A rate is not a number found at random: it is the result of a backwards calculation, starting from what you want to keep and working up to the price you display.
Reference ranges
They serve as a landmark, not a scale.
A simple video, product supplied, shot at the creator's place, with no advertising rights: that is the market's entry level, and it is what most brands compare.
A video with a supplied script, several takes, two formats delivered: the price generally doubles, because the editing time doubles.
A shoot outdoors or in a shop, with travel and equipment: that is a day, not a video, and it is invoiced as such.
A batch of several videos shot on the same day: the unit price falls, the total rises. It is the most profitable structure on both sides.
What your status takes
That is the part creators discover too late.
Under the micro-business regime, what you collect is not what you earn: social contributions are due on turnover, to which tax and, in some cases, additional contributions are added.
Those rates depend on the nature of the activity and the regime chosen, and they evolve. They are checked with the body you fall under, or with an accountant, before setting a scale.
Two points matter as much as the rate. The threshold beyond which invoicing changes nature, and the date on which that change takes effect. Both are checked in advance, because they are simply endured when discovered mid-year.
What is invoiced separately
Five lines many forget, and they make the difference between a viable rate and a loss-making one.
Usage rights, according to duration, territory and media. A run in paid advertising does not cost the same as a post on the creator's account.
Exclusivity, when the brand asks you not to work for a competitor for a period.
Revisions beyond those planned, counted individually.
Travel, in time as much as in expenses.
And urgency, when a shortened deadline forces another job to move.
How to hold your price with an agency
Three sentences are enough, and they are prepared in advance.
The first: the quoted price corresponds to a precise list of deliverables; every added line is priced.
The second: the duration of the rights is a price variable, not an administrative clause.
The third: the deadline is easier to negotiate than the rate, and it is often what the agency really wants.
Stay factual, written, dated. A serious agency prefers a clear quote to a poorly defined low rate.
What moves a price, in both directions
| Factor | What pushes it up | What brings it down |
|---|---|---|
| Volume | A single video | A batch of five filmed the same day |
| The licence | Worldwide and unlimited | One country, six months |
| The deadline | Delivery in 48 hours | Three weeks of margin |
What you say when you quote a figure
The price, what it includes, what it excludes, and how long the offer stands. A quote without those four lines is renegotiated at every exchange.
What is refused even at the start of a career
Free work in exchange for promised visibility. A brand with an advertising budget has a video budget, and the first price accepted becomes the reference price.
Costly mistakes
Four, all avoidable.
Quoting a price before knowing the duration of the rights and the media.
Accepting a transfer with no limit of duration or territory, which is worth far more than the video itself. What a transfer covers exactly depends on its wording, and is checked with a lawyer before signing.
Invoicing the edit as if it were free, when it often represents more hours than the shoot.
And keeping the same scale for two years. Set an annual review date and keep it, even if no client asked for it.
Sources
- Urssaf, official auto-entrepreneur portal
- Service Public, how to become a micro-entrepreneur
- Service Public, crossing the micro-entrepreneur turnover thresholds
Checked on 26 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
