How much to charge for a UGC photo
A single image is the lowest-effort unit in UGC and the one most likely to be bought in volume. The grid below prices one photo, but in practice almost nobody sells one.
Setting up a shoot costs the same whether you deliver one image or eight, which is why photo work is priced as a set — see the photo set page for that.
Rate table
Calculated for photo at average engagement, one revision round, no rush and no exclusivity. These are starting points, not market quotes — adjust for your category, your market, and the value the brand is getting.
| Following | Organic only | Paid, 30 days | Paid, 90 days | Paid, 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 5K | $60.00 | $75.00 | $90.00 | $120.00 |
| 5K–25K | $75.00 | $93.75 | $112.50 | $150.00 |
| 25K–100K | $97.50 | $121.88 | $146.25 | $195.00 |
| 100K–500K | $120.00 | $150.00 | $180.00 | $240.00 |
| 500K–1M | $150.00 | $187.50 | $225.00 | $300.00 |
| 1M+ | $187.50 | $234.38 | $281.25 | $375.00 |
Notice the jump across the columns rather than down the rows: the licence moves the number more than the follower count does.
4 usage tiers are shown here. The rate index prices all eight, including whitelisting, broadcast and perpetual buyout, and the methodology shows how every figure is calculated.
Price your exact briefHow this number is calculated
Every figure on this page comes from one formula: base rate × follower multiplier × (1 + engagement modifier), plus separate add-ons for usage rights, exclusivity, revisions and rush. For photo, that base rate is $75.00.
Take a creator with under 5k followers pricing this deliverable with paid usage, 30 days rights, at average engagement. The base multiplies by this tier's 0.8× follower multiplier for a $60.00 core rate, then the licence adds 25% of that core — $15.00 — for a total of $75.00.
Every coefficient in that calculation — all six follower multipliers, all eight usage-rights add-ons, and the engagement, exclusivity, revisions and rush terms — is published in full, with its own worked examples, on the methodology page.
What moves the number
- Set-up is the real cost — Lighting, styling and prop work don't scale down for a single frame. A one-photo brief should be priced as if it were a small set.
- Retouching — Agree the level up front. "Lightly edited" and "retouched to catalogue standard" are different jobs.
- Usage rights — Photos often end up on packaging, in retail displays, and in paid ads — all of which are beyond ordinary organic use and should be priced.
- Model release — If you're in frame, the licence covers your likeness as well as the image. That's worth more, especially for paid placement.
Questions
Should I ever sell a single photo?
Rarely. The set-up cost is the same as for a small set, so a one-image brief is usually better quoted as a set with a reduced count. If you do sell singly, price it closer to your set rate divided by three than by eight.
Do photos cost less than video?
Per asset, yes — but not proportionally to the effort, because lighting and styling carry across both. Brands buying both usually get better value from a bundle.
Put your rates somewhere brands can see them
Save a rate card, publish a media kit, and stop rebuilding the same PDF every time a brand asks what you charge.
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