PostWorth: How to Know Exactly What Your Content Is Worth (Before You Pitch)

By Donkey Donna, edited by Dr Brent Coker

If you’ve ever stared at a brand brief wondering whether to quote $80 or $800, you’re in the right place. Most Australian micro-influencers undercharge their first paid deals by 30–60%, mainly because there’s no honest, AU-specific number to anchor against. PostWorth is Mega Donkey’s free pricing tool that gives you that number — built for 1k–10k creators in Australia, calibrated to 2026 rates, and cross-checked against what brands on our platform are actually paying.

This post walks through how PostWorth thinks about your content, what number to expect for a typical Australian creator, and exactly how to use that number when you reply to a brief.

Why am I undercharging on every brand deal?

Three reasons, and we see all of them every week on the platform.

You’re using a follower-count formula that’s a decade old. The “AUD 10 per 1,000 followers” rule still floats around creator forums. It made sense when Instagram was a static-photo grid and Reels didn’t exist. In 2026, that same formula under-quotes a single Reel by 30–60% and over-quotes a Story.

You’re comparing yourself to the wrong number. Search “how much is my social media post worth” and the top results are US calculators (HypeAuditor’s pricing tool, Sprout Social, socialmediavalue.io). They mostly compute earned media value — what your post would have cost as a paid ad — not what a brand will actually pay for the post itself. Earned media value is interesting for an annual brand report. It’s useless for quoting your first Reel.

You’re guessing what an Australian brand will accept. Australian rates aren’t the same as US rates, and US calculators don’t account for AUD, the local creator pool, or the fact that the Australian market skews toward fixed-rate payouts rather than performance kickers.

PostWorth is the answer to all three. It’s one of the reasons we built the broader monetisation series for creators — pricing is the single most asked-about topic by every creator who joins the platform.

What goes into the price of a single Instagram or TikTok post?

Six things, in roughly this order of importance:

• Platform. Instagram Reel ≠ TikTok video ≠ Instagram Story. Same effort to make, very different paid value.
• Deliverable. A single Reel is one quote. A “package” of one Reel + three Stories + one in-feed post is a different quote (usually with a small bundle discount, not a stacked-rate addition).
• Engagement rate. Australian micro-influencers typically run a 4–5% engagement rate, vs around 1% for macro accounts. Higher engagement is your biggest single price multiplier.
• Niche. Beauty, finance, parenting and fitness creators command 20–40% premiums over general lifestyle, because the brand-side competition for them is fiercer.
• Usage rights. Standard is the brand re-sharing your post organically for 90 days. Paid ads usage, perpetual usage, or extending across other markets all change the price.
• Exclusivity. A 3-month “no competitor brands” clause is a real cost to you. Brands often slip this into briefs without offering anything for it.

PostWorth asks you for the first four directly and gives you guidance on the last two as add-ons. The result is a real quote, not an “earned media value” abstraction.

How does PostWorth calculate what your content is worth?

The model has two halves.

Half one — the supply-side number. PostWorth starts from published 2026 Australian rate ranges for each platform and follower band. For 1k–10k creators that’s:

• Instagram Reel: AUD 100–500
• Instagram in-feed post: AUD 100–500
• Instagram Story: AUD 50–300
• TikTok video: AUD 50–300

It then adjusts for your engagement rate, niche, and the specific deliverable mix you’ve entered. A beauty creator at 8k followers with 6% engagement rate quoting a single Reel will land closer to the top of the Reel range; a general-lifestyle creator at 2k with 3% engagement rate will land near the bottom.

Half two — the demand-side check. This is what no US calculator does. Mega Donkey runs an Australian creator-brand marketplace, so we know what brands on the platform are paying for similar deliverables in similar follower bands right now. PostWorth uses that live data to sanity-check the supply-side number — and tells you whether the brand-side market in 2026 is paying above, at, or below the published rate range you’ve landed in.

That two-sided check is the difference between “here’s a number we made up from a formula” and “here’s a number you can defend in an email tomorrow.”

What numbers does PostWorth give a typical Australian micro-influencer?

Three quick worked examples so you can sanity-check your own profile against them.

Example 1 — 4k IG creator, beauty niche, 5.2% engagement rate, single Reel. PostWorth output: AUD 280 per Reel. Mid-range of the Reel band, lifted by niche and engagement. Brand-side check: marketplace is currently paying around AUD 250–320 for the same profile. Quote AUD 280 as your standard rate; AUD 320 if the brief asks for paid-ads usage.

Example 2 — 8k TikTok creator, general lifestyle, 4% engagement rate, single TikTok video. PostWorth output: AUD 140 per video. Mid-range of the TikTok band. Brand-side check: the marketplace is paying AUD 130–180. Quote AUD 150 to give yourself a small negotiation buffer.

Example 3 — 2k IG creator, sustainable home, 6% engagement rate, package of 1 Reel + 3 Stories. PostWorth output: AUD 220 for the package. Reel at AUD 150 + Stories at AUD 25 each, with a small bundle discount. Brand-side check: brands pay around AUD 200–260 for that combo at the 2k band. Quote AUD 230, hold firm.

Notice what’s not in any of these: a follower-count multiplier. The 2k creator in example 3 quotes nearly as much as the 8k creator in example 2, because engagement rate, niche and the package mix matter more than raw follower count at this band.

What PostWorth doesn’t include (and why you should still charge for it)

PostWorth quotes you for one piece of finished content with standard 90-day organic use. Brands often ask for things on top of that without offering more money. Treat each as a separate line on your invoice.

• Paid ads usage (the brand wants to put media spend behind your post). Add 50–100% to the base rate.
• Perpetual usage (the brand wants the post on their owned channels forever). Add 100%+.
• Whitelisting (the brand wants to run paid ads from your handle, not theirs). Add 75–150% because you’re effectively renting your account.
• Category exclusivity for 3–6 months. Add 25–40%, more if you’d realistically lose deals you’d otherwise close.
• Extra revisions beyond one round. Charge 15% of the base rate per extra round, capped — or refuse, which is what we’d suggest. Most reasonable briefs only need one round.
• Travel, props, or location costs. Itemise as exact dollar amounts, not a percentage of fee.

If a brief is silent on usage, the default is 90 days organic on the brand’s owned channels. If the brief is silent on exclusivity, there is no exclusivity. Don’t assume otherwise — and don’t be shy about putting it in writing.

How to use PostWorth’s number when you reply to a brand

Here’s the part most creators get wrong: PostWorth gives you a number, but the email you send next is what determines whether you actually get paid that number.

Three rules.

1. Reply with one clean quote, not a range. “AUD 280 per Reel, 90 days organic use, one round of revisions” beats “somewhere between AUD 200 and AUD 400 depending on what you need.” Ranges read as uncertainty; brands negotiate down to the bottom of the range every time.

2. Quote line-by-line for any extras. If the brief mentions paid ads usage, exclusivity, multiple posts, or anything outside the standard, list each as its own line with its own price. This anchors the brand to the fact that those things have value, even if you end up bundling them later.

3. Lead with the deliverable, not the discount. “Quote: AUD 280 for one Reel + 90 days organic use” is professional. “I usually charge AUD 400 but happy to do AUD 280” trains the brand to negotiate on every future quote you send. PostWorth’s number is your standard rate. Don’t pre-discount it.

If you’re sending your first paid quote ever, the getting-your-first-brand-deal walkthrough covers the rest of the email — pitch, deliverables, payment terms.

A word on GST, ABN, and quoting in Australia

Quick practical notes — read the Australian Taxation Office GST page for the canonical version.

• Quote in AUD, always. If a brand based overseas is paying you, quote AUD and let them handle FX.
• If your business income is under AUD 75,000 in a rolling 12-month window, you don’t have to register for GST. Quote ex-GST and don’t add 10% to invoices.
• If you’re near or over the threshold, register and add 10% GST on top. Brands expect it from registered creators and won’t push back.
• An ABN is free and takes about 10 minutes — get one before your first paid deal even if you’re nowhere near the GST threshold. Without an ABN, brands have to withhold 47% of your fee under the “no-ABN withholding” rule, and you’ll spend months chasing it back.

How PostWorth fits with the rest of the monetisation series

PostWorth gives you the price. To make the price land, you also need a profile that signals professionalism, a media kit, and the right approach to the first reply. Read the profile-and-media-kit guide for the brand-facing presentation side, and the Australian micro-influencer monetisation guide for the broader picture of how creator income actually adds up across deals, platforms, and partners.

If you’re a brand reading this and wondering whether the numbers above match what you should budget, the Australian micro-influencer rates 2026 post is the brand-side companion — same data, the other side of the table.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is the PostWorth calculator for Australian creators?

PostWorth uses 2026 Australian rate ranges for each platform and follower band, then cross-checks the result against what brands on the Mega Donkey platform are actually paying creators in that band. That two-sided check is what most US-built calculators don’t have.

Should I quote different rates for an Instagram Reel and a TikTok video?

Yes. In 2026 Reels still command a 30–50% premium over TikTok videos at the 1k–10k follower band, mostly because Reels need higher production effort and Instagram’s algorithm rewards longer-format video. PostWorth shows you both numbers side by side so you can quote per platform.

Do I need to charge GST on my brand deals?

Only if your business income passes the AUD 75,000 turnover threshold in any rolling 12-month window. Below that, you can quote ex-GST and don’t add it to invoices. If you’re getting close, register early and add 10% on top — brands expect it.

What if a brand offers less than what PostWorth says?

Three options. Counter with PostWorth’s number plus a short reason (engagement, niche fit, deliverables). Add value-based extras the brand wants (extra Story, longer usage, exclusivity) and re-price with PostWorth’s add-ons. Or walk — under-paying first deals usually anchors every future quote that brand sends you.

How do I add usage rights, exclusivity, or extra revisions to my price?

Treat each as a separate line on the quote. Standard PostWorth output covers a single piece of content with 90 days of organic use. Paid ads usage adds 50–100%; perpetual usage adds 100%+; category exclusivity for 3–6 months adds 25–40%. Charging for these isn’t greedy — it’s the same way agencies and other professionals quote.

Is it OK to charge a flat rate instead of per follower?

Yes — and PostWorth is built around that idea. The old “AUD 10 per 1,000 followers” formula under-quotes Reels by 30–60% and over-quotes Stories. A flat rate based on platform, deliverable, engagement and niche is much closer to what brands actually pay in 2026.

Try PostWorth before your next brief

PostWorth is free, takes about two minutes, and gives you a real Australian number you can put in your next reply. Try the PostWorth calculator — and if you want to actually find paid Australian brand deals matched to your profile, join Mega Donkey as a creator.