How influencer agencies price: retainers, commission and creator fees explained

This guide uncovers the most common agency pricing models, what each covers, when to choose them and how to check for add-on costs.

The five ways influencer agencies charge

Agencies usually use one or a mix of five pricing models. The one you choose will depend on how long you’re working with them and your goals.

Retainer (usually monthly)

A retainer is a fixed, regular payment that covers an agreed amount of work. Creator fees are usually billed on top of the retainer.

It’s typically used when an agency handles long-term strategy, such as creator management, content creation and reporting.

Pros:

• Predictable costs: Creator fees may be add-ons, but you generally know what you’re paying each month, and the agency knows what it’s getting.
• The agency develops deeper brand knowledge: Over time, the agency learns how you work and what you want. That should improve outcomes and make its team feel like an extension of yours.
• The agency and brand build stronger creator relationships: Agencies can activate the same creators multiple times, meaning they develop a closer relationship with your brand.

Cons:

• Scope creep can increase costs: It’s best practice to agree on the monthly scope and set clear rules around additional work before the contract starts.
• Unused hours may be lost: Without a clear contract, any unused hours may be lost. A retainer is best suited to an always-on campaign.
• Creator fees may be added: The retainer may not include creator fees, which can add some unpredictability to pricing.

Per project fee

A project fee is a pre-agreed price for a single campaign. This model fits product launches, seasonal pushes and first tests with a new agency.

Pros:

• Up-front costs: You know the project cost before it starts, and the campaign will have a clear start and end.
• Low commitment: This model carries less risk, allowing you to test a new agency before you agree to work with them long-term.

Cons:

• Changes cost extra: If you want to adapt the brief mid-campaign, expect costs to rise. Preparing a detailed contract will help you and the agency understand what’s included in the price and what isn’t.
• Creator fees may be added on: Creator fees may be separate to the project fee.

Percentage of budget

A percentage-of-budget model means that the agency takes a share of total campaign spend or creator fees. It suits programmes whose budgets change regularly.

Pros:

• Simple to calculate: The fee is a fixed percentage, so it's easy to forecast.
• Costs scale with the programme: Payments grow predictably with budget increases.

Cons:

• The fee increases with spend, not results: The agency earns more when the brand spends more, regardless of whether the campaign performs better.
• The percentage varies: The percentage of total spend may also add a percentage for creator fees. Costs can rise if your budget increases unexpectedly.

Markup on creator fees

When paid using a markup model, the agency contracts creators directly and resells their content with an added margin. It suits brands that primarily run the strategy in-house but want the agency to manage influencers.

Pros:

• Less admin and cash-flow pressure: The agency often pays creators before the brand pays the agency, and it negotiates the rates.
• Delivery risk sits with the agency: If a creator fails to deliver, the agency carries the cost.

Cons:

• Limited visibility: You may not know what the creator actually receives, and how much the agency is adding to the price.
• Harder to compare proposals: Without a clear price breakdown, it's difficult to judge one agency's price against another's.

Performance and hybrid

A performance model pays the agency based on whether it hits certain targets. A hybrid model combines a base fee with a bonus if agreed-upon KPIs are met. These models are usually used for performance-based campaigns.

Pros:

• You’re both on the same page: The agency earns more when the campaign performs, aligning both parties with the same goal.
• Shared risk: The base fee covers the agency's core work, but if that campaign fails, the agency also takes a hit.

Cons:

• Room for disagreement: Without clear definitions, the two sides can read the same results differently. You both need to agree on how you will track results and when before the campaign starts.
• Primarily bottom-of-funnel: This payment model rarely fits top- or middle-of-funnel campaigns, as they are more difficult to track.

Where creator fees fit in

Creator fees are often add-ons, rather than included in project fees or retainers.

Here’s how creator fees are added:

• Separately: The creator's fee is shown as a separate line, and the agency's fee sits on top.
• Bundled: The brand pays one price, with no breakdown between creator and agency.
• With a markup: The agency buys the content and resells it at a margin, which may or may not be shown.

There may be a second commission on the creator side, which goes to the influencer’s talent agent or manager. This is usually around 10% to 20% and should already be included in the price the creator quotes. A brand-side agency fee is what the brand's own agency charges for its work.

The talent manager works for the creator, and the brand-side agency works for the brand. Each charges a fee, which the brand pays.

The example below uses round numbers to show how this adds up. This is illustrative only and isn't a UK average. We’ve used a £6k charge as an example of the possible breakdown.

In this example, the brand pays £6k, and the creator keeps £4k. Two intermediaries each receive £1k for their work.

For more information on creator rates by tier and platform, discover how much influencer marketing costs on the Kolsquare blog.

The extras that affect the final price

An agency's headline fee is rarely the full cost. Extras such as usage rights, content production and paid media may be added on top. Ask the agency to list each one separately in its proposal, so you know exactly what you're paying for, and share your budget early so the proposal fits your limits.

Here’s a breakdown of additional costs and what they mean:

• Usage rights and buyouts: The right to reuse creator content beyond the original post may cost you more. Kolsquare's cost guide puts this at 25% to 200% of the post fee.
• Exclusivity: An agreement that ensures the creator won't work with competitors for a set period will cost more. How much depends on the influencer and the exclusivity period.
• Content production: High-production quality usually means higher prices. If you need multiple shoots, experimental edits or mixed locations, you’ll likely have to pay more.
• Rush fees: Planning to launch a campaign two weeks after you contact an agency? Expect a surcharge for the short turnaround.
• Paid media management and whitelisting: When the agency also runs paid amplification, there may be an extra charge.

What the benchmarks say

Nearly a quarter of brands (23%) now fully outsource influencer marketing, up from 10% a year ago, according to Kolsquare's The Future of Influencer Marketing: The 2026/2027 Outlook.

Yet, it’s hard to find UK benchmarks for agency pricing. The only dedicated benchmarks come from the US.

In February 2026, the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) published its first Influencer Marketing Agency Compensation report. It found that agencies receive, on average, 30% of influencer spend, and creators receive 70%.

About half of marketers have full visibility into what creators are actually paid, according to the same report. Even so, 73% of US marketers are satisfied with their current agency compensation agreement.

There is no UK equivalent of the ANA study. But there are UK frameworks, such as the ISBA and IMTB Influencer Marketing Code of Conduct, which sets out good practice for contracts between brands, agencies and creators. The ISBA also publishes influencer contract templates.

How to compare agency proposals

If you ask every agency you speak to the same questions, comparison will be easier.

Ask questions like:

• Are creator fees added separately from the agency's fee?
• Is any markup applied to creator fees, and how much?
• Who owns the content, and for how long?
• What's included in the retainer, and what's billed as extra?
• How is performance measured, and on whose data?
• Is the timing of creator payments guaranteed?

An agency with a clear model should be able to answer these quickly. Most will welcome the questions, because a clear contract protects them too.

Why transparency matters in the UK

Transparency matters in two areas. One is commercial, which gives you a better understanding of where your money goes. The other is compliance.

Knowing the exact amount a creator receives gives you a deeper understanding of the campaign and how much time and effort they will invest in the content. It will also help you make sure that creators are paid fairly. If they aren’t being paid well, content quality may suffer, and the creator will be less likely to work with you long term.

Compliance shouldn’t be ignored. Since April 2025, the CMA can fine businesses up to 10% of global turnover for breaches of consumer law under the DMCC Act 2024. CMA and ASA guidance holds brands responsible for making sure influencer ads are clearly disclosed. Creating watertight contracts with agencies and creators will help make sure your influencer campaigns stay compliant.

How Kolsquare sees it

Kolsquare works with brands and agencies that use mixed pricing models. No single model is the right one.

But we do believe that transparent pricing and contracts help both brands and agencies manage expectations. When creator costs, performance data and compliance checks are shared, especially on a single interface, conversations about fees get shorter, and trust builds faster.

If you're still weighing up how to run your programme, Kolsquare's Platform vs Agency in Influencer Marketing (2026) analysis compares the two set-ups side by side, giving you the data to decide on the most beneficial way to run your next campaign.