Should organic reposts be free?

Many creators include them in the base rate. Gigapay's roundup puts organic reposts for 30–90 days at 0–15% of base. Decide once, and say so in your rate card.

How do I price a perpetual buyout?

As a clear multiple of your base. The same roundup cites UGC Bloom at 150–300% of base for a full perpetual buyout across all channels. Declining is also an option.

Is whitelisting priced separately from usage?

Usually, yes. Running ads through your handle uses your name and audience, so it's usually priced as its own line, per 30 days.

What if the brand ran my ad longer than they paid for?

Collect dated screenshots from the Ad Library, then ask them to pause or pay for the extra time. Your contract decides what you can claim. This is not legal advice.

UGC usage rights pricing: what to charge in 2026, with a rate table

Updated November 6, 2026 · 6 min read

Most UGC creators charge for usage rights as a percentage of their base rate, priced by how the brand will use the video and for how long. Gigapay's 2026 rate roundup, citing UGC Bloom, puts 30 days of paid social at 20–30% of base and 90 days at 30–45%, with a full perpetual buyout at 150–300%.

Why usage is priced separately from the video

Your base rate pays for making the video: the idea, filming, editing and revisions. Usage rights pay for what the brand does with it afterwards. A video that sits on a brand's feed earns them a little; the same video run as a paid ad can drive sales for months. Pricing the 2 parts separately lets you charge fairly for both.

It also makes renewals simple. When the window ends and the ad is still working, the brand pays for more time, not for a new video.

2026 benchmarks, as a share of your base rate

These ranges come from Gigapay's 2026 roundup of usage and whitelisting fees, which compiles rate cards from UGC Bloom, InfluencerFee, CreatoHunt and others. They're market benchmarks, not rules: your niche, track record and the brand's budget all move the number.

Usage: Organic repost, 30–90 days: Typical add-on: 0–15% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): UGC Bloom, InfluencerFee

Usage: Paid social, 30 days: Typical add-on: 20–30% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): UGC Bloom

Usage: Paid social, 90 days: Typical add-on: 30–45% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): UGC Bloom

Usage: Paid social, 12 months: Typical add-on: 70–100% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): UGC Bloom

Usage: Website and email, 12 months: Typical add-on: 20–35% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): UGC Bloom

Usage: Whitelisting through your handle, per 30 days: Typical add-on: 25–50% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): InfluencerFee, Influencer Marketing Hub

Usage: Full perpetual buyout, all channels: Typical add-on: 150–300% of base; Benchmark source (via Gigapay): UGC Bloom

2026 benchmarks, as a share of your base rate
Usage	Typical add-on	Benchmark source (via Gigapay)
Organic repost, 30–90 days	0–15% of base	UGC Bloom, InfluencerFee
Paid social, 30 days	20–30% of base	UGC Bloom
Paid social, 90 days	30–45% of base	UGC Bloom
Paid social, 12 months	70–100% of base	UGC Bloom
Website and email, 12 months	20–35% of base	UGC Bloom
Whitelisting through your handle, per 30 days	25–50% of base	InfluencerFee, Influencer Marketing Hub
Full perpetual buyout, all channels	150–300% of base	UGC Bloom

A worked example

Say your base rate is $400 for a 30-second video, and the brand wants to run it as a paid ad on Meta for 90 days. Using the 30–45% benchmark, usage adds $120–$180, so you'd quote $520–$580 in total. If they also want to run it through your handle for the first 30 days, Gigapay lists whitelisting as a separate add-on at 25–50% of base per 30 days: another $100–$200, or $620–$780 with both.

Quote each part on its own line. Brands compare line items, and a separate usage line makes it obvious what a renewal will cost later.

Price a usage window with the free calculator

How to set your own usage prices

A simple way to build a usage rate card you can reuse for every brand:

Start from your base rate for the video itself, without any usage.
Include organic reposts in your base, or add a small fee, and say which in your rate card.
Add a percentage for paid usage that grows with the length of the window: 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, 12 months.
Price whitelisting as its own line, per 30 days, because the ad uses your name and audience.
Quote perpetual buyouts at a clear multiple of your base, or decline them.
Write the renewal price into the quote, so extending is a yes or no, not a new negotiation.

Extensions, buyouts and late usage

Gigapay's roundup, citing CreatoHunt, puts mid-campaign extensions (for example from 30 to 90 days) at 60–75% of the original rate. It also cites UGC Bloom's math that a 150% perpetual buyout only beats 90-day pricing if the brand keeps using the video for about 338 days. For a brand, buying short and renewing is often cheaper; for you, short windows mean more chances to be paid again.

Late usage is different from a renewal. If a brand keeps running your ad after the window ended, they used time they didn't buy. Many creators invoice for that time at their normal monthly usage rate, and some add a premium because it wasn't agreed in advance. What you can claim depends on your contract and the law where you are; this guide is not legal advice.

Make sure you're paid for the time they actually use

Pricing usage only works if someone checks when it ends. Brands copy winning ads into new campaigns, and the copies keep running after the original is paused. That's how zombie ads happen: creator ads still running after the license ended, with nobody on the brand side noticing.

Put each deal's end date in your calendar, and check Meta's public Ad Library around that date. The free zombie ads check does the search for you, counts the days past your end date, and drafts a short email asking the brand to pause or pay.

Check if your ads are still running What to do if a brand runs your ad past the end date

Common questions

How much should I charge for UGC usage rights?: A common method is a percentage of your base rate. Gigapay's 2026 roundup, citing UGC Bloom, puts 30 days of paid social at 20–30% of base and 90 days at 30–45%. Other benchmarks in the same roundup start at 15% per 30 days.
Should organic reposts be free?: Many creators include them in the base rate. Gigapay's roundup puts organic reposts for 30–90 days at 0–15% of base. Decide once, and say so in your rate card.
How do I price a perpetual buyout?: As a clear multiple of your base. The same roundup cites UGC Bloom at 150–300% of base for a full perpetual buyout across all channels. Declining is also an option.
Is whitelisting priced separately from usage?: Usually, yes. Running ads through your handle uses your name and audience, so it's usually priced as its own line, per 30 days.
What if the brand ran my ad longer than they paid for?: Collect dated screenshots from the Ad Library, then ask them to pause or pay for the extra time. Your contract decides what you can claim. This is not legal advice.

Is a brand still running your video?

Look up any brand in Meta's public Ad Library in one tap, count the days past your license, and get a ready-made email asking them to pause or pay. Free, no signup, nothing stored.

Check for zombie ads

Sources: Gigapay, Influencer usage rights and whitelisting fees in 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your contract, and the law where you live, decide what a brand may do with your content.