With around 20 million Canadian users, Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms in Canada. And while it’s great for sharing photos and videos of your dream vacation or restaurant meals, you can also use the Instagram app to make extra cash—either as a side hustle or potentially as a new career.
Here are 10 ways to make money on Instagram in Canada.
How much you can make: US$0.99 – US$99.99 per Subscription.
How it works: With Instagram Subscriptions, you can offer exclusive content and experiences to your followers. You can host exclusive Lives, host chats for up to 30 subscribers, and share subscriber-only posts and Reels. Subscribers pay a monthly fee, providing ongoing income for you, and they also get a special badge to help their comments stand out.
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How much you can make: Varies depending on how many followers you have, your content niche and the brands you partner with. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, a nano influencer with less than 10,000 followers can make between $10 and $100 per post.
How it works: Instagram’s Creator Marketplace provides a platform for you to connect with brands to form branded content partnerships. Select the brands and interests that are relevant to you, continue posting content to build your following, and brands will invite you to collaborate on paid projects.
How much you can make: US$0.01 for every Star your Reels receive from fans.
How it works: When your fans want to show their support for your content, they can buy virtual gifts to share with you. Fans choose from different gift packages they want to purchase, then leave Stars on your Reels to show their appreciation.
How much you can make: Varies depending on what you are selling.
How it works: The Shops feature lets you display products for sale on both Instagram and Facebook. This makes it easy for followers to browse your catalogue of products and explore different items. Buyers can check out via Instagram or Facebook, but as of June 2025, Shops is transitioning to directing customers to your own website to check out.
How much you can make: As a rough guide, you can generally expect to earn a commission of between 5% and 20% per sale.
How it works: Affiliate marketers earn a commission by promoting another company’s product and generating sales. You can create content about a particular product or brand and include a trackable link or promo code. If your content leads to a sale, you’ll get paid a commission.
How much you can make: Varies greatly depending on how many followers you have and what you’re selling. Expect earnings to start at a few dollars per sale.
How it works: You can use Instagram to market and sell merchandise related to your own specific brand and niche. From coffee mugs and bookmarks to t-shirts, hats and hoodies, there’s a wide range of gear you can sell to your followers. You can also include catchphrases you regularly use in your content and look for products that suit your target audience—as an example, influencers in the pet niche might develop their own range of designer dog jackets.
How much you can make: Rates start at approximately $50 to $100 per post, but you could potentially earn much more if you have a large following.
How it works: User-generated content (UGC) is content created by real people using products in the real world, as opposed to ads and promotional material developed by brands and advertisers. Once you build a loyal Instagram following by offering honest product reviews and demonstrations, you can pitch yourself to brands who want to increase exposure for their brand with content generated by a trusted authority—you.
How much you can make: It really depends on the type of business you run and the products you sell.
How it works: Instagram can be a very useful platform to help you direct traffic to your website and generate sales. Whatever industry you’re in—from health and fitness to home repairs and maintenance—sharing informative, educational and entertaining content on Instagram could be an effective way to build goodwill for your business and attract new customers.
How much you can make: Varies depending on your skills and experience, but you could charge $50 per hour or more.
How it works: Experienced creators and social media experts can earn an income offering Instagram marketing services. You can put your skills to use to help small businesses devise and execute social media strategies, increase their Instagram engagement and boost sales.
How much you can make: Varies
How it works: If you establish yourself on Instagram as an expert or authority in a specific niche, you can develop and sell online courses related to your area of expertise on Instagram. You could create fitness courses, beauty tutorials, marketing lessons, photography courses, or even a study program on how to up your social media game on Instagram.
The best way to make money on Instagram depends on your niche and what you hope to get out of the platform.
That said, the route to success is to develop an audience of highly engaged followers, which will then help you make money from brand partnerships and sponsored content. If you’re looking for the highest earning potential, brand partnerships are the way to go. You can also sell Subscriptions to followers who want exclusive content, or bring in extra cash from follower gifts.
But none of these are get-rich-quick options. You’ll need to put plenty of effort into building a following before you can monetize your account, which takes time and a proven track record of consistently posting engaging content.
Unless someone is already a celeb with a huge fanbase and a long list of sponsors, how do they turn an Instagram account into a big money earner?
The most lucrative money-making opportunity is to partner with brands for sponsored content. But to build a large, loyal and highly engaged follower base, you need to choose a niche and regularly post fun, entertaining and informative content.
Take Judith J Kombe, for example. Her posts on motherhood, family and home cleaning are full of positive vibes. She welcomes her audience into the day-to-day aspects of her life, making them feel like part of the family, which has helped her amass 2.8 million Instagram followers.
Toronto’s Mei Pang, meanwhile, posts content in an entirely different niche. This heavily tattooed makeup artist shares makeup tutorials showcasing her distinctive style with 3.4 million followers, and she’s picked up her fair share of brand partnerships along the way.
And then there’s Shayan Kaffash, who posts a lot of content devoted to pranking his family. It’s easy-going, light-hearted stuff, but it’s clearly a hit with Instagram users, as Kaffash has over 3 million followers.
All of which shows that there are many different paths to success. It’s all about finding the right niche, something you’re passionate about, and getting started.
There is no specific minimum number of followers you need to make money on Instagram. However, you will need a specific number of followers to qualify for some monetization features—as an example, you need a professional account with at least 10,000 followers to be eligible to offer Subscriptions. You’ll also need at least 500 followers to be eligible to receive Instagram gifts from your fans.
But as you’d expect, more followers means more earning potential from sponsored posts. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, nano influencers with less than 10,000 followers could earn $10 to $100 on average per post, while micro influencers (10,000 to 100,000 followers) could potentially earn $100 to $500 per post.
And if you reach the macro influencer level with over 100,000 to 1 million followers, you could get average earnings of $5,000 to $10,000 per post.
How many views do you need to make money on Instagram?
Instagram isn’t a pay-per-view platform, so there’s no specific “magic number” of views you need to start earning money.
Of course, it goes without saying that the more views, the better. Increased viewership means more chances of boosting your follower numbers, a better shot at attracting interest from brands looking to generate sponsored content, and more people who might want to subscribe to you, shop at your store or send you gifts.
The more views you get—and the more engaged those viewers are with your content through likes, comments and shares—the greater your earning potential.
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