How Many Followers Do You Need To Get Paid on Instagram?

Looking to make some extra cash from Instagram?

Turning your content creation passion into a profit takes strategic planning and target audience knowledge. But as your follower count increases, so does the chance to make a good amount of money from your efforts. 

Read on to discover how many followers you need on Instagram to get paid (and how to gain them).

How Do People Make Money on Instagram?

Instagram doesn’t pay creators directly based on view or follower counts. Instead, you can monetize your profile by:

• Using Instagram’s monetization tools, like Shopping, Subscriptions, and Ads
• Partnering with brands to create sponsored content
• Sharing affiliate links; when someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you earn

Social media influencers typically leverage all these tactics and build a large and engaged following that makes monetization efforts worthwhile. But any brand or business can sign up for a Creator or Business account to try and monetize their profile. 

For Instagram users who can’t access Instagram’s monetization features, you can make money on this social media site by sending followers to other platforms, like your website or YouTube channel. So, having a significant number of followers pays off for any Instagram user hoping to earn money.

How Many Followers Do You Need on Instagram To Get Paid?

Most businesses typically require investors to generate a profit. As a creator, these investors are your community of Instagram followers. 

Using Instagram’s monetization tools, expect to earn Instagram revenue with a small community of ~1000 followers. But more followers means more money. 

Some of Instagram’s programs have a certain number of subscribers to start earning. For instance, to use the Badges and Subscriptions features, you must have at least 10,000 followers. Strategies like paid sponsorships don’t require a set follower count but do require following guidelines like linking products in your content.

So, no specific follower count is required to make money on Instagram. But the more followers, the better, and you can access certain monetization features by having 1,000–10,000 followers.

How Much Does Instagram Pay?

Influencers with between 1,000 and 10,000 followers earn an average of $1,400/month, while those with over a million followers earn about $15,300/month. A sponsored influencer with ~5000 followers earns approximately $100,000 annually. 

But the number of investors in your business is only the beginning. 

Beyond follower count, earning is influenced by your engagement rate. You need followers to click on ads, watch your branded videos, and follow links to other platforms you can monetize, like YouTube.

Here are a few ways to increase your success on Instagram: 

• Become a brand ambassador — Most influencers work with 1–3 brands simultaneously, earning money based on posts or a monthly commission paycheck.
• Promote yourself — This could include advertising your website, products, or third-party services like Patreon. 
• Monetize your Instagram videos — In-stream video ads and marketing during live or posted videos can earn you 55% of the ad revenue generated per view, which is paid monthly.
• Offer discount codes or make a sponsored business post — Creators can make at least $100 per sponsored post, and some earn over $2,000.
• Become an affiliate — Instagram's Affiliate Marketing program helps creators earn money from product links in their posts, Stories, and Reels.

Create Quality Instagram Content With Captions

The best first step toward making money on Instagram is sharing engagement-worthy content. Captions is a content creation platform that streamlines the entire recording, editing, and publishing process. Let AI find the best frames to use in your Stories, remove background noise for a more professional sound, and add subtitles to increase accessibility.

Create studio-grade content that reaches more people with Captions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Instagram Pay for Likes?

No, Instagram doesn’t directly pay for likes. But the more engagement your posts get, the likelier they’ll appear on people’s feeds. This increased viewership can lead to monetization opportunities, like getting to 10,000 views so you can use Instagram’s Subscriptions feature.

How Much Does Instagram Pay for 1,000 Views?

Instagram doesn’t pay per view. Instead, marketing data finds that beginner influencers typically earn the following: 

• Nano — 1,000–10,000 followers: $10–100 per post
• Micro — 10,000–50,000 followers: $100–500 per post

How Much Does Instagram Pay for 1 Million Views?

While Instagram doesn’t pay per view, data suggests upper-level influencers make about the following: 

• Mid-tier — 50,000–500,000 followers: $500–5,000 per post
• Macro — 500,000–1 million followers: $5,000–10,000 per post‍
• Mega — More than 1 million followers: $10,000–1 million+ per post