How Much Does Influencer Marketing Cost in the UK? (With Real Examples)

As creator-led media continues to grow, advertisers and agencies are asking the same questions: how much do influencers charge, what drives the variance in fees, and how can you structure your spend to guarantee a return? 

This guide explores today’s UK influencer pricing landscape, the factors that shape investment, and pragmatic ways to forecast outcomes. 

Whether you're testing creator content for the first time or scaling your own dedicated influencer network, having a rough guide to influencer rates will enable you to build clear budgets and measure outcomes with confidence. Let’s see these rates in detail.  

Core drivers of influencer pricing 

There is no single answer to the age-old question of ‘how much do influencers charge?’ Fees vary by content format, vertical, platform, and market dynamics.  

For example, when it comes to content formats, short-form video commands higher rates than static images due to production times and their use on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.  

Campaigns with multiple deliverables or retainer arrangements often drive better unit economics as you're not paying per post. If your first post exceeds expectations, you’re on your way to generating a high ROI.  

Rights expansion, such as repurposing a reel into paid social, email and website, can add to your influencer's fee but also increases the content’s working value. 

While each activation is unique, understanding the usual drivers will help you benchmark spend and build reliable forecasts: 

• Audience reach and quality: Creators with larger audiences generally command higher fees, but quality of engagement (e.g. authentic comments, saves, shares, and click intent) might also dictate your influencer pricing. 

• Format and production scope: Short-form video, live streams, and multi-scene edits take more time to create and often cost more than carousels or stills. 

• Performance history: Creators with consistent click-through, conversion, or revenue performance can justify higher fees as they bring a strong chance of success. 

• Rights and whitelisting: Extending content beyond organic posts (e.g., ads, cross-channel use, multi-market activation) produces incremental value and increases cost. 

• Vertical competitiveness: Highly contested categories, such as beauty, fashion and consumer electronics, see higher fees, especially around seasonal peaks. Ever tried booking a mega consumer electronics influencer ahead of Black Friday? You'll know what we mean.  

• Campaign timing and seasonality: On a related note, back-to-school, Black Friday and holiday periods compress creator schedules and raise prices. Booking early can help you negotiate better terms. 

• Geography and market maturity: Fees vary by country, currency and local demand. For example, influencer rates, UK specifically, reflect higher living costs, platform adoption and brand competition compared to other regions. 

• Deliverable complexity and cadence: More deliverables; longer campaigns; higher price, right? Correct, but package deals benefit from blended rates, reducing the cost per piece while building cumulative impact. 

Bringing these inputs together provides a realistic range for your UK influencer marketing cost. By weighting each factor against past performance or sector norms, you can set budgets that account for both creative value and measurable outcomes. 

What influencer marketing costs cover 

When you agree on a cost with the influencer, it will comprise three layers: 

• The content fee: Covers the content strategy, concepting, production and distribution of posts or videos. 

• Performance incentives: Where the content is used and the cost of performance-based outcomes such as clicks, sign-ups or sales.  

• Rights and amplification: Accounts for usage beyond organic placements. For example, whitelisting content as paid ads, running across multiple channels, or extending the licensing window. 

Each layer should be scoped explicitly. Clear scoping not only supports fair influencer pricing but also keeps you on budget and maps everything back to ROI.  

Need advice on building high-performing influencer campaigns? Check our Masterclass with beauty leader Boots and influencer platform Metapic.  

Cost by creator size 

The basis for influencer pricing is largely dictated by influencer type, which is itself determined by the size of their audience.  

As a reminder of influencer types, you have: 

Nano influencers: 1,000 - 10,000 followers 
Micro influencers: 10,000 - 100,000 followers 
Mid-tier influencers: 100,000 - 500,000 followers 
Macro influencers: 500,000 - 1 million followers 
Mega influencers: 1 million+ followers 

Different creator tiers offer different economic profiles and roles within the funnel. 

Nano and micro influencers usually command more accessible fees while generating strong engagement. They’re effective for niche targeting and community-led advocacy, often delivering favorable cost per engagement in the right categories.  

Macro and mega influencers (500,000+ followers) bring broad awareness and cultural influence, but their increased fees can make it harder to produce an ROI. 

Generally speaking, each influencer commands a different cost per post. Using benchmarks from Shopify among other sources, here are your rates by platform, followed by costs in the UK specifically.  

Want an idea of ROI per influencer type? Consult with our guide.  

Instagram influencer pricing 

Instagram remains a powerhouse in the social media landscape. Based on data from Statista, the number of active users sat at around 1.5 billion in 2024. 

Factors like engagement rates, audience size, vertical, and content quality all play a crucial role in determining the cost of an Instagram post. Here is a guide price based on our five creator types: 

Nano influencers: $10 - $100 per post (£8 - £76) 

Micro influencers: $100 - $500 per post (£76 - £380) 

Mid-tier influencers: $500 - $5,000 per post (£380 - £3,800) 

Macro influencers: $5,000 - $10,000 per post (£3,800 - £7,600) 

Mega influencers: $10,000+ per post (£7,600+) 

By looking at the cost per post across other platforms, Instagram is slightly cheaper than Facebook and YouTube. It's also the best for ROI, according to 46% of marketers.  

TikTok influencer cost 

TikTok has rapidly established itself as a dominant force in the social media arena, attracting an extensive user base of over 1.5 billion active users worldwide as of 2024. 

Celebrated for its captivating short-form videos, TikTok serves as a perfect venue for brands seeking to engage younger audiences, especially Gen Z and Millennials. The expenses associated with influencer posts on TikTok are determined by various distinctive elements, such as the creator's follower count, engagement levels, and the nature of the content being crafted. 

You'll notice the rates are cheaper on TikTok than Instagram. We put this down to content length, as its algorithm generally favors shorter clips, which are easier to produce.  

Nano influencers: $5 - $25 per post (£4 - £19) 

Micro influencers: $25 - $125 per post (£19 - £95) 

Mid-tier influencers: $125 - $1,250 per post (£95 - £950) 

Macro influencers: $1,250 - $2,500 per post (£950 - £1,900)  

Mega influencers: $2,500+ per post (£1,900+) 

Facebook influencer cost  

Launched in 2004, Facebook stands as one of the pioneering social media platforms, with a massive user base of over 2.9 billion active users worldwide. It has longevity, extensive reach, a mature audience, and a diverse range of advertising opportunities. 

The cost of influencer marketing on Facebook can vary widely, depending on factors such as audience size, engagement rates, and the specific objectives of a campaign. 

Nano influencers: $25 - $250 per post (£19 - £190) 

Micro influencers: $250 - $1,250 per post (£190 - £950) 

Mid-tier influencers: $1,250 - $12,500 per post (£950 - £9,500) 

Macro influencers: $12,500 - $25,000 per post (£9,500 - £19,000) 

Mega influencers: $25,000+ per post (£19,000+) 

You'll notice mega influencers commanding 10x more on Facebook than TikTok. Considering how fast TikTok is growing (it's officially the fastest-growing social network ever), don't be surprised to see the scales tipping the other way over the next few years.  

YouTube influencer cost  

With YouTube's vast audience of nearly 2.5 billion active users as of 2024, working with content creators on the platform can be highly rewarding for advertisers. The engagement levels are just as impressive, with users spending an average of 40 minutes per session watching videos. 

Several factors determine the cost per post on YouTube, such as the length of the content and whether you are featured in an advertisement or are the sole subject of the content. Longer videos often command higher fees, and being the main focus of a video can increase your earning potential compared to being part of an advertisement. 

Nano influencers: $20 - $200 per post (£15 - £151) 

Micro influencers: $250 - $1,250 per post (£189 - £945) 

Mid-tier influencers: $1,000 - $10,000 per post (£756 - £7,560) 

Macro influencers: $12,500 - $25,000 per post (£9,450 - £18,900) 

Mega influencers: $25,000+ per post (£18,900+) 

Market snapshot: influencer rates (UK)  

For UK advertisers considering the cost of influencer marketing, UK rates are higher than in other markets. According to analysis from Kolsquare, the majority of companies have an annual budget of over £100,000 ($132,000) for their campaigns, far greater than the spend in markets like Germany and Italy. 

Part of that high investment is simply down to how much extra you pay per post. There are three main factors at play here: 

1. Market maturity

The UK has a mature creator economy across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and emerging platforms. Creators generally have high standards and a large audience to cater to.  

2. Events

The UK has many seasonal peaks which can cause the cost per post to rise. Back-to-school, Black Friday, Christmas and January sales are just a few key dates that cause content demand to rise and can elevate influencer rates. 

3. Regulations

UK influencers arguably have to be more careful than creators in other markets around how they disclose their commercial arrangements with advertisers. Regulations around disclosure are clear and enforced, and compliance requires attention to ASA/CAP guidance. These factors feed into content creation, which passes onto influencer rates (UK) and should be reflected in timelines, scoping and budgets. 

Using benchmarks from multiple sources, here is a rough guide to the cost of influencer marketing UK: 

Nano influencers: £100 - £350 per post 
Micro influencers: £350 - £1,000 per post 
Mid-tier influencers: £1,000 - £5,000 per post 
Macro influencers: £5,000-£12,000 per post. 
Mega influencers: £12,000-£20,000 per post. 

If you require support from an agency, you also have to factor in the cost of their services. Insight from Marketing Agency Index shows the cost per campaign to start at around £500 and going up to £20,000, but you'll surpass these ranges if you're working with mega influencers with millions of followers.   

Choosing the right pricing model 

We've provided influencer rates per post, but it's not always as simple, expensive, or (dare we say) risky as paying a flat fee for a piece of content.  

Pricing models continue to evolve to better align with the needs of brands and creators. For the most part, brands want to see return on investment, which has led to a surge in demand for performance-based pricing. Creators meanwhile need to be recognized for all the value they bring aside from driving sales.   

Nevertheless, the most common pricing models in influencer marketing today include: 

• Fixed fee: A straightforward rate per deliverable or package (e.g., three short-form videos and two stories). This is standard for reach or storytelling campaigns where outcomes are less predictable. 

• Performance-led: Payment primarily based on measurable outcomes such as CPA or revenue share. Best suited to creators with established conversion performance and robust tracking in place. 

• Hybrid model: A flat fee combined with bonus payments for performance milestones (e.g. conversions, revenue, clicks). This model rewards creators for their creative labor while giving the brand a way of guaranteeing a strong ROI if their posts are successful. 

Hybrid structures are increasingly common because they give creators fair compensation for their time while providing brands with budget protection. 

If you're considering offering a hybrid pricing model yourself, remember that clarity on measurement is essential: define attribution windows, eligible actions, and thresholds that trigger bonuses. For instance, the attribution window could be a standard 30 days, measuring the period between the customer first landing on a retailer’s site and making a purchase, and the influencer could be paid for every 10 sales they generate.   

This will reduce friction in the negotiation phase and ensure both parties understand how success is recognized. 

Influencer marketing cost: common pitfalls and how to avoid them 

Many businesses fall into predictable traps that lead to budget overruns and disappointing ROI. To save you from the same fate, let’s look at a few of the most common pitfalls when costing out an influencer campaign and how to avoid them. 

1. Vague scoping 

Problem: Ambiguous briefs and rights lead to misaligned expectations and unplanned fees.  

Solution: Specify deliverables, rights, and measurement upfront.  

2. Overreliance on follower count

Problem: Follower volume looks great on paper but doesn’t deliver hard outcomes. 

Solution: Evaluate your influencer’s engagement authenticity, audience relevance, and performance history to get a clearer picture of how well your content will be received. Followers are important, but studies show creators with smaller audiences generally produce higher ROI.  

3. Neglecting paid amplification planning 

Problem: Whitelisting without pre-agreed rights inflates costs later. 

Solution: Plan all your amplification and licensing at the outset so it doesn’t burn you further down the line.  

4. Poor negotiation

Problem: Accepting influencer rates at face value, even if they could be inflated. 

Solution: Start with a clear brief and confirm deliverables, timelines, content usage, and measurement. Recognize the time and skill involved in creative work. Where appropriate, propose tiered compensation: a fair content fee plus performance-based upside.  

Key takeaways 

Now you’ve learned a little about influencer rates in the UK and globally, here’s a recap you can take into the planning of your next campaign: 

• Start with clarity: Define objectives, deliverables, rights and measurement upfront to anchor influencer pricing in value. 

• Balance your mix: Use micro, mid-tier and macro creators for different roles across the funnel to optimize efficiency. 

• Align incentives: Hybrid or performance-led models can protect budgets while rewarding strong results. 

• Standardize operations: Consistent briefs and solid tracking reduce hidden costs and speed up delivery. 

• Measure what matters: Focus on CTR, conversions, revenue and customer quality, not just follower counts or likes. 

Approached with transparency and discipline, assessing influencer marketing cost becomes a much simpler task.  

Get an extra layer of protection  

Running performance-based influencer marketing can solve the ambiguity of pricing by guaranteeing an ROI in the form of sales, clicks, and awareness. That’s where Awin comes in. 

Running influencer marketing on our affiliate platform brings a host of benefits: 

• You pay for results: You only pay a pre-agreed commission (e.g., a percentage of sales) when the influencer drives a genuine, tracked action using a unique affiliate link. 

• Your tracking is secure and reliable: Our robust tracking ensures accurate attribution, preventing the kind of guesswork that has you struggling to determine ROI.  

• Simplified payments and compliance: We handle the payment processing and reporting, reducing your administrative burden and ensuring payments are made securely and on time to the influencer. 

Start influencer marketing today