One brief asks for "30 days of whitelisting." The next asks you to "send over your ad code." A third wants to "run this as a partnership ad." Three phrases, and you're left wondering whether that's one request or three, and whether they cost the same.
On Instagram, all three put your name on a paid ad that a brand controls. What differs is how much of your account the brand gets, and that should shape your contract more than your price.
The Short Answer
Whitelisting is the industry's name for a brand running paid ads from your handle. Partnership ads are Meta's official system for doing it. An ad code is the narrowest way in: one post, one code, sent by you.
Selah prices all three the same: 75% of your content fee per month, because in every case the ad runs under your name. The question that actually changes the fee is different: is the ad running from your handle, or from the brand's own account?
What Whitelisting Means
Classic whitelisting gives a brand access to your account through Meta's Business Manager. Once connected, the brand can run ads that appear to come from you, with your handle and profile picture on top and no brand name in the header.
The brand controls the spend, the targeting and the ad copy. It can also run dark posts: ads built from content that never appeared on your feed, which your followers may never see you post.
That is the widest permission you can give. Keep it scoped to the content in your deal, put an end date in the contract, and revoke the access when the term is over.
For the full breakdown and duration pricing, see What Is Whitelisting for Influencers?
What Ad Code (Partnership Ads) Means
Meta folded its older "branded content ads" into partnership ads, and the ad code is how most brands now ask for them. You open a specific post, Reel or Story, tap Partnership label and ads, and turn on Get partnership ad code. You send the code, the brand enters it in Ads Manager, and that one piece of content runs as an ad from your handle.
A few details worth knowing before you send one:
- One code, one piece of content. The brand can't use it to advertise anything else on your account.
- Up to two partners can use the same code at a time.
- Turning the toggle off stops the code from being used for new ads. Ads already running keep running, so the end date belongs in your contract, not just in your settings.
Partnership ads also have an account-level permission. You approve the brand once, and it can create ads from your handle without asking post by post, including ads from content you never posted. Functionally, that is whitelisting under Meta's newer name. If a brief says "partnership ads" without mentioning a code, ask which one they mean.
On TikTok the equivalent is a Spark Code, and it's priced the same way.
For more on reading ad code requests, see What Is Ad Code Access in a Brand Deal?
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Whitelisting / account-level access | Ad code | Paid usage (brand's account) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it's granted | Business Manager access or an account-level partnership ad permission | A code you generate on one post and send | A usage-rights clause; no access to your account |
| What the brand can run | Ads from your handle, including dark posts | That one piece of content, as an ad | Your content, posted as an ad from the brand's page |
| Name on the ad | Yours | Yours, often alongside the brand's | The brand's |
| How it ends | You remove the access, and the contract sets the date | Toggle off stops new ads; contract sets the date | The contract sets the date |
| Selah's price, per month | 75% of the content fee | 75% of the content fee | 40% of the content fee |
Why Whitelisting and Ad Code Cost the Same
Whichever route the brand takes, strangers see an ad with your face and your handle on it. They read it as your recommendation, and the brand gets the trust your audience gives you without having to earn it. That transfer is what you're charging for.
Scope is still worth fighting over, and the contract is where you do it. Selah's fee is calculated on the content the brand licenses. An ad code covers one piece automatically. Account access covers whatever the brand decides to run, so name the deal's pieces in writing, or price every extra piece they want to advertise.
Where the Price Actually Changes
"Amplify," "boost" and "use in our ads" usually mean something cheaper: paid usage, where the brand runs your content from its own page. Your name is on the content but not on the ad, and Selah prices it at 40% a month instead of 75%.
That gap is why vague language costs creators money. Brands sometimes ask for paid usage in the brief, then send an ad code request after the contract is signed. So when the brief only says "amplify," ask one question before you quote: "Will the ads run from your account or from mine?"
How to Price Each
Whitelisting and ad code are a separate line item on top of your content fee. Duration is the main variable:
| Duration | Selah's price (share of content fee) |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 days | 75% |
| 60 days | 87% |
| 90 days | 100% |
Published guides put whitelisting at 25–50% for 30 days (50–100% on Instagram) and 75–100% over 90 days, so Selah's figures sit at the top of the published range. Most guides are written for brands. Selah is written for you.
If the brand asks for both an ad code and account access on the same content, that's one permission. Price it once, at the longer of the two terms. If it also wants general usage rights on other pieces or for longer, those get their own line.
Bonus Tip: Ask what the brand expects to spend behind your content, and ask to see the ad before it runs. A brand putting $500 a day behind your face is getting far more from your name than one spending $50. That's the strongest case for holding firm at the top of your rate.
To see these figures on your own content fee, open the usage rights calculator, pick whitelisting and set the term. It adds the line to your fee and shows the published range beside it.
Paste a brand's brief and see whitelisting priced automatically →
A Real Example Breakdown
Creator profile: 110K followers, lifestyle niche, 3.3% engagement rate.
Brand ask: one sponsored Instagram Reel, plus "30 days of amplification."
If the brand runs the Reel from its own page, it's paid usage:
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1× Instagram Reel | $2,800 |
| 1-month paid usage rights | $1,100 |
| Total | $3,900 |
If it asks for her ad code instead, the same 30 days is whitelisting:
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1× Instagram Reel | $2,800 |
| 1-month whitelisting | $2,100 |
| Total | $4,900 |
Same Reel, same 30 days, same word in the brief. The difference is $2,100 versus $1,100, and it comes down to one answer: whose account the ad runs from.
For the full pricing framework that ad rights fit into, see How to Price a Brand Deal →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between whitelisting and ad code in a brand deal? Both let a brand run paid ads from your handle. Whitelisting usually means the brand gets access to your account through Meta's Business Manager and can run any ad as you, including dark posts. An ad code is generated on a single post, Reel or Story and lets the brand advertise only that piece of content. Selah prices them the same, at 75% of your content fee per month.
What is the difference between whitelisting and partnership ads? Partnership ads are Meta's official system for running ads from a creator's handle, and whitelisting is the industry's older name for the same idea. Partnership ads can be granted post by post with an ad code, or account-wide with an account-level permission. The account-level version works like classic whitelisting: the brand can create ads from your handle without asking each time.
Which costs more, whitelisting or ad code? Neither. Both put your name on an ad shown to people who don't follow you, so Selah prices both at 75% of your content fee for up to 30 days and 100% for 90 days. The cheaper right is paid usage, where the brand runs your content from its own account, at 40% a month.
How do I create a partnership ad code on Instagram? Open the post, Reel or Story, tap the three dots, choose Partnership label and ads, and turn on Get partnership ad code. Copy the code or send it to the brand in a DM. You can also turn it on while creating the post. Up to two partners can use one code at a time.
Can I take back an ad code after I send it? You can turn the code off in the same Partnership label and ads menu, which stops it being used for new ads. Ads the brand already created with it keep running, so set the end date in your contract and price the full term.
Should I grant whitelisting or ad code in every brand deal? No. Both are optional permissions, not default terms. You can grant one and not the other, limit the duration, or decline both. If a brand asks for either without naming a fee, it's hoping the permission comes with your content rate. Name the fee and the end date, and get both in writing before you send a code or approve access.