How much does a micro-influencer charge per post?

Later's 2026 benchmarks put micro creators (10K to 100K followers) at $500 to $2,500 a post across platforms. Influencer Marketing Hub's 2026 figures are lower: $200 to $800 on TikTok and $100 to $1,000 on Instagram for 10K to 50K followers. Aspire's 2026 creator survey lands in between at $350 to $750.

What follower count counts as nano, micro or macro?

There is no single standard. Most reports call 1K to 10K nano, 10K to 100K micro and 100K to 1M macro. Influencer Marketing Hub splits Instagram into 10K to 50K micro and 50K to 500K mid-tier. Aspire calls 2.5K to 25K nano. Always check the cutoffs before comparing two rate tables.

Is there a rate per 1,000 followers?

People quote rules like that, but follower-based rules overpay for dead audiences. A better rule is cost per 1,000 views: the fee divided by the median views on the creator's last 12 posts, times 1,000. It compares creators of any size on the same footing.

Why do bigger influencers cost more per post but sometimes less per view?

Rates climb with size, but not in a straight line, and views don't scale with followers either. A macro creator with steady views can cost less per 1,000 views than a micro creator whose audience has stopped watching. Price the views, then compare the tiers.

Influencer rates by follower count: nano to mega

Follower count is the first thing a creator's rate is pegged to, and the least reliable thing to pay for. This page lays out the influencer pricing tiers from four current sources, so you can see where a quote sits. Then it shows why you should still price on views. For everything outside the creator's fee, such as rights, whitelisting and budgets, see the main guide on influencer marketing cost.

Rates move monthly and vary by niche. Treat every range below as a starting point for negotiation.

What are the influencer tiers by follower count?

Reports don't agree on cutoffs. Here is the most common split, with the variations you'll run into.

Tier	Common range	Variations in 2026 reports
Nano	1K to 10K	Aspire uses 2.5K to 25K
Micro	10K to 100K	IMH uses 10K to 50K on Instagram and YouTube
Mid-tier	50K to 500K	Many reports skip it and jump to macro
Macro	100K to 1M	IMH uses 500K to 1M on Instagram and YouTube
Mega	1M+	Celebrities sit here too

If two rate tables disagree, check the cutoffs first. A "macro" of 150K and a "macro" of 800K are different purchases. For which tier to use, not just what it costs, see micro vs macro influencers.

Influencer rates by follower count and platform

Per-post ranges from Influencer Marketing Hub's TikTok rates (August 2026), Influencer Marketing Hub's rates by platform (September 2026) and Later's all-platform benchmarks (updated July 2026):

Tier	TikTok (IMH)	Instagram (IMH)	YouTube (IMH)	All platforms (Later)
Nano	$50 to $200	$10 to $100	$20 to $200	$100 to $500
Micro	$200 to $800	$100 to $1,000	$200 to $1,000	$500 to $2,500
Mid-tier	Not split out	$1,000 to $5,000	$1,000 to $10,000	Not split out
Macro	$800 to $5,000	$5,000 to $10,000	$10,000 to $50,000	$2,500 to $10,000+
Mega	$5,000 to $50,000+	$10,000+	$50,000+	$10,000 to $50,000+

Two patterns hold across sources. YouTube costs the most at every tier because a video takes longer to make and keeps getting found. TikTok costs the least for the same follower count. Aspire's 2026 survey of nearly 1,200 creators put TikTok roughly 40% to 55% below Instagram Reels at every tier. Platform detail lives in TikTok influencer rates.

What creators say they charge vs what brands say they pay

Published ranges are wide. Surveys narrow them.

Tier	Creators: Aspire median, TikTok or Instagram feed post (2026)	Brands: IMH Benchmark Report 2026
Nano	$150 TikTok, $250 Instagram Reel	About 55% of responses under $500
Micro	$350 to $750	About 45.5% of responses under $500
Mid-tier	$900 to $1,800	Most common bands: $2,000 to $5,000 and $5,000 to $10,000, about 22.2% each
Macro	$2,250 to $4,000	Spread widely, including over $10,000

Brand responses come from Influencer Marketing Hub's Benchmark Report 2026, a survey of 600+ respondents. Brand-reported mid-tier costs run higher than creator medians, likely because brands report full deal costs with rights and multiple deliverables, while creators report a base rate for one post.

Why follower count is a bad way to price

Follower count measures everyone who ever tapped follow. It doesn't measure who watches now. A creator who went viral two years ago can carry 200K followers and get 8K views a post. You'd be paying a macro rate for a micro audience.

Price on views instead:

Take the last 12 posts, skipping pinned ones.
Find the median views.
Divide the fee by the median views and multiply by 1,000.

That cost per 1,000 views lets you compare a 12K creator with a 300K creator on the same footing. It also exposes bought followers, because fake followers don't watch. How to vet a TikTok creator covers the full set of checks.

Running that math on a long shortlist is tedious. Scan any TikTok handle free to get the creator's views, engagement and a 0 to 100 score in one place. Use the median views to judge the quote, whatever tier it says it belongs to.

Do usage rights cost more at bigger tiers?

Yes, and the gap widens as creators grow. The base rate covers one organic post. If you want to run the video as an ad, repost it, or keep it forever, that's extra. Aspire's 2026 survey found 86% of creators charge more for usage rights, with a median 25% upcharge for one month of digital use. Perpetual rights ran about 50% on top, rising to 100% for mega creators.

So a $4,000 macro post with perpetual rights can become an $8,000 line on the invoice. Ask for 30 or 90 days unless you have a real plan to run the ad longer.

Which follower tier gives the best value?

Our view: for most brands under a five-figure budget, micro creators are the best starting tier. They charge a fraction of macro rates, their views tend to track their followers more closely, and you can run enough of them to learn which angle works. Nano creators are cheap but often unproven on deliverables, so pay them in product or product plus a small fee. Macro and mega make sense when you need reach in a short window, like a launch, and have already proven the message with smaller creators.

None of this shows sales. Public views and engagement can't tell you who bought. Track codes or links per creator, and let the first campaign tell you which tier converts for your product.