CREATORSCREATOR GUIDE
How to monetise Instagram: requirements and six ways to earn
Instagram can be monetised in two ways. Inside the app, through gifts on reels, subscriptions and live badges: in Spain and Mexico they require a professional account, being of legal age and, depending on the tool, at least 500 or 10,000 followers. Outside the app, by charging brands for collaborations or selling something of your own to your community. Instagram's tools pay for what your followers send you; brands and a business of your own depend on what you negotiate and sell.
Requirements to monetise Instagram
Every Instagram monetisation tool requires a professional account, creator or business, compliance with its Partner Monetisation and Content Monetisation Policies, and not posting mainly content aimed at children. Each tool also has its own conditions:
| Tool | Minimum followers | Other requirements | Spain and Mexico |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gifts on reels | 500 | Being of legal age and having a payout account set up | Available |
| Subscriptions | 10,000 | Being of legal age and accepting its terms of use | Available |
| Live badges | No stated minimum | Having a payout account set up | May not be enabled on your account |
| Creator Marketplace, for brand collaborations | No stated minimum | Instagram grants access to the creators it selects | Available since May 2024 |
How to check whether you can monetise your account
Go to your profile, tap Professional dashboard and look under Your tools. If you meet the requirements for a feature, the option to turn it on appears there; if it does not, it is not yet available for your account. Before earning anything, set up your payout account from the same dashboard.
Six ways to make money on Instagram
1. Gifts on reels
Your followers buy stars and send them to you on reels. Instagram pays you USD 0.01 per star, once a month. It depends on having a very active community: it works as an extra, not as a base.
2. Subscriptions
Your followers pay a monthly fee for exclusive content: stories, lives, reels or a broadcast channel for subscribers only. You need 10,000 followers and something you do not publish openly.
3. Badges in lives
During a live, your followers can buy badges to support you. It makes sense if you go live regularly and your community takes part.
4. Brand collaborations
The best-known route: a brand pays you, or invites you to a product or an experience, in exchange for content. There is no fixed follower minimum, because each brand decides and mid-sized profiles fit specific audiences. You can get them with a media kit and by contacting brands, through Instagram's Creator Marketplace or on platforms such as VIVIO Club, where brands publish collaborations and you apply for the ones that fit you. If you are paid, the post must be identified as advertising, for example with Instagram's “Paid partnership” label.
5. Affiliate links and discount codes
The brand gives you a link or a code and pays you a commission for every sale you bring. It works when you recommend products you would genuinely use: your community notices when you do not.
6. A business of your own
When your community trusts you enough to buy from you, you can sell something of your own: a product, a course, a paid community or your own brand. It is the route that takes the most work and depends least on Instagram.
How much can you earn on Instagram?
There is no fixed rate. For gifts, Instagram pays USD 0.01 per star; with subscriptions you receive the monthly fee you set, after fees. For collaborations, a commonly cited market reference is around €100 per post for every 10,000 followers, but your fee depends mainly on your engagement, niche, format and what the brand wants to do with the content: ad usage or exclusivity are paid separately.
Instagram's help pages describe no open programme that pays per view in Spain or Mexico: in-app earnings come from gifts, subscriptions and badges. If Instagram invites you to a bonus programme, you will see it in your Professional Dashboard.
What VIVIO's network data shows
In VIVIO's network of verified creators in Spain and Mexico, most profiles are mid-sized: slightly more than four in ten creators have fewer than 50,000 followers. Eight in ten also have a TikTok account and, among those with over a million followers, slightly more than eight in ten reach that figure only on TikTok. That is why it pays not to depend on a single network or on Instagram's tools alone.
Read VIVIO's creator network report ↗How to monetise TikTok ↗
Mistakes that hold back monetisation
Buying followers or engagement
It breaks Instagram's rules, can cost you access to its monetisation tools, and brands spot it when they review your analytics.
Not disclosing advertising
If a brand pays you, the post must say so. Instagram offers the “Paid partnership” label, and advertising rules require ads to be clearly distinguishable.
Accepting every offer
A collaboration that does not fit your community costs you trust, and that trust is exactly what brands pay for.
Not knowing what to charge
Without a media kit and clear rates, you end up accepting the first offer you get.
When it is worth getting help
If you want collaborations to stop depending on brands writing to you, VIVIO Representation finds brands that fit you, negotiates on your behalf and coordinates each deal. If your community already buys what you recommend, VIVIO Creator Business builds a business of your own with you, using your audience as its sales channel. And before deciding, Audience Audit analyses your profile and helps you see which route makes most sense for you.
See Representation ↗See Creator Business ↗See Audience Audit ↗
Frequently asked questions about monetising Instagram
Can you monetise Instagram in Spain and Mexico?
Yes. Gifts on reels and Instagram subscriptions are available in both countries, and Creator Marketplace reached Spain and Mexico in May 2024. You need a professional account, to be of legal age and to comply with Instagram's monetisation policies.
How many followers do you need to monetise Instagram?
It depends on the tool: 500 followers to receive gifts on reels and 10,000 to turn on subscriptions. Brand collaborations have no fixed minimum: each brand decides, and many work with mid-sized profiles.
Does Instagram pay for views?
Instagram's help pages describe no open programme that pays per view in Spain or Mexico. The app pays for gifts, subscriptions and badges; views mainly help you win brand collaborations.
How do you get paid for what you earn on Instagram?
By setting up a payout account in Instagram's Professional Dashboard. What you earn from brands or a business of your own arrives separately and, like any income, must be declared.
Which way of monetising Instagram earns the most?
There is no single answer. Instagram's tools are usually a top-up; brand collaborations and a business of your own have no such ceiling, but depend on your niche, your community's trust and the work you put in.