What belongs in the cost of a UGC ad?
By Drizzle team
2 min read
The full cost includes production, rights, revisions, and preparation. Media spend is a separate budget, and the cheapest raw take may not be the cheapest usable ad.
Define the deliverable and its rights
For creator work, specify the number of videos, hooks, crops, revisions, raw files, and paid-media usage period. Include samples, shipping, and any exclusivity. For generated work, record the plan or API charges, required reference preparation, and commercial terms.
Two quotes are not comparable if one includes a year of ad usage and the other only an organic post.
Count the labor and rejected work
Suppose a fictional batch costs $200 in fees and takes three hours of review and editing valued at $30 an hour. Its production cost is $290. Five accepted assets would cost $58 each; two accepted assets would cost $145 each.
This example is arithmetic, not a market-rate survey. Use the amounts you actually pay and keep rejected takes in the numerator.
Budget distribution separately
An accepted video still needs a campaign, destination, and measurement setup. Decide how much media spend you can justify from order contribution and a test plan. Do not describe revenue divided by production cost as advertising ROAS.
Use the UGC cost calculator, review the creator rate-card definition, and compare Drizzle plans if your starting asset is a product photo.