Blog · For Creators

Benchmarks and pricing for creators

For Creators is for working creators who need a number to negotiate with, not a pep talk: what counts as a good engagement rate at your follower size, what a sponsored post should actually cost, and how much creators on your platform are really earning. It's here as an antidote to hype — specific when the data allows it, and honest when a headline figure ("influencers make $X") is really a wide range dressed up as a rule.

Good Engagement Rate by Follower Count is the anchor post — benchmarks by audience size, not one made-up target for everyone. How Much to Charge for a Sponsored Post in 2026 and How Much Money Do YouTubers Actually Make? put real pricing and earnings ranges next to that math. And How to Grow on Instagram Without Buying Followers covers the growth question honestly — the free checker exists precisely to catch the shortcut that guide tells you to skip.

28 posts in for creators

Oct 10, 20264 min read

Mark Rober's Free Science Curriculum: $55 Million or $60 Million?

Mark Rober says Class CrunchLabs cost over $60 million and will be free forever. Tubefilter says $55 million. Here is what is sourced, and what is not.

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Oct 8, 20265 min read

Pokimane Turned Down Twitch's Best Offer to Sell Cookies and Sign Other Streamers

In January 2024, Pokimane did not re-sign her exclusive Twitch contract, redirecting her reach toward Myna Snacks and the talent firm RTS instead.

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Oct 6, 20265 min read

Ninja Has 19 Million Twitch Followers. His Average Stream Draws a Few Thousand.

Ninja's reported $20-30M Mixer deal collapsed in a year, and years later his 19M-follower Twitch channel draws a tiny fraction of that in real viewers.

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Oct 3, 20267 min read

KSI Co-Founded a $1.2 Billion Drink Brand With His Old Rival. Its Australian Arm Just Ran Out of Cash.

KSI and Logan Paul built Prime Hydration into a reported $1.2 billion brand, and its Australian arm entered administration in July 2026 with $85,000 left.

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Oct 1, 20266 min read

Coffeezilla Built a Channel Calling Out Scams. Logan Paul Is Suing Him for Calling One Out.

Logan Paul sued Coffeezilla for defamation over his CryptoZoo videos in 2024, and two years later the case still hasn't gone to trial.

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Sep 29, 20265 min read

MrBeast Hit 500 Million Subscribers. He's Also Been in a Lawsuit Over How He Got There.

MrBeast became YouTube's first 500-million-subscriber creator in June 2026, while a 2024 Beast Games lawsuit and his own admitted losses stayed unresolved.

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Sep 26, 20265 min read

xQc Signed a $100M Deal Months After Twitch's Gambling Ban. His Agency Denies a Link.

xQc's reported $100M Kick deal landed months after Twitch banned gambling sponsors. His agency's COO went on record saying the two aren't connected.

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Sep 24, 20266 min read

Ludwig Ahgren Broke Twitch's Subscriber Record. Here's What the Math Showed.

In 2021, Ludwig Ahgren's Twitch subathon broke a subscriber record. Outside analysts later reconstructed exactly what he earned from it, dollar by dollar.

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Sep 22, 20264 min read

Markiplier Self-Financed Iron Lung. It Grossed $50M+.

Markiplier self-financed a horror movie for about $3 million. It opened to $18.19 million and crossed $50 million worldwide, real box-office numbers.

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Sep 19, 20264 min read

Is ThioJoe Real? The Tech YouTuber With a Paper Trail

People search whether ThioJoe is real. He is — a satire channel turned tech creator whose open-source code on GitHub is easy to verify yourself.

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Sep 17, 20267 min read

Jynxzi: From Five Viewers to Ubisoft's First Streamer Bundle

Jynxzi streamed to five viewers for years before becoming Twitch's most-subscribed streamer — then Ubisoft built him into Rainbow Six Siege itself.

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Valkyrae smiling at the camera in a 2023 promotional photo

Sep 15, 20266 min read

Valkyrae: Back on Twitch, Onto TIME100 Creators

From a GameStop job to 100 Thieves co-owner to TIME100 Creators — Valkyrae's sourced story, and what the money behind her actually looks like.

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Sep 12, 20267 min read

Kai Cenat: First Streamer to Hit 1M Twitch Subscribers

Kai Cenat went from prank videos to Twitch's first 1-million-subscriber streamer — the sourced story, plus the Nike, McDonald's and Forbes numbers.

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Sep 6, 20267 min read

IShowSpeed: From a Twitch Ban to 50 Million Subscribers

Banned from Twitch in 2021, IShowSpeed hit 50M YouTube subscribers live in Nigeria in 2026 — the sourced story of his rise and the brand deals built on it.

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Sep 1, 20265 min read

What Is a Good Follower Growth Rate in 2026?

How to calculate your follower growth rate, realistic 2026 benchmarks by platform and account size, and the growth pattern that signals bought followers.

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Jul 18, 20268 min read

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on TikTok in 2026?

What is a good TikTok engagement rate in 2026? Benchmarks by follower tier and niche, plus when a low rate signals a fake or bought audience.

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Jul 18, 202612 min read

How Much to Charge for a Sponsored Post in 2026

Exact rate benchmarks for sponsored posts in 2026 — by follower tier, platform, and format. Know what you're worth before your next brand pitch.

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Jul 16, 202610 min read

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on LinkedIn in 2026?

What is a good LinkedIn engagement rate in 2026? Benchmarks for personal profiles vs. company pages, by follower tier and content format.

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Jul 14, 20267 min read

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on Twitch in 2026?

What is a good Twitch engagement rate in 2026? Benchmarks by follower tier, how CCV replaces likes and comments, and how to spot a padded channel.

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Jul 14, 20267 min read

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on X (Twitter) in 2026?

What is a good engagement rate on X in 2026? Benchmarks by follower tier, and why the by-impressions and by-followers formulas diverge.

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Jul 9, 20266 min read

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on YouTube in 2026?

What is a good YouTube engagement rate in 2026? See benchmarks by subscriber tier and niche, how to calculate it correctly, and when a low rate is a red flag.

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Jun 28, 20265 min read

Good Engagement Rate by Follower Count (2026)

What counts as a good engagement rate in 2026? See realistic benchmarks by follower count for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus how to calculate yours.

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Jun 28, 20265 min read

What Is a Good Engagement Rate on Instagram in 2026?

What is a good engagement rate on Instagram in 2026? See benchmarks by follower tier, how to calculate yours, and what counts as healthy vs. a red flag.

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Jun 28, 20266 min read

How Much Money Do YouTubers Actually Make?

How much money do YouTubers make? YouTube earnings explained: real RPM ranges by niche, what 1M views actually pays, and the income streams beyond AdSense.

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Jun 28, 20265 min read

How to Grow on Instagram Without Buying Followers

How to grow on Instagram without buying followers: a real playbook for organic growth that builds an engaged audience brands will actually pay to reach.

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Jun 28, 20263 min read

What to charge per Instagram post in 2026 (creator rate guide)

A practical 2026 creator rate guide for what to charge per Instagram post, with tier-based pricing ranges, multipliers, and how to justify your rate to brands.

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Vulnerability Is the New Vixen To Your Online Marketing Strategy

Mar 23, 20225 min read

Vulnerability Is the New Vixen To Your Online Marketing Strategy

What if the missing ingredient in your online marketing strategy is being more human? How vulnerability deepens connection and trust online.

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4 Finance Lessons From Celebrity Influencers

Aug 20, 20214 min read

4 Finance Lessons From Celebrity Influencers

Money, influence, and status are perks of being a celebrity, but celebrities can go broke too. Four finance lessons from celebrity influencers.

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