UGC Rate Card: Examples and a Free Template.

A brand finally messages you. They love your content. Then comes the question that empties your head: "What are your rates?" Charge too little and you'll kick yourself when they say yes in three seconds. Name a big number with no context and they might just disappear. So you stall, draft six versions of a reply, and the longer you take, the colder the conversation gets.

A rate card ends that loop. It's a one-page menu of what you offer and what it costs, the thing you send back in a minute instead of agonizing for two days. By the end of this guide you'll have two example cards to copy and a fill-in-the-blank template to build your own.

This guide is about the document itself: what goes on it, what good ones look like, and how to make yours. For what to actually charge, the UGC pricing guide has current rate ranges. Here, the numbers stay as examples so you can focus on the structure.

Do you actually need a rate card?

Short answer: if you want to get paid without re-inventing your pricing every time a brand asks, yes.

A rate card does three things. It gives you an instant, defensible answer to "what are your rates?" so you stop improvising. It keeps your pricing consistent, so the number you quote on Monday matches the one you quote on Friday. And it quietly signals that you've done this before.

That last point matters, because a lot of creators worry about the opposite. "Won't a rate card make me look like a beginner?" You'll see that take floating around creator forums. The truth is the reverse: a clean, consistent card reads as professional. What reads as junior is a different made-up number every time, or a long nervous paragraph explaining why you're "flexible." Your card is the calm, organized answer.

When a brand asks, you don't write an essay. You send something like this:

Attach the card or drop the link, and you're done. The dread turns into a thirty-second reply.

Rate card vs. offer vs. media kit vs. contract

Before you build one, it helps to know what a rate card is not, because four different things get mixed up here.

• A rate card is the portable document you send to anyone, anywhere: a DM, an email, a cold pitch. You control it and you can update it any time.
• A marketplace offer is your live listing on a platform where your rates are already published and brands come to you. Same pricing information, but it lives on the platform instead of in a file you send. If you list on a marketplace, your offer is your rate card in place.
• A media kit is an influencer-world document built around audience stats: follower counts, reach, engagement rates. A UGC rate card is different. You're pricing the content and how a brand can use it, not your following.
• A contract is what makes a specific deal binding: scope, deadlines, payment terms, and the usage you've agreed to.

Keep these straight and you'll price the right thing.

What goes on a UGC rate card

A good card has a predictable set of parts. You don't need all of them on day one, but this is the full anatomy.

Header and mini-bio

Your name or handle, your niche, a two or three sentence note on your style, and how to reach you. Add a link to your portfolio. One small thing that costs creators work: a card with only a first name and no contact details. It doesn't read like a business. Put your email and portfolio link right at the top.

Your deliverables

List what you actually make, and define each one tightly. Not just "video," but the format and length, how many hooks or concepts are included, and how many revision rounds. "1 video, up to 30 seconds, 1 hook, 1 round of revisions" tells a brand exactly what they're buying. A vague "video" invites scope creep and awkward back-and-forth later.

Packages

Most creators offer a few simple tiers: a single piece, a small bundle, maybe a larger bundle. Bundles can carry a modest discount, but keep it sensible, don't slash so hard that five videos earn barely more than two. Keep them scannable, three or four options at most. On the card, packages usually sit right under your deliverables (you'll see them folded into the content block in the template below).

Usage rights, as a line on the card

This is the part new creators freeze on, so keep it simple on the card itself. Organic usage, meaning the brand posting your content on their own channels, is usually included in your base rate. Paid usage (running your content as ads) and whitelisting (letting a brand run ads from your own handle, as if the post is yours) are separate add-on lines. You don't have to explain the whole system on the card. You just list it: "Paid ad usage: +X%. Whitelisting: +X%/month."

Two things to get right. What each tier is actually worth is a pricing question, and the ranges live in the pricing guide. What a brand is allowed to do with the content, and for how long, belongs in your contract, not just the card. One rule worth burning in: don't hand over unlimited, forever usage as part of a flat base rate. Make extended use its own line.

The add-ons menu

Add-ons are how a $100 job becomes a $160 job for the same shoot. Common ones: raw footage (the unedited clips), an extra hook or CTA variation, an extra concept, rush delivery, and captions. List them with a price or a percentage so a brand can self-serve.

Terms

A short terms block protects you from the work ballooning after you've quoted. Put three things on it: how many revisions are included, your turnaround time, and your payment terms (for example, 50% upfront, 50% on delivery). Decide the numbers once and they stop being a fresh negotiation every time.

Two example rate cards

Here's what all of that looks like on the page. Below are two layouts: a stripped-down starter card for your first sends, and a fuller card once you've got a few jobs behind you.

About those numbers: they're round, made-up figures to show the shape of a card, not market rates. Actual pricing swings a lot by niche, experience, and usage, so treat the structure as the lesson and check the pricing guide for what to charge.

Starter card (your first few jobs)

A starter card fits on a few lines. Put your name, niche, and contact at the top, then one main deliverable, maybe a small bundle, and "starting rates" so you're never locked in before you've seen the brief.

Example figures, not benchmarks.

That's enough to answer a brand and look organized. Notice the word "starting," it tells a brand the number can flex with the brief, which takes the pressure off both of you.

Established card (once you've got a portfolio)

When you've got proof and repeat clients, your card can carry more: photo and video, clearer tiers, a usage section, and an add-ons menu.

Example figures, not benchmarks.

The skeleton stays the same whatever you shoot. A photo-only creator drops the video lines and leads with photo sets. A pet or family creator (pet and family content are genuine UGC niches) lists the same kinds of deliverables with their own spin. Swap the deliverables, keep the structure.

Your free UGC rate card template

Here's a template you can copy straight into a doc and fill in. No email required. Replace everything in brackets with your own details, and delete the notes in parentheses.

[YOUR NAME] / [@handle]
[Your niche] UGC creator
[One line on your style, e.g. "warm, natural lifestyle content for skincare and wellness brands"]
[email]   |   [portfolio link]

CONTENT  (starting rates, subject to the brief; delete any lines you don't offer)
Photo, 1 image ................. $[__]
Photo set, 5 images ............ $[__]
Short video, up to 30s ......... $[__]
   includes [1] hook and [1] revision round
Bundle: 3 videos ............... $[__]
Bundle: 5 videos ............... $[__]

USAGE
Organic (brand posts on their channels) .... included
Paid ad usage, per 30 days ................. +[__]%
Whitelisting / ads via your handle ......... +[__]%/month
(Extended or perpetual use gets its own line. Never bundle forever-usage into a base rate.)

ADD-ONS
Raw footage (unedited clips) ... +[__]% or $[__]
Extra hook or CTA .............. $[__]
Extra concept ................. $[__]
Rush delivery (faster turnaround) ... +[__]%
Captions / subtitles .......... $[__]

TERMS
Revisions included: [1]
Turnaround: [5-7] business days
Payment: [50% upfront, 50% on delivery]
Rates are starting points and may change with the brief.

Make it look clean

Keep it to one page. Use clear sections, a readable font, and plenty of space. Canva has free rate card layouts if you want something polished, but a plain Google Doc works fine. The content matters more than the design: a scannable card beats a beautiful one a brand has to dig through.

Where to host it and how to share it

A rate card only helps if you can send it in seconds. A few options:

• Export it as a PDF so your formatting doesn't break on someone else's screen. Name the file something like firstname-ugc-rates.pdf, not "Untitled (3).pdf."
• Keep it as a Canva or Google Drive link set to "anyone with the link can view," so you can update it without resending.
• A simple free page on Notion or Carrd works too, and gives you one link to paste anywhere.

Whatever you pick, have it ready before a brand asks. The whole point is the fast reply.

Rate-card mistakes that quietly cost you work

These are the card-specific slip-ups, the ones that make a perfectly capable creator look unready.

• Flat prices instead of "starting" rates. A flat number locks you in before you've seen the brief. "Starting at" keeps room to scope up.
• A wall of fifteen line items. Too many choices and the brand stalls. Lead with a few clear options.
• No contact or portfolio link, or just a first name. Make it easy to say yes and easy to reach you.
• Burying unlimited usage in the base rate. Forever-usage is worth a lot. Give it its own line instead of giving it away.
• Card numbers that don't match your live listings. If your card says one thing and your profile says another, it looks careless. Keep them in sync.
• A three-page card you never touch. One page, refreshed every few months as you raise your rates.

When a rate card isn't the move

A card is the right default, but it isn't the only tool.

For bigger or more custom projects, a quick call or a tailored proposal often lands better than a static PDF. Some experienced creators skip the public card entirely and use "rates available on request," because they'd rather hear a brand's budget first. Both are valid once you know your numbers cold.

Whatever you do, anchor high. You can always come down, but it's much harder to climb up after you've quoted low. And when a brand pushes back on your number, that's a skill of its own: handling rate pushback is the next thing worth learning.

UGC rate card FAQ

What is a UGC rate card?

A one-page document that lists what you create, what each option costs, what's included, and what costs extra. You send it when a brand asks about pricing, so you're not improvising a number on the spot.

What's the difference between a rate card and a media kit?

A media kit is built around audience stats (followers, reach, engagement) and it's mostly an influencer thing. A UGC rate card is about the content you make and its usage. If a brand wants content for their own channels, the rate card is what they need.

What's the standard rate for UGC?

There's no single standard, rates swing widely by experience, niche, and usage. The useful way to think about it: the template above gives you the lines to fill, and the pricing guide gives you the current ranges to put in them.

Can you really make money with UGC?

Yes, though it usually starts small and builds. Plenty of creators begin with a gifted or low-paid job to fill a portfolio, then move to paid work as the proof stacks up and clients come back. It rarely happens overnight, but the ceiling is higher than most beginners expect, and what you earn depends more on your niche and the usage you sell than on luck. A clear rate card is part of how that income gets steadier over time. For where that paid work actually comes from, our guide to finding UGC creator jobs breaks down the five channels.

A rate card is one of those small pieces of professionalism that pays for itself the first time a brand asks "what are your rates?" and you have an answer ready in a minute. Your rate card sets the price; making sure you collect it safely is the other half of getting paid. So build one this week, even a rough starter card, and refine it as you go.

Want those rates working for you without sending a file every time? On a marketplace like Modliflex, you publish them once and the right brands come to you.

Set up your creator profile on Modliflex →