How Much to Charge for Reels, Stories and UGC: Build Your Rate Card

"What are your rates?" is the question that stalls most new creators. Quote too high and the brand goes quiet. Quote too low and you've set a price you'll struggle to raise later.

There's no official price list for creator work in India, and rates vary widely by niche, city and audience. What you can have is a consistent way to work out your own price. This guide gives you one.

Step 1: Start with your costs and your time

A rate that doesn't cover your effort isn't a rate. For one deliverable, add up:

• Time: idea and script, shooting, editing, captions, revisions and talking to the brand. A 30-second Reel can take a full day.
• Costs: props, travel, a location, an editor or a helper.
• What your time is worth: a fair hourly figure for you.

Hours × hourly figure + costs = your floor. Don't go below it, except as a deliberate choice: to work with a brand you love, or to win a first client with a clear plan to raise the price.

Step 2: Adjust for your reach

A brand is buying two things: the content and the audience that sees it. Two creators can spend the same hours on a Reel, and the one whose Reels reliably reach 50,000 people should charge more than the one whose Reels reach 5,000.

Use average views, not follower count:

• take your last 10–15 Reels and work out the average views;
• ignore one-off viral hits, or you'll overprice everything else.

A simple check for consistency is your price per 1,000 average views. Work it out for each deliverable, and if one is wildly cheaper than the others, adjust it. As your views grow, raise your prices in step.

Step 3: Price each deliverable

Set a base price for each format you offer. Effort and reach differ, so the prices should too:

Step 4: Charge for the extras

The base price should cover a standard job: one draft review, up to two rounds of changes, and the post staying live for an agreed period, with the content staying on your channels. Anything beyond that is an add-on:

• Usage rights. If the brand wants to repost your content on its own channels, run it as a paid ad (including partnership ads from your handle), or own it outright, that's extra, and it should scale with how long and where they use it. Paid-ad rights are worth much more than a repost.
• Exclusivity. Not working with competitors costs you income. Charge per month of exclusivity, and more for a broad category ("all skincare") than a narrow one ("sunscreen").
• Rush delivery. Turning a brief around in 24–48 hours means dropping other work.
• Extra revision rounds beyond the ones included.
• Raw footage and project files.
• Longer keep-live periods or a link in bio for a set time.

Writing these down in advance stops the awkward "can you also…" conversations, because the answer is already priced.

Step 5: Offer bundles and recurring rates

Brands that need content every week are your best clients: steady income, one brief to learn, less time spent pitching. Reward commitment, but get something back for it:

• Bundles: a Reel, two Story sets and a Collab post for less than buying them separately.
• Monthly packages: for example, four Reels a month for three months, at a lower price per Reel, paid per delivery.

Discount for volume and commitment, never for "exposure".

A worked example

Asha makes vegetarian recipe Reels in Pune. Her last 15 Reels averaged about 10,000 views, and a Reel takes her about six hours including revisions. These figures are an illustration of the method, not market rates.

1. Floor: 6 hours × ₹800 + ₹500 in ingredients and props = ₹5,300.
2. Reach check: she decides on ₹700 per 1,000 average views for Reels, which gives ₹7,000.
3. Base Reel price: ₹7,000, above her floor, so it works.
4. Extras: organic reposting rights for 3 months adds 20%; paid-ad rights for 3 months adds 50%; one month of category exclusivity adds 25%.

When a brand asks for a Reel with 3 months of paid-ad rights, Asha can quote ₹10,500 in one line, and explain exactly what's included.

How to quote and negotiate

• Quote per deliverable, with what's included: "₹7,000 per Reel: one draft review, two rounds of changes, live for 30 days, no reuse."
• List add-ons separately, so the brand can choose.
• State your payment terms: when you'll be paid, and how.
• When a brand pushes back, cut scope, not price. Offer a Story set instead of a Reel, or drop the usage rights, rather than doing the same work for less.
• Get it in writing: deliverables, dates, rights and pay, before you shoot anything.

Product-only (barter) deals

Free products in exchange for a post can make sense when you'd genuinely use the product and you're building a portfolio. But a product isn't cash, and it doesn't pay rent. Decide in advance which brands and product values you'd accept it from, and remember that a free product is still a material connection, so the post needs a disclosure. See our disclosure guide.

Tax and paperwork

If you're registered for GST, say whether your rates include GST. Some brands deduct TDS before paying you. Keep every invoice and payment record, and ask an accountant how GST and TDS apply to your income.

Ready to share your rates? Put them in a media kit, and check our 10 terms to check before you accept a brand deal.