How to price a brand collaboration

By the My Collabs team · 30 October 2026

"What's your rate?" is the question that stalls most creators. Quote too high and the brand goes quiet; quote too low and you've worked a week for less than you'd earn anywhere else. The fix isn't a magic number from someone else's spreadsheet. It's a method: a price you can build up step by step and explain if the brand pushes back.

1. Start with your floor: what the work costs you

Before thinking about followers, work out the lowest price at which the deal is still worth doing. List every step the collaboration takes, not just the shoot:

reading the brief, calls and messages with the brand
scripting or concept work
shooting, including setup, travel and retakes
editing, captions, thumbnails and music
sending drafts and making revisions
posting, sharing stats afterwards, and invoicing

Add up the hours, then multiply by the hourly amount you need to earn. Add any direct costs: props, a location, an assistant, paid music. That's your floor. If a brand can't reach it, the honest answer is a smaller scope, not a smaller price for the same work.

2. Add the value of your audience

Brands aren't buying your hours. They're buying attention from people who trust you. Your floor covers the work; the next layer reflects what that attention is worth:

Typical reach, not follower count. Use your average views or reach on recent posts in the same format. A reel that reliably reaches 40,000 people is worth more than a follower number suggests.
Engagement and fit. A niche audience that matches the product (say, new parents for a baby-care brand) is worth more per view than a broad one.
Proof. Results from past campaigns, such as clicks, code redemptions or sign-ups, are the strongest argument for a higher rate.

Many creators set a figure per thousand typical views for each format and multiply it out. Whatever figure you choose, keep it consistent so your rates rise as your reach does.

3. Price the extras separately

The biggest pricing mistake is giving away things that have real value to the brand. Quote them as separate line items:

Extra	What it means	Why it costs more
Usage rights	The brand reposts your content on its own pages, website or packaging	Your work becomes their marketing asset. Price it by channel and by time period (for example 3 or 6 months).
Paid ads / whitelisting	The brand runs ads using your content or your handle	The content reaches far more people than your audience. Usually the biggest add-on.
Exclusivity	You agree not to work with competitors for a period	You're giving up other income. Charge for the category and the length of time.
Rush delivery	A shorter timeline than you normally need	Other work gets pushed back.
Extra revisions	More rounds of changes than agreed	Every round is more editing time. Include one or two rounds, then charge per round.
Raw footage	Unedited clips handed over	It lets the brand create many more assets from one shoot.

4. A worked example

The numbers below are made up to show the method. Use your own.

One 45-second reel takes about 10 hours from brief to posting. At ₹1,000 an hour, plus ₹1,500 of props, the floor is ₹11,500.
The creator's reels typically reach 60,000 people, and they price reach at ₹250 per thousand: ₹15,000.
The base fee is the higher of the two, so ₹15,000.
The brand also wants to use the reel in paid ads for 3 months. The creator adds 50% for that usage: +₹7,500.
Quote: ₹22,500, listed as "Reel ₹15,000 + 3-month paid usage ₹7,500".

Showing the breakdown makes negotiation easier. If the budget is tight, the brand can drop the paid usage rather than asking you to cut your base fee.

5. Handle "we don't have budget"

Reduce scope, not rate. Offer a story set instead of a reel, or one revision instead of two.
Decide your barter rule in advance. A free product is not payment for your time. Some creators accept barter only for products they'd buy anyway, and only for lighter deliverables.
Ask for the budget. "What budget have you set aside for this?" is a normal question, and the answer saves both sides time.

6. Don't forget tax and payment terms

If you're registered for GST, say clearly whether your quote is "plus GST". Brands may also deduct TDS (tax deducted at source) from what they pay you, so confirm what will reach your account and ask for the TDS certificate. Agree when you'll be paid, too: a fair rate paid four months late is worth less. Our collaboration checklist covers what to put in writing.

Track every collab in one place. My Collabs is a free app that shows what each brand has agreed, paid and still owes you, with alerts before deadlines.

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This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules change, so check the current position or ask a professional for your situation.