Creator Unit Math · deal math for creators

What do you really earn per deliverable?

Enter the total sponsorship fee and each deliverable’s production cost, hours and included revisions. Compare the allocated fee, costs and profit per deliverable. These are allocation scenarios: the chosen split changes the per-line result, while total deal profit stays the same.

Your margin waterfall

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Your margin waterfall

The single number the sponsor pays for the whole deal — it is split across the deliverables below.

What one hour of your own working time is worth to you. Used for the time line of each deliverable.

What one round of changes costs you. Leave blank or 0 to default to one hour of your time.

How to split the fee

The fee is proportional to total cost. With positive costs, every deliverable has the same percentage margin and profit sign; this split cannot identify an individual loss-leader.

Deliverables

The starting values are an editable example, not market data. Replace them with your own deal.

Net profit on the whole deal

$830

On a $2,500 fee — blended margin 33%.

Blended effective hourly: $48.82/hTotal hours: 17h

No deliverable loses money at this split.

Margin waterfall per deliverable

Each bar runs from the allocated fee down through production, time and revision overhead — what remains is your net.

ProductionYour timeRevision overheadNet profit
  • Dedicated video$546.71net
    Allocated fee:
    $1,646.71
    − Production:
    $400
    − Your time:
    $600
    − Revision overhead:
    $100
    Effective hourly:
    $45.56/h
  • Story ×3$208.74net
    Allocated fee:
    $628.74
    − Production:
    $120
    − Your time:
    $150
    − Revision overhead:
    $150
    Effective hourly:
    $69.58/h
  • Newsletter mention$74.55net
    Allocated fee:
    $224.55
    − Production:
    $0
    − Your time:
    $100
    − Revision overhead:
    $50
    Effective hourly:
    $37.28/h

The cost of one more revision round

At $50 per revision round, the whole deal has $830 of profit cushion — that is the most a single extra round across the deal could cost before the deal nets zero. Each deliverable above also shows how many extra rounds it can absorb before it tips into a loss.

You left the revision-round cost blank, so it defaults to one hour of your time ($50 per round). Set your own figure for a sharper number.

How do you know if a sponsorship deal is profitable per deliverable?

Allocate the total fee, then subtract each deliverable’s production, time and revision costs. The result is profit under that allocation, not separately observed revenue. With positive costs, the default cost-proportional split gives every deliverable the same percentage margin and profit sign. An equal split can show one line losing money while another profits. Compare the assumptions before drawing conclusions about an individual deliverable.

Every figure on this page comes from the numbers you enter — this tool models your own deal and shows no benchmark or "typical rate" data, because there is no single official source for sponsorship rates.

Estimate, not financial advice

This tool is an estimate to help you read your own deal before you accept it. It is not financial, tax or accounting advice, and it is not an adviser. The output is only as accurate as the costs and hours you enter, and it uses no benchmark or market-rate figures. Sense-check the result against your own records before deciding.

Last updated 2026-09-12Method reviewed 2026-09-26

How the math works

How the fee is split across deliverables

The sponsor pays one total fee. Cost-proportional allocation assigns each deliverable a share based on production, time and revision costs. With positive costs, profit equals cost × (total fee / total cost − 1), so every line has the same percentage margin and profit sign. This is an allocation convention, not observed revenue per deliverable. For example, a fee of 360 and costs of 100 and 200 allocate 120 and 240, leaving profits of 20 and 40. An equal split allocates 180 to each and leaves 80 and −20. Both conserve total revenue of 360, total cost of 300 and total profit of 60. Choose the assumption that matches how you priced the deal; a loss under one split does not by itself prove a deliverable should be dropped.

Production and your time

For each deliverable, production cost (editing, props, location, music, licensing) and your own time are subtracted from the allocated fee. Time cost is your hours multiplied by your hourly cost, multiplied by how many of that deliverable are in the deal. Use a fully-loaded hourly cost — what an hour of your attention is actually worth to you — not just a target rate, so the net reflects reality.

How revision overhead is counted

Revision overhead is the included rounds multiplied by the cost per round and the deliverable count. You supply that cost; blank or zero defaults to one hour of your own time. More revisions increase costs. Under the default cost-proportional split they also change the allocated fee, so a single line cannot turn negative while the other positive-cost lines remain profitable.

Effective hourly and break-even

Net profit divided by the hours you spent is your true effective hourly rate per deliverable — often very different from the headline fee. The deal-level break-even shows the profit cushion you have against one more round of changes, and each deliverable shows how many extra revision rounds it can absorb before it tips into a loss. These are the numbers to take into the negotiation.

Where the numbers come from

Everything shown is computed from your inputs, in your browser — nothing is sent to a server. This tool deliberately asserts no "typical sponsorship rate" or benchmark figures, because there is no single authoritative source for them and inventing one would be misleading. The starting values in the form are an editable example to make the tool usable on first load, not a recommendation.

Frequently asked questions

How is the total fee split across deliverables?
The default fee allocation is proportional to each deliverable’s total cost. With positive costs, it equalizes percentage margins and profit signs; it does not reveal independent revenue or a hidden loss-leader. Equal allocation divides the fee evenly across lines and can produce different profit signs. Both are assumptions and preserve total deal profit.
What does "effective hourly rate" mean here?
It is the net profit on a deliverable divided by the hours you actually spent on it. A deliverable can look well-paid on the headline fee yet pay a poor effective hourly once production and revision overhead come out — this number shows the truth.
How is revision overhead calculated?
Revision overhead for a deliverable is the number of revision rounds you included, multiplied by the cost of one round, multiplied by the count. You enter the cost of one round; leave it blank and it defaults to one hour of your time, clearly labelled as a fallback rather than a market figure.
Why does a deliverable show as losing money?
Its cost exceeds the fee assigned to it under the selected allocation. An equal split can produce a losing line inside a profitable deal. Under a cost-proportional split, positive-cost lines share the deal’s profit sign. Compare the pricing assumptions and your actual agreement before repricing or dropping a deliverable.
Do you use any benchmark or typical sponsorship rates?
No. Every figure on the page comes from the numbers you enter. There is no single official source for sponsorship rates, so the tool asserts none — inventing benchmark figures would be fabricated data. The example values in the form are editable placeholders, not market data.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is an estimate to help you read your own deal before accepting it, and it is not an adviser. The output is only as accurate as the costs and hours you enter; sense-check it against your own records before deciding.

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