What apps pay UGC creators and influencers
Every creator payment figure a founder or growth lead stated in an interview we've covered. Deals vary a lot with the creator's reach, the country and how many videos are included, so read the context on each row.
53 figures · updated 2026-09-26
Per video or post
Median $400 across 27 figures, from $1 to $20K.
| Who | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flame | USD 1per video | UGC from Eastern Europe/Russia via kwork.ru, per 60-second video | Starter Story 2026-06-215:50 |
| aggregateClover campaigns on cloned content (base plus performance deal) | USD 3per post approximate | Base per post, paired with a low CPM | The Superwall Podcast 2026-09-1728:07 |
| aggregateHost's guess at typical UGC retainer per video | USD 10–30per video estimate | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0443:23 | |
| Sprout | USD 10–30per post | flat rate, plus view-threshold bonuses | The Superwall Podcast 2026-05-1348:51 |
| benchmarkUGC creator pay for organic TikTok programs, as recommended by SideShift | USD 15–20per video approximate | Per-video rate on top of a base retainer, plus performance bonuses | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-1113:45 |
| Career Hound | USD 20per video approximate | Upper limit he pays in ~90% of cases | Starter Story 2026-09-069:25 |
| Halo AI | USD 20per video | base rate per video (one video = 4 posts across platforms) | The Superwall Podcast 2026-04-0412:38 |
| Fitted | USD 20per video | Paid to creator Max before there was a product, on a sub-account (Fitted by Max) | The Superwall Podcast 2025-12-2327:43 |
| Methods | USD 30per video | Early pitch to creators while solving the marketplace cold start | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1612:37 |
| Reflective Apps | USD 30–40per video approximate | Flat fee per video, lower-tier creators | The Superwall Podcast 2026-02-1740:45 |
| Sprout | USD 40–800per video approximate | decreasing-CPM bonus tiers: 10K views ~$40, 50K $50, 100K $80, 1M $800 | The Superwall Podcast 2026-05-1348:51 |
| StudyFetch | USD 50–2,500per video | historical base rate per video, excluding bonuses | The Superwall Podcast 2026-05-2641:59 |
| Halo AI | USD 60–800per video approximate | view-milestone bonuses: $60 at 20K, $200 at 100K, $500 at 500K, $800 at 1M views; one post of the four must hit; not stacking | The Superwall Podcast 2026-04-0436:04 |
| Reflective Apps | USD 80–100per video approximate | Flat fee per video, reliable/experienced creators | The Superwall Podcast 2026-02-1740:45 |
| NGL | USD 100per post approximate | Test payments to influencers for an Instagram Story or TikTok post during the quiet period | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-183:09 |
| Reflective Apps | USD 200–1,000per video approximate | Discretionary bonus when a video really took off as an ad; a separate flat bonus applied at 50K-100K+ organic views | The Superwall Podcast 2026-02-1741:04 |
| Cal AI | USD 350–450per 4-post deal approximate | Influencer base rate for four posts, before view bonuses | App Masters 2026-09-2616:24 |
| Cal AI | USD 400per 4-post deal approximate | Example influencer deal: $400 for four posts, cross-posted to TikTok and Instagram | App Masters 2026-09-2613:04 |
| Payout competitor that offered Casper $500 for a sponsored video | USD 500per video approximate | Sponsorship offer to Casper, declined as too low for his following; the idea became Payout | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-185:48 |
| Shot Pattern | USD 750per video /one-time approximate | Creator with a somewhat small following | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-07-0932:15 |
| benchmarkRate charged by bigger creators for a UGC ad video | USD 1,000–1,500per video approximate | Minimum for bigger creators; includes only a few months of ad usage rights | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1826:13 |
| Bloom | USD 1,000per video | Maximum bonus payout per video, reached at ~1M+ views | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-2510:16 |
| Payout | USD 1,500per video approximate | Discounted rate paid to a creator friend who normally charges $6,000+; the video lost money | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1848:41 |
| Payout | USD 1,500per video approximate | Paid posts from creators with 500K-1M followers; a good rate thanks to partner Casper's connections; would pay up to a couple thousand | The Superwall Podcast 2026-01-2028:23 |
| Shot Pattern | USD 1,500per video /one-time | Tournament sponsorship for a TikTok golf creator in exchange for a video | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-07-0932:15 |
| benchmarkWhat other app founders pay influencers with 2-3M followers, per video | USD 4,000–5,000per video approximate | Secondhand from founders running influencer campaigns for other apps | The Superwall Podcast 2026-01-2028:35 |
| benchmarkCost for a top-tier influencer to post a link (PopStream era, ~2020-21) | USD 20Kper post approximate | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-1820:36 |
Monthly retainers
Median $1,050 across 16 figures, from $200 to $75K.
| Who | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pep AI | USD 200per creator /month approximate | trial-month retainer for a creator averaging ~5,000 views/video: 4 feed posts + 4 story posts (1 each per week) + link in bio all month | The Superwall Podcast 2026-07-0115:29 |
| aggregateUGC programs on SideShift: retainer for new creators | USD 200–300per creator /month approximate | same 60-video package, or CPM-only | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0446:04 |
| StudyFetch | USD 200–2,000per UGC creator /month approximate | The Superwall Podcast 2026-05-2613:30 | |
| benchmarkTypical cost of hiring slideshow creators directly | USD 200–500per creator /month approximate | For about 20 slideshows a month | The Superwall Podcast 2026-02-2429:52 |
| benchmarkCost of hiring a college-aged UGC creator for 30 videos in 30 days | USD 500–1,000per creator /month approximate | The Superwall Podcast 2025-11-112:50 | |
| Bloom | USD 500per creator /month | Lower retainer for 60 videos (contract type 2), paired with a higher CPM | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-257:50 |
| benchmarkrecommended UGC creator base retainer | USD 600–800per creator /month approximate | guaranteed base retainer for 30-60 videos | The Superwall Podcast 2026-08-067:34 |
| aggregateBest-paying UGC programs on SideShift: retainer for experienced creators | USD 800per creator /month approximate | for 60 unique videos (2/day), each cross-posted to 4 platforms, plus non-stacked view bonuses; creators with 1-2 prior campaigns | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0443:38 |
| Bloom | USD 1,000per creator /month | Flat monthly retainer (contract type 1), plus CPM bonus once views pass 10K/50K/100K | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-257:50 |
| Pep AI | USD 4,000per creator /month approximate | upper end for bigger creators' monthly retainers | The Superwall Podcast 2026-07-0115:53 |
| startup that capped a viral creator's monthly CPM payout | USD 4,000per creator /month approximate | actual capped monthly payout | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0445:20 |
| personJenni AI's best creator last month; beauty-niche creator with no prior UGC experience | USD 5,000/month estimate | Over $5K in one month, largely from performance bonuses | The Superwall Podcast 2025-12-3012:03 |
| personNomadtable's top-earning UGC creator in one month | USD 8,000per creator /month approximate | Highest single monthly CPM payout, uncapped, probably mostly from one viral video | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1543:16 |
| StudyFetch | USD 10Kper influencer /month approximate | for ~daily posting on a new account by a 0.5-1M-follower influencer; per month in total, not per video | The Superwall Podcast 2026-05-2618:06 |
| Cal AI | USD 20Kper creator /month approximate | One top creator's monthly fee | The Superwall Podcast 2026-08-2616:13 |
| startup that capped a viral creator's monthly CPM payout | USD 75Kper creator /month estimate | what he would have earned without the cap | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0445:20 |
Per 1,000 views
| Who | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardstock | USD 1–2per 1000 views approximate | CPM paid through Nois for slideshow posts (half goes to Nois) | The Superwall Podcast 2026-01-0642:38 |
| Bloom | USD 2–4per 1,000 views approximate | CPM bonus on top of the retainer | The Superwall Podcast 2025-08-257:50 |
| StudyFetch | USD 100per 100,000 views | view bonus on TikTok or Instagram (~$1 CPM); custom deals vary | The Superwall Podcast 2026-05-2641:20 |
Per creator, other terms
Median $150 across 7 figures, from $40 to $20K.
| Who | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methods | USD 40per creator /one-time | Paid for a new creator's first post, during onboarding | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1612:37 |
| Cal AI | USD 100–200per referred creator signed /one-time approximate | Referral bonus paid to an existing creator when a friend they referred signs | The Superwall Podcast 2026-08-2645:33 |
| Boost App Social | USD 100per creator /one-time | upfront payment once a creator looked promising, to prove it wasn't a scam | The Superwall Podcast 2026-04-2816:09 |
| Halo AI | USD 100per creator /one-time | 5-day paid trial: 5 videos at $20, 20 posts across 4 platforms | The Superwall Podcast 2026-04-0412:38 |
| aggregatePopular UGC creator deal ~4 months earlier: base retainer | USD 400per creator approximate | '$400 base, $2 CPM' deal; period not stated | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0443:33 |
| SideShift | USD 10K–15Kper creator approximate | what creators earn after 1-2 months on SideShift; period not stated, likely monthly | The Superwall Podcast 2026-06-0425:40 |
| Pep AI | USD 20Kper creator approximate | deal with a very large fitness influencer (unnamed) who was another app's #1 marketing channel; period not stated | The Superwall Podcast 2026-07-0116:08 |
Figures are as stated in each interview and aren't independently verified. Goals, projections, illustrative numbers and before/after changes are left out. Ranges count as their midpoint in the median.