How to Build a UGC Rate Card: Base Fee to Usage Tiers

Why a rate card beats quoting every deal from scratch

A UGC rate card needs three layers: a base fee that pays for making the content, add-ons that price extra work, and usage tiers that price where, how long and how widely the brand may run it. Everything else (exclusivity, whitelisting, rush delivery, raw files) sits on top as a separate line. One number for all of it is how creators get underpaid and brands get surprised.

If you have done a handful of paid collaborations, you already know the pattern. A brand asks for "two TikToks," you send a price, and later they are running the videos as ads in several countries for a long stretch. Nothing was wrong with your price. It was wrong with your structure. The fee covered filming, and the brand assumed it covered everything after filming too.

Brands have the mirror problem. A marketer books a group of creators at one flat price, then the performance team wants to put spend behind the ones that worked. Now there is a second negotiation, a second invoice and a delay while legal checks whether the original agreement even allowed paid use. A clear rate card, shared before the brief is finalised, prevents both versions of that mess. This article covers what belongs in each layer, how each side should negotiate it, and how to turn the lines on your rate card into clauses that actually bind.

The base fee: what it covers and what it must not include

The base fee is payment for production: concepting, scripting, filming, editing and delivering a finished asset to spec. Think of it as buying the creator's time, skill, equipment and face for one deliverable. It is not payment for the right to use that deliverable commercially. Those are two different things, and keeping them apart is the single most useful discipline on a rate card.

What the base fee should cover

• One finished video or image set, delivered in the agreed aspect ratio and resolution.
• Concepting against the brand's brief, including a short script or shot list if that is normal for your process.
• Your own equipment, lighting, editing software and location (your home or usual setting).
• One round of revisions, if that is what your rate card says. Define the round precisely.
• Delivery in the agreed file format through the agreed method.

What the base fee must not silently include

• Any paid media use. Organic posting on the brand's own channels is already a licensing decision, not an automatic right.
• Whitelisting or partnership ads that run from the creator's handle.
• Exclusivity, meaning a promise not to work with competitors.
• Raw footage, project files or unused takes.
• Extra hooks, extra cutdowns, extra aspect ratios or extra languages.
• Posting to the creator's own audience. If the brand wants a post on the creator's feed, that is a separate deliverable with its own fee.

A practical test for creators: if a line item costs you more hours, more risk or more lost opportunity, it is not in the base fee. A practical test for brands: if your media plan depends on it, it belongs in the contract and in the budget.

What drives the number

Rates vary enormously by format, market, production complexity and the creator's track record. Rather than copying someone else's figure, price from inputs you can defend: hours of filming and editing, number of setups, whether you appear on camera, whether you need props or a paid location, how fast the turnaround is, and how specific the brief is. A tightly scripted brief with mandatory lines and approvals takes longer than a loose creative prompt. Charge for that difference.

Brands should ask for the inputs too. A creator who can explain their base fee in terms of production hours and deliverable count is easier to brief, easier to compare and easier to re-book. For a wider look at how creators structure pricing, see UGC pricing models compared.

Sample base fee clause

Production Fee. Creator will produce and deliver [number] original vertical video(s), each [length] seconds, filmed by Creator using Creator's own equipment and location, in [resolution] and [aspect ratio]. The Production Fee is [amount], payable [terms]. The Production Fee covers production only and does not include any licence to use the Content beyond the rights expressly granted in the Usage section of this Agreement.

That last sentence is the one that stops scope creep. Brands should not resist it. It makes the scope of what they bought explicit, which is exactly what their finance and legal teams want.

Add-ons: hook variations, cutdowns, revisions, raw files and rush

Add-ons are extra production work. They are easy to price because they map to extra hours. Put them on the rate card as named line items with a short definition, because the definition is where disputes start.

Hook variations

A hook variation is a new opening attached to the same body of the video. Performance teams love them because they can test which opener wins. Define whether a hook variation means a re-shot opening or just a different text overlay, and price those differently. Re-filming means setting up again. A text swap does not.

Cutdowns and aspect ratios

A cutdown is a shorter edit of the same footage. A reformat is the same edit in a different aspect ratio. Both are editing time, not filming time, so they usually sit below a full deliverable in price. Specify how many you include and what a request for more costs. Brands should decide the full set of placements before the shoot, because asking for a square version after the creator has archived the project costs more than asking for it upfront.

Revisions

State how many rounds are included, what a round means and how long the brand has to request one. A round is consolidated feedback delivered once, not a scatter of separate messages across a week. Also state what counts as a revision versus a new deliverable. Changing the voiceover line is a revision. Changing the concept after approval is a reshoot. For the detail on structuring this, see how many revisions belong in a UGC contract.

Revisions. The Fee includes [number] round(s) of revisions. A round means a single consolidated set of written feedback delivered within [number] business days of delivery. Changes to the approved concept, script or location constitute a reshoot and are billed at the Reshoot Rate on Creator's rate card.

Raw files

Raw footage is different in kind, not just in degree. It lets the brand re-edit, remix and build assets you never approved, potentially for a long time. Price it as a separate line, and decide whether handing over raws also changes the licence terms. Many creators will supply selects (the usable takes) rather than everything. Read raw footage rights in a UGC contract before you agree either way.

Rush delivery

Rush means you are displacing other work or working a weekend. Define the trigger clearly: delivery within a stated number of business days of brief sign-off, where that window is shorter than your standard turnaround. Brands should know that a rush line exists, because it is cheaper to pay it than to miss a launch.

Other add-ons worth listing

• On-camera appearance by additional people, including children or pets, with releases.
• Travel to a brand-specified location, plus time and expenses.
• Voiceover only, or a voiceover in a second language.
• Captions or subtitles in additional languages.
• Product seeding logistics where the creator must buy the product and be reimbursed.
• Posting to the creator's own channel, including how long the post must stay live.

Usage tiers: organic, paid, whitelisting, term and territory

Usage is the part of the rate card that most often gets left vague, and the part that carries most of the commercial value for the brand. Price it along four levers: channel, media type, term and territory. Change any lever and the price changes.

Channel and media type

Start with the narrowest tier and build up.

• Organic only on the brand's owned channels (their feed, their site, their email).
• Organic plus paid social on the brand's own ad accounts.
• Paid social plus whitelisting or partnership ads, where ads run from the creator's handle.
• Full digital, including display, programmatic, marketplace listings and connected TV.
• All media, including broadcast, out of home and print.

Each step up widens who sees the content and how closely it is tied to the creator's identity. Whitelisting is the step most creators underprice, because it uses their handle, their profile and sometimes their comment sections. Treat it as its own line, not a footnote on paid. Whitelisting versus usage rights as separate line items explains why they should never be bundled.

Term

Term is how long the licence lasts, measured from first use or from delivery. Say which. Ladders commonly run from a short campaign window up to a longer fixed period, with renewal priced in advance. Perpetual rights are a different conversation entirely, because the creator loses the ability to ever re-license that content or walk it back. If a brand asks for perpetual, read when to refuse perpetual usage rights and when to price them first.

Where the fair middle usually sits: a defined term matched to the campaign, with a pre-agreed renewal price so the brand is not renegotiating from zero. Brands get budget certainty. Creators get paid again when the asset keeps working. Put the renewal mechanism in the contract, not in a follow-up email. See renewing and extending usage rights.

Territory

A licence limited to one country is worth less than a worldwide one. If the brand only sells in a couple of markets, a licence limited to those markets is honest and cheaper. If they are a global DTC brand, worldwide is realistic and should be priced as such. Detail in territory and channel limits in content licensing.

Exclusivity is not usage

Exclusivity restricts what the creator can do with other brands. It has nothing to do with where the brand's content runs. Price it by category breadth, duration and whether it blocks whole platforms. A narrow category lock for a short window is reasonable. A broad lock across an entire vertical for a long period removes a chunk of the creator's income and should be priced accordingly. See exclusivity clauses: category, duration and price.

Sample usage clause

Licence Grant. Creator grants Brand a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Content on [channels] in [territory] for [term], beginning on [start date]. Use in paid media is permitted only on Brand's own ad accounts. Whitelisting, partnership ads and Spark Ads require a separate written authorisation and the fee set out in Schedule A. Rights not expressly granted are reserved by Creator. On expiry, Brand will cease new distribution and will pause or archive any active ads using the Content.

That final sentence matters more than people expect. Expiry without a wind-down obligation is how content keeps running after the licence ends. The consequences are covered in what happens when a brand runs UGC after usage rights expire.

Bundles, retainers and how brands should budget the whole line item

Once the three layers exist, you can package them without losing the structure underneath.

Bundles that work

A bundle should combine deliverables and usage into one price while still showing the components. For example: a set of videos plus organic and paid rights on the brand's accounts, in one territory, for a defined term. The brand sees one number. The contract still lists what each part covers, so an extension or an upgrade has an obvious starting point.

Avoid bundles that hide usage. "Videos plus full rights" is not a bundle, it is a trap. Nobody agrees on what "full rights" means, and the disagreement surfaces when the content is already live.

Retainers

A monthly retainer suits brands that need a steady content flow. Define the monthly deliverable count, the usage that applies by default, the notice period on both sides, and what happens to unused deliverables (roll over or expire). Creators should insist on a notice period, because a retainer that can be cancelled instantly is not a retainer. Brands should insist that deliverables are delivered on a schedule, not dumped on the last day of the month.

How brands should budget

Build the internal budget line in this order:

1. Production: creator fees for the number of assets you actually need, not the number you hope to test.
2. Usage: the tier that matches your real media plan, including the paid channels you will probably add later.
3. Add-ons: hook variations and cutdowns, because your performance team will ask for them.
4. Contingency: renewals, extra territories and the assets that outperform and need a longer term.
5. Exclusivity, only if you genuinely need it. Many campaigns do not.

Brands running many creator deals at once should standardise this into one template so every booking uses the same definitions. Brands that hire through marketplaces like UGC Roster can take the same approach, keeping one set of usage definitions across their whole roster.

What each side should ask for

Creators should ask for: a defined term, paid usage priced separately, whitelisting as its own authorisation, a kill fee if the brand cancels after work has started, and payment terms with a deposit on larger jobs. Brands should ask for: clear delivery dates, a defined revision process, the right to extend at a pre-agreed price, and an FTC-compliant disclosure commitment. The fair middle on payment is usually a deposit upfront with the balance on delivery or on short net terms: net 30 versus upfront payment.

Turning rate card lines into contract clauses

A rate card is a quote. A contract is what is enforceable. The translation is mechanical if your rate card is structured properly.

Map every line to a clause

• Base fee becomes the Production Fee and Deliverables clauses.
• Add-ons become either included scope or a priced schedule referenced by the agreement.
• Usage tiers become the Licence Grant, with channel, media type, term and territory as filled-in variables.
• Whitelisting becomes a separate authorisation clause, with access handled and revoked on expiry.
• Exclusivity becomes its own clause with category, duration and territory spelled out.
• Payment terms become invoice timing, due dates and late payment consequences.
• Cancellation becomes a kill fee clause. See kill fees in a UGC contract.

Attach the rate card as a schedule

The cleanest structure is a short agreement with a schedule that carries the commercial detail. That way an extension or an upgrade is a new schedule, not a renegotiated contract. If you work with the same brand repeatedly, read statement of work versus master agreement.

Schedule A (Rates). The rates set out in Schedule A apply to any additional deliverables, hook variations, cutdowns, raw files, rush delivery, territory extensions or licence renewals requested by Brand. Additional work will be confirmed in writing by both parties before it begins.

Do not forget disclosure

Put the disclosure obligation in the contract so both sides know who is responsible. More detail in FTC disclosure rules in a UGC contract.

Ownership versus licence

Decide which one you are doing. A licence means the creator keeps copyright and the brand gets defined permissions. A transfer or work-for-hire arrangement means the brand owns the asset outright. These are not the same product and should not carry the same price. Read work for hire versus licence before you sign either.

This is general information, not legal advice. For high-value campaigns, unusual exclusivity, or anything involving broadcast or talent unions, get a lawyer to review the agreement.

Common mistakes

Quoting one number for everything

Why it happens: a flat price feels simpler and faster to agree. What to do instead: quote the base fee and list usage, add-ons and exclusivity as separate lines, even if the total is the same. The itemisation is what protects you both later when the brand wants more.

Treating organic and paid as the same permission

Why it happens: both involve the brand "posting" the content, so people assume one covers the other. What to do instead: write them as distinct grants. Paid media puts budget behind the content and changes its commercial value. See organic versus paid usage rights.

Leaving the term start date undefined

Why it happens: everyone agrees a length and nobody says from when. What to do instead: state whether the term starts on delivery, on first use or on a fixed date. A term that starts on first use can sit dormant and then run long past the campaign the brand budgeted for.

Pricing whitelisting as a small upgrade to paid

Why it happens: whitelisting looks like paid media with an extra login step. What to do instead: price it as its own tier. The creator's handle, profile and audience signals are doing work that a brand account cannot replicate, and the creator carries reputational exposure in their own comments.

Giving away raw files to be agreeable

Why it happens: the brand asks casually at the end of a smooth project and the creator does not want friction. What to do instead: either decline, or price raws and state what the brand may do with them. Raw files plus a broad licence effectively hands over an unlimited content library.

Brands budgeting only for production

Why it happens: the production fee is the number in the creator's first email, so it becomes the number in the spreadsheet. What to do instead: budget production, usage, add-ons and a renewal contingency as four lines from the start. The second negotiation usually costs more than the first.

Never updating the rate card

Why it happens: the card is a file on a desktop and revisiting it feels like admin. What to do instead: review it on a fixed schedule, after any job that took far longer than expected, and whenever your production quality or demand changes. Add a validity note so old quotes do not bind you forever.

Next steps

Start with the base fee, and start by timing yourself. Track the actual hours on your next deliverables, from brief to final file, and set a production price you would be happy to repeat many times over. That number anchors everything above it.

Then write the usage ladder. A short ladder is plenty: organic only, organic plus paid on brand accounts, plus whitelisting, full digital, and all media. Attach term and territory as variables to each tier rather than inventing a separate line for every combination. If you want a structure to work from, the UGC Rate Card Template lays the layers out in order.

Brands should do the reverse exercise. Write down the media plan you actually intend to run, including the paid channels you will probably add once the first results land. Share that with creators before asking for a quote. You will get a tighter price and avoid the second negotiation entirely.

When both sides agree the lines, get them into an agreement quickly. Put deliverables, fee, payment terms, usage and duration, whitelisting, exclusivity, revisions and cancellation into a UGC contract builder, send it with one link and e-sign it. A rate card tells people what things cost. The signed contract is what makes the price stick.