How Much Do Influencer Managers Take?

Commission is the first number creators ask about when they talk to a manager. Here are the published ranges, our own range, and the contract terms that decide what a percentage costs you in dollars.

The examples use a $10,000 brand deal so you can compare take-home at each rate. If you're new to management, what a talent manager does covers the job itself.

What percentage do influencer managers take?

Published figures put the norm at 15% to 20% of the income a manager handles, and some agreements run higher. Ours runs 10% to 30%.

Pfeiffer Law, an entertainment law firm, wrote in 2023 that the range is 10% to 20% or more, with 15% to 20% the norm. Molly Tracy, founder of a boutique talent management agency, wrote in 2025 that 20% is industry standard across the board.

Agents in film and TV work under tighter limits. A November 2024 SAG-AFTRA bulletin says the union's franchised agents can commission no more than 10%, on union and non-union work, in the areas where SAG-AFTRA has jurisdiction.

Why do some managers charge more than others?

Scope is the first thing to ask about. A manager who runs content strategy, production and new income lines for you is doing more work than one who answers inbound brand emails, and the price should follow the work.

So when a quote comes in at the top of the range, ask what sits behind it and get the answer tied to services you can see. A higher rate on a wider job can leave you better off than a low rate on a narrow one.

How much does a manager take from a $10,000 brand deal?

On a $10,000 deal, a manager at 10% to 30% takes $1,000 to $3,000, and you keep $7,000 to $9,000 before costs, tax and any agent.

Those numbers assume commission on the gross fee, which Pfeiffer Law describes as the industry standard. Gross is the full fee before any costs, and net is what's left after agreed costs come out.

Here's what that difference does to the same deal when you pay $2,000 of production costs yourself:

That's $400 on 1 deal, close to the $500 you'd save if the rate dropped from 20% to 15% on gross. Across a year of deals, the commission base deserves as much attention as the percentage.

Which income does the commission cover?

Whatever the contract defines as commissionable income. That can mean brand deals only or nearly every dollar you earn, so read the definition line by line.

Pfeiffer Law flags passive income, ancillary earnings and non-cash deals as terms worth questioning in a management agreement. Equity is the clearest case: if a brand pays you partly in shares, the contract should say whether the manager takes a share of the equity, a cash equivalent or nothing.

A lower rate can cost you more

Take a creator who earned $110,000 last year: $80,000 from brand deals, $20,000 from platform payouts and $10,000 from affiliate codes. Here's what 2 different contracts would have cost.

Manager A quotes the lower rate and takes $500 more. Run your own numbers through every offer before you compare percentages.

What does the commission pay for?

The commission should pay for work that grows the income it's taken from: pricing and negotiating deals, contracts, campaign management, strategy and new income lines.

We offer talent management alongside 9 other services, from brand partnerships and content strategy to YouTube growth, equity and ventures, and legal and business affairs. The full list is on our services page. Whoever you're talking to, ask which services the commission includes and which cost extra.

There's some evidence that representation travels with bigger paydays. Lumanu, a creator payments company, found in 2024 that the average payment to influencers represented by managers or agents was about double. Lumanu credits most of that gap to reach and deal size (bigger creators are more likely to have representation, and managed deals more often bundle several deliverables), so treat it as a correlation.

A sharper test is to ask a manager how they'd have priced your last deal. A good one can point to the lines they'd have added or raised, like usage rights, whitelisting or exclusivity.

Do managers keep earning after the contract ends?

They can, if the contract has a sunset clause (also called a post-term or tail clause) that pays them a share of deals they worked on for a set time after you part ways.

Check 4 things: how long it runs, if the percentage steps down over time, whether it covers renewals of deals signed during the term, and any limits on which brands you can work with afterward.

A step-down sunset might pay the manager their full rate on deals closed in the first 6 months after you leave, half the rate for the next 6, and nothing after a year. Whatever the structure, it should have a clear end date.

Tracy flags that last point in her list, warning against terms that block a creator for 2 years from working with brands they worked with under contract, and saying a creator shouldn't keep paying a former agency commission on those brands. Our 15 questions to ask a talent manager cover the rest of the exit terms.

Which fees should make you walk away?

Walk away from upfront fees, mandatory paid extras and commission on income the manager has no part in.

Commission-based managers get paid when you get paid, so treat a request to pay for photos, websites, coaching or workshops before they'll represent you as a red flag.

Ask about 2 other fees directly. First, does the manager take any fee or markup from the brand side of your deals? Second, does an agent's commission apply to the same deal? With a 20% manager and a 10% agent, $3,000 of a $10,000 deal goes to representation, and our guide to talent managers vs agents covers how to split the work so you aren't paying twice for it.

When you're ready to compare our terms with your own numbers, you can apply for representation with 1DS.