UGC creators, influencers or affiliates: which to work with first
Pick by the job. Pay a UGC creator per video to make content for your own ads. Pay an influencer to post to their own audience, so more people know you exist. Pay an affiliate a commission only when a sale happens. For a small Shopify brand, that last one carries the least up-front cost risk.
UGC is short for user-generated content. Here it means content made for a brand, usually paid, that looks like it came from a real customer. A commission is a cut of each sale. The three are not rivals. They do different jobs and cost money in different ways.
The three differ in who sees the content and when you pay
| UGC creator | Influencer | Affiliate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job | Makes videos or photos of your product | Posts about you to their followers | Shares a link or code |
| Who sees it | Your ads and pages | Their followers | Their readers or viewers |
| Paid by | A fee per piece | A fee or free product | A commission on sales |
| You pay | Before results | Before results | After a sale |
| Content owner | Agreed in writing; you need usage rights | Usually them | Them |
| Main risk | You pay and ads still don't sell | You pay and followers don't buy | Few join, or they send the wrong buyers |
A usage right is permission to use content, for a set time and in set places. For UGC, the right is the main thing you buy. Influencers and affiliates keep their posts on their own pages, and you can ask to reuse them.
The groups overlap, so pay each job separately, in writing. For the affiliate versus influencer split in depth, see our guide on affiliate, influencer or ambassador.
Cost: UGC and influencer prices are public, affiliate cost follows sales
UGC prices below come from companies that sell UGC, and influencer prices from a trade publisher, so treat them all as benchmarks. JoinBrands, a UGC marketplace, estimates $150 to $400 a piece for beginners (JoinBrands, UGC creator rates, 15 August 2026, checked 27 October 2026).
Usage costs go on top. Expanded usage, meaning use on all paid channels for six to twelve months, adds 25% to 40%. Perpetual rights, the right to use the video forever, add 50% to 100% (same JoinBrands page).
Billing differs by company. Billo says its videos start at $99. That includes the right to use the video in ads and on your channels. It also includes two revisions (Billo, 9 October 2026, checked 27 October 2026).
For influencers, Influencer Marketing Hub, a trade publisher, lists benchmarks. They cover small and mid-size Instagram accounts only: $10 to $100 or more per post under 10,000 followers, and $100 to $500 or more for 10,000 to 100,000 followers. It calls them "planning benchmarks, not fixed Instagram rate cards" (Influencer Marketing Hub, Instagram influencer rates, updated 7 October 2026, checked 27 October 2026). We found no neutral study of UGC prices, so the two UGC figures are seller-listed. Ask each creator for a rate card, a list of their prices. Some small creators take free product. Our guide on how creator partnerships are structured compares gift, fee and commission.
Affiliates charge no fee until they sell. A free product you send them still costs you something. We read 168 public Shopify brand affiliate pages on 23 October 2026. For the 137 that named a base rate, the median was 10%, and half of them pay between 8% and 15% (the commission data). The other 31 gave only an "up to" rate, so they are left out. Refunds, returned orders and platform fees come on top of the commission.
What does $600 buy? Let's say your average order is $60. Shipping is extra in every row, and ad spend is extra for UGC.
| Spend | What you get | What you know afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| UGC | Six Billo videos at $99 (seller-listed), or one to four beginner videos at JoinBrands' $150 to $400 (seller-listed) | Whether ads built on those videos sell, once you add ad spend |
| Influencer | About 6 to 60 posts from small Instagram accounts at $10 to $100, or 1 to 6 from mid-size ones at $100 to $500 (publisher benchmarks) | Whether their followers buy |
| Affiliates | Commission on $6,000 of sales (100 orders) at 10% | Every commission was paid after a sale |
The $6,000 is not a promise. It is the point at which a 10% commission reaches $600. Before that point you have paid less than $600. With UGC and most influencers you pay first.
A small Shopify brand should start from the problem it has today
- No sales and little cash: affiliates. You pay commission only when someone sells. Start with a few people who already write about brands like yours. For where to look, see how to find affiliates for a Shopify store.
- Ads that don't convert: UGC. Spend on one or two creators and test the videos. Ask each creator for sample videos and agree on usage rights in writing. To find them, see how to find UGC creators.
- Few people know you yet: influencers, at the small end. Small creators cost less per post, so they are a cheaper first test. See what a micro-influencer is and nano influencers.
- A winning product and money to scale: all three, in this order. Let affiliate sales show what sells. Turn the best into UGC for ads. Then pay influencers to push the winner.
If you can only pick one, we suggest affiliates first, because the cost grows with sales and it shows you who sells. We sell affiliate search, so weigh that advice with our interest in mind.
A cheap 90-day order
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 14 | Write your offer. Recruit your first 10 affiliates (a day-by-day plan). Send each a free product. Expect some not to sell |
| Days 15 to 45 | Optional, if you have ad budget: hire one or two UGC creators and run their videos as ads for a month. With no budget, ask your best affiliates for permission to reuse their posts, or post the videos on your own pages |
| Days 46 to 90 | Check which affiliates sold. Offer the best a bigger rate or a paid post, because they have shown they can sell. Keep the best UGC |
Count each group separately. Give affiliates a code or link. Run UGC ads in their own campaign. Give a paid influencer their own code, so you can tell the groups apart.
Disclosure rules cover all three
In the US, a free or discounted product counts as a connection the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants disclosed. A disclosure must be hard to miss, and in a video it belongs in the video itself (FTC, Disclosures 101, November 2019). The FTC also says your company is "ultimately responsible for what others do on your behalf" (FTC Endorsement Guides Q&A, checked 27 October 2026).
For affiliates, a plain line next to the link works. The FTC says "paid link" right next to an affiliate link should be adequate. The bare words "affiliate link" may not be understood (FTC Endorsement Guides Q&A, checked 27 October 2026). Our disclosure examples give you ten to hand over. Rules differ by country. This is not legal advice.
RecruitAffiliates.ai searches for affiliates for you
Start by searching your rivals' names plus "review" and writing down who made the top 10 pages. RecruitAffiliates.ai does that search for you. It finds the websites, blogs, review sites, podcasts and creators already promoting your rivals, ranked so the best fits sit at the top. It looks up their email and shows whether each address was checked (what each result means). The 7-day free trial includes 20 email lookups and needs no card.
Frequently asked questions
Is a UGC creator the same as an influencer?
No. A UGC creator is paid to make content for you to use, and often does not post it. An influencer posts to their own audience. One person can do both, and you should pay for each job separately.
Are UGC creators cheaper than influencers?
It depends on the creator. Seller-listed UGC prices start at $99 at Billo, and JoinBrands estimates $150 to $400 for a beginner. Influencer Marketing Hub's benchmarks start at $10 to $100 per post for small Instagram accounts. A UGC video brings no audience of its own.
Which is best for a new Shopify brand?
Affiliates, if you want to pay commission only when a sale happens. UGC, if your ads are the problem. Influencers, if few people know you yet.
Can one person be all three?
Yes. A creator can make UGC for your ads, post to their followers and share an affiliate code. Agree on each part in writing and pay for each part.
Sources
- JoinBrands, UGC creator rates (15 August 2026)
- Billo, How Billo pricing works (9 October 2026)
- US Federal Trade Commission, Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (November 2019) and FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking
- Influencer Marketing Hub, Instagram influencer rates (updated 7 October 2026)
- Our reading of 168 public Shopify affiliate programs, 23 October 2026: commission rates