UGC Rates for Beginners: A 2026 Rate Card

Beginner UGC rates in 2026 sit around $150 a video for direct clients. Collabstr's 2025 marketplace data puts the average UGC collaboration at $154. Marketplace jobs pay less up front (JoinBrands defaults to $60, Billo payouts start at $30) but usually include usage rights. Price usage, whitelisting, hooks and raw footage as separate lines.

This page is the rate card: what each line pays, where the number comes from, and the maths for building your own. If you are still deciding whether to do UGC at all, start with the UGC creator guide. It covers equipment, portfolios, contracts and why usage rights matter. This page puts prices on them.

What do beginner UGC creators actually get paid?

Here is what the platforms themselves publish, checked November 2026.

Two numbers matter most. The Collabstr gap between $180 asked and $154 paid shows brands negotiate down from listed prices, so list a little above where you want to land. And the marketplace floors ($30 to $60) are what a brand pays when the platform does the finding, the escrow and the paperwork.

Why are marketplace UGC rates so much lower?

Because the price includes things you would otherwise charge for. Billo's video price includes full usage rights once the brand approves the video. Insense says standard usage rights come included with UGC bought through its platform. On a direct deal, those rights are a separate line you can bill.

The fee comes off too. A $60 JoinBrands UGC job pays $48 after the 20% platform fee.

Marketplaces are still worth it at the start. They bring you briefs while you have no clients, they hold the brand's money in escrow, and each job becomes portfolio material. The plan is to use them for your first five to ten videos, then quote brands directly.

What goes on a UGC rate card?

A rate card is a one-page list of what you sell and what each part costs. Backstage's rate card guide lists the standard add-ons: usage rights by term, paid usage or whitelisting, exclusivity, rush delivery and raw footage, with base rates covering organic use only.

Below is a beginner card built from the figures above. The base anchors on Collabstr's $154 average; photo pricing follows JoinBrands' image rates; the usage lines use the Selah convention explained in the next section. Lines marked "your call" have no published benchmark, so the number is a starting point to replace with your own.

Bundle them for the common request. "One video, three hooks, 90 days of paid usage" on this card is $150 + $90 + $80 = $320. A brand sees the logic; you see where the money is.

How much should you charge for usage rights and whitelisting?

There is no regulator or platform standard. What exists are creator-side conventions, and they disagree.

The pricing tool Selah publishes a simple version, as of May 2026:

Longer terms are discounted rather than multiplied: Selah applies 1.33 times the monthly figure for three months, 1.75 times for six and 2.25 times for twelve. For buyouts in perpetuity, it suggests declining, or charging 300% of the content fee for paid usage.

Selah itself says it prices at the top of published ranges, which it puts at about 20% to 50% a month for paid usage and 25% to 50% for whitelisting. As a beginner, quote the convention and expect to settle lower. The usage rights section of the UGC guide explains what each right lets a brand do; read it before you sign anything that says "in perpetuity" or "work made for hire".

How much should you charge for raw footage and extra hooks?

Raw footage is every usable clip from your shoot, unedited, so the brand's editors can cut their own ads. Insense notes that raw footage costs less to produce than a finished video but is not free, because you still plan and shoot it, and that footage pre-split into segments for ad variants takes more forethought and costs more. Billo lets creators set their own price for extra footage.

Hooks are the opening seconds of the ad. Brands test several openings on the same body, so one shoot can produce three or five versions. A hook is cheap for you to film once you are set up, which is why a flat per-hook price works better than a percentage of a full video.

The trap with both is giving them away. "Can you send the raw files too?" sounds like a favour, and it is a deliverable.

When should you raise your UGC rates?

Two published signals say when. The first is level. JoinBrands pays 50% more on Level 2 jobs and up to 150% more on Level 3 for the same type of video, and you reach those levels by completing jobs and being rated. Treat that as the platform's own estimate of what experience is worth, and move your direct rates up by a similar step once you have a track record.

The second is niche. Across all collaboration types on Collabstr in 2025, the most expensive niches were skilled trades at $309 and education at $307 on average, against $210 for beauty and $217 for fashion, both among the cheapest. Collabstr puts the low prices down to the number of creators competing in those niches; trades and education have fewer people who can explain the product credibly. If you know a technical field from a job you already hold, that is worth more on camera than a better ring light.

Raise one line at a time. Lift the base by $25 for new clients only, keep existing clients at their rate for one more project, and watch how many quotes are accepted. If almost every quote comes back yes, you are still cheap.

How do you pitch a brand with your rate card?

Keep the first message short, show one video, and put the price structure in a single sentence. Here is an example to adapt:

Hi Jordan, I make short UGC videos for skincare brands. Here's a 20-second testimonial I filmed last week: [link]. My base is $150 per video with 30 days of organic use; paid usage, whitelisting and extra hooks are priced by term on my rate card: [link]. Would a three-hook test for your new cleanser be useful this month?

That last line matters. Offering a specific, small first order (one video, three hooks) is easier to say yes to than "let me know if you need anything".

If you also post on TikTok, brands may ask for TikTok Shop videos, which pay differently: JoinBrands' US default for a TikTok Shop video job is $100, and its Content + Posting jobs can add pay based on views, engagement and sales. The TikTok Shop affiliate guide covers commission-based work, and how to make money on TikTok covers the rest of the platform's income routes.

Is $150 a video worth your time?

Work out your hourly rate before you quote. A short UGC video takes time beyond filming: reading the brief, scripting, setting up light, filming takes, editing, captions, a revision and messages.

An example with estimated times: 30 minutes on the brief and script, an hour filming, an hour editing, 30 minutes on the revision and admin. That is three hours. At $150, you earn $50 an hour. The same three hours on a $60 marketplace job, after the 20% fee, is $16 an hour.

Your times will differ, so measure your first five videos and put the real figure into the hourly rate calculator. If a job pays below what your time is worth, either raise the base or cut the time: batch filming, reusable lighting setups and templates for captions all help.

UGC income is self-employment income. The side hustle tax guide covers what to set aside.

What does the FTC require?

It depends on where the video runs. If a brand posts your video from its own account, it is the brand's ad. If it appears on your account, including whitelisted ads run from your handle, your connection to the brand needs clear disclosure. The FTC's endorsement guidance for influencers sets out when and how, and the disclosure section of the UGC guide explains who is responsible in each case. Agree it in writing before the ad runs.

Who should skip this?

• Anyone uncomfortable on camera. Testimonials and how-tos put your face and voice in the ad. Hands-only and product-only briefs exist, but you would be choosing from fewer of them.
• People expecting marketplace rates to pay rent. At $48 a job after fees, the marketplace is a training ground, not a living.
• Creators who will not read contracts. The money in UGC is in the usage terms. Signing "unlimited usage, worldwide, in perpetuity" for a $150 fee gives away the valuable part.
• Anyone who wants income this month. Collabstr's averages are for creators already booking. Your first jobs come after a portfolio and a few weeks of applications.

Your first rate card in seven days

Day 1. Film three sample videos with products you own: one testimonial, one unboxing, one how-to.

Day 2. Time yourself on a fourth video from brief to finished file. Put the hours into the hourly rate calculator.

Day 3. Write your card using the table above. Replace every "your call" line with your own number.

Day 4. Create profiles on two marketplaces and apply to five briefs at their listed rates, for portfolio and reviews.

Day 5. List ten brands whose ads you already see in your feed. Find the marketing or partnerships contact for each.

Day 6. Send each one a short pitch with your best sample and a link to your rate card. Quote the base, and say usage is priced by term.

Day 7. Follow up on anything unanswered. Log every reply: who countered, at what, and on which line.