Finding
UK nano creators with 500 to 10,000 followers charge roughly £20 to £150 a post, micro creators £80 to £1,500, and a UGC video for your own channels typically £50 to £250, according to Whito's June 2026 rate benchmarks.
Source: Whito, whito.co.uk/research/influencer-ugc-rates-uk, June 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page.
Last Updated on November 3, 2026
What Influencers and UGC Creators Actually Charge UK Small Businesses in 2026
Where these figures come from: a Whito compilation of six published 2026 rate guides (Influencer Marketing Hub, Shopify, Meltwater, Hootsuite, Collabstr and Influee), converted to pounds. This is not Whito original research. The guides and the method are listed under Methodology and sources, below. For the prices we read ourselves, see what UGC platforms actually publish.
Executive summary
Most small business owners assume influencer marketing costs thousands. The useful end of it costs tens to low hundreds of pounds. Celebrity fees have almost nothing to do with what a local cafe or a small online shop would pay. The creators who bring in customers for small businesses are nano and micro creators, and they are the cheapest tiers.
This report sets out the going rates by creator tier and platform in 2026, explains the difference between an influencer and a UGC creator, and shows where a small budget is best spent.
Key takeaways
- Rates scale with audience size. Nano creators (500 to 10,000 followers) charge roughly £20 to £150 a post, micro (10,000 to 100,000) £80 to £1,500, macro (100,000 to 500,000) £4,000 to £8,000 plus, and mega or celebrity tiers run into tens of thousands.
- For small businesses, nano and micro creators are almost always the right choice. They cost little, their audiences trust them, and engagement is typically higher than at the top tiers.
- Short-form video (Reels, TikToks) costs 25 to 50% more than a static post, because it takes more to produce.
- UGC, user-generated content, is different from influencer marketing. You pay a creator to make content you post on your own channels, typically £50 to £250 a video, with no audience or follower count involved.
- UK and Western audiences command higher rates than global averages, and regulated niches like finance and health cost more again.
- Pay for engagement and fit, not follower count. A creator with 4,000 genuinely engaged local followers will usually outperform one with 80,000 disengaged ones.
Contents
Influencer rates by tier
The single biggest driver of price is follower count, which sorts creators into tiers. The figures below are approximate per-post rates in pounds for 2026, converted from international benchmark data and adjusted for the higher rates UK and Western audiences command.
| Tier | Followers | Typical per-post rate |
|---|---|---|
| Nano | 500 to 10,000 | £20 to £150 |
| Micro | 10,000 to 100,000 | £80 to £1,500 |
| Macro | 100,000 to 500,000 | £4,000 to £8,000+ |
| Mega / celebrity | 500,000+ | £8,000 to £40,000+ |
Approximate GBP equivalents of 2026 international rate data, which is published largely in US dollars. UK businesses operate almost entirely in the two highlighted tiers.
What each tier costs
What one post or one video costs, by tier and by platform
Low to high ranges in pounds, 2026. Hover or tap a bar to see the figures.
Hover or tap a bar to see the figures.
What this shows: every nano, micro and UGC price sits under £1,500. The cheapest macro post starts at £4,000. That jump is where most small budgets should stop. Each step along the scale is ten times the one before, so small and very large prices fit on one chart.
Source: Whito compilation of six 2026 rate guides, converted to pounds, June 2026. Approximate planning ranges, not fixed prices.
Hover or tap a platform to see what its price includes.
What this shows: rate guides put one UGC video at £50 to £250. The two platforms where we could work out the full cost of a first order in pounds charged £295 and £350, above that range. 17 of the 35 platforms we read published no price at all.
Source: Whito read of 35 UGC platform pricing pages, 12 October 2026. Prices before VAT where stated. A dated snapshot: prices change.
Platform and format differences
Format matters as much as platform. A static feed post is the cheapest unit. A Reel or TikTok video costs 25 to 50% more because it takes longer to produce, especially with voiceover, effects or a trending sound. Stories are the cheapest of all and good for quick, time-limited promotions. TikTok rates tend to run a little below Instagram at the nano and micro tiers. Bundles, for example three pieces of content rather than one, almost always bring the per-piece price down, and are worth asking for.
What UGC platforms actually publish (Whito’s own read)
The ranges above come from other publishers’ guides. On 12 October 2026 we read the pricing pages of 35 UGC and creator platforms ourselves. Of the 35, 17 published no price at all, and only 3 let a business work out the full cost of a first order from the page alone.
These are the prices for one video that we could read in pounds that day:
| Platform | Published price for one video | What the page says is included |
|---|---|---|
| UGC.co.uk | From £59, excluding VAT | A marketplace where each creator sets their own package and price |
| Velena Lifestyle | From £130 | Organic rights and a 12-month paid media licence |
| UGC3 | £295 per creator, plus a £35 a month platform fee | Priced on its calculator |
| Twirl | £350 (£240 each at 60 videos) | Full paid and organic usage rights, on its calculator |
What this adds to the ranges above. A “from” price on a marketplace is the cheapest creator’s offer, not a typical one. The two platforms that passed our full-cost test with a pound price charged £295 and £350 for a first video, before any VAT. If you want to use the video in paid ads, check the usage rights are in the price, because some pages include them and some do not.
Before you book a call, ask for one number in writing: the all-in cost of your first order, including the creator’s fee, any platform or subscription fee, any marketplace percentage, how long you can use the video in ads, and whether VAT is on top.
Method, the full list of 35 platforms, limits and the data file: UGC platform prices in the UK, read on 12 October 2026. Prices change and calculators can show different figures to different visitors, so treat these as a dated snapshot.
Influencers versus UGC creators
These are often confused and priced very differently. An influencer is paid to post to their own audience, so you are buying their reach. A UGC creator is paid to make content, photos or video, that you then post on your own channels and ads, so you are buying the content, not an audience. UGC is where a lot of businesses now get the best value: authentic, phone-shot video for your own feed and paid ads, typically £50 to £250 a video, with no follower count to pay a premium for. If your goal is a steady supply of real-looking content rather than someone else’s reach, UGC is usually the smarter spend.
Where a small budget should go
- Start with nano and micro creators in your niche or town. The rates are affordable and the trust is real.
- Pay for UGC if you need content, not reach. A few good videos a month will feed your own channels and ads far more cheaply than a single big post.
- Ask for bundles and usage rights. Whether you can reuse the content in ads changes its value, so agree it up front.
- Track a code or link, not likes. Give each creator a unique discount code or link so you can see which one actually drove sales.
- Avoid the macro tier unless you have a real budget and a national audience to justify it.
Cite this research
Whito Research (2026). Influencer and UGC Rates UK 2026: What Creators Actually Charge. Whito. https://whito.co.uk/research/influencer-ugc-rates-uk/
Key finding: Rates scale with audience size. Nano creators (500 to 10,000 followers) charge roughly £20 to £150 a post, micro (10,000 to 100,000) £80 to £1,500, macro (100,000 to 500,000) £4,000 to £8,000 plus, and mega or celebrity tiers run into tens
These figures are compiled and checked by Whito from the sources listed on this page. You are welcome to reuse these figures with a link to this page as the source.
For audience size, see who UK businesses can reach on social media. For shoot costs, see what photographers charge.
Methodology and sources
Compiled June 2026 from current influencer and UGC rate data, including Influencer Marketing Hub, Shopify, Meltwater, Hootsuite, Collabstr and Influee 2026 pricing guides. Per-post figures are approximate GBP equivalents of international benchmark data published largely in US dollars, adjusted upward to reflect the higher rates UK and Western audiences command. Ranges are wide because rates depend on engagement, niche, format, usage rights and exclusivity far more than on follower count alone. Treat them as planning benchmarks, not fixed prices.
What to do next
Decide first whether you need reach or content. If reach, shortlist nano and micro creators whose audience matches your market and agree a per-post or bundle rate. If content, brief a UGC creator and reuse the videos across your own channels and ads. What running your own social costs is in our social media management costs report, what video specifically costs to produce is in our UK video marketing costs data, what every channel costs sits in the UK Marketing Cost Index, and what a customer should cost to win is in our UK cost per lead data. What UGC platforms themselves publish as a price, read on 12 October 2026, is in our study of 35 UGC platforms’ pricing pages: 17 publish no price at all.
Before you agree a rate, it also helps to know what creators actually take home. Our companion piece on how much UK influencers really make shows why a £150 nano post is fair pay, not a rip off.
Common questions
How much do influencers charge in the UK?
Rates scale with audience: nano creators (500 to 10,000 followers) roughly £20 to £150 a post, micro (10,000 to 100,000) £80 to £1,500, macro £4,000 to £8,000 or more, and celebrity tiers into tens of thousands.
What is the difference between influencer marketing and UGC?
With influencers you pay for access to their audience. With UGC, or user-generated content, you pay a creator, typically £50 to £250 a video, to make content you post on your own channels, with no follower count involved.
Which influencers are best for small businesses?
Nano and micro creators are almost always the right choice: they cost little, their audiences trust them, and engagement is typically higher than at the top tiers. Short-form video costs 25 to 50% more than a static post.
How much do influencers make in the UK?
UK nano creators with 500 to 10,000 followers charge roughly £20 to £150 a post and micro creators £80 to £1,500, so earnings depend on tier, platform and posting volume. The What UK influencers actually earn section on this page breaks down the earner side.
What UK influencers actually earn
The rates above are what creators charge. Earnings are a different story, and they are worth knowing before you negotiate. The typical annual income for a UK influencer two to three years in is around £33,500 (Statista, via Limelight Digital, 2026). Roughly half of creators worldwide earn under about £12,000 a year from their content, and only around 5% clear six figures.
Read that against the rate card: the influencer quoting you £150 a post probably earns less from content than a part-time shop assistant, while the one charging £3,000 a post is one of the few actually making a living. Neither number is an ego figure. The market is simply that top-heavy.
This section is from our separate August 2026 earnings report, now merged into this page.
The structural checks behind this research run on any website in about twenty seconds. Enter yours and read the full result on the page. Free, and we do not ask for your email.
Run the free Visibility CheckIf your business is named here and you think we have a fact wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk and we will check it and correct it. If you want to respond, send us a statement and we will publish it alongside. Full detail: Corrections, right of reply and removals.
