Transparency is fueling a surge in creators’ sponsorship rates

Sponsorship rates are on the rise in 2025, and creators say a newfound culture of pay transparency is helping fuel the jump.

Creators’ sponsorship rates have climbed — sometimes doubling in the past year — with marketers calling it a natural market correction amid advertisers’ rising demand for creator inventory. But four creators told Digiday that this rise in rates has been driven in part by a new wave of transparency, with creators openly comparing sponsorship deals and brand usage of their content for the first time.

“The first collaboration that I ever did, I was paid in $200 gift cards that I had to spend on a product for the video — and I had 150,000 followers,” said TikTok creator Millie Ford. “No one had told me how much to charge, and no one knew the platform. Now, people are so much more open about it, because they know that if other people are under-charging, then it ruins it for everybody.”

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