Summary
- Instagram is reportedly offering selected YouTubers between $50,000 and $500,000.
- Meta confirms direct funding for Features content, but not the reported amounts.
- The agreements appear to be nonexclusive, allowing publication on YouTube too.
- There is still no general revenue-sharing program or Features rollout in Greece.
Instagram is reportedly offering selected YouTube creators up to $500,000 to bring long-form content to its new Features video format.
The offers, reported on October 29, 2026, start at $50,000, with some reaching six figures and as much as half a million dollars. Meta confirmed that it is directly funding Features content from certain creators, but did not publicly verify the amounts or reveal the confidential terms of individual deals.
What the deals involve
The offers target selected YouTubers and, according to people familiar with the arrangements, do not require exclusivity. Instagram is asking creators to publish their long-form videos on Features on the same day as they upload them to YouTube. Creators can therefore keep their established YouTube channels while adding a second destination for the same production.
One key detail remains unknown: whether those amounts cover one video, a period of collaboration or an entire agreement. The $500,000 figure should not be treated as a standard per-video fee. Nor is this a public program that any creator can simply sign up for.
Why Instagram wants YouTube creators
The move follows the launch of Instagram Features tests for horizontal videos up to 90 minutes on October 26. The format is intended for podcasts, interviews, vlogs and full-length productions. Clips as Reels can connect short excerpts to the complete video, with Instagram testing links from as many as eight Reels to one production.
For Meta, supporting longer uploads is only part of the job. It needs creators who already make this type of content, helping Features build a catalogue people want to watch, including on television through Instagram for TV. Paying for simultaneous publication makes the shift easier: creators do not have to abandon YouTube audiences they have already built.
Big checks are not a long-term revenue system
YouTube has its Partner Program, which allows eligible creators to share in advertising revenue. Instagram has not announced an equivalent, broadly available revenue-sharing model for Features. Its head, Adam Mosseri, has acknowledged the importance of creator economics and said the company is exploring different ways to pay long-form creators.
Features is still being tested with selected creators in the United States and Brazil, with no general rollout announced for Greece. These six-figure offers illustrate the investment Meta is prepared to make to get the format started, not what an average creator can expect to earn from views.
What we think
If you already produce podcasts, interviews or documentaries for YouTube, getting paid to publish the same work on a second platform is an attractive prospect. That is particularly true when you do not have to leave behind the audience you have spent years building.
But a large check offered to a handful of established creators is very different from an independent filmmaker being able to plan revenue for the next production. If this is going to last, Instagram needs something that does not depend on private invitations and individual negotiations. YouTube at least offers an established framework for earning money. Features does not yet have an equivalent.
For creators working from Greece, there is no reason to overhaul a video distribution strategy today. If access expands and an actual offer arrives, the details will matter: contract length, licensing rights, posting obligations and exactly how payment is calculated. Those terms count for more than a striking headline figure.
Frequently asked questions
Can a creator in Greece apply for the $50,000 offers?
No public application program for these payments has been announced. The offers are for selected creators, and Features remains in limited testing, with no general launch announced for Greece.
Is $500,000 paid for a single video?
That has not been disclosed. It is unclear whether the largest offers cover one video, a fixed period or an entire contract.
