Article · Creators
How much should you charge for a UGC video?
Published ranges for 2026 run from €100 to €300 for a simple organic video, and from €250 to €600 and up once the brand wants to run it as an ad. Those figures vary widely by source, because they are published by agencies and platforms with an interest in pulling them one way. Your rate is not copied: it is calculated.
What the published figures say
Several French players publish 2026 rate cards. They agree on structure and diverge widely on amounts, which is itself the most useful information: nobody holds the market price.
Simple organic video.
€100 to €300 depending on the source, with a stated average around €200 to €220. One source puts the median for a short deliverable at €320.
Video cleared for advertising.
€250 to €600, and up to €3,000 on the highest grids. This is where sources disagree most.
The floor.
They agree on one point: below €80 to €100, even as a beginner, you work at a loss once your hours are counted.
The one figure everyone agrees on
Sources converge here: licensing for paid advertising adds 30 to 50 % to the base rate. That is not an arbitrary markup. An organic video lives a few days in a feed; the same video pushed as an ad runs for months, to an audience the brand buys, and becomes an advertising asset. You are no longer selling the same thing.
Calculate your rate instead of copying one
A grid found online ignores your real hours and your costs. Do the arithmetic before looking at what others charge.
Count every hour.
Scouting, shooting, reviewing footage, editing, revisions, back-and-forth. A “short” video often takes a full half-day, not thirty seconds.
Add what you never invoice.
Travel, gear that wears out, software, and the prospecting time that produced nothing. Those are real costs of the business.
Separate shooting from rights.
Two distinct lines on your quote. That is what lets you accept a tight budget by shortening the licence rather than cutting your work.
Remember your charges.
You invoice from a business: what you collect is not what you keep. The net depends on your tax situation, which is a question for an accountant.
The case of the free stay
In travel UGC part of the payment arrives in kind. The question is not “what does this night cost on a booking site” but “what does this stay replace in my expenses”. An off-season room has real value to you and a much lower real cost to the property, which only loses housekeeping and breakfast. That is what makes the exchange work for both. Nothing prevents adding cash on top: the stay covers accommodation, not your work.
Answers
Frequently asked questions
Should you charge less when starting out?
A little, not a lot. Published grids put the floor around €80 to €100 even without experience. Below that you are not funding your gear, and you set a rate you will not climb out of.
Should a bigger brand pay more?
No, but charge for the distribution. It is not the size of the brand that matters, it is the use: a video run as an ad for a year does not sell at the price of an organic post.
Can you quote a package for several videos?
Yes, and it is common. Shooting is shared on site, so the cost per video genuinely drops. Rights do not work that way: they follow the number of videos and how long they run.
What do you say to a brand that finds it expensive?
Offer to reduce the scope rather than the price: fewer videos, or a shorter licence. Cutting the rate at the same scope sets your value for every negotiation after it.
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Publish your rate instead of negotiating it every time
On Séjournée the creator sets their own rate card: shooting, rights licensing, services. The property builds its order on it and sees the total before committing, with no messages exchanged to get a price. And the agreed share arrives intact: zero commission.
See how it works