Short answer
Hummingbirds (Hummingbirds, Inc.) pays everyday creators, which it calls "birds", to buy a product and post about it on Instagram. There's no follower minimum, but you need a public Instagram Creator or Business account, and it opens city by city in the US. Perks are "almost exclusively" gift cards, about $50 typical, and posts must stay up 6 months. It's paid gifting more than a UGC video job, and you assign the content's rights to Hummingbirds.
How does Hummingbirds pay, and who can join?
| Hummingbirds | |
|---|---|
| How work is offered | You mark interest in a campaign with a pitch; chosen birds buy the product and post on Instagram |
| Pay, as the platform states it | Mostly gift cards: about $50 typical, $15 to $800+ |
| How you're paid | Gift card by email, usually on the campaign start date (some split in two); terms aim for 30 days |
| Cost to creators | Free to join; terms allow fees or limits (none stated) |
| Who can join | US, opening city by city (waitlist elsewhere); 18+ |
| Follower minimum | None (public Instagram Creator or Business account) |
| Where you use it | Web dashboard only |
What is a Hummingbirds perk worth?
Usually about $50, in a gift card. Campaigns pay "almost exclusively" in retail-specific or digital gift cards (for creators), and the help center puts most perks around $50, from $15 to over $800 (perks). Some come as a Whistle or PerformX reward card. Hummingbirds says it doesn't issue 1099s for perks.
You buy the product yourself, so the perk first pays you back and only what's left is pay. A $50 perk on a $30 product leaves $20 in store credit for a post you keep up for six months. Check both numbers before you mark interest.
How does a Hummingbirds campaign run, week to week?
- Join with a public Instagram
Sign up on the web dashboard and connect a Creator or Business account; Hummingbirds makes it public if it isn't (account type). You must be 18 or older. No follower minimum, no portfolio.
- Watch for Tuesday emails
New campaigns go out by email on Tuesdays, and on your city's Instagram page on Fridays. Cities open one at a time, with a waitlist where Hummingbirds hasn't launched.
- Mark interest with a short pitch
Brands choose from interested birds, looking at followers, engagement and the style of your posts.
- Get the perk, buy the product
Gift cards are usually emailed by the end of the campaign start date. Split perks send the first part then and the rest a week after the deadline.
- Post and keep it up
Post on Instagram with an FTC sponsorship disclosure, and leave it up at least 6 consecutive months.
Hummingbirds now also runs Offers, where you earn $1 each time a unique person buys the product at an eligible retailer and uploads the receipt. Offers need no content, work nationally, and cash out to a debit card once you have $5, all or nothing (Offers).
What do you agree to when you post?
More than on any platform we checked. Under the creator terms (effective June 10, 2026) you assign the IP in campaign content to Hummingbirds. A repurposing clause gives partner brands worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable and fully transferable rights to use it in advertising, with the perk as full payment unless the campaign offers more for extended use. Hummingbirds may also use your name and likeness to promote itself.
The terms give two different no-contact periods with partner brands (12 months and three years), and Iowa law governs them. You're an independent contractor. We found no public reviews to weigh against this: no Trustpilot page, no app listing, and no creator reviews in search.
Is Hummingbirds a UGC job at all?
Not really. It suits people with a public Instagram who like trying local products and are happy with store credit. If you need cash or want to make ads for brands' own accounts, the marketplaces below are a better use of your time, and for paid posts on your own account, see how brand deals for small creators work.
In its favour
- No follower minimum and no portfolio.
- Published perk values (about $50 typical).
- Campaigns arrive on a fixed day each week, and perks usually arrive on the start date.
- Offers pay $1 per redemption with no content to make.
Against it
- Paid mostly in gift cards, and you buy the product first.
- Posts must stay on your account for 6 months.
- You assign the rights, and brands can use your post in advertising with no extra pay.
- US cities only, with waitlists.
- No public ratings and no app.
Where to get paid in cash instead
- Sideshift review: cash pay for posting campaigns, with view bonuses.
- Billo review: cash per video, the product shipped to you, nothing posted on your account.
- JoinBrands review: cash rates published per job, including local and in-store jobs.
What we don't know yet
- How often campaigns come up in a given city, and which cities are open today.
- The fees and withdrawal limits the terms allow, which have no amounts.
- Whether its account-type article means Creator only or Creator or Business: it says both.
