How to price UGC usage rights
Your base rate pays for making the video. When a brand wants to run it as a paid ad, keep it longer or own it forever, that's usage, and it's priced on top. Here's how creators price it.
Updated October 11, 2026
What “usage rights” means
A UGC video has two prices: making it, and using it. Your base rate covers filming, editing and delivering the video. Usage rights say where the brand can use it (its own social accounts, paid ads, website, email, TV), for how long, and whether anyone else is blocked from working with you (exclusivity).
The more places and the longer the time, the more the video is worth to the brand, so the more you charge.
Typical ranges, as a share of your base rate
| How the brand uses it | Add to base rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Organic: brand reposts on its own channels | Often included, or +10–20% | Many creators include it in the base rate; some charge a little for 3–12 months. |
| Paid ads, 30–90 days | +25–50% | The most common ask for a single campaign. |
| Paid ads, 3–6 months | +20–40% | Lower guides quote +20–30% for 3 months and +25–40% for 6 months. |
| Paid ads, 12 months | +30% up to +100% | Guides disagree most here: some say +30–50%, others double the fee. |
| Perpetual (forever) | +100–200% | Many creators refuse perpetual use or ask for a time limit instead. |
These are common ranges, not rules, and they vary most for 12-month use. Pick a number you can defend and stay consistent.
A worked example
Say your rate is $200 per video and a brand wants 2 videos to run as paid ads for 90 days.
- Content: 2 × $200 = $400
- Paid usage, 90 days at +30%: $400 × 30% = $120
- Your quote: $520
If they offered $400 “including usage”, they're asking for the ad rights for free. That's the most common gap in UGC offers. Check your own numbers with the free offer checker.
Watch for these words in the brief
- “In perpetuity” or “unlimited”: they can use the video forever. Ask for a time limit (3, 6 or 12 months) or price it at the top of the range.
- “All media” or “all channels”: includes paid ads, website, email and sometimes TV. Price it as paid usage, not organic.
- “Usage included” with no length: ask how long and where before you agree.
- Whitelisting / Spark Ads: the ad runs from your account. That's a separate fee, usually per month. How to price whitelisting.
- Exclusivity: you can't work with competitors for a while. Ask which brands and how long, then price it separately.
How to say it to the brand
Thanks so much for the details! My rate for 2 UGC videos is $400. Since you'd like to run them as paid ads for 90 days, usage is an additional $120, so $520 in total. Happy to adjust the usage window if you need a shorter or longer run.
Keep it short, give the total, and offer a choice of time windows instead of a discount.