Guide
Rate card vs media kit
Figures and workflows here are illustrations, not financial, tax, or accounting advice. Talk to a tax or finance specialist in your jurisdiction before you invoice, set payment terms, or treat a number as a rate you should charge.
What each document is for
| Job | Media kit | Rate card | One hosted page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary reader | Brand marketer / intern building a list | Buyer with a budget | Both, in order |
| Leads with | Audience, niche, proof | Packages and prices | Stats, then SKUs |
| Prices | Optional; often omitted or “on request” | Required | Required, once |
| Usage / exclusivity | Mentioned in prose | Priced lines | Toggles |
| Payment | Rarely | Terms in five lines | Checkout / platform hold |
| Goes stale | The week after you export | When views move 25%+ | When you forget to add a SKU |
| Send when they say | “Send your kit / deck” | “What do you charge?” | Either |
A 30-second decision
Cold inbound, no budget mentioned
They need proof they should care. Lead with audience and two results. Prices can be on the same page but below the fold so the intern can forward it without a heart attack.
They named a format and a date
They are buying. Open on packages. If your kit is a 14-page PDF, you will lose the slot to someone who replied with three SKUs.
Agency RFP with a portal
Upload a dated one-pager. Keep the live link in the body of the email. The portal file is a snapshot; the link is the truth.
Worked example: one link, both jobs
| Block on the page | Kit job | Card job | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Header stats | Proof | Dated numbers | 12.4k median Reel views · pulled 2026-10-04 · 62% US |
| 2 case lines | Proof | — | Skincare Reel → 4.2% profile taps |
| Packages | — | Prices + revisions | Reel $650 (1 round) · Story pair $220 |
| Add-ons | Mention only | Priced by type | Paid-as-them 90d +40% · whitelist-as-you 30d +50% · bio 7d $120 |
| Payment | — | Terms | 50% platform hold before shoot |
If they ask for “kit + rates as two PDFs”, export this same page twice with the same date in the filename.
Templates: rate card template · media kit guide.
One source of truth for messy lines
| Line | Kit | Rate card | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30d median views + pull date | Show | Show (same number) | Disagreement = you look unreliable |
| Revision rounds | Optional mention | Required on each tier | Stops free unlimited edits |
| Paid usage vs whitelist vs Spark | Name the types | Price each type + days | “Ads” is not one product |
| Link in bio days | Optional mention | Priced 7d / 30d | Profile real estate is inventory |
| Exclusivity | Do not invent a second sentence | Named category + days + % | Two PDFs → two fights |
Build once on a hosted page. Export snapshots only with the same date stamp.
Overlap you can allow
Both can show 30-day views, top countries, and a one-line niche. Only the rate card (or the SKU block on the hosted page) should show dollars. Proof points belong on the kit side: two campaigns with a number you can defend. Do not paste the same three paragraphs into both files — that is how you get two slightly different exclusivity sentences and a dispute.
If you still design in Canva, one artboard: left audience, right packages. Export once. The “vs” problem exists because people maintained two decks. Stop doing that.
What not to duplicate
Do not write two different exclusivity sentences. Do not put 30-day views on the kit and lifetime views on the card. Do not list packages on the kit as “starting at” and precise dollars on the card — procurement will screenshot the lower one. The vs-table above is the test: if a row would disagree between files, delete it from one of them. A hosted page removes the test because there is only one row.
Related guides
Rate cards & media kits
Rate card vs media kit questions
+Who owns revisions, whitelist type, and bio link — kit or card?
The rate card (or SKU block) owns dollars and day counts: revision rounds, paid usage vs whitelist-as-you vs Spark, link-in-bio days. The kit can name that those add-ons exist. Never two PDFs with different % for the same whitelist.
+When should I send a rate card instead of a media kit?
When they already know they want to buy and asked “what are your rates?”. A kit with three pages of bio slows a purchase. Send the SKU list, usage toggles, and payment terms.
+Can one hosted page replace both?
Yes. Live stats plus packages plus terms is a media kit that can take an order. A PDF kit plus a separate PDF rate card is how versions fork and you get paid on last year’s Reel price.
+Do agencies still ask for a PDF media kit?
Some procurement portals only accept a file. Export a one-pager from the live page the same day, dated. Do not maintain a second “master” in Canva that you forget to update.
+Should prices live on the media kit or only on the rate card?
If you split documents, prices live only on the rate card. Duplicate prices in the kit will be screenshotted six months later. If you use one page, prices live once, at the bottom.
+What do I send if a brand asks for both?
One link. Say: “Audience and packages are on the same page so the numbers match.” If they insist on two files, same date stamp on both filenames.
+What does a one-page kit+card look like with dollars?
Top: 30-day median views + niche. Bottom: Reel $650, Stories pair $220, paid usage 90d +40%, whitelist 30d +50%. One date stamp. No second PDF with different numbers.
Host both jobs on one link
BlueRateCard is a rate card with live audience stats — the kit and the menu in one checkout. Free for creators.