Meta has started paying creators with large audiences on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to post on Facebook. It launched the Creator Fast Track programme on 18 March 2026, offering three months of guaranteed payments for publishing Reels: $1,000 a month at 100,000 followers, and $3,000 above one million.
The offer follows a year in which Meta paid out almost $3 billion through its creator monetisation programmes, 35% more than the year before and its largest amount in its history. Facebook accounted for 60% of payouts on Reels, with the rest going to Stories, photos and text posts. The number of creators earning more than $10,000 a year on Facebook grew by more than 30% year on year.
What Fast Track offers
Fast Track targets established creators who are starting on Facebook or returning to it. According to Meta, they get access to monetisation tools for Reels, longer videos, photos and text without the usual follower threshold, plus greater reach for selected Reels, which is meant to accelerate follower growth. The requirement of a large audience on another platform shows who Meta wants to win over.
The battle for creators
Upfront fixed payments are another tool in a contest for creators that has run between platforms for years. YouTube has long built monetisation on its Partner Programme, where creators take a share of advertising revenue, while Meta is targeting creators on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube with a guaranteed sum. Instagram belongs to Meta itself, so part of the fight takes place between its own apps.
The European picture
Fast Track is so far open only to creators in the US and Canada. European creators cannot apply. The advertising mechanics of Facebook and Instagram, which creators live on, fall under the Digital Services Act in Europe. If the programme proves successful, Meta has not yet announced an extension beyond North America.
Guaranteed payments show how much platforms are now willing to pay to keep creators and their audiences with them. Facebook is paying for the presence of creators who have their audiences somewhere else.
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