Is This Brand Deal Offer Fair? A 4-Step Check for Creators

Is this brand deal offer fair? Only if the fee covers the videos at your size and every extra, like ad usage, is priced on top. US$200 for three videos plus 30 days of ads fails: at 1k to 10k followers, the floor is about US$975.

Why does checking the offer before you reply matter?

Because your reply sets the price for this brand and usually for the next one. In negotiation research, the first offer is a strong predictor of the final price (Galinsky and Mussweiler, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology), so a lowball accepted today becomes the starting point next time.

Getting the fee right is also only half the job. A survey reported by Business Insider found that 87% of creators had been paid late, paid the wrong amount, or not paid at all. That is why the fourth check below is about money arriving, not just money promised. And Digiday reports that 30 to 90 day payment terms are common in influencer deals, so a fair fee paid in three months is a different offer from the same fee paid in two weeks.

What are the four checks for a fair brand deal offer?

Do them in order. Each one takes a minute, and you need nothing but the brand's message and a calculator.

1. Price the videos alone. Ignore everything else in the offer and ask what the deliverables would cost at your size. Use the house bands for 2026 by follower count, the same for a post on your own account or a UGC video the brand posts:

   • under 1k followers: US$50 to US$150 per video
   • 1k to 10k: US$250 to US$1,000
   • 10k to 50k: US$1,000 to US$4,000
   • 50k to 100k: US$3,000 to US$8,000
   • 100k to 500k: US$6,000 to US$20,000
   • 500k and up: US$15,000 to US$50,000

   Followers are the starting point, not the price. If your average views beat your follower count, price from the views. Quality, scope and usage move you up the band. The Creator Rate Calculator gives you a starting figure in your own currency.

2. Add usage, whitelisting, exclusivity and raw footage separately. Each is its own line, never folded into the video fee. Paid-ad usage adds about 30% for 30 days and 40% to 60% for 90 days. Whitelisting (the brand running ads from your account) is priced like paid usage. Exclusivity is priced as the income you lose in that category. Raw footage is priced or kept. The full ladder is in usage rights for creators.

3. Count the revision rounds and the timeline. Two rounds is common. "Unlimited revisions" or no number at all is a hidden cost. As a rough rule, a turnaround under five working days for edited video is a rush and can carry a rush fee.

4. Check the payment terms, and whether it is paid at all. Look for a fee in money, a currency, an invoice date and a due date. Free product, "exposure" or a discount code is gifting, not payment.

Add the lines from steps 1 and 2. That total is your fair price. Then compare it with the offer.

What does a fair offer look like with the maths shown?

Say you have 25,000 followers on TikTok and average 20,000 views a video. A skincare brand offers this:

US$1,500 for one TikTok on your account. Organic only, no ads. Two rounds of revisions. Draft due in 10 days. 50% on signing, 50% within 30 days of posting.

Run the checks:

• Videos: one video at 25k followers sits in the US$1,000 to US$4,000 band. US$1,500 is in the band.
• Usage: organic only, so nothing to add. No exclusivity, no raw footage.
• Revisions and timeline: two rounds, 10 days. Normal.
• Payment: half upfront, the rest inside 30 days. Good.

Fair. You could argue for US$2,000 because your views are strong, but the offer is inside the band and every term is clean. Accepting is a reasonable call.

What does a lowball offer look like with the maths shown?

This is the one creators paste into ChatGPT. You have 6,000 followers on Instagram:

We would love to work with you. US$200 for 3 Reels, plus we would like to run them as ads for 30 days.

• Videos: three videos at 1k to 10k followers, even at the bottom of the band, is 3 × US$250 = US$750.
• Usage: 30 days of paid ads adds about 30%, so US$750 × 0.3 = US$225.
• Fair floor: US$750 + US$225 = US$975.
• Revisions, timeline, payment: not mentioned at all. Missing terms count against the offer.

US$200 against a floor of US$975 is about 20%. Even if you charged US$150 a video, the top of the band below yours, three videos plus usage would still be about US$585. This offer is a lowball. You counter or decline. You do not accept and hope the next one is better.

What does an offer that is fine on fee but bad on usage look like?

You have 60,000 followers. A drinks brand offers:

US$4,000 for one Reel. The brand may use the content in perpetuity across all media including paid ads. 6 months category exclusivity. Please send all raw footage.

• Videos: one video at 50k to 100k followers sits in the US$3,000 to US$8,000 band. US$4,000 is fine.
• Usage: "in perpetuity across all media including paid ads" is a licence with no end date, attached for free. Narrow it to 90 days of paid ads at 40% to 60%: at 50%, that is US$2,000.
• Exclusivity: six months of no other drinks brands. Say drinks brands normally bring you about US$1,000 a month: that ban would cost you about US$6,000. Price it, or narrow it to 30 days.
• Raw footage: price it as its own line or keep it.

The fee is fine. The deal is not, because it is really four deals and only one is priced. Narrowed to 90 days of ads with 30 days of exclusivity at about US$1,000, it is a US$7,000 deal. The exclusivity clause guide has the exact wording to narrow it.

What should you reply to the brand?

One of three things, sent within a working day.

Accept when every check passes. Confirm the terms in writing so nobody remembers them differently later:

Hi [Name], thanks, that works. To confirm: one TikTok on my account, organic only, two revision rounds, draft by [date], 50% on signing and 50% within 30 days of posting. Send the agreement over and I will sign today.

Counter with one number when the brand looks real and the gap is fixable. One figure, not a range:

Hi [Name], thanks for thinking of me. For three Reels with 30 days of paid-ad usage and two revision rounds, I would be at US$975. If that is outside the budget, I can do one Reel with 30 days of ads for US$325.

Decline when the gap is huge, the offer is product only, or the terms will not move. Once, warm, and then stop. The lowball offer guide has a decline message to copy, and what to say when a brand asks your rate covers the case where they asked you for a number first.

Once you agree, the terms need to live somewhere you can find them. In the Creator Workspace you bring the deal in from the brief, and the client signs the agreement from one link, so the revision cap and payment date are written down before you film. There is a 14-day free trial, then a monthly plan (pricing).

What are the common mistakes when judging an offer?

• Comparing the total to one video. US$200 sounds fine for a video. It is three videos and an ad licence.
• Letting usage ride free. "We may run it as an ad" is a second deal. Price it as a line.
• Ignoring missing terms. No revision cap, no due date and no usage window means the brand fills them in later, in its favour.
• Treating free product as payment. Gifting can be fine for one post. It is not a fee for three edited videos. The gifted vs paid collabs guide has a two-minute test.
• Countering with a range that starts below your number. Say "US$975" and the brand hears US$975. Say "US$800 to US$1,000" and it hears US$800. If you give a range at all, make your number the bottom of it.

What are the key takeaways?

• Price the videos first, using the band for your size, and only then look at the rest.
• Usage, whitelisting, exclusivity and raw footage are separate lines: about 30% for 30 days of ads, 40% to 60% for 90 days.
• Two revision rounds is common. Unlimited is a cost.
• A fair fee paid in 90 days, or in product, is a worse offer than it looks.
• Reply with accept, one number, or a warm decline. One action today: run the four checks on the offer sitting in your messages and send your reply before the day ends.