UGC rates for beginners: complete examples
Having no portfolio does not mean charging less for the same work: it means starting at the low end of the range and moving up as you deliver. Here are four scenarios calculated end to end so you can see exactly where each one lands and why.
Scope International market in US dollars, at entry-level experience. For Spain in euros, switch it in the calculator.
What actually changes when you start out
What changes at the start is not the value of the work: it is the risk the brand is taking. It cannot yet look at ten of your pieces and know how you will deliver. That risk justifies starting at the lower part of the range — not working for free, and not handing over rights unpaid.
The classic first-job mistake is not charging too little: it is not writing down what is included. Charging the low end with well-defined terms is a sound business decision; charging the low end while granting all rights forever is not.
And one rule that saves a lot of grief: never work for product alone. Product does not pay for your kit or your hours, and it sets a precedent that is very hard to undo.
Scenario 1 · One simple video
Entry-level experience, one 15-second video with simple production:
- Entry-level experience
- 1 video, 15 seconds
- Simple production
- No extras, no rights
- Low
- $76.50
- Reference
- $107.10
- High
- $137.70
Organic use on the brand's profile. If they want to run it as an ad, that is another line.
Scenario 2 · Three videos with a discount
The same profile, but a pack of three 30-second videos with a 10% volume discount:
- Entry-level experience
- 3 videos, 30 seconds each
- Standard production
- 10% pack discount
- Low
- $270.00
- Reference
- $378.00
- High
- $486.00
A volume discount is your decision, not something the brand is entitled to. It makes sense when one shoot covers all three pieces.
Scenario 3 · With extras and a rush
One 30-second video with two extra hooks, one extra revision and a 20% rush fee:
- Entry-level experience
- 1 video, 30 seconds
- 2 extra hooks
- 1 extra revision
- Rush: 20%
- Low
- $150.00
- Reference
- $210.00
- High
- $270.00
Add-ons are worked out on the base and never compound. Rush delivery is the item most often given away and the easiest to justify.
Scenario 4 · The same video, with a licence
We take the production from scenario 1 and add 30 days of paid advertising:
- Creation fee: the reference from scenario 1
- Paid advertising, 30 days
- One country, one platform
- Low
- $157.95
- Reference
- $170.10
- High
- $182.25
The gap between this total and the creation fee is what the permission is worth. It is the line most often forgotten at the start.
What the four scenarios show together
From the first to the third, the work grows and so does the price: more length, more editing pieces and a deadline that forces you to reorganise. None of that depends on your experience, so a beginner can charge for it the same way.
The fourth is the one that usually surprises people: without shooting a single extra second, the quote goes up because what the brand can do with the file changes. Forget that line and you are giving away exactly that.
And the second shows something uncomfortable: a volume discount is money coming out of your fee. It makes sense when one shoot covers several pieces; it does not as an automatic gesture to seem agreeable.
Producing and publishing are not the same thing
- You shoot for the brand
- The content goes out on the brand's channels. That is UGC: estimated with the rate calculator, and your follower count plays no part.
- You post on your profile
- The content goes out on your channels and your audience sees it. That is a collaboration, estimated with the influencer calculator.
- Both at once
- If you shoot AND post, that is two items in the same quote: the production and the access to your audience.
- The quick test
- Will your followers see it because you posted it? If the answer is no, your follower count should not be in the equation.
Early mistakes that get expensive
- Working for product or for “exposure”.
- Accepting a rights grant with no term out of fear of losing the job.
- Not saying how many revision rounds are included.
- Handing over the original files unpaid, without asking what for.
- Dropping your price before anyone asks.
- Charging by follower when the content never appears on your profiles.
- Not keeping the approved quote: when the contact changes, nothing is left.
Checklist before sending your first rate
- Have I written what I deliver, in which format and with how many revisions?
- Have I asked where it will be published and for how long?
- Is there paid advertising? From which account?
- Have I split production and licence into two lines?
- Have I said what is not included: tax, travel, product?
- Have I put a validity date on the quote?
- Can I defend every figure if I am asked about it?
When to put your rates up
When you deliver without revisions, when brands come back, and when work starts arriving without you looking for it. Those three signals are worth more than any follower count, and they are what actually moves your experience tier in the calculator.
Putting your rates up does not mean sending an email announcing new prices: it means the next quote goes out with a different figure. A returning client rarely argues if the work holds it up.
The natural next step is learning how to present it: what to include in a UGC quote.
Sources and methodology for this guide
What backs each claim in this guide, with its limitations in plain sight. The data comes from the project's central register: not one figure is copied by hand here.
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Market reports and rate cards
UGC pricing in Spain
Open the source UGC pricing in Spain
What it backs
- Approximate average of 74 EUR for a 30-second UGC video in Spanish campaigns
Limitations A Spanish figure drawn from active campaigns on its own platform. It is an average, not a scale by experience level.
-
Market reports and rate cards
2026 Influencer Marketing Report
Open the source 2026 Influencer Marketing Report
What it backs
- Order of magnitude of a UGC package: around 180 USD on average
- Average creator payout around 154 USD and average campaign cost around 197 USD
- Reference ranges for the smaller audience tiers
Limitations Data from its own marketplace, not from the whole market.
Keep reading
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How much to charge for a UGC video
A 30-second UGC video with standard production sits in a low three-figure range.
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What to include in a UGC quote
A UGC quote that gets approved quickly always has the same lines: what you deliver, how many pieces, which revisions, which rights, for how long, when you get paid and what is excluded.
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Creating content versus licensing it
Creating is the work of making the video: script, shoot and edit.