UGC rate calculator
Start from a fee per video, add the hooks, raw footage and usage rights you need, and see the whole package, the cost per video and the cost per version you can test in ads.
Video fees = fee per video × videos. Extra hooks = video fees × hooks per video × price per hook. Rights and add-ons = video fees × (raw footage + paid ad usage + ads from their account + exclusivity). Total adds the product you send. An estimate at your rates, not a market price.
What a UGC price is made of
A UGC creator doesn’t charge for an audience, because the video runs on your accounts and in your ads, not theirs. You pay for the video and for what you’re allowed to do with it. So a quote usually starts with a fee per video and grows with each extra: more opening hooks, the raw clips, the right to run it as an ad, ads from the creator’s own account, and a promise not to work for competitors.
We don’t publish a market rate for that base fee: it varies too much by niche, platform and creator, and creators set their own. Use the creator’s quote, or your budget, and the calculator shows what the extras add up to.
The formula
| Line | Formula |
|---|---|
| Video fees | Fee per video × videos |
| Extra hooks | Video fees × extra hooks per video × price per hook |
| Rights and add-ons | Video fees × (raw footage + paid ad usage + ads from their account + exclusivity) |
| Package total | Video fees + extra hooks + rights and add-ons + the product you send |
| Versions to test | Videos × (1 + extra hooks per video) |
| Cost per version | Package total ÷ versions to test |
Picking your numbers
- Fee per video. The creator’s quote for one finished video, or what you can spend. Replace the example.
- Extra hooks. A hook is the first few seconds. Asking for two more openings on the same video gives you three versions to test, for much less than three videos. Price each as a share of the video fee.
- Raw footage. The unedited clips, so your team can cut new ads. Creators often charge extra for them.
- Paid ad usage. The right to run the videos in your ads for a set time. Longer terms usually cost more; write the dates in the contract.
- Ads from their account. Running the video under the creator’s handle with a TikTok Spark Ads or Meta partnership ad code. See whitelisting and Spark Ads.
- Exclusivity. The creator doesn’t make paid content for your competitors for a while. It costs them work, so it costs you.
- Product you send. What the product, packaging and shipping cost you.
Cost per version is the number to watch
If you buy UGC for ads, what you really need is creative to test. Three videos with two extra hooks each are nine versions. When the cost per version is well below what you’d pay to make a new ad another way, hooks are the cheapest way to get more of them.
Paid UGC or a gifted creator’s post?
Some of your best UGC may already exist. Creators you gifted often post videos that do well on their own, and licensing one of those means paying for a video that’s already proven itself. Our guide to UGC usage rights has the email to ask with, and UGC vs influencer content explains the difference.
Questions
How much does UGC cost?
There’s no single market rate: it depends on the creator, the niche, the platform and what rights you need. Start from the creator’s quote for one video and add the extras; the calculator shows the total.
Why don’t UGC rates depend on followers?
Because the video runs on your accounts and in your ads, not on the creator’s. You pay for the video and its use, so on-camera skill matters more than audience size.
Should usage rights cost extra?
Usually, yes. Running a video in paid ads, for a longer time or from the creator’s account is worth more to you, and creators price it in. Agree it in writing.
Where do the default numbers come from?
They’re an example to show how the calculator works, not market rates. Replace them with the creator’s quote and the extras you need.
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