Instagram reel rates by follower tier
Walk-away is the point below which the deal loses money once you count shooting, editing and the collab you turned down. Fair is what the audience supports. Opening is what you quote first, because if you open at the number you would accept, you will close below it.
| Tier | Followers | Expected views | Walk-away | Fair | Opening quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano | 5,000 | 6,000 | ₹2,800 | ₹3,300 | ₹4,000 |
| Micro | 30,000 | 27,000 | ₹12,200 | ₹14,400 | ₹17,300 |
| Mid | 1,20,000 | 86,400 | ₹38,000 | ₹44,700 | ₹53,600 |
| Macro | 5,00,000 | 3,00,000 | ₹1,26,200 | ₹1,48,500 | ₹1,78,200 |
| Mega | 25,00,000 | 11,25,000 | ₹4,62,800 | ₹5,44,500 | ₹6,53,400 |
Need a size that is not here? See the worked pages for 1K, 5K, 10K, 50K, 100K, 500K and 1M followers, or type your own numbers into the influencer fee calculator.
The same audience is worth very different money by platform
At 1 lakh followers or subscribers, one primary deliverable prices like this. LinkedIn looks strange until you remember who is watching: a buyer of B2B software is worth more per view than almost anyone on a reels feed.
| Platform | Deliverable | Expected views | Fair fee | Cost per view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 72,000 | ₹37,200 | ₹0.55 | |
| YouTube | Dedicated video | 30,000 | ₹56,400 | ₹2.00 |
| Post | 35,000 | ₹98,700 | ₹3.00 | |
| X | Post | 55,000 | ₹56,900 | ₹1.10 |
| Snapchat | Spotlight video | 60,000 | ₹16,900 | ₹0.30 |
| Post | 45,000 | ₹14,800 | ₹0.35 | |
| ShareChat / Moj | Moj video | 95,000 | ₹10,700 | ₹0.12 |
TikTok is left out because it has been blocked in India since June 2020. The calculator still prices it for creators with audiences abroad.
What each Instagram format costs
A reel is the reference price. Everything else is a multiple of it.
| Deliverable | Relative to a reel | Fair fee |
|---|---|---|
| Reel | 1.00× | ₹37,200 |
| Carousel post | 0.95× | ₹35,400 |
| Feed post | 0.85× | ₹31,600 |
| Collab post | 1.15× | ₹42,800 |
| Story set (3 frames) | 0.45× | ₹16,800 |
| Live session | 1.20× | ₹44,700 |
More than one piece in a deal earns the brand a discount of about 5.5% per extra piece, capped at 22%. Three reels should not cost three times one reel, but they should cost more than two.
Niche changes the price
Finance and B2B pay well above average, comedy and gaming below. The work is not worth less. The audience converts differently, and brands pay for the conversion.
| Niche | Multiplier | Fair reel fee |
|---|---|---|
| B2B / SaaS | 1.60× | ₹59,600 |
| Finance & investing | 1.55× | ₹57,700 |
| Real estate | 1.35× | ₹50,300 |
| Tech & gadgets | 1.30× | ₹48,400 |
| Education & careers | 1.20× | ₹44,700 |
| Health & fitness | 1.15× | ₹42,800 |
| Beauty & skincare | 1.10× | ₹40,900 |
| Parenting | 1.05× | ₹39,100 |
| Fashion | 1.05× | ₹39,100 |
| Travel | 1.00× | ₹37,200 |
| Lifestyle & vlogs | 1.00× | ₹37,200 |
| Food & cooking | 0.95× | ₹35,400 |
| Gaming | 0.90× | ₹33,500 |
| Comedy & entertainment | 0.85× | ₹31,600 |
The lines most creators forget to bill
A reel fee buys one post, on your account, to your audience. If the brand wants to run it as an ad, put it on a product page or lock you out of its competitors, those are separate things, and each one has a price.
| Add-on | Term | Share of fee | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid usage rights | 1 month | 20% | ₹7,400 |
| Paid usage rights | 3 months | 40% | ₹14,900 |
| Paid usage rights | 6 months | 65% | ₹24,200 |
| Paid usage rights | 12 months | 100% | ₹37,200 |
| Category exclusivity | 1 month | 15% | ₹5,600 |
| Category exclusivity | 3 months | 25% | ₹9,300 |
| Category exclusivity | 6 months | 40% | ₹14,900 |
| Whitelisting (ads run from your handle) | Per deal | 25% | ₹9,300 |
| Raw files | Per deal | 15% | ₹5,600 |
| Rush, under 72 hours | Per deal | 25% | ₹9,300 |
If a brand will not put a usage term in writing, assume it intends to use the content forever and price accordingly. The polite version of the question is: "Happy to include paid usage. Is that for three months or twelve?"
Why views beat followers
Follower count measures how many people once tapped a button. Views measure who sees the work. A 5,000-follower account that reliably pulls 2,00,000 views on a reel prices at about ₹1,10,000 on those views, against ₹3,300 on its follower count. If you know your average views, price on them. If you are a brand, ask for them.
A worked example, including tax
A beauty creator with 1 lakh followers sells one reel with three months of paid usage, and is registered for GST.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Base reel fee (₹37,200 × 1.10 beauty multiplier) | ₹40,946 |
| Paid usage, 3 months (40%) | ₹16,379 |
| Taxable value | ₹57,325 |
| GST at 18%, paid over to the government | ₹10,318 |
| Invoice total | ₹67,643 |
| TDS at 10% on the taxable value, credited against your PAN | −₹5,732 |
| Reaches your bank account | ₹61,911 |
Read TDS and GST for influencers for why the deduction happens and how the new Income-tax Act changed the section numbers.
Where these numbers come from
The engine multiplies expected views by a cost-per-view rate for the platform, then adjusts for a tier-efficiency curve, engagement against accounts your size, niche and where the audience lives. These are market priors, not closed-deal data: a defensible starting position, not a promise that any brand will pay it. Rates vary by category, season, agency margin and how badly a brand needs a slot in the next two weeks. Published guides disagree widely for the same reason, so anchor on your own views.
You may cite these tables with a link to this page under CC BY 4.0.