In short: A UGC marketplace is a website where a brand publishes a brief and creators make videos for it. The marketplace supplies the structure: the brief, the submissions, the review, the payment and, on some platforms, the right to use the finished video. MakeInfluence puts the difference with an agency in one line: an agency sells labor, a platform sells the structure to do the work yourself. Marketplaces differ on three things that matter more than any feature list: how you get creators, when your money moves and what you may do with the video.
The definition
A UGC marketplace sits between a brand that needs creator-style video and the creators who make it. An agency finds and vets creators, writes briefs, chases deliveries and handles revisions. A marketplace gives your own team the software to do that. MakeInfluence treats “platform” and “marketplace” as the same self-serve model: you brief creators, approve what comes back and pay through one system. The platform removes much of the email and spreadsheet work, but, as MakeInfluence notes, it does not make the decisions for you.
The videos are UGC in the marketing sense: content that looks and sounds like a real person talking about a product, made by a paid creator and licensed to the brand. The full definition is in what is UGC marketing.
How a marketplace works, step by step
- The brand writes a brief and sets a price. Depending on the marketplace, the price comes from the brand, from the creator or from the platform.
- Creators are connected to the brief. Either the brand browses and invites creators, or creators browse briefs and choose one.
- A creator films and uploads the video.
- The brand reviews it. It approves the video, rejects it or asks for a change.
- Money and rights change hands. When that happens, and which rights come with the video, is where marketplaces differ most.
Two ways to match brands and creators
| Aspect | The brand picks the creator | The creator picks the campaign |
|---|---|---|
| How it starts | You search or browse creator profiles, then invite or hire | You publish a brief and a payout, and creators choose it |
| Your time goes into | Searching, comparing profiles and negotiating | Writing a brief that creators want to take on |
| What decides who responds | Who you choose | The brief, the payout and your reputation |
| Main risk | Committing to a creator before you have seen a video | A weak brief or a low payout draws no submissions |
Neither is better in every case. If you want to hand-pick a creator, you want the first. If you would rather set a price, write one brief and judge finished videos, the second is less work.
What a marketplace costs
Marketplace pricing has up to four layers: the price of the video, a percentage fee, a subscription and money you must put in before a video exists. The table shows how four platforms describe their pricing on their own pages. It shows how they charge, not which costs least; the total depends on your plan and your volume, and prices change, so open the page before you rely on a figure.
| Platform | What its pricing page says (checked November 7, 2026) |
|---|---|
| JoinBrands | Pay-as-you-go at $0 a month with a 15% platform fee; plans at $99, $299 and $499 a month with fees of 12%, 10% and 8% |
| Collabstr | A 10% fee on the free plan and 5% on Premium, which is $333 a month billed annually; payments held in escrow until the brand approves; creators pay a separate 15% fee on their payout |
| Insense | Brand plan from $500 a month, billed quarterly at $1,500, with a 10% marketplace fee; creator payments are budgeted separately |
| Billo | Videos from $99; platform and transaction fees are part of the video price; you prepay into a balance that stays valid for 12 months |
Usicri publishes this article and runs a marketplace itself, so weigh it accordingly. A fair comparison adds your own time to the price, as MakeInfluence advises, and compares the cost of each usable video; see how to calculate the cost per usable UGC video.
When a marketplace fits, and when it does not
MakeInfluence says platforms cost less per video and give you high control over which creators you use, but that your team coordinates the work and checks that deliveries arrive. That suits ongoing volume where someone can spend the time. If you want creators found for you, revisions chased and a fixed delivery date, an agency or managed service fits better, at a higher price. The trade-offs are laid out in agency, marketplace or freelancer.
Five things to check on any marketplace
- When is my money taken: before the video, at delivery or at approval?
- Who pays the fees, and is any of it deducted from the creator?
- Which rights come with an approved video, for how long and in which media?
- How do I get creators: do I search, or do they come to me?
- What can I walk away from: a subscription, a minimum spend, a renewal?
The longer version is in how to choose a UGC marketplace.
On Usicri
Usicri is a campaign-first marketplace for Fashion & Accessories, Beauty & Skincare and Personal Care & Self-care. You publish a brief, set the payout per video and say how many videos you want. Creators on Usicri choose your campaign and upload finished videos. You pay only for the videos you approve: your card is charged when you approve a video, for the payout, with no platform fee on videos approved through December 31 and a platform fee of 15% after that. There is no deposit, no subscription and no minimum spend, and a rejected video costs nothing. The creator receives 100% of the payout, and the license for an approved, paid video covers all media including paid ads, worldwide and without time limit (section 5 of the Terms of Service). Brands cannot search for creators, Usicri sets no delivery date and a campaign is not guaranteed to receive submissions, so the brief and the payout carry the weight. See how it works for brands or create a free brand account.
A marketplace can also focus on one category; see what a specialist UGC marketplace gives a brand.