# What are partnership ads on Meta?

> Partnership ads are Meta ads that show your brand next to a creator's account, run with their permission. How they work, how to set them up and what they cost.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-11-03
- **Category**: Meta
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-glossary/partnership-ads

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Partnership ads are Meta ads that run with a creator or another business, with the partner's account, yours or both shown in the ad header. They can use content the partner posted, with their permission. Meta used to call them branded content ads ([Instagram Help Centre](https://help.instagram.com/966886840676703), checked 2026-10-20).

## How they work

- The ad header can show your account and your partner's account, and Meta uses signals from both accounts to rank the ad ([Instagram Help Centre](https://help.instagram.com/292748974937716), checked 2026-10-20).
- The partner must give permission. It can cover their whole account, one post, or come as a partnership ad code.
- Without permission, Meta publishes the ad in a pending state until the creator approves ([Meta for Developers](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/ads-commerce/marketing-api/ad-creative/partnership-ads/ads-creation)).
- Creators tag the business partner with the Paid partnership label when money or free products change hands ([Instagram Help Centre](https://help.instagram.com/1695974997209192)).
- Meta says partnership ads are not currently supported on Threads ([Instagram Help Centre](https://help.instagram.com/2467529163409127)).

## How to set one up in Ads Manager

Steps follow Meta's page on [how to create a partnership ad](https://help.instagram.com/1168446653551639), checked 2026-10-20.

1. Choose your objective, audience, budget and schedule.
2. At the ad level, turn on the **Partnership ad** toggle.
3. Under Identity, select the **Second identity** you want in the ad header.
4. Choose your partner and click **Done**.
5. Finish the ad and click **Publish**. Meta reviews it before it runs.

## A worked example

Say you pay a creator INR 15,000 for one Reel and run it as a partnership ad for INR 30,000. It brings 90 purchases.

- Cost per purchase on ad spend alone: 30,000 / 90 = INR 333.
- Cost per purchase with the creator fee: 45,000 / 90 = **INR 500**.

Count the fee, or the ad looks cheaper than it was. Compare with [studio-made ads](/compare/ugc-vs-studio-ads) on the same basis.

## Agree these in writing first

- How long you can run the ad
- Whether you can edit or cut it
- What the creator posts, and when

Brief creators well. See [how to brief UGC creators](/guides/how-to-brief-ugc-creators). For the format itself, see [UGC ads](/glossary/ugc-ads). You can also watch what rivals run with partners in [Instagram's ad library](/guides/how-to-see-competitor-ads-on-instagram).

Marxx has a browser extension that saves ads straight from the Meta Ad Library, so you can keep partner ads from your market in one place.

## FAQ

### Do I need the creator's permission?

Yes. The creator gives account-level or post-level permission, or shares an ad code.

### Can I run partnership ads on Threads?

Meta says partnership ads are not currently supported on Threads. They run on Facebook and Instagram.

### Who pays the creator?

You do. Agree the fee, the usage period and who may edit the ad with the creator in writing first.

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