How to Make Money on Instagram: Every Option
How to make money on Instagram: its own payout tools with follower minimums, plus brand deals, affiliate links and selling your own offers.
Published October 18, 2026
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You make money on Instagram in two ways: Instagram pays you through its own tools, or you earn off the platform from brands, commissions and your own products. For most people the second route pays first, because Instagram's own programs need 500 to 10,000 followers, and its cash bonuses are invite-only.
Below is each option, what Instagram requires, and how to pick one for your account size.
How to make money on Instagram with Instagram's own tools
Instagram's creator monetization page groups its tools by who pays you: your audience (Subscriptions, Gifts, Badges), brands (partnership ads, Creator Marketplace) and Instagram itself (Bonuses). Follower minimums and country lists differ, and each tool requires you to follow Instagram's Partner Monetization Policies.
| Tool | Pays you | Minimum, per Instagram | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gifts | Fans buy Stars and send gifts on your reels | Professional account, 18+, 500+ followers, eligible country | You earn $0.01 per Star fans send |
| Subscriptions | Monthly fee for exclusive content | 18+, 10K followers, eligible country | You set the price; subscribers get a badge and a Subscriber home on your profile |
| Badges | Viewers buy badges during your Live | 18+, 10K+ followers; open in the US, invite-only in some other countries | Badges cost $0.99, $1.99 or $4.99 each |
| Bonuses | Pays for plays or views of reels and posts | Invite-only, 18+, professional account, in Japan, South Korea or the US; reels bonus needs 5M views over the previous 3 months | Reels bonus only in the US and South Korea |
| Creator Marketplace | Brands find you for paid collaborations | 18+, public Creator or Business account, 1,000+ followers | Available wherever Meta advertising operates, with a few excluded countries |
Gifts has the lowest bar. You need a professional account and a payout account, and you earn from reels you were going to share anyway. If a fan sends a gift before you onboard, you can see who sent it but you can't receive the earnings.
How much does Instagram pay per 1,000 views?
Instagram does not publish a per-1,000-views rate. Its bonuses page says only that the more bonus plays or views your content gets, the more you earn, and that bonuses are limited-time and invite-only.
There are two tests: a bonus for reels and a bonus for carousels and single image posts. The reels bonus requires at least 5 million views in the previous 3 consecutive calendar months, and not all eligible creators are selected. Treat a bonus as a surprise, not income.
Instagram monetization requirements: what keeps you eligible
Instagram's monetization policy page lists content that can cost you eligibility: reels visibly recycled from other apps, especially with third-party fonts and watermarks, anything you do not own the rights to, music that does not come from Instagram's libraries, and misleading or baiting posts.
You can check where you stand in Account Status, which shows whether your content is eligible to be recommended and flags anything that breaks the Recommendations Guidelines. Check it before you apply for any program.
Brand deals and partnership ads
Instagram's own advice is to turn each brand deal into a bigger one. Instagram's partnership ads page says brands can run your content as an ad that reaches beyond both your followers and theirs, and that you can ask for higher pay because the deal then includes extended usage.
To make a deal run properly, tag the brand with the paid partnership label. Instagram's Creator Marketplace page says to create the content as usual, turn on Add Paid Partnership Label, then tap Add Brand Partners. If you want the brand to boost it later, you also need to grant the right ad permissions.
Disclose every deal clearly. The FTC's guidance for influencers says to put the disclosure with the endorsement itself, not buried in a hashtag group or behind a "more" link, and to use plain words like "ad" or "sponsored". Vague shorthand such as "collab" does not count.
Not sure what to charge? Our influencer pricing calculator gives a starting rate, and the Instagram money calculator estimates earnings from your follower count and engagement.
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Affiliate links
Affiliate marketing means you earn a commission when someone buys through your link. Join a brand's program or an affiliate network, then share your link in your bio, in a story, or in a DM.
A commission is a financial tie to the brand, and the FTC says to disclose financial ties. Put "ad" or "affiliate link" right next to the link, not on your profile alone. Pick products you have actually used, since one refund-heavy recommendation costs more trust than a commission earns.
Selling your own products or services
Selling directly has no follower minimum from Instagram. Instagram supports shopping in feed, Explore, Stories and Reels, though per its shopping help page buying through a shop's website may not be available in every country.
Services work with no shop at all: coaching, design, editing or consulting, sold by DM. A comment-to-DM setup with SociaHive's DM automation can send the booking link to anyone who comments a keyword on a post, so you do not answer every question by hand.
Which route fits your account
Pick by where you are now, not where you want to be.
| Your account | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under 500 followers | Selling a service or affiliate links | No platform minimums apply |
| 500 to 1,000 followers | Gifts, plus your own offer | Gifts has the lowest threshold |
| 1,000+ followers | Creator Marketplace and brand deals | Brands can find you |
| 10,000+ followers | Add Subscriptions, and Badges where available | Both need 10K |
Whatever you pick, reach comes first. The Instagram growth strategy and the guide to the Instagram Reels strategy cover how to build an audience big enough for these tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Instagram pay for 500 followers?
Only through Gifts, and the amounts are small. Instagram says creators receive $0.01 for every Star fans send, so 100 Stars is $1. You need a professional account, must be 18 or older, and live in an eligible country. Other tools, such as Subscriptions and Badges, ask for 10K followers.
How do I get paid by Instagram?
Set up a payout account. For Gifts, Instagram pays out once your total balance reaches $25. For bonuses, you can earn up to $500 per tool, with a maximum of $1,500 across three tools, before adding one, and you forfeit earnings if you have not added a payout account within six months.
Which countries can earn on Instagram?
It depends on the tool. Gifts are open in more than 40 listed countries, including the US, UK, India, Brazil and Japan. Creator Marketplace is available wherever Meta advertising operates, except Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russia. Bonuses are limited to Japan, South Korea and the US. Check each tool's page.
Can I make money on Instagram with a personal account?
Not through Instagram's own tools. Gifts need a professional account, and Creator Marketplace needs a public Creator or Business account. A personal account can still earn off the platform through affiliate links, DMs and selling services, as long as you disclose any paid relationship.
Sources
- Instagram Creators, Earn money doing what you love
- Instagram Creators, Gifts
- Instagram Creators, Subscriptions
- Instagram Creators, Bonuses
- Instagram Creators, Creator Marketplace
- Instagram Creators, Partnership ads
- Federal Trade Commission, Disclosures 101 for social media influencers
- Instagram Help Center, Ways to shop on Instagram
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