Benchmarks · Food · 2026

Food influencer engagement rate benchmarks

Recipes, restaurants, kitchen products, meal kits, CPG. Save + share rates matter more than likes.

Engagement rate by tier

TierFollowersMedian ERHealthy bandRed flag below
Nano1K – 10K7.0%4.5% – 10%< 2.8%
Micro10K – 100K3.5%2.2% – 5.5%< 1.6%
Mid100K – 500K2.0%1.3% – 3.2%< 0.9%
Mega500K – 1M1.4%0.9% – 2.3%< 0.5%
Celebrity1M+0.9%0.5% – 1.6%< 0.35%

Fair-pay rate ranges

Rates below are per Reel / TikTok video for food creators in 2026. Multiply by 0.7 for feed posts, 0.5 for stories. These are ranges, not quotes — actual price depends on engagement rate, exclusivity, usage rights, and brand fit.

TierLow endHigh end
Nano$130$700
Micro$700$4,000
Mid$4,000$13,000
Mega$13,000$30,000
Celebrity$30,000$200,000

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub 2026 Benchmark Report, Aspire Creator Rate Benchmarks 2025, HypeAuditor State of Influencer Marketing 2025. Last verified 2026.

What's different about food

Top platforms for food

Instagram · TikTok · YouTube — in order of how much food brand spend flows through each platform.

Run these benchmarks on a real creator

SpendVet auto-pulls follower count, engagement rate, comment quality, and audience match from just a creator's @handle — then scores them against these food benchmarks specifically. 25 free lookups, no card.

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