The first question from a brand discovering UGC is always the same: how much does it cost. The honest answer is that no figure means anything until you have said what it includes.
In Spain a second difficulty is added: the price you pay is not always what the person filming receives.
The quote does not describe the same thing depending on where it comes from
A commission can arrive in two ways. Directly from a creator, or through an intermediary who assembles a selection, coordinates and invoices.
Those are two prices covering different tasks. The second includes finding the profiles, follow-up, chasing, compliance of the deliverable, and a margin. That is not an arbitrary surcharge: it is work somebody has to do, either you or them.
Comparing the two without knowing this leads to a false conclusion, of the "agencies are expensive" or "direct creators are cheap" variety. The right question is not the amount, it is who does the coordination work and what it would cost you in-house.
What really moves the price
The number of openings. A piece delivered with three different openings costs more than a single version, and is worth considerably more in advertising, because it gives something to test.
The licence. Six months organic is not the same as perpetual use in paid advertising across all territories. It is the variable that moves a quote most, and the one most brands do not think to bound.
The profile required. A technical category, a specific language, a rare age bracket or a particular skill narrow the pool and raise the price.
The deadline. A shoot within forty-eight hours is paid for, because it displaces the rest of the schedule of the person filming.
The additional deliverables. A caption free version, cut-out shots, the original file. Almost free if requested in the brief, expensive if requested afterwards.
What does not move the price as much as people think
Equipment. A significant share of what runs is shot on a phone, and the brand paying for a camera often pays for a less believable result.
The creator's follower count. In production it enters no calculation. If a quote charges for it, you are no longer buying production but distribution, which is a different job at a different price.
How to spend less without paying less
These are not the same thing, and that is where the budget is decided.
Order in batches rather than one at a time: one shoot produces three pieces, and the cost per piece falls without the creator's rate falling.
Write a brief that fits into ten useful lines: half of budget overruns come from back and forth a precise brief would have prevented.
Ask for the additional deliverables from the start. And bound the licence to what you will actually use: paying for perpetual use for a three month campaign is the most frequent unnecessary expense in this category.
What the brand pays for, item by item
| Item | What it covers | Variable? |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Preparation, shooting, editing | With the number of videos |
| Rights | Duration, territories, media | With the intended use |
| Service fee | 6% on the brand side, minimum 1.50 EUR | Fixed |
What raises the invoice with nobody deciding it
Unlimited revisions, formats added along the way and advertising uses discovered afterwards.
What lowers it without losing quality
A grouped shoot, a shorter rights period and a single language delivered.
The real hidden cost
It is neither the creator's rate nor the intermediary's margin. It is your own team's time.
A vague brief produces unusable deliverables, reshoots, meetings. A poorly framed commission often costs more in internal hours than it cost on the invoice. It is the line where a brand has most to gain, and the only one that never appears on a quote.
Sources
- Agencia Tributaria, Spanish tax authority
- Spanish Social Security, self-employed registration (RETA)
Checked on 26 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
