What does a piece of creator content actually cost you?
Put in your product cost and how many creators you're gifting. Get your cost per post, and what that same content would cost as paid. Use the calculator below with no email — every number in it is one you set and can change.
Built by the team that runs creator gifting for a DTC brand on Seed daily.
The calculator
Nothing is hidden. Every number below is an input you control — change any of them and the results recalculate immediately.
Your inputs
These start as placeholder values so the calculator has something to show. Replace all of them with your own numbers.
Defaults to 40% so the calculator has a starting point. This is not a measured Seed figure or an industry statistic — replace it with your own post rate.
What you'd actually pay for a comparable piece of content — not a rate-card list price.
Your results
Recalculates as you type. Nothing here is sent anywhere.
Cost per piece, including your time
$33.00 per piece here vs $150.00 at your paid rate — about 4.5x cheaper per piece.
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How the numbers are computed
No hidden multipliers. Here is the exact math behind every result above, so you can check it and defend it to whoever asks.
total cash out = (product cost + shipping) × creators gifted
content pieces = creators gifted × expected post rate
cost per piece = total cash out ÷ content pieces
cost per piece incl. time = (total cash out + hours × hourly rate) ÷ content pieces
- Enter your numbers
Product cost, shipping, how many creators you're gifting, and the post rate you expect. Every field starts with a placeholder — change all of them.
- Read your cost per piece
The calculator recalculates live: total cash out, pieces of content produced, and cost per piece — with and without your own hours.
- Compare against paid
Set the rate you'd actually pay for a piece of UGC or paid content, and see the gap next to what gifting is costing you.
- Get the full model
The calculator is free to use with no email. If you want the spreadsheet version, the written-out assumptions, and a one-page summary to hand your CFO, leave your email below.
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What people get wrong
Four ways brands end up defending a cost-per-piece number that doesn't hold up.
Counting only product cost
COGS is the easy number to grab and the incomplete one. Shipping per unit and your own hours running the campaign are real cash and real time — leave them out and the cost-per-piece number is fiction.
Assuming everyone posts
Not every creator you gift will post. Whatever rate you actually see, plug it into this calculator — it's the single biggest lever on your cost per piece, bigger than product cost.
Comparing against agency rates
Agency and influencer-marketplace rate cards are a starting point for a negotiation, not what you'd actually pay. Compare gifting against the rate you'd genuinely pay for the same piece of content, not a list price.
Measuring on immediate revenue
A gifting campaign that produces content and zero same-week sales isn't a failure — it's a content-acquisition motion. Judge it on cost per piece of usable content, then judge the content on what it does downstream.
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Questions before you use it
Is this actually free?
Yes. The calculator on this page is free to use with no email required. You give an email to get the model — the spreadsheet, the written assumptions, and the CFO one-pager. There's no card, no call, and you can unsubscribe from the first email.
What happens to my email?
It goes on Seed's list. You'll get the model, and occasionally something else worth reading about creator gifting. One click to leave, and we don't sell or share it.
Where does the 40% post rate come from?
It's a starting default, not a measured Seed statistic and not an industry benchmark. It's there so the calculator has a number to show before you've typed anything. Replace it with your own post rate the moment you have one — the field is fully editable and clearly labeled as an assumption.
What's in the full model that isn't already on this page?
The same calculation as a spreadsheet you can save and reuse, the benchmark assumptions written out in one place so you can see and change them, and a one-page summary formatted to hand to a CFO or a co-founder without editing it first.
Does this account for my own time?
Yes, as a separate line. Hours spent and your hourly rate are their own inputs, and the calculator shows cost per piece both with and without your time — so you can see the number either way, not just the one that looks best.
Why compare against a rate I set myself, instead of a published UGC rate?
Published rate cards vary wildly and most brands don't actually pay them. Enter the rate you'd genuinely pay for a comparable piece of content, and the comparison means something. Change it and the comparison updates immediately.
Get the full model, not just the page.
The spreadsheet version, the assumptions written out in one place, and a one-page summary you can hand your CFO without editing it first.
Enter your email and I'll send it to you.
Straight to your inbox, free. No sales call, no drip you can't leave.