YouTube Influencer Pricing: What To Buy, Costs, & How To Negotiate
November 28, 2024
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10 min
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One of the #1 questions our customers ask is: “How do we know how much to pay influencers?!”
There are nuances per social platform, so here we're specifically tackling YouTube influencer prices.
You'll get a solid overview of:
- The main deliverables & add-ons you can buy from YouTubers
- What pricing is usually based upon
- Ballpark ranges, and things that affect pricing
- Tips on negotiation
To give the best possible overview, I'm assisted by 4 influencer marketing pros who have hundreds (if not thousands) of YouTube collaborations under their belts:
👉 Mark Dandy, Influencer Marketing Consultant
👉 Julianne Kiider, Influencer, Affiliate & Partnerships Consultant, (prev. Under Armour, Made In Cookware)
👉 Marit Tiesema, Sr. KOL & Ambassador Specialist at Loop Earplugs
👉 Suhit Amin, Founder, Saulderson Media
What can you buy from influencers on YouTube?
Dedicated video
Dedicated videos are a format in which a YouTuber produces an entire, dedicated infomercial-style video for your product.
Pros 👍
With a dedicated video, you’re essentially getting a creative solution to your brand goals. Location; scripting; storyboarding — everything goes toward promoting your brand and product. All of which makes feedback and vetting quicker and easier.
They're typically good for detailed reviews/comparisons, complex products, or sharing experiences (like a brand trip or event).
Each view is worth more too — you'll likely have eyeballs on your brand for longer, creating a deeper connection with the brand/product vs a 30-90 second integration.
Cons 👎
Dedicated videos are the most expensive YouTube influencer marketing deliverable, which makes them less accessible for some brands.
They also typically get fewer views, and the format can potentially feel overly promotional (depending on the execution).
Non-dedicated video (integrations)
In contrast, non-dedicated videos (also known as integrations) are built into a separate video that the YouTuber already has planned.
Integrations can pre, mid, or post-roll and typically last 30 – 90 seconds. They come in two distinct flavors. Here's a definition, courtesy of Marit Tiesema:
✅ Seamless integrations: These are naturally woven into the video’s storyline. Ideally, your main mention will be within the first five minutes to reach viewers before potential drop-off. And if you can get some organic exposure through the rest of the video, all the better.
✅ Spot-based integrations: Here, the ad is a standalone segment within a YouTube video. Often, this involves the creator taking a moment to introduce the brand (“Today’s sponsor is…”), which distinctly separates it from the main content flow.
Pros 👍
The big benefit of integrations is that they’re often significantly cheaper than a dedicated video. So you get to work with your desired influencers at a fraction of the cost — plus you can use add-ons like pinned comments and product links (more on them later) to drive action.
Cons 👎
Inevitably, integrations give you less control over how the rest of the video looks and feels. Plus, the overall topic. This can lead to clashes with your brand style, guidelines, and other goals.
For instance, you might run into scenarios where the integrated part of the video follows your brief — but the rest of the content features multiple references to other brands. Should you ask for them to be removed? And what if the influencer says no? It’s all a little murky.
Mark noted that integrations bring new complications to pricing, too:
Now, it matters how long the integration will last, and when the integration will take place. Which means you then have to consider average watch time and so on.
Since dedicated videos & integrations are the most common deliverables, here's a summary to compare the two:
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YouTube Shorts
Shorts are YouTube’s take on TikTok and Instagram Reels. They can be up to three minutes long, although most are shorter.
Pros 👍
While Shorts can be purchased as individual placements, most brands use them as an add-on.
For example, they can be a good addition when you’re working with influencers on other short-form video formats (like TikTok), as the creatives can be repurposed for different platforms. They can also be an add-on to long-form YouTube campaigns, as the influencer can cut and slice their content for Shorts.
Cons 👎
It’s harder to track direct click-throughs with Shorts, so they’re not a great fit for conversion-focused campaigns.
Arguably, each view is also worth less — since the viewer is likely less engaged.
Live-stream mentions
Live streaming allows influencers to broadcast to their audience in real time. With no time limit on YouTube live streams, there’s plenty of opportunity for your influencer partner to feature your brand and products.
Pros 👍
As well as paying influencers to feature you during a live stream, you can sponsor an entire live-streamed event. This can be particularly effective in niches like tech and gaming.
Cons 👎
Because they’re typically longer than your average YouTube video (and also unscripted), live streams tend to have a lower audience retention rate. So if your mention doesn’t happen early in the stream, you risk missing a big chunk of your audience.
YouTube add-ons
The following formats are rarely (if ever) used as standalone deliverables. But they can be valuable bolt-ons to a broader YouTube campaign. Sometimes they can be free; other times they're a small added cost.
Community posts
Community posts are exactly what they sound like — posts on a YouTuber’s Community page.
These posts often get missed by all but the most fanatical subscribers, and they have low engagement rates. But they’re worth having if you can get them bundled cheaply.
Product links within description
If the goal of your influencer campaign is to generate conversions on your website, you’ll want your influencer partner to add some sort of clickable CTA.
One option is for them to add product or landing page links to the video’s description:
Pinned comments with link
Influencers can also pin comments on their own videos, giving them another opportunity to link to your website:
What are YouTube influencer prices typically based on?
YouTube pricing should be based on views.
Historically, it’s been more about subscribers, but views have become a bigger focus in recent years.
This is definitely a good thing for brands, because big subscriber counts don’t guarantee lots of eyes on influencer videos.
Using an influencer marketing platform like Modash can speed up the work & decision-making here. Here's what it looks like 👇.
(Data is available for every YouTuber with 1K+ subscribers, without reaching out to ask for media kits.)
Beyond views, there are lots of other factors that affect YouTube influencer pricing beyond average views. I’ll run through them here:
Market 🌎
Location, location, location…
The market you’re targeting will have a big impact on YouTube influencer pricing. The most expensive markets tend to be the US, UK, and Canada.
Ad placement 👈
If you’re planning an integration rather than a dedicated video, the position of your ad can also affect pricing.
Post-roll ads are cheaper because influencers know viewers drop off as the video goes on. Brands with smaller budgets can benefit by purchasing post-roll ads because they’ll be seen by the most engaged viewers & they're cheaper.
Influencer niche 🤳
Expect to pay more to work with YouTube influencers in specific niches. Some, like beauty, moms, and tech are notably costly.
Meanwhile, for key opinion leaders, professional athletes typically charge top-tier fees.
And if you pick a niche with only a handful of macro-influencers, you’ll most likely have to pay more to work with them.
Social status 💰
Influencers can typically charge more if their status extends beyond the world of social media — such as if they’re a musician or a TV personality.
Deadlines 🗓️
Tight timelines often lead to higher fees, as you’re essentially asking influencers to prioritize your project over other clients.
Brand perception 👀
The way people see your brand (and niche) can also affect YouTube influencer pricing, as Marit explains:
Fees tend to be higher for brands perceived as less desirable, or for brands in more sensitive categories.
For example, a high-end fashion house might get away with paying lower fees than a fast fashion brand.
Industry 🏭
In more complex industries like tech and finance, influencers often have to carry out extensive research when producing content — so they charge more for brand partnerships. On the flip side, more accessible niches (like general lifestyle products) tend to be cheaper for brands.
Ballpark figures for YouTube influencer pricing
How long is a piece of string?
Given all the factors in the previous section, YouTube pricing can vary widely, so ballpark figures are hard to come by — and might not be particularly helpful for your brand and niche.
Still, here are some broad numbers based on what we're seeing. Mostly in the US, so this might varely widely in other markets.
Trends in YouTube influencer pricing for 2025
Creators acquire management earlier
Mark noted that, as YouTube becomes increasingly desirable for brands, influencers on the platform are signing up with talent managers earlier in their careers. This is pushing up prices for smaller influencers to cover management fees.
Anecdotally, talent management starts to become more prevalent around 20-50k followers/subs, but this varies a lot.
Increased production quality = higher costs & more TV watch time
Audiences are watching more and more YouTube content on TVs, which means the production and quality of YouTube videos is higher than ever, says Julianne.
Influencers realize this and are investing more heavily in production equipment, videographers, shoot locations, etc, which is driving up the overall cost for integrations.
TV watch time also increases the usefulness of using QR codes (as well as description links) for measurement.
Hint: Modash also has features to collect influencer content (automatically), create UTM links, QR codes, promo codes (via Shopify) — and track usage. 😏
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YouTube Shorts encourage bundling
The launch of YouTube Shorts has brought more influencer marketing spend to YouTube, with more brands negotiating bundled deals of long and short-form YouTube content.
Influencer whitelisting is coming to YouTube
Influencer whitelisting isn't really a thing on YouTube. Or, at least not publicly. Suhit suggests that is already changing:
Although it isn't released publicly yet, our reps at YouTube are pushing us & clients to test out a new whitelisting feature. I expect this becomes more common in 2025, like on Instagram & TikTok.
8 tips & best practices for negotiating YouTube influencer pricing
1. Skim, don’t add on
Marit suggests that when structuring an influencer proposal, you should include all your desired deliverables in the initial offer. That way, if the influencer’s quote is too high, you can reduce it by removing non-essentials.
Adding extra deliverables after agreeing on a price makes it harder to secure the advantages of a package deal. It also often results in a longer negotiation process, requiring unnecessary time and effort from both parties.
2. Before you walk away, try negotiating on deliverables
If a quote is too high, first — you can remove non-essential deliverables from your proposal. Beyond that, Julianne suggests negotiating by adjusting the items on your shopping list. For instance, try:
➡️ Swapping a pre-roll ad integration for a mid-roll or post-roll
⏱️ Substituting a 60-second ad read for a 30-second one
3. Look at how many ads the influencer has worked on recently
Has the influencer worked on a ton of ads in the last couple months? If so, look at their performance in comparison to their organic content, says Mark.
If the performance is good, it's likely the influencer is in high demand because they’re delivering results. Budget accordingly.
If you're just starting — you can do this without tooling by manually scrolling through the YouTuber's channel.
If you're starting to pick up the volume, and you need to get data & make decisions faster — Modash helps with quickly identifying past sponsored content.
4. Plan a secondary negotiation point
Marit suggests you can get greater flexibility (and a better deal) by leveraging more than one angle in your price negotiations. For example:
✅ If the influencer proactively shares their rates, ask for additional metrics like audience demographics. This gives you room to evaluate and negotiate based on data.
✅ If the fee is slightly above budget, see if they can meet a shorter deadline, benefiting your brand’s schedule.
✅ If you need a lower CPM, try adding a simple reshare on Stories, which requires minimal effort.
5. Don’t bluff too hard
Sure, you want the best possible deal. But don’t negotiate too hard, because you could damage your relationship with an influencer before it’s even begun.
Stick to negotiating around 20% below your max budget. For example, proposing $1K but settling at $3K signals that you lack transparency, which can affect trust and future partnerships.
6. Consider performance-based bonuses
Another popular negotiating tactic is to add on a performance-based element for quotes that are above budget.
Offer to include a hybrid affiliate model where you pay them commission on sales produced through a link, in addition to a flat fee, to bring down the price.
7. Buy in bulk
Whether you’re purchasing office supplies, groceries, or influencer content, buying in bulk can often get you a better deal. Julianne often encourages brands to buy 3+ videos at a time (or two videos for higher-priced influencers) to secure a lower cost per video.
8. Offer to kit out their space for long-term impact
Does your brand sell products that an influencer could use in their videos for years to come?
In that case, you might be able to secure a better deal, while also earning extra exposure, says Julianne. For instance, a cookware brand could kit out a food influencer’s production kitchen with knives, pans, and a bunch of other essential gear.
This can reduce the price of working with the influencer, as well as giving your brand a ton of free visual ‘reach’ in their non-sponsored videos and building the organic connection from the influencer to your products.
Suhit also noted this can work well in gaming & tech. For example, including PC/laptop & hardware costs as part of the fee.
👉 For more negotiation best practices, check out 9 Tips To Negotiate With Influencers (Without Being Unfair).
Negotiating YouTube influencer pricing with Modash
Data is your best friend when it comes to negotiating fees with YouTube influencers — and Modash helps you quickly access the numbers you need.
First, you can use filters to find YouTube influencers that meet your criteria in the first place:
Second, you can review YouTuber profiles to check if they’re a fit, before you invest time into reaching out:
Modash can provide data on…
✅ Audience locations
✅ Average views
✅ Average comments per video
✅ Past sponsors
… and more.
See for yourself by creating your free Modash account — no credit card required!
