Creator economy size 2026: every major estimate explained
Is the creator economy worth $10 billion, $37 billion or half a trillion dollars? The answer depends on what's being counted. Here's how the major estimates are built, how many creators there really are, and which figure to cite for which question.
Why the headline numbers don't match
People often treat creator economy estimates as rival measurements of the same thing. They aren't. Each one draws its boundary in a different place. Some count only brand ad spend paid to creators. Some count all creator income, including platform payouts, subscriptions and merchandise. Others count every sale that creator-driven commerce touches. Before quoting any figure, check what it actually includes.
The estimates side by side
| Estimate | Figure | What it measures | Source & date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total creator economy (then-current) | ~$250B | Creator income across platforms, brand deals and more, global | Goldman Sachs Research, Apr 2023 |
| Total creator economy (projection) | ~$480B by 2027 | Same scope, projected | Goldman Sachs Research, Apr 2023 |
| US creator ad spend 2025 | $37B (+26% YoY) | US brand spend on creator content | IAB, Nov 2025 |
| US creator ad spend 2024 | $29.5B | Same | IAB, Nov 2025 |
| US influencer marketing 2025 | ~$10.52B | Narrower: paid influencer marketing only | Emarketer, Mar 2025 |
| TikTok Shop global GMV 2025 | $64.3B | Commerce sales through one creator-led shop | Momentum Works / Tabcut, 2026 |
| Global live commerce 2025 | $172.9B | All live-stream selling, global | Grand View Research, via FashionUnited, Aug 2026 |
The big number: Goldman Sachs
Most of the "half a trillion" headlines trace back to one Goldman Sachs Research note from April 2023. It put the creator economy's total addressable market at about $250 billion and projected that it would nearly double to about $480 billion by 2027. Goldman tied that growth to its forecast for global digital advertising, and said brand deals made up about 70% of creator revenue, based on survey data. The forecast is more than three years old and uses the broadest possible scope, so cite it as a projection, not as a measured 2026 figure.
The ad-money number: IAB
For what brands actually spend, the IAB's November 2025 creator economy report, produced with Advertiser Perceptions, is the better reference. It estimated US creator ad spend at $37 billion in 2025, up 26% from $29.5 billion in 2024 and up from $13.9 billion in 2021. The IAB says that growth is about four times faster than the overall media industry's 5.7%. Tubefilter's coverage of the report notes growth is slowing: spend rose 34% between 2023 and 2024.
Crucially, the IAB counts only brand-directed spend: sponsored content, paid amplification of that content and planned creator adjacencies. It excludes affiliate income, subscriptions, tips and merchandise.
| Year | US creator ad spend | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $13.9B | IAB, Nov 2025 |
| 2024 | $29.5B | IAB, Nov 2025 |
| 2025 (projected) | $37B | IAB, Nov 2025 |
What ad buyers told the IAB
The IAB's 2025 survey of 450 US ad-spend decision-makers, as reported by Tubefilter, shows how far creators have moved into mainstream media plans:
| Finding | Share of buyers |
|---|---|
| Call creators a "must-buy" | 48% |
| Call linear TV a "must-buy" | 32% |
| Call radio a "must-buy" | 26% |
| Have dedicated creator budgets | 53% |
| Rank overall ROI as top creator KPI | 40% |
| Weigh creator reputation when selecting | 58% |
Sources: IAB (Nov 20, 2025); Tubefilter (Nov 20, 2025).
Only social media and paid search ranked above creators as must-buys. The IAB also found brand awareness (43%) and reaching new audiences (41%) were the top campaign goals, and that nearly three in four creator ad buyers use or plan to use AI within a year.
The narrow number: Emarketer
Emarketer counts something much narrower: paid influencer marketing in the US. Its March 2025 forecast put that at about $10.52 billion for 2025 and projected 15.7% growth in 2026. The IAB figure is much larger because it also counts other creator ad formats, such as paid amplification of creator content, not just sponsored posts.
Platform payouts: money that bypasses brands
Another slice of creator income comes straight from platforms. YouTube says it paid creators, artists and media companies more than $100 billion in the years after 2021, according to CNBC as cited by Mezha. Meta says Facebook paid creators nearly $3 billion in 2025, up 35%, according to WERSM's September 2026 roundup. Neither figure sits inside the IAB's ad-spend total, which is another reason the broad and narrow estimates diverge. Piece 3 covers how those payouts work.
The commerce layer
Creator-led commerce isn't included in any of the ad figures above. Momentum Works and Tabcut estimated that TikTok Shop processed $64.3 billion in global GMV in 2025, including $15.1 billion in the US. Whatnot passed $8 billion in GMV in 2025, FashionUnited reported in August 2026. Grand View Research, cited in the same article, put the global live commerce market at $172.9 billion in 2025. Some broad market-size estimates fold part of these sales in, which is one reason the totals vary so much.
How many creators are there?
Goldman Sachs Research estimated about 50 million creators worldwide in 2023 and expected that number to grow 10–20% a year over five years. Only about 4% were professionals earning more than $100,000 annually, a share Goldman expected to stay roughly steady. Platform-level counts can be far larger because they include anyone who has ever posted an affiliate link: Momentum Works counted 15.4 million influencers on TikTok Shop US alone in 2025.
By region
Most rigorous measurement is US-only. The IAB and Emarketer figures cover the United States; Goldman's estimate is global. Commerce data shows the importance of Asia: Momentum Works put TikTok Shop's 2025 Southeast Asia GMV at $45.6 billion, three times its US total, and Grand View Research says Asia Pacific held 66.8% of live commerce revenue in 2025. In Europe, FashionUnited reported Whatnot's UK seller count rose 360% in a year.
Common mistakes when citing market size
- Mixing scopes. Adding the IAB's ad spend to TikTok Shop GMV double-counts nothing but compares unlike things.
- Treating projections as measurements. Goldman's $480 billion is a 2027 forecast made in 2023.
- Dropping the geography. The IAB's $37 billion is US-only.
- Confusing GMV with revenue. GMV is total sales value, not what creators or platforms keep.
Which number should you cite?
- To show the market's overall scale, use Goldman Sachs, labelled as a 2023 projection.
- For US brand spending on creators, use the IAB's $37 billion for 2025.
- For narrow influencer-campaign budgets, use Emarketer.
- For creator commerce, use platform GMV figures, and keep them separate from ad spend.
FAQ
How big is the creator economy in 2026? No single measured 2026 figure exists. Goldman Sachs projected about $480 billion by 2027, from about $250 billion in 2023. The IAB measured US creator ad spend at $37 billion in 2025.
How many content creators are there? Goldman Sachs Research estimated about 50 million creators worldwide in 2023. Only about 4% of them earned more than $100,000 a year.
Is the creator economy growing faster than traditional media? Yes. The IAB found that US creator ad spend grew 26% in 2025, about four times the 5.7% growth of the wider media industry.
Where does most creator income come from? Brand deals. Goldman Sachs Research said about 70% of creator revenue came from brand partnerships in its 2023 analysis.
Does the IAB's $37 billion include affiliate or subscription income? No. The IAB counts only brand-directed spend and excludes affiliate links, subscriptions, tips and merchandise.
Why do creator economy estimates differ so much? They measure different things. Some count only ad spend, others count all creator income, and some count commerce sales as well.