Creators

UGC creator rate calculator

Turn your rates into an effective hourly wage after gear, software, taxes, and time, and price your packages.

No sign-up required

What this calculator does

A UGC rate that sounds good per video can hide a low hourly wage once you count the shooting, editing, revisions, and the costs of running your business. This calculator shows what you actually earn per hour.

It combines your per-video rate and usage rights fee with your gear and software costs, your tax set-aside, and the real hours each deal takes, then reports your effective hourly rate, your monthly net, and your net per video. Pricing your time well starts with seeing it clearly.

Try it now

What this calculator does

Most UGC creators underprice because they only think about what they charge — not what they actually keep after expenses and tax. This calculator works out your effective hourly rate (what you actually earn per hour of work) and shows you what to charge for different package sizes to hit your income goals.

How to fill it in

  • Rate per video — your base charge per deliverable
  • Usage rights fee — extra charge when brands want to run your content as paid ads (typically 50–100% on top of your base rate)
  • Production hours — total hours to script, film, and edit one video
  • Client comms — hours spent on emails, briefs, revisions per deal
  • Videos per month — how many deals you take on
  • Gear & software — monthly amortized cost of your equipment and apps
  • Tax rate — US freelancers owe self-employment tax (~15.3%) plus income tax. Total effective rate is often 25–35%.

Worked example — lifestyle UGC creator

Inputs:

Rate per video$300
Usage rights fee$150
Production time4 hrs/video
Client comms1 hr/deal
Videos per month10
Gear & software$120/mo
Tax rate28%

Result:

Gross monthly revenue$4,500
Expenses + tax$1,380
Net take-home$3,120/mo
Effective hourly rate$62.40/hr

At $62/hr this creator is priced well. If they dropped to $200/video (no usage rights), their effective rate would fall to $32/hr — below what most experienced creators should accept. The package pricing table shows what to charge for bundles of 3, 6, and 12 videos.

Usage rights — why it matters

If a brand wants to run your video as a paid ad, that's a different use than organic posting — and it should cost more. A standard usage rights fee is 50–100% of your base rate, per month of usage. Many creators forget to charge this and leave significant money on the table.

Your rate
Rate per video
Your base charge per deliverable
$
Usage rights fee
Extra charge when brand runs as paid ad
$
Time per video
Production hours per video 4 hrs
Client comms per deal (hrs) 1 hr
Videos per month 10
Monthly expenses
Gear & equipment (monthly)
Camera, lighting, mic — amortized
$
Software & subscriptions
Editing apps, storage, music licenses
$
Self-employment tax rate
US freelancers: SE tax ~15.3% + income tax
%
Effective hourly rate
—
—
—
Gross monthly revenue
—
before expenses & tax
Net take-home
—
after all costs
Net per video
—
after expenses & tax
Annual projection
—
net yearly income
Suggested package pricing
Estimates only. Not financial, tax, or legal advice. Tax obligations vary by location and business structure. Rates vary widely by niche. Consult a tax professional. Full legal disclaimer

How to use the calculator

Enter your base rate per video and any usage rights fee, your monthly gear and software costs, and the percentage you set aside for taxes. Use the sliders for production hours per video, client communication hours per deal, and how many videos you deliver each month. The tool shows your effective hourly rate and suggested package prices. Nothing you type is saved.

A worked example you can follow

Here is the default scenario: a $300 base rate plus a $150 usage rights fee per video, $80 of gear and $40 of software a month, a 28% tax set-aside, 4 production hours plus 1 communication hour per video, and 10 videos a month.

Worked example · 10 videos a month

From rate to real hourly wage

Revenue (10 videos at $450)$4,500
Gear + software−$120
Tax set-aside (28%)−$1,260
Total hours worked (5 per video)50 hrs
Effective hourly rate$62.40/hr

That is $3,120 net for the month, or $312 per video and about $62 an hour. The $450 sticker rate becomes $62 an hour once taxes, costs, and the full five hours per video are counted. Adding a usage rights fee is one of the fastest ways to raise that number.

Why the effective hourly rate is the number that matters

Creators are usually quoted a price per deliverable, but you are really selling your time, and time is the resource you cannot make more of. The effective hourly rate is the honest measure of a deal because it folds in the invisible work: the revisions, the emails, the reshoots, and the business costs that never appear on an invoice. A high sticker price with endless revisions can pay less per hour than a modest one with a tight scope.

Two levers move this number the most. The first is usage rights, the fee a brand pays to run your content as a paid ad, which adds revenue without adding production time. The second is scope discipline: capping revisions and communication protects your hourly rate more than raising your sticker price does. Pricing your work like a professional means managing both.

Using this to price your work

Before you accept a deal, check what it pays per hour after taxes and costs, not just per video. If the effective rate is low, the fix is usually a usage rights fee, a tighter revision limit, or a higher base rate. This is general educational guidance, not financial or tax advice, so confirm your own tax obligations with a professional.

Glossary of terms

New to selling online? Every term this calculator uses is defined below in plain language, with a quick example where it helps. No prior experience assumed.

Base rate
Your fee to produce one video, before any usage rights or extras.
Usage rights
A fee a brand pays for permission to run your content as a paid advertisement, often for a set time. It adds revenue without adding production work.
Effective hourly rate
Your net earnings divided by every hour a deal actually takes, including revisions and communication. The truest measure of what a deal pays.Example: $3,120 net across 50 hours is about $62 an hour.
Tax set-aside
The share of income a self-employed creator saves for taxes, since taxes are not withheld from client payments.
Scope
What a deal includes: number of videos, revisions, and deliverables. Loose scope quietly lowers your hourly rate.
Retainer
A recurring monthly arrangement for a set amount of work, which gives you stable, predictable income.
Net per video
What you keep from one video after costs and taxes, as opposed to the sticker price.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my hourly rate lower than my per-video price?

Because your per-video price does not count revisions, communication, gear, software, or taxes. The effective hourly rate includes all of them, which is why it is the number professionals price against.

How do usage rights raise my rate?

A usage rights fee is extra revenue for content you have already produced, so it adds income without adding hours. That directly lifts your effective hourly rate.

Does the calculator store the numbers I enter?

No. Everything is calculated locally in your browser and nothing is collected or transmitted.

Is this financial or tax advice?

No. The results are estimates for your own planning. Confirm your actual tax obligations with a qualified professional.

More calculators