This report collects the influencer marketing statistics for 2026 that a brand can plan with: what creators charge, what they ask, how many views a sponsored post delivers, what those views cost, and how engagement varies by platform, follower tier, region and niche. Most figures come from Kolect's own data, gathered while running creator campaigns and indexing creators. Market-level numbers come from IAB, Influencer Marketing Hub and Aspire. Every figure is a median unless stated.
The dataset is large enough to split. It covers 69,474 creator-campaign negotiations in 261 campaigns for 96 brands, 48,203 creator price quotes and 1,867 closed creator deals with 1,706 creators in 52 countries, plus an index of 1,201,217 creator accounts4.
How big is influencer marketing in 2026?
Influencer marketing in the US is a business of more than $30 billion a year. IAB projected US creator ad spend at $37 billion for 2025, up 26% year over year, after it more than doubled from $13.9 billion in 2021 to $29.5 billion in 20245. IAB counts the ad dollars brands invest in creators through direct partnerships, so its figure is not comparable with global "market size" estimates that use other definitions.
| Market statistic | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US creator ad spend, 2025 (projected) | $37 billion, +26% year over year | IAB5 |
| US creator ad spend, 2021 → 2024 | $13.9 billion → $29.5 billion | IAB5 |
| Ad buyers who call creators a "must buy" | 48% | IAB5 |
| Buyers ranking overall ROI as top creator KPI | 40% | IAB5 |
| Respondents expecting influencer budgets to rise in 2026 | 87.49% (5.55% expect a decrease) | Influencer Marketing Hub, 600+ respondents6 |
| Marketers planning to increase influencer budgets in 2026 | 74% | Aspire, nearly 900 marketers and creators7 |
| Brands already selling on TikTok Shop | 32% | Aspire7 |
| Brands repurposing creator content in paid ads | 77% | Aspire7 |
Surveys of intent are not the same as spend, and survey samples lean toward brands already invested in creators. Read the budget questions as direction, not size.
How much do brands pay creators per collaboration?
The median agreed creator fee in Kolect-run campaigns was $500 per collaboration, with the middle half of deals between $300 and $900 (n=4,560)1. One collaboration is one creator in one campaign, and most are a single post: only 14.5% of deals with written deliverables were multi-post bundles2.
Median agreed creator fee by platform and follower tier, USD (P25–P75) (Kolect deal data1)
| Tier | TikTok | YouTube | All platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano (<10K) | $138 ($50–$250) | $250 ($168–$386) | $300 ($150–$500) | $250 ($125–$400) |
| Micro (10K–100K) | $300 ($175–$500) | $400 ($250–$504) | $500 ($300–$800) | $400 ($250–$600) |
| Mid (100K–500K) | $500 ($300–$700) | $600 ($400–$1,120) | $800 ($488–$1,430) | $600 ($400–$1,100) |
| Macro (500K–1M) | $550 ($375–$1,450) | $1,095 ($512–$2,557) | $1,100 ($633–$1,994) | $850 ($450–$1,750) |
| Mega (1M+) | $1,000 ($500–$1,800) | $1,599 ($750–$2,900) | $1,800 ($1,175–$4,000) | $1,500 ($738–$2,800) |
| All tiers (n) | $450 (894) | $450 (2,416) | $600 (1,117) | $500 (4,560) |
The all-platforms column also includes X deals. Three patterns hold across platforms. YouTube costs the most at every tier. Fees rise much more slowly than followers: a mega creator's median fee is about six times a nano creator's, while their audience is at least a hundred times larger1. And the spread inside a tier is wide, so the median is a starting point for a negotiation, not a price list. For per-platform detail and how to budget, see the influencer rates guide.
What do creators ask, and what do they accept?
Creators' median asking price was $1,060, about twice the $500 median agreed fee1. The asking figure covers 36,324 quotes, including negotiations that never closed, so the gap is mostly selection: the most expensive quotes are the ones that do not turn into deals, rather than a standard discount off the first number.
| Tier | Median ask | Median agreed fee | Median closed fee (brand-approved) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nano (<10K) | $300 | $250 | $250 |
| Micro (10K–100K) | $600 | $400 | $390 |
| Mid (100K–500K) | $1,680 | $600 | $500 |
| Macro (500K–1M) | $3,012 | $850 | $508 |
| Mega (1M+) | $5,000 | $1,500 | $1,050 |
| All tiers | $1,060 | $500 | $450 |
All platforms; Kolect deal data1. The gap widens with size: a mid-tier creator's median ask was $1,680 against $600 agreed1. If a first quote from a 100K–500K creator is far above the agreed range, the useful response is a counter based on their typical views, not acceptance.
What does a sponsored post deliver, and what do the views cost?
A sponsored post in Kolect-run campaigns earned a median 27,880 first-month views, equal to 25.8% of the creator's followers, at a realized cost of $15.46 per 1,000 views (n=884)2. Realized CPM (creator fee × 1,000 ÷ views actually delivered) is the most useful influencer marketing ROI statistic, because it is the cost side of every return calculation and compares directly with paid social CPMs.
Sponsored-post delivery by platform (Kolect-run campaigns, Aug 2025 – Oct 20262)
| Platform | Median first-month views (P25–P75) | Views ÷ followers | Realized CPM, median (P25–P75) | Likes + comments per view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | 52,903 (10,660–190,858) | 26.1% | $6.73 ($2.04–$27.15) | 1.51% |
| 25,281 (7,454–129,559) | 28.2% | $17.96 ($4.51–$59.61) | 1.38% | |
| YouTube | 6,126 (2,133–16,351) | 7.6% | $74.24 ($27.08–$184.75) | – |
| All platforms | 27,880 (6,743–112,385) | 25.8% | $15.46 ($4.41–$62.28) | 1.21% |
TikTok produced the cheapest views, YouTube the most expensive. Two cautions apply. YouTube views were captured for about 30 days, and long-form videos keep gaining views, so the YouTube CPM overstates the lifetime cost2. And 80.4% of single-post deals included paid-usage, whitelisting or ad-code rights, so some captured views may come from boosting2. That share is higher than in Aspire's survey, where 67% of brands said they include content usage rights in the creator's initial contract or rate7. How boosting works is covered in Spark Ads vs partnership ads.
Are bigger creators cheaper per view?
Yes, in general: the median fee per 1,000 of a creator's average views fell from $78.76 for nano creators to $30.32 for micro, $15.68 for mid-tier and $10.75 for mega creators across platforms1.
Median creator fee per 1,000 average views, USD (Kolect deal data1)
| Tier | TikTok | YouTube | All platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano (<10K) | $196.50 | $33.88 | $105.01 | $78.76 |
| Micro (10K–100K) | $52.36 | $21.69 | $47.40 | $30.32 |
| Mid (100K–500K) | $16.34 | $8.91 | $39.02 | $15.68 |
| Macro (500K–1M) | $13.02 | $5.87 | $33.33 | $16.31 |
| Mega (1M+) | $6.85 | $3.70 | $31.32 | $10.75 |
This is the strongest argument against booking small creators for reach alone. Micro creators earn their place on conversion, niche fit and the number of tests one budget can buy; the micro-influencer guide covers how to find them, and the ROI guide shows how to judge them by cost per order.
Influencer engagement rate benchmarks for 2026
The median TikTok creator in Kolect's index earned engagements equal to 7.83% of views and 1.09% of followers; the median Instagram creator earned 2.83% of views and 0.82% of followers3. Engagement per view stays fairly flat as accounts grow, while engagement per follower falls, because bigger accounts reach a smaller share of their followers with each post.
Median views and engagement by platform and tier (Kolect creator index3)
| Platform | Tier | Views ÷ followers | Engagement ÷ views | Engagement ÷ followers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Nano (<10K) | 31.59% | 7.02% | 3.60% |
| TikTok | Micro (10K–100K) | 17.47% | 7.60% | 1.03% |
| TikTok | Mid (100K–500K) | 10.89% | 7.68% | 0.75% |
| TikTok | Mega (1M+) | 5.14% | 9.10% | 0.73% |
| Nano (<10K) | 74.71% | 3.36% | 2.68% | |
| Micro (10K–100K) | 29.44% | 2.93% | 0.84% | |
| Mid (100K–500K) | 20.80% | 2.60% | 0.63% | |
| Mega (1M+) | 15.44% | 2.74% | 0.49% | |
| YouTube | Micro (10K–100K) | 19.23% | – | – |
| YouTube | Mid (100K–500K) | 9.73% | – | – |
| YouTube | Mega (1M+) | 4.59% | – | – |
YouTube engagement is left out because likes were missing from stored videos3. Creator benchmarks run well above brand-account benchmarks: Socialinsider's 2026 benchmarks, built on brand posts, put average Instagram engagement by followers at 0.48%8. To score one creator against these medians, use the free engagement rate calculator, which works by views or by followers.
Influencer statistics by region
US creators' median agreed fee was $500, against $616 for Western and Northern Europe, $600 for the UK and Ireland and $400 for Latin America1. Views per dollar vary more than fees: Latin American creators cost a median $7.57 per 1,000 average views, against $27.45 in the US1.
Agreed fee and cost per view by creator region (Kolect deal data1)
| Creator region | Deals | Median fee (P25–P75) | Median $ per 1K average views |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2,633 | $500 ($300–$900) | $27.45 |
| Southern Europe | 387 | $460 ($280–$925) | $18.51 |
| Western & Northern Europe | 289 | $616 ($392–$1,120) | $23.87 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 250 | $400 ($250–$700) | $7.57 |
| East Asia | 207 | $500 ($252–$750) | $17.78 |
| UK & Ireland | 190 | $600 ($300–$1,120) | $26.94 |
| Middle East, North Africa & Türkiye | 139 | $500 ($275–$1,025) | $9.01 |
| Canada | 112 | $575 ($312–$1,000) | $32.69 |
| Southeast Asia | 66 | $400 ($199–$788) | $22.94 |
Engagement also differs by market. US TikTok creators had the highest median engagement per view among the regions measured, at 8.57%, against 6.20% in the UK and Ireland and 3.52% in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye3. On Instagram, Western and Northern European creators reached a median 40.95% of followers per post, against 24.77% for US creators3. Country-level creator lists, such as the top TikTok influencers by country, help when a campaign is new to a market.
Influencer rates by niche
Finance ($800), travel ($775) and business ($625) creators had the highest median agreed fees, while health and fitness and art creators had the lowest ($400 each)1. Measured per 1,000 average views, shopping-and-deals ($54.57) and auto ($47.90) creators were the most expensive, and entertainment ($12.04) the cheapest1.
| Niche | Deals | Median fee | Median $ per 1K average views |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle | 955 | $450 | $17.91 |
| Education | 496 | $500 | $24.17 |
| Tech | 436 | $450 | $26.41 |
| Beauty | 269 | $500 | $20.47 |
| Fashion | 208 | $500 | $22.58 |
| Health & Fitness | 174 | $400 | $27.69 |
| Business | 140 | $625 | $31.89 |
| Gaming | 113 | $560 | $25.93 |
| Travel | 82 | $775 | $24.35 |
| Finance | 29 | $800 | $36.53 |
Kolect deal data1; niche is the creator's main content vertical. Niche moves fees less than platform and tier do: most niche medians sit between $400 and $600.
How to use these benchmarks
Benchmarks are useful at three moments in a campaign:
- Budgeting. Multiply the number of creators by the median agreed fee for your platform and tier, then add product, shipping and any boost spend. For ten Instagram micro creators that is about $4,000 in fees at the $400 median1.
- Negotiating. Convert each quote into a fee per 1,000 of the creator's average views and compare it with the tier median above. The free influencer rate calculator does this from platform, followers and average views.
- Reporting. Compare each post's realized CPM with the platform median ($6.73 on TikTok, $17.96 on Instagram)2, and rebook the creators who beat it.
Finding creators whose typical views justify their fee is the step these numbers depend on. Kolect's creator search refreshes every result's followers and views before showing it and adds a 0–100 authenticity estimate9; brands that want the campaign run for them can use managed creator marketing. More measurement guides are under measuring results.
Methodology
Kolect's deal figures come from Kolect-run campaigns with partnerships created between 19 August 2025 and 15 October 2026; more than 95% of agreed deals were created in 2026, so this is a 2026 snapshot and not a price trend1. Fees are creator-side fees (what the creator is paid, not what a brand pays an agency), converted to USD at ECB reference rates of 15 October 2026. Follower tiers and average views use creators' current numbers, refreshed in September and October 2026. Delivery figures use views captured about 30 days after each post's link was added2. Engagement benchmarks come from Kolect's creator index, which is skewed toward active creators with 10K+ followers indexed for brand work3. The campaigns are concentrated in consumer tech, home, DIY and lifestyle products with mostly US and European creators, so treat other categories as indicative. All figures are medians or quartiles; cells with fewer than 20 data points or fewer than three brands are suppressed; no brand or creator is identified. Full definitions and sample sizes are in the sources below.