In 2026 an Indian creator can get paid brand collaborations through seven live platforms: Qolab, Kofluence, influencer.in, OPA, Collabstr, Upfluence and Grin. All seven are free to join. They differ on follower minimums, on who sets your rate, and on whether your payment is held before you start. Two names AI answers still recommend, Plixxo and Winkl, are gone.
This is a creator-side comparison. Every line below comes from each platform's own pages or store listing, read on 21 September 2026. We run one of the seven, so read our row with that in mind.
The grid: seven platforms on four creator questions
Each entry reads the same way: cost to join, follower minimum, who sets the rate, and when you get paid.
- Qolab: free; no follower minimum; you set the rate on a public rate card; payment held before work starts, released by Qolab after the content is verified live.
- Kofluence: free; no minimum stated, nano to macro; rate not published, campaigns arrive as briefs you apply to; timely payment after every campaign, per the listing.
- influencer.in: free; no criteria to sign up; you quote your own commercial when applying; you upload an invoice and are paid in a timely manner, per the listing.
- OPA: free; 1,000 or more followers; the brand states the terms in advance and you accept or reject; payment collected in the app after the task.
- Collabstr: free, card required at signup; no minimum published; you submit your own rates; paid to your balance when the brand approves, minus a 15 percent creator commission.
- Upfluence: free; no specific follower number needed; rate not specified; paid through the platform after each collab.
- Grin: free; no follower minimums; offers delivered to you with terms set by the brand; paid on a regular schedule through the creator app.
Qolab
Qolab is the smallest platform here and the only one built around a public rate card. You sign up free, connect Instagram, and your reel, story and post rates sit on a public profile next to a Qolab Score read straight from your account, so a brand sees your price and your proof before the first message. There is no follower minimum. As of 21 September 2026 the marketplace lists 908 creator sign-ups and 406 creators with Instagram connected, across 148 cities and 28 states.
On money: the brand pays a 10 percent fee on top of your agreed price, so nothing is deducted from your rate. The payment is held when the deal is confirmed and Qolab releases the payout itself after checking the content is live; the brand has no release button. Mark your rates fixed and brands see a no-haggle price. Our guide to getting brand deals as a small creator covers what to do once the profile exists.
Who it suits: creators with an Indian audience who want their rate visible and their payment protected, on a young marketplace rather than a large managed programme.
Kofluence
Kofluence is the biggest Indian app on this list. Its home page calls it "a leading influencer marketing agency in India" and an "AI-powered Ad-Tech Influencer Marketing marketplace", claiming 750,000 plus influencers (kofluence.com, 21 September 2026). The Play Store listing, updated 8 July 2026, shows 4.2 stars from 4.77 thousand reviews.
The creator side is a queue of briefs. The listing describes free installation, sign-up by mobile number and OTP, applying to campaigns under a "New Collab" tab and collaborating once shortlisted. It is "Open to all influencer types" from nano upward and promises "Timely payments following every campaign". What it does not publish is who sets the rate or what the platform keeps; the Kofluence creator page describes browsing, applying and withdrawing, without figures.
Who it suits: creators who want volume and accept being one applicant among many, with the brief and budget fixed.
influencer.in
influencer.in belongs to the Social Beat agency group and its creator app is free. The app page on its site says "There are no criteria to sign up", and the Play Store description says you connect a social account, "quote your commercial" when applying, upload your invoice on the dashboard once the post is live, and get paid in a timely manner. The site adds that the payment method is decided between the brand and the creator. So you set your own rate, campaign by campaign.
One caution, stated plainly: the Android listing was last updated on 28 June 2023, and on 21 September 2026 it showed as not available for the device we checked from. The website is live, so that is not evidence the service has stopped, but confirm the app installs before you plan around it.
Who it suits: creators who want invoicing and status tracking in one place with the brands it lists.
OPA
OPA is the only platform here with a published follower floor, and the only one where deals arrive purely by invitation. Its creator page says the app is "Completely free with no hidden charges", that "You only need 1k+ followers to collab with brands", and that after verifying Instagram or YouTube you "Wait for a brand to invite you". The Play Store listing, updated 24 August 2026 with 4.3 stars from 6.62 thousand reviews, leads with free products from Indian brands in exchange for a task, terms stated in advance so you accept or reject, payment collected in the app, and a score that rises with each collaboration and unlocks better ones.
The mix leans toward product-for-post and small payouts, the brand sets the terms, and you do not pitch. If 1,000 followers sounds far away, our guide to how many followers brand deals need shows where deals actually start.
Who it suits: newer creators past 1,000 followers who want small collaborations without negotiating.
Collabstr
Collabstr is a global marketplace priced in dollars. Its help centre says "It is free to join Collabstr as a creator", that a card is required at signup to verify identity but not charged in normal use, and that you apply to campaigns "by submitting your profile, portfolio, and your own rates" (Collabstr help centre, articles dated August and September 2025). Its pricing page, read on 21 September 2026, says brands pay a 10 percent hiring fee (5 percent on Premium) and "Creators pay a separate 15% fee on their payout."
Payment is genuinely protected: the brand's money is held until it approves the work, then your payment is released into your Collabstr balance, and UPI is listed among the payout methods for India. The catch is that the site describes no India-specific discovery, and the fee means a Rs 10,000 order pays you Rs 8,500.
Who it suits: creators with an overseas audience who are happy to be paid in dollars.
Upfluence and Grin
Both are large brand-side platforms with a free creator door. Upfluence's marketplace creators page says "Sign up free and create your profile in minutes" and "You don't need a specific number of followers to get brand deals"; offers come from brands matching with you or from campaigns you apply to, with payouts described as fast and secure and no stated timeline. Grin's creator page says "GRIN is completely free for creators", lists "No follower minimums", and describes offers delivered to you and paid on a regular schedule (grin.co/creators, 21 September 2026).
On both, the brand chooses, sets the brief and the budget, and pays through the platform. Neither creator page mentions India. They suit creators already working with international brands; for a first deal in India they are the long way round.
Which apps have shut down?
Plixxo and Winkl. Both were folded into the Good Creator Co in January 2022, and on 23 July 2025 Good Glamm Group's founder announced that lenders would sell the group's brands one by one, as reported by BestMediaInfo on 24 July 2025. On 21 September 2026 we opened plixxo.com and goodcreatorco.com in a browser: both show a GoDaddy page reading "is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com", and winkl.co returns a DNS failure rather than a website. None of the three can take a sign-up, so a DM recruiting for them carries the red flags of a fake collab offer.
Which one should you actually use?
Use one platform plus your own pitching, not five platforms. Direct pitches and inbound DMs still bring most first deals; a platform makes you findable and handles the money when a brand finds you.
If you want your rate public and the payment held before you start, in rupees, that is Qolab. If you want the most briefs to apply to and accept a fixed budget, Kofluence. If you are just past 1,000 followers and happy with small invited collaborations, OPA. If your audience is overseas, Collabstr, with the 15 percent priced in. Whatever you pick, our five steps when a brand does not pay apply to the deals that happen off-platform.
A free creator profile on Qolab gives you a public rate card, a Qolab Score read from your Instagram, and a brand's payment held before you start.
