From sharing personal stories online to building businesses around their content, creators are becoming an important part of India’s digital landscape. Across cities, towns and regional markets, they are shaping consumer choices, working with brands and building communities around their ideas. With creators gaining wider recognition through policy initiatives and institutional support, the focus is now shifting towards helping them build sustainable careers and long-term income opportunities.
India’s creator economy is expanding beyond its biggest cities, with creators from non-metro markets now accounting for 66% of the country’s creator base. By 2025, India had an estimated 4.12 million creators, of which 2.72 million were from non-metro markets. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of creators outside metropolitan cities grew 6.4 times, compared with 2.6 times in metro markets, signalling the rise of new creator ecosystems beyond India’s largest cities.
While Hindi accounts for 42% of India’s creator base, creators producing content in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bhojpuri and other regional languages collectively make up 58%, pointing to a broader shift in how audiences consume digital content across the country.
These findings are part of the report, Understanding the Canvas of India’s Creator Economy, released by the Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy (SRITNE) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) in collaboration with Hashfame, a creator intelligence and influencer marketing platform.
Overall, India’s creator base has grown more than fourfold over the past five years, rising from around 0.96 million creators in 2020 to 4.12 million in 2025. States such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra together account for nearly one-fourth of the country’s creators, while Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat have also emerged as key creator hubs with strong participation relative to their population.
The expansion has also been matched by stronger audience engagement. Average engagement rates rose from 1.8% in 2020 to 7.2% in 2025, even as the number of creators expanded rapidly. Brands have responded by increasing investments in creator-led marketing, with annual creator campaigns growing from around 14,000 to 42,000 during the period. Average campaign spending also rose 3.6 times, reflecting greater confidence in creators as a marketing channel.
Despite the rapid growth, the report says earning opportunities remain uneven. Although the number of non-metro creators participating in brand campaigns rose from about 38,000 in 2020 to more than 408,000 in 2025, most creators still undertake only one paid campaign each year. The findings suggest that the next stage of the creator economy will depend on enabling repeat brand collaborations, diversified revenue streams and more sustainable business models.
“India’s creator economy is no longer defined by whether people can become creators. The bigger challenge is helping them build sustainable businesses,” said Madhu Viswanathan, Associate Professor of Marketing and Executive Director, SRITNE at ISB. He said future growth will depend on stronger creator-brand partnerships, improved creator productivity and sustainable earning opportunities.
Meanwhile, Anirudh Sridharan, Co-Founder and Head of Product at Hashfame, said, “Creators have become an integral part of how brands connect with consumers across India, especially beyond metropolitan markets. Businesses now need to move beyond one-off influencer campaigns and build long-term partnerships with creators who have earned trust within their communities.”
The report shows that India’s creator economy is growing rapidly, with more people turning content creation into careers and businesses. However, the next stage of growth will require more than just adding more creators. Building awareness, skills and responsible practices will be essential to help them earn audience trust, create sustainable careers and ensure that digital influence is backed by credibility and authenticity.
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