Pricing UGC in Costa Rica has a particularity that barely exists elsewhere in the region: the average client understands the dollar, and many compare with United States suppliers. That raises your ceiling, but it also raises what is expected of you.

Reference ranges

Starting points, not fixed rates.

  • Starting out, no portfolio: sixty to a hundred and twenty dollars per video.
  • With a solid portfolio: a hundred and fifty to three hundred dollars per video.
  • Packs of three to five videos: between three hundred and fifty and nine hundred dollars.
  • Monthly package of four pieces: between five hundred and twelve hundred dollars depending on rights.

Tourism and free zone companies pay at the top. Small local retail pays at the bottom, often in colones.

Colones or dollars

The healthiest practice is to quote in dollars and accept payment in colones at the exchange rate on the invoice date, stated in writing. That avoids the awkward conversation a month later.

With foreign clients, charge directly in dollars and consider opening an account in that currency. Losing a percentage on repeated conversions is a silent cost that adds up.

What is charged separately

This is the money most creators let slip. Filming the video is one service. Authorising its use is another.

  • Organic use on the brand's channels: normally included.
  • Paid media: separate, thirty to a hundred per cent of the base price.
  • Category exclusivity: charged for, because it blocks you with competitors.
  • Whitelisting: publishing from your account is a different product.
  • Raw footage: if they ask for it, charge for it.

Breaking those lines out in the quote is not asking for more: it is selling more things.

The season factor

Between December and April demand rises and your calendar fills. That is the moment not to discount. Between May and November it pays to offer monthly packages at a stable price, which fill the quiet months and give you predictability.

Many creators do exactly the opposite: they charge little in high season out of fear of losing the job, then go hungry in the low one.

Expensive mistakes

Charging by the hour instead of by deliverable. Accepting accommodation or product in exchange for pieces destined for paid media. Quoting without asking where it will be published. And forgetting VAT on the invoice, which then comes out of your own pocket.

Where to go next

In Costa Rica the rate rests on a portfolio that justifies it and a licence sold properly. Our guide on how to become a UGC creator covers building that portfolio.