Most influencer deals start with a fee. The brand pays first, the creator posts, and everyone hopes the numbers show up. Sometimes they do. Often they do not, and the money is gone either way.
Performance Collab flips the order. A brand sets a rate, creators post, and the brand pays only for views that are verified. This guide explains what Performance Collab is, how it works, what it costs and who it is for.
What is Performance Collab?
Performance Collab is a creator marketing platform built around one idea: pay for results, not promises. Brands and agencies create campaigns. Creators post on their own accounts. The platform tracks the views on each post and releases payouts as those views are verified.
It is operated by Meshwork Technologies Inc. and serves two groups. Brands and agencies who are tired of paying for posts that flopped. Creators who under earn on flat fees when their content performs better than expected.
When payment follows performance, both sides want the same thing: content that gets watched.
How Performance Collab works
Every campaign follows the same four steps.
- Set the terms. Choose a rate per 1,000 views (a CPM), a total budget and a cap on what one creator can earn. Write a short brief on what to make and what is off limits.
- Choose who posts. Publish the campaign for creators to apply, or invite creators you already work with.
- Creators post. They publish on their own accounts and submit the public link. You approve or reject each post.
- Views are verified and creators are paid. Payouts trigger on verified views. Whatever is not spent comes back to you.
The creator never has to connect an account. For view based campaigns, the platform verifies the views from the public post link. You can read the full flow in our guide on how to pay creators based on views.
The four tools inside the platform
| Tool | Who it is for | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Open Campaigns | Brands and agencies | Publish one brief, review applications and pay one verified rate to every approved creator |
| Direct Campaigns | Brands and agencies | Invite creators you trust and agree base pay plus a bonus per 1,000 views |
| Collab Profile | Creators | A public page with your rates, niches and verified past campaign results |
| Custom Offers | Creators | Send a brand your base pay and your rate, and get paid when they accept |
Open Campaigns suit scale. One brief can bring in many creators and many posts. Direct Campaigns suit relationships. You guarantee a floor, then reward the views the content earns.
How payouts work
You pick one of two payout structures.
Rate based. You pay a fixed amount per 1,000 views. At a $4 rate, 50,000 views pays the creator $200.
Tier based. Payouts unlock when a creator reaches view milestones, for example $500 at 50,000 views and another $1,000 at 100,000 views. It caps what one creator can earn and gives them goals to push for.
Our post on how RPM works has worked examples of both.
Set your first rate
Pick a CPM and a budget, approve your creators and pay only for verified views.
What Performance Collab costs
The platform fee is 5% on amounts actually paid out to creators. That covers both guaranteed base pay and performance payouts. Standard payment processing fees from providers such as Stripe also apply, and those sit outside our control.
There is no monthly subscription and no setup cost. If a campaign does not spend its whole budget, the rest is refunded and no fee is charged on it.
Here is what a budget buys at the rates we suggest.
| Budget | CPM | Views you pay for | Platform fee if fully paid out |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $3 | 333,000 | $50 |
| $5,000 | $4 | 1,250,000 | $250 |
| $10,000 | $5 | 2,000,000 | $500 |
For creators worth working with, we suggest a CPM of $3 to $5. If you are not sure where to land inside that range, read how to choose the right CPM.
A real campaign: $10,000 and 3.3 million views
The Moonshots Gathering was an Open Campaign with a $10,000 budget. The budget was fully spent. The rate was set at $5.00 per 1,000 views, with a $1,500 cap per creator.
3.3M
verified views
215
creators took part
614
approved posts out of 764 submitted
$3.03
actual cost per 1,000 views
The blended cost landed at $3.03 per 1,000 views, 39% under the rate that was set. The posts keep collecting views after the budget closes. See the full numbers in the case study.
Why pay per view at all?
Views are the one number every platform reports and every brand understands. They are public, so they can be checked. They also line up with what a campaign is usually for, which is getting a message in front of people.
Paying per view does not replace judgment. You still choose who joins and what gets approved. It just means the budget moves with the results. A post that reaches 400,000 people earns its creator more than one that reaches 4,000, and the brand pays the same rate for both.
That is also why the cap per creator matters. It keeps one huge post from using the whole budget, and it spreads the money across more people.
Who Performance Collab is for
Brands and agencies that want to pay for reach they can see, cap their spend before launch and stop negotiating post by post. It works for games, apps, products and anyone with video worth sharing. Our guide to creator marketing for games shows one industry in detail.
Creators who want a fair rate that grows with their views. A Collab Profile shows brands your rates and your verified results. A Custom Offer lets you set base pay plus a rate per 1,000 views, so one quiet post does not wipe out the work.
What it does not do
Performance Collab does not guarantee that a post will go viral, and no platform can. What it guarantees is the payment terms: you pay the rate you set, only on verified views, never above your budget.
Paid posts also need a clear disclosure. The FTC says a financial tie to a brand must be disclosed clearly in the post. Put that rule in your brief.
Getting started
- Create a free account at app.performancecollab.com.
- Choose Open or Direct, set your rate, budget and cap.
- Approve creators, review posts and let verified views trigger the payouts.
Ready to pay for results?
Free to set up. You only pay when creators perform.
If you want a complete walkthrough of the model, read our 2026 guide to performance based influencer marketing, or see how brands use it for clipping campaigns.
