Instagram monetization tools are Subscriptions, Gifts, Badges, Bonuses, Meta Creator Marketplace and affiliate partnerships, and each sets its own entry rules: 10,000 followers for Subscriptions, 500 for Gifts, 1,000 for the marketplace and more than 1,000 for affiliate partnerships. Badges need a Live, and Bonuses are by invitation only. Every one needs a professional account.

What does each Instagram monetization tool require?

Each tool sets its own entry rules, and only Subscriptions asks for 10,000 followers. This table comes from Instagram's Help Center pages for each tool, read on 12 October 2026:

Tool How it pays you Followers Other entry rules
Subscriptions A monthly fee from followers for exclusive content 10,000 Age 18 or over; one of 49 listed countries
Gifts Stars that viewers send on your Reels 500 Age 18 or over; a payout account; the same 49 countries
Badges Badges viewers buy during your Live No number listed, but starting a Live needs 1,000 Age 18 or over; may not be available in your region
Bonuses Instagram pays you for how your posts perform No number listed Invitation only, for a limited time, in test countries
Creator marketplace Brands pay you directly for partnerships 1,000 Age 18 or over; public professional account; worldwide except six places
Affiliate partnerships Commission on sales through your product links, paid by the partner More than 1,000 Age 18 or over; public professional account; a supported market

Branded content with the paid partnership label is not on that list because it has no published number. Instagram asks for an authentic, established presence that includes a sufficient follower base, and the pages we read do not say what sufficient means.

What do all Instagram monetization requirements have in common?

Every tool sits under Instagram's Partner Monetization Policies, which cover your account, your behavior and your payments. The policies ask you to:

  • Live in a country where the tool is available. You can lose access if you move or if Instagram changes where a tool is offered.
  • Follow Community Standards and the separate Content Monetization Policies.
  • Share accurate information.
  • Earn only from your natural, authentic audience. Instagram says you can lose the ability to monetize if your audience significantly consists of fake likes, follows or views.
  • Follow Instagram's payment terms and keep an authentic, established presence with a sufficient follower base.

Elected officials, political candidates, parties, committees and government agencies are not eligible. To see where you stand, tap Menu, then Creator tools and controls (or Business tools and controls), then Monetization status. It lists any policy violations and lets you request a review of a decision you think is wrong.

How do I get monetized on Instagram?

Switch to a professional account, open the Professional dashboard, and set up the tool whose requirements you meet. In order:

  1. Switch to a professional account. It must be public, because professional accounts cannot be set to private.
  2. Open your profile, tap Professional dashboard and look under Monetization and Your tools. A tool you qualify for shows up there.
  3. Check Monetization status for policy violations.
  4. Agree to the tool's terms and set up a payout account: your legal name, date of birth, country, business details, a payout method (bank sign-in, bank details, PayPal or a debit card) and tax information.
  5. Wait for the payout date. Most tools pay around the 21st of the month for the month before. Bonuses pay around the 7th and 21st.

Set up the payout account early. Without one, Instagram says Badges, Bonuses, Gifts and Subscriptions earnings are capped at $500 per tool and forfeited after 6 months, and the Gifts page lists a payout account as a requirement to receive anything. The minimum balance is $5 in the US and $25 elsewhere, or $100 for a wire transfer, and smaller balances roll over.

What does each tool pay?

Instagram publishes fixed rates for two tools, lets you set the price on a third, and leaves the rest to the brand or partner.

  • Gifts: $0.01 for every Star you receive, so 1,000 Stars is $10. Instagram takes its own share when a viewer buys Stars, and the app stores take a fee of their own, usually 30%.
  • Badges: viewers buy badges in $0.99, $1.99 and $4.99 steps, and payments from one supporter in a single Live are capped at $250. Instagram's share is currently 0%, and Apple and Google collect 30% of in-app purchases.
  • Subscriptions: you set the monthly price, and the same 0% and 30% apply.
  • Creator marketplace: the brand pays you directly, at a rate you agree with it.
  • Affiliate partnerships: the partner pays the commission, and Meta does not process the payment.
  • Bonuses: no public rate. They reward the performance of Reels and photo posts, including carousels.

None of these pages gives a typical income, so neither do we.

Which ways of earning on Instagram need none of these?

Selling your own offer and sharing third-party affiliate links need no Instagram program. A third-party affiliate program sets its own entry rules, so read its own page. Sponsored posts agreed directly with a brand are different: Instagram requires the paid partnership label, and its branded content rules ask for an established presence. Instagram's creators site says to add the label if you are paid in any form, and that anything received from a business partner counts, money or otherwise. Meta One and Meta Verified are plans you pay for, not tools that pay you, and the Instagram subscriptions page covers what they cost.

Selling does not wait for a follower threshold. How many followers you need to make money shows the numbers side by side, and how to sell on Instagram DMs shows the DM route.

Outside Instagram's own tools, how to get brand deals on Instagram covers the route to a sponsored post, and what Mavely is and how it works covers one affiliate program with no follower minimum.

Where this stops working

  • Eligible is not the same as available. Instagram's pages say several tools may not be available to you yet, even when you qualify.
  • Bonuses have no application. Instagram says it will announce when it is ready to offer public eligibility, and may end a program it is testing.
  • Rules and country lists move. Instagram reserves the right to change or end any monetization feature at any time.
  • We give no earnings figures. Only the fixed rates above come from Instagram.
  • We did not cover Instagram Shopping, ads revenue or Facebook's own programs. Facebook Subscriptions, for example, are separate from Instagram Subscriptions.

Now you can see which tools are open at your size and what each one asks for. Most of them pay when followers act on something you posted, and a comment-to-DM reply from inDM can send them your subscribe link, product or media kit the moment they comment.

Sources

Read on 12 October 2026: