State of influencer marketing 2026
The budgets grew. The trust didn't. Here is where the money moved in 2026 — and the number every agency deck still leaves out.
Posthype StudioThe budgets grew. The trust didn't. Posthype's flagship study, built on a dataset of 10M+ creators and a survey of 1,200 brand marketers, found a market spending more money to buy less attention than it did a year ago.
Engagement fell across every tier above micro. Spend rose anyway — but it moved, decisively, away from reach and toward the creators who convert. The gap between what brands pay for and what they get has never been wider, or easier to close.
Where the 2026 budgets actually went
Below are the headline numbers. The full report carries the charts, the methodology, and the benchmarks by tier and category.
The money is leaving reach and buying trust
| Budget line | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-tier creators | 31% | +14 |
| Performance deals | 22% | +9 |
| Long-form video | 18% | +6 |
| Macro / celebrity | 16% | −11 |
| One-off sponsorships | 13% | −8 |
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- 01Macro engagement fell 38% year over year.
- 0261% of brands now pay on performance, not reach.
- 03Median brief-to-post time dropped to 12 days.
Built on Posthype's dataset of 10M+ creators and a survey of 1,200 brand marketers fielded Q1 2026. Full methodology at posthype.news/method. posthype.news/method
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