always put an end date on it. The same goes for the licence: a contract that does not name a term is a contract that gives the brand your video forever.

Round it out with the practical add-ons — raw footage, hook variations cut from the same shoot, a rush fee when they want it in three days, and a stated number of revision rounds with a price for anything beyond that. Then subtract what will not reach you: agency or platform commission, and a tax set-aside at your own rate. The last number matters most. A quote that looks strong at the top can leave you on an hourly rate you would refuse from a client, and it is far easier to notice that before you send the email than after you have signed.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I charge for a UGC video?

There is no single correct number, because a UGC video is really two things being sold at once: the work of making it, and the licence the brand gets to use it. Set a base rate that covers your filming, editing and admin time at an hourly rate you are happy with, then add a percentage uplift for the usage term, paid-ads whitelisting and any exclusivity the brand wants. The calculator on this page does that stacking for you so the quote is itemised rather than a single guessed figure.

Why isn't this calculator based on my follower count?

Because UGC is bought as ad creative, not as audience access. The brand posts the video on its own channels or runs it as a paid ad, so your reach is not what they are paying for. Follower-based pricing belongs to sponsored posts on your own feed, which is a different deal type. If a brand is buying both, quote the UGC production and licence with this tool and price the post to your own audience separately.

What is a usage rights uplift and how do I explain it to a brand?

A usage uplift is the extra fee for the brand's right to use your video for a defined time, on defined channels. The clearest explanation is a rental one: the base fee buys the video, the usage fee buys the window in which they can run it. A short organic-only window costs little; twelve months of paid social costs a lot more, because the video is doing far more commercial work. Always write the term, the channels and the start date into the contract — an undefined licence is effectively a perpetual one.

Should exclusivity always cost extra?

If it stops you earning elsewhere, yes. Exclusivity means you cannot work with competing brands in that category for the agreed period, so you are selling future income as well as this video. Price it as a percentage uplift per period, keep the category definition narrow and written down, and cap the term. A broad category with no end date is the most expensive thing you can agree to for free.

One quote priced. Now track the whole year.

This calculator prices a single deal and then forgets it. The Content Creator & Influencer Income Tracker is a spreadsheet that keeps the rest: every brand deal and its rate, gifted-product value, which invoices have actually been paid, expenses by category, and running income and tax set-aside totals — in Excel or Google Sheets.

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