Costs and pricing
Part of Influencer rate card for UK creators: priced lines, a worked example and invoicing notes
Influencer rate card for UK creators: priced lines, a worked example and invoicing notes
An influencer rate card explained for UK brand deals: priced deliverable lines with illustrative figures, sole trader invoicing notes and advice on quoting brands.
What to take away
- A rate card is a priced menueach line names one deliverable, one fee, one usage window and one payment term.
- Quote in pounds sterling and say whether the figure includes VAT, so a brand can compare you with other suppliers.
- Build the fee from hours and costs you can evidence, then check it against the market instead of copying a stranger's post.
- Register as a sole trader before the first invoice and keep the paperwork for every job.
- Keep the rate card inside the media kit, so proof and price reach the buyer in one document.
What a UK rate card has to show
British brands usually buy a defined deliverable: one TikTok video with one round of edits, or three Instagram stories in a set week. A rate card shaped around that answer gets replies. Start each line with the deliverable, then add the format, the lead time you need and the fee.
Three fields stop most negotiations before they start. First, usage rights: say how long a brand may reuse the content. Second, exclusivity: name the categories you will not promote at the same time. Third, payment terms: state when the invoice falls due.
If you are rebuilding the surrounding document too, the guide to creating an influencer media kit for UK brand deals sets the page order before prices go in. Prices without audience evidence read as a wish list.
Worked example with labelled figures
The table below is one worked example for a creator with a small, engaged audience. Every figure is illustrative and shows the structure, not a market average.
Base fee vs usage fee
Base fee
- What it pays for
- the work
- TikTok video
- £350
- Instagram Reel
- £300
- Three stories
- £450
- When it applies
- on delivery
Usage fee
- What it pays for
- right to keep running
- TikTok video
- 25% uplift, 90 days
- Instagram Reel
- same 30-day window
- Three stories
- 30-day usage
- When it applies
- after agreed window
| Line | Deliverable | Illustrative fee | What the fee covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TikTok video, single post | £350 | half a shoot day, two edit rounds, organic use for 30 days |
| 2 | Instagram Reel, single post | £300 | separate edit, same 30-day usage window |
| 3 | Three stories in one week | £450 | one shoot day, one edit round, 30-day usage |
| 4 | Paid usage extension, 90 days | 25% uplift on the base line | whitelisting code and a reporting date |
Note what the fees cover. The base fee pays for the work; the usage fee pays for the brand's right to keep running the content after the agreed window. Splitting the two turns a negotiation about your worth into a conversation about scope.
Pricing the work, not the follower count
Start from a day rate. If a shoot day, travel and three edits take about ten hours and your target day rate is £250, that bundle needs to clear £250 before any usage uplift. Log the hours you actually spend on three jobs and the estimate improves.
Day rate maths
- £250target day rate
- 10 hoursshoot, travel and three edits
- £250bundle must clear before uplift
Usage beyond the agreed window is a separate line, usually a percentage uplift on the base fee. Name the percentage and the period, and repeat both on the invoice.
Tax and invoicing notes for sole traders
- Register as a sole trader with HMRC before your first invoice; GOV.UK's guide to setting up a business explains the structure choices.
- Send one numbered invoice per job, naming the client, the deliverable, the date and the amount.
- Check your rolling turnover against the VAT registration threshold on GOV.UK. Once you pass it, register and show VAT as a separate line on the rate card.
- Keep the brief, the agreed rate card version and the delivery note in one folder, so a query six months later takes minutes to answer.
Income tax on that work runs through Self Assessment, so the invoice date decides which tax year the money falls into.
Quoting rates to British brands
Quote in writing, in pounds, repeating the rate card line. Name the deliverable, the fee, the usage window and the date the price holds. A short email beats a paragraph of persuasion.
Whatever you charge, the post itself has to be identifiable as advertising. The CAP Code, published by the ASA, sets the labelling rules that apply to paid and gifted collaborations alike.
Keep the media kit in the order a buyer reads it. This outline of what UK media kits must include is a workable sequence; put the priced page after the audience evidence, not before it.
Common questions
Do I need to be VAT registered before I publish a rate card?
No. You can quote and invoice without VAT until your rolling turnover passes the registration threshold. Once registered, show your fee excluding VAT and add VAT on its own line.
Should the rate card show one price or a range?
One price per deliverable, plus a stated floor for work outside the standard menu. Ranges invite the lower number.
How do I price a gifted collaboration?
Treat it as work with a fee of zero and record the product's retail value. The labelling rules still apply, and the hours you spend are a real cost.
Where does the rate card sit in a media kit?
On its own page, after the audience evidence and before the contact details. Some creators add a downloadable version of that page so a brand can forward it internally.
