How much do Instagram influencers make? It really all depends on Instagram Influencer pricing. Several factors influence Instagram Influencer rates for sponsored posts. Follower count does have some effect on the overall price of an Instagram influencer post or campaign. But, there’s more to the price than just the size of someone’s following.
In some instances, the influencer’s level of experience can determine their Instagram influencer pricing. For example, one influencer told Refinery29 that she initially charged just $30 per post. But, she realized she was undercharging for the time and effort she spent on campaigns.
Influencers who work with or who are managed by agencies might charge rates set by those agencies. According to Independent UK, one agency charges Instagram influencer rates ranging from $75 per post for an influencer with less than 10,000 followers to more than $500 per post for influencers with more than 100,000 followers.
Digiday provides another example. They found Instagram influencer rates start at $1,000 per 100,000 followers, and go up from there.
There can be a considerable range when it comes to Instagram influencer pricing. But, having an idea of what people charge can help you price your campaigns right and avoid either over- or under-paying your influencers.
Celebrity Instagram Influencer Pricing
If you were to break influencers into separate categories based on follower count and overall fame, celebrity influencers are the ones with the largest number of followers and the greatest amount of fame on social media.
Along with having millions of people checking out their photos and videos on Instagram, celebrity influencers also typically have some other career that brought them fame. They include pop stars, athletes, actors, and reality TV stars.
Celebrities in general tend to live on a different planet than the rest of us. And, that holds true in the world of Instagram influencer rates as well. Your typical Instagram influencer pricing might run a few hundred or thousand dollars for a post. But, the Instagram influencer rates for celebs often start in the six figures and go up from there.
According to The Insider, the highest paid celebrity influencer on Instagram in 2017 was pop star Selena Gomez. Gomez, who has 133 million followers and is the most followed person on the platform, earns $550,000 per post.
Other celebrities who command high Instagram Influencer rates include Kim Kardashian West. She has 107 million followers and receives about $500,000 per sponsored post. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 121 million followers, gets around $400,000 for sponsored posts.
Of course, not every celebrity is bringing in six figures per Instagram post. For example, Scott Disick has more than 20 million followers. But, he typically earns less than $20,000 per post. On the other hand, Jenny McCarthy has just over one million followers and often earns around $3,500 per post.
Mega-Macro Instagram Influencer Pricing
Celebrities who gained fame before social media and Instagram are one thing. But what about people who rose to fame and fortune because of social media? They have way more followers (usually well over a million) compared to your typical run-of-the-mill Instagram influencer.
They also charge way more than typical Instagram influencer rates. For example, Instagram star and beauty blogger Huda Kattan doesn’t charge half a million dollars per post like Selena Gomez or a Kardashian. But, she does charge around $18,000 per post. Kattan has 24.4 million followers.
Similarly, Cameron Dallas, who has 20.7 million followers, charges $17,000 per post. And Jen Selter has 11.8 million followers, and typically asks for $15,000 per post.
Macro Instagram Influencer Pricing
The definitions of macro- and micro-influencers on Instagram and other social media platforms can vary based on who you ask. But, in this case, macro-influencers are people who have somewhere between 200,000 and two million followers.
Former contestants on “The Bachelor” TV series often go on to have a considerable amount of success as Instagram influencers, according to Racked. Most former contestants have around a quarter of a million to a half a million followers, and charge from $1,500 to $7,000 per post.
But then there’s another level of “Bachelor” social media success. Some former contestants have between one and two million followers, and can easily earn as much as $50,000 for just one Instagram post, as Racked notes.
There’s also a considerable range in Instagram influencer rates among fitness influencers. For example, “Yoga Girl,” aka Rachel Brathen, has 2.1 million followers, and charges at least $25,000 per post, according to Forbes. Lyzabeth Lopez, another fitness Instagrammer, has two million followers, but charges just $3,000-$5,000 per post, according to Forbes.
Over in the fashion and lifestyle sector, Instagram influencer rates range from a few thousand to tens of thousands. For example, “Harper’s Bazaar” noted that Danielle Bernstein, the blogger behind We Wore What, (1.7 million followers), charges between $5,000 and $15,000 per post.
Sam Ushiro, the Instagrammer who once charged just $30 per post, worked her way up to a base rate of $1,500, according to Refinery29. She has 282,000 followers.
Micro Instagram Influencer Pricing
Like macro-influencers, the definition of a micro-influencer on Instagram varies based on whom you ask, but in this case, anyone with a following under 200,000 counts as a micro-influencer.
Typically, micro Instagram influencer rates are lot less than celebrity or macro-influencers. They might have smaller followings, but as long as you choose the right influencer, working with a micro-influencer can still provide a great return on investment for a brand.
In part, that’s because micro-influencers do cost a lot less. For example, Business Insider noted that Emily King and Corey Smith, the couple behind Where’s My Office Now, typically receive between $500 and $1,500 per post. They have 175,000 followers.
Although they don’t have the followers of a Kardashian or even a past-Bachelorette, the couple’s posts typically get more than 3,000 likes, which is a pretty good engagement rate.
Micro-influencers don’t have to be human to earn a living on Instagram. Pet influencers, and particularly dogs, are becoming increasingly popular. According to MarketWatch, a pup that has a following of 20,000 can earn around $200 per post. Meanwhile, dogs with up to 250,000 followers often earn $3,000 per Instagram post.
Ultimately, Instagram influencer pricing is entirely negotiable. If your brand can’t afford $500 per post, it’s worth it to hire an influencer with a smaller following. Even if you can shell out the big bucks for a post or an entire influencer campaign, it might make more sense to work with a micro-influencer who charges a lot less than a big-name social media star.