A new report from influencer marketplace Collabstr, tracking data from 40,000 advertisers and 100,000 creators, reveals substantial price reductions across platforms amid growing creator supply and market maturation.
The average cost per influencer collaboration fell to $202 in the first month of 2025, down from $214 in the previous year, according to data from 15,000 brand partnerships. The decrease coincides with growth in the creator pool, with approximately 2.4% of global social media users—roughly 127 million individuals—now identifying as influencers.
Most major platforms show significant price reductions:
TikTok fees decline 32.68%, settling at $350.06
YouTube costs decrease 17.25%, remaining highest at $675.23
Instagram prices fall 13.00%, averaging $363.64
Twitch commands $237.72 per collaboration
Amazon influencer content averages $215.10
X shows the lowest rates at $171.35
Source: Collabstr
UGC Market Expansion Signals Shift in Content Creation
The User-Generated Content (UGC) sector emerges as a major growth area, with market size projections reaching $27.44 billion and a compound annual growth rate of 29.20%. The report indicates that 66% of creators now offer UGC services, up from 26% in the previous year, with rates dropping 44.37% to an average of $198.06.
Source: Collabstr
The data reveals UGC has the smallest gap between asking and actual prices:
Average asking price: $198.06
Actual payment received: $177.68
Price difference: $20.38 (10.29% gap)
This contrasts with larger platform gaps:
Twitch: 49.97% gap
X: 49.17% gap
YouTube: 38.09% gap
Instagram: 41.64% gap
TikTok: 42.80% gap
The report attributes UGC’s growth to several market factors:
Increasing recognition that authentic, relatable content resonates better with audiences
Growing preference for non-branded content over traditional marketing approaches
Rising demand for employee-generated content (EGC) alongside UGC
According to the report, 93% of marketers using UGC say it outperforms traditional branded content, with 6 in 10 consumers believing UGC feels more authentic than other forms of marketing.
Salt Lake City, Utah, leads at $421 per collaboration
Saint Louis, Missouri, follows at $363
Ottawa, Ontario, averages $340
Bloomington, Indiana, reaches $342
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, commands $324
Platform Usage and Market Growth
According to Collabstr, the global creator economy is projected to grow from $191 billion in 2025 to $528.39 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.5%.
Instagram maintains a slight lead in campaign share at 42%, compared to TikTok‘s 41%. The market shows increasing standardization of practices, including:
14-day average campaign completion time
Two monetized social media accounts per creator on average
Content usage rights increasing costs by 39.91%
Instagram Reels commanding 32% higher prices than TikTok videos ($288 vs $217)
Source: Collabstr
The research methodology encompasses an analysis of 15,000+ influencer collaborations, 262,000 influencer packages, 1 million+ platform searches, campaign data from 10,000 brand-influencer partnerships, and market data from 15,000 collaborations across various regions.
These findings derive from first-party data within Collabstr’s influencer marketplace, focusing on actual transaction data rather than survey responses or estimated values.
The full “2025 Influencer Marketing Report: Trends and Statistics for Influencer Marketing, UGC, and the Creator Economy” report is available here.
David Adler is an entrepreneur and freelance blog post writer who enjoys writing about business, entrepreneurship, travel and the influencer marketing space.
A new report from influencer marketplace Collabstr, tracking data from 40,000 advertisers and 100,000 creators, reveals substantial price reductions across platforms amid growing creator supply and market maturation.
The average cost per influencer collaboration fell to $202 in the first month of 2025, down from $214 in the previous year, according to data from 15,000 brand partnerships. The decrease coincides with growth in the creator pool, with approximately 2.4% of global social media users—roughly 127 million individuals—now identifying as influencers.
Most major platforms show significant price reductions:
Source: Collabstr
UGC Market Expansion Signals Shift in Content Creation
The User-Generated Content (UGC) sector emerges as a major growth area, with market size projections reaching $27.44 billion and a compound annual growth rate of 29.20%. The report indicates that 66% of creators now offer UGC services, up from 26% in the previous year, with rates dropping 44.37% to an average of $198.06.
Source: Collabstr
The data reveals UGC has the smallest gap between asking and actual prices:
This contrasts with larger platform gaps:
The report attributes UGC’s growth to several market factors:
According to the report, 93% of marketers using UGC say it outperforms traditional branded content, with 6 in 10 consumers believing UGC feels more authentic than other forms of marketing.
Niche Markets Maintain Premium Rates Despite Overall Decline
Several specialized content categories maintain higher-than-average rates:
Geographic Market Dynamics Shape Pricing
Location significantly influences creator earnings, with top-paying cities showing distinct patterns:
Platform Usage and Market Growth
According to Collabstr, the global creator economy is projected to grow from $191 billion in 2025 to $528.39 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.5%.
Instagram maintains a slight lead in campaign share at 42%, compared to TikTok‘s 41%. The market shows increasing standardization of practices, including:
Source: Collabstr
The research methodology encompasses an analysis of 15,000+ influencer collaborations, 262,000 influencer packages, 1 million+ platform searches, campaign data from 10,000 brand-influencer partnerships, and market data from 15,000 collaborations across various regions.
These findings derive from first-party data within Collabstr’s influencer marketplace, focusing on actual transaction data rather than survey responses or estimated values.
The full “2025 Influencer Marketing Report: Trends and Statistics for Influencer Marketing, UGC, and the Creator Economy” report is available here.