Instagram Marketplace: How the Creator Marketplace Works
On Instagram, “marketplace” means Meta’s creator marketplace: a tool where brands find Instagram creators for branded content partnerships and send them projects. Creators can join at 18 or older with a public professional account and at least 1,000 followers. Buying and selling items is a different product, Facebook Marketplace. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Eligibility requirements for creators on Meta Creator Marketplace
Looking for an Instagram marketplace to buy or sell items? That’s Facebook Marketplace, where people buy and sell items on Facebook and buyers message the seller to arrange a sale. Checked against Facebook Help Center: Ways to sell on Facebook Businesses selling on Instagram use Shops, which since September 2025 send shoppers to the seller’s own website to pay. Checked against Meta Business Help Center: About changes to Shops and checkout on Facebook and Instagram Our Instagram Shop guide covers that route.
This guide covers both sides of the creator marketplace: how creators join and get found, and how brands search. Brands comparing it with other ways to source creators can start from our influencer marketing strategy.
Table of Contents
- What is the Instagram creator marketplace?
- Who can join the Instagram marketplace for creators?
- How do creators join and get found?
- How do brands find creators on Instagram?
- Where do partnership ads fit in?
- How is the creator marketplace different from affiliate partnerships?
- Does Outfeed connect to the creator marketplace?
- Instagram marketplace FAQ
What is the Instagram creator marketplace?
A Meta tool for branded content partnerships: brands discover creators there, and creators who join can be contacted inside Instagram. Joining makes information about you and your insights visible to brands and lets them message you in a Partnership messages folder. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Get started as a creator on Meta Creator Marketplace Instagram says brands can send a project with details, requirements and the rate, and that new messages from eligible brands go to that folder, at the top of your Primary tab. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Eligibility requirements for creators on Meta Creator Marketplace
Meta’s help pages call the creator side Meta Creator Marketplace and the brand-side tool Meta Creator Marketing Hub.
Who can join the Instagram marketplace for creators?
Creators who are at least 18, with a public professional account and at least 1,000 followers, and who agree to Meta’s partner monetization policies. It’s offered in all countries where Meta advertising operates except Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russia, and Meta warns it may not be available to you yet. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Eligibility requirements for creators on Meta Creator Marketplace
Don’t try to buy your way to 1,000. Instagram warns that apps offering likes or followers in exchange for your login can lead to removed engagement, limited features, or a disabled or terminated account. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Why you should not use apps that offer likes and followers on Instagram In the US, an FTC rule makes it unlawful to buy fake followers that you knew or should have known were fake and that misrepresent your influence for a commercial purpose (a summary, not legal advice). Checked against eCFR: 16 CFR Part 465 — Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, § 465.8
How do creators join and get found?
In the Instagram app: Professional dashboard, then Branded content, then Join creator marketplace. Once you’re in, you can set up a creator portfolio and pick up to ten preferred brand partners, who then see you under “Interested creators”; you can’t pick a brand that doesn’t take part. Instagram’s steps for joining, choosing brands and opting out:
In the app: Join (Instagram app):
- On your profile, tap Professional dashboard.
- Tap Branded content, then tap Join creator marketplace. If you don't see this option, the feature isn't available to you yet.
- Tap Accept to make information about you and your insights visible to brands, and allow them to message you through a new Partnership messages folder.
- Tap Accept changes.
- Review and accept the Terms.
In the app: Add preferred brand partners (Instagram app):
- Go to your profile on Instagram.
- Tap Professional dashboard.
- Tap Branded content.
- On the Branded content screen, tap Preferred brand partners.
- Search for specific brands or select from the suggested list, then select a brand to add them.
In the app: Opt out (Instagram app):
- On your profile, tap Professional dashboard.
- Tap Branded content (also in your settings).
- Tap Partner discovery settings.
- Tap the 3 dots, then tap Opt out of creator marketplace.
- Confirm by tapping Opt out again.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Get started as a creator on Meta Creator Marketplace.
Instagram’s reminder after you join: always disclose branded content with the paid partnership label. Turning on branded content tools is covered in our guide to earning money from Instagram.
How do brands find creators on Instagram?
Through Meta Creator Marketing Hub, which brands open in Meta Business Suite or Ads Manager. Brands use it to discover creators and creator content, send partnership requests and manage partnership-ad permissions. They need a verified business portfolio in a supported country, with an eligible Instagram account linked to a Facebook Page, and a business portfolio admin has to grant people access. Meta’s steps are for a computer:
On a computer:
- Log in to Meta Business Suite.
- Click Creator marketing on the left navigation bar.
- You can also access Creator Marketing Hub in Ads Manager below All Tools > Advertise.
Checked against Meta Business Help Center: Eligibility requirements for businesses on Meta Creator Marketing Hub.
The hub isn’t available in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria or Russia. For other ways to source creators, see how to find influencers for your brand.
Where do partnership ads fit in?
They let a brand pay to run a creator’s post as an ad. Meta now calls branded content ads partnership ads, and the partner and/or advertiser accounts appear in the ad’s header. Checked against Instagram Help Center: About partnership ads on Instagram and Facebook The brand needs the creator’s permission, for one post, story or reel or for the whole account, and creators can revoke it at any time. Checked against Instagram Help Center: About partnership ad permissions To boost Instagram content, the advertiser must be tagged with the paid partnership label, an @mention, a people tag, a product tag or a Collab. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Manage profile-level permissions for partnership ads in Creator Marketing Hub
Money changes hands outside Meta: creators are paid for branded content and partnership ads off the platform. Checked against Instagram Help Center: About branded content on Instagram Once a post with the paid partnership label is published, the tagged brand is notified and gets access to its insights. Checked against Instagram Help Center: How to use the paid partnership label to tag organic branded content on Instagram
How is the creator marketplace different from affiliate partnerships?
The marketplace is for brand deals, where a brand pays you for content; affiliate partnerships pay commission on sales, and the affiliate partner pays it, not Meta.
| Creator marketplace | Affiliate partnerships | |
|---|---|---|
| What you earn | The rate a brand offers for a project | Commission on sales |
| Who pays | The brand, off the platform | The affiliate partner, not Meta |
| Followers | At least 1,000 | More than 1,000 |
| Where | Countries where Meta advertising operates, minus six | Supported markets, rolling out gradually |
| Policies | Agree to Meta’s partner monetization policies | Comply with Meta’s monetization and Partner Monetization Policies |
| Source | Checked against Instagram Help Center: Eligibility requirements for creators on Meta Creator Marketplace | Checked against Instagram Help Center: About affiliate partnerships on Instagram Checked against Instagram Help Center: About affiliate partnerships on Instagram |
Both need the paid partnership label on the content. Eligibility and steps for commission links are in our Instagram affiliate program guide.
Does Outfeed connect to the creator marketplace?
Instagram marketplace FAQ
Does Instagram have a Marketplace like Facebook?
Buying and selling items is Facebook Marketplace, a separate Facebook product where buyers message the seller to arrange a sale. On Instagram, businesses sell through Shops, which since September 2025 use website checkout on the seller’s own site. The marketplace on Instagram is Meta’s creator marketplace, where brands find creators for branded content partnerships.
What is Instagram Creator Marketplace?
A Meta tool for branded content partnerships. Creators who join let brands see information about them and their insights and message them in a Partnership messages folder, and brands can send a project with details, requirements and the rate. Meta’s help pages call the creator side Meta Creator Marketplace and the brand side Meta Creator Marketing Hub.
How do I join Instagram Creator Marketplace as a creator?
In the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap Professional dashboard, then Branded content, then Join creator marketplace. Tap Accept, then Accept changes, then review and accept the Terms. If you don’t see the option, the feature isn’t available to you yet. Once you’ve joined, you can add up to ten preferred brand partners.
Who is eligible for Instagram Creator Marketplace?
Creators who are at least 18, with a professional public account and at least 1,000 followers, who agree to Meta’s partner monetization policies. It is offered in all countries where Meta advertising operates except Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russia, and Meta notes it may not be available to you yet.
How do brands access Creator Marketplace?
Through Meta Creator Marketing Hub: log in to Meta Business Suite and click Creator marketing in the left navigation, or open it in Ads Manager under All Tools, then Advertise. Brands need a verified business portfolio in a supported country, with an eligible Instagram account linked to a Facebook Page.