Social Media. How Much Does an Influencer Really Earn? Between Myth and Reality

This activity fascinates as much as it raises questions: how much does a social media content creator earn? With the professionalization of this profession and the exposure of certain influencers, speculation is rife: six-figure partnerships, all-expenses-paid trips, and a life of luxury are anchored in the collective imagination. In reality, very few people are able to make a decent living from this profession.

Headliners like Léna Situations, Squeezie, EnjoyPhoenix or Inoxtag actually earn tens, even hundreds of thousands of euros and are surrounded by a team of professionals on a daily basis to produce their content, but represent only a tiny fraction of the 145,000 content creators in France .

First, it's important to distinguish between the different sources of income. "The majority comes from sponsored partnerships with brands (videos, stories, social media posts) and not from the platforms themselves," explains Solène Juredieu, client director at Reech Agency, an influencer marketing agency. While 60% of French people surveyed by Reech cite platform compensation as influencers' salaries, it remains a small minority in creators' income. For some, this may include a personal brand, merchandise, books, training courses, goodies, and free products.

"66% of creators earn less than €5,000 per year from their influencer activity. Very few influencers earn a living from this activity. The majority have jobs on the side; it's a passion for most," says Solène Juredieu.

A reality that the general public doesn't perceive: only one in 100 respondents think that a content creator can receive nothing from their activity, while in fact, 26% of influencers reported no income from this activity in 2024 (Reech 2024 study). Conversely, only 6% of content creators reported earning more than €50,000 per year, while 14% of participants believe that an influencer actually earns this amount. "This is the whole fantasy that the general public may have about influencers: easy money, millions of euros, but it's very far from reality. And then, we mustn't forget that creating content is a job that takes time and is an investment, especially for those who have a side business," emphasizes Solène Juredieu.

The influencer marketing agency estimates the median income of creators at €1,600 per month, due to the high proportion of creators who generate little or no income from their activity, which is less than the minimum wage (€1,801.80 gross per month). Most content creators are nano-influencers (fewer than 10,000 subscribers) or micro-influencers (between 10,000 and 30,000 subscribers). They will be able to earn a small additional income, gifts or invitations and will interest brands with their high engagement rate since, with a reasonable number of subscribers, they are considered reliable and close to their community.

For example, Jean-Baptiste Viet, a content creator in the tech sector, revealed that in July 2023 he received 3,200 euros for the sale of his books, 500 euros for his first product placement and estimated his salary at 1,250 euros gross per month thanks to YouTube, a platform on which he is followed by more than 100,000 subscribers.

Unlike a salaried job, an influencer's salary is extremely variable and depends on brand campaigns (often more numerous at the end of the year and weaker in the summer), negotiations based on content, and algorithmic pressure: a drop in engagement can cause the rates offered and opportunities to drop very quickly.

This profession also requires a certain rigor regarding the publication of content, but there is also a whole part that the public does not see: design, filming, editing, management of accounting and self-employed status, moderation, etc. Living comfortably from content creation is not impossible but remains reserved for a minority of influencers, often after several years of work.

(*) The 2025 study was conducted in December 2024 and January 2025 among 1,000 social media users, representative of the French population aged 18 and over by Reech.