Model booking platforms and websites to hire models for brands

Start with the work your team needs help doing. Finding a face, choosing talent and confirming a commercial booking are different tasks. A useful website to hire models should match the part of that process you want to manage yourself.

Traditional agencies

Traditional agencies such as Ford Models, IMG Models and Wilhelmina route bookings through agency bookers. They commonly add a client service fee of around 15% to 20% on top of the model's rate. This route suits a producer who wants to discuss the brief with a booker and arrange the booking through that person.

Ask for a quote that separates the model's rate, client fee and usage. A familiar agency name does not tell you which advertising rights a particular quote includes. Send the intended media, territory and campaign term with the brief.

Invite-only booking apps

Swipecast is an invite-only, fashion-focused model booking app where clients book talent directly. Coverage of the service says its fee is taken from the talent's side. That fee structure differs from a client surcharge, so compare the full quote and confirm who receives what.

This category fits teams interested in direct booking within a fashion-focused app. Confirm the paperwork for the job before treating a conversation or accepted rate as permission to use the images commercially.

Casting boards

Backstage is a casting board where talent pays a membership, with a focus that leans toward acting. ModelManagement.com is a casting site where models pay a subscription to apply. Consider these when your immediate task is finding applicants for a defined role.

Write the brief so applicants can judge the paid work accurately. Include the shoot location, wardrobe needs, intended use and availability requirements. Then establish how the selected applicant becomes a confirmed booking and where the agreement gets signed.

Portfolio networking sites

Model Mayhem is a free portfolio and networking site, not a booking tool. It has no payment protection and no contract. It can suit portfolio discovery and introductions if your team is prepared to arrange the booking separately.

If you choose this route, account for the work after the introduction. You need to verify adult age, agree payment arrangements and get the contract and release signed. A portfolio gives you material to assess, but it does not settle those terms.

Booking marketplaces with a contract built in

ModelContracts fits this category with a standard booking agreement and model release on every booking. Brands set the rate, models accept or decline, and the client pays the plan's agency fee. Models pay nothing. Studio and higher plans include custom usage riders.

Zodel is another booking marketplace; it says models join free and clients pay a fee per booking. Confirm its current contract and release arrangements rather than assuming all marketplaces include the same paperwork. On ModelContracts, you can hire models for a paid shoot with the agreement and payouts managed in the account.

Post a casting

Use this table to compare where the fee falls and what needs confirming. Vetting questions concern identity, adult age and suitability for your brief. They are separate checks, so ask about each before you book. As part of that review, check current terms on each site before you book.

When comparing websites to find models, decide whether you need someone on set or someone creating the content independently. If your brief calls for creator-filmed phone content, you may want to hire UGC creators who film on their own phones instead, which is a different kind of booking from hiring a model for your production.

If you are still deciding whether to use an agency at all, see modeling agency vs booking platform for the trade offs.

A shortlist is ready for booking only when the practical terms are clear. Use this checklist before approving a quote or sending payment.

• Verify adult age and identity. Ask how the service establishes that the model is an adult and matches the person booked. Review our booking safety information alongside your own production checks.
• Write down usage rights. Specify media, territory, duration and exclusivity. Product pages and paid advertising need clear permission. Put those choices in the model booking contract.
• Get the model release signed. Confirm permission to use the model's likeness for the agreed commercial purposes. Review what belongs in a model release form before the shoot.
• Confirm payment and payout handling. Establish who collects payment, when it is due and how the model receives the agreed rate. Ask where the invoice and payment record live.
• Identify who carries the agency fee. Check whether the client pays above the rate or a fee comes from the talent's side. Compare the client's total and the model's agreed compensation.
• Agree cancellation and overtime terms. Record cancellation windows, rescheduling conditions, booked hours and the overtime rate. Establish who approves extra time before the shoot runs late.

For motion work, specify performance and intended edits when you hire models for a video shoot. For apparel, include sample sizes, fit requirements and the shot list when you hire models for a clothing brand. The platform choice cannot substitute for a usable brief.

The client pays a subscription plus an agency fee on each booking. You set the talent rate, and the model accepts or declines it. Models pay nothing to apply, maintain a profile, sign contracts or receive payouts, and no commission is taken from their rate.

Yearly billing offers 50% off. Starter is $24 per month billed yearly. Compare billing options and included features on the ModelContracts pricing page, then choose against your actual booking needs. A lower booking fee needs to be considered alongside the subscription cost.

For an illustrative Studio booking, suppose you hire 2 models for 6 hours each at $90 an hour. Talent rates total $1,080. The 15% client agency fee is $162, giving a booking total of $1,242. The Studio subscription is separate, and the hourly rate here is an example rather than a market quote.

That example assumes the agreed usage is included in the talent rate. Price any other agreed expenses separately. Our guide to the cost to hire a model for a photoshoot explains how usage and production requirements affect the budget.

See pricing

You can hire models through an agency, a booking app, a casting site or a booking marketplace. Choose according to how much of the casting and paperwork your team wants to handle. ModelContracts combines casting with verified adult models, a booking agreement, a model release and payouts in the account.

What is the best website to hire models?

The best website is the one that fits your brief and booking workflow. An agency suits a team working through a booker; ModelContracts suits brands managing casting with contracts and releases included. Compare the complete cost, adult verification and written usage rights before deciding where to hire models for photoshoots.

Do models pay to use booking apps?

It depends on the service; models pay nothing on ModelContracts. Backstage charges talent a membership, and ModelManagement.com charges models a subscription to apply. Coverage of Swipecast says its fee comes from the talent's side. Ask whether a service charges for access, applications or completed bookings before comparing costs.

Is it cheaper to book a model through an app than an agency?

Sometimes, but an app is not automatically cheaper than an agency. Compare the same talent rate, usage rights, hours and expenses, then add client fees and any subscription cost. On ModelContracts, the client pays the plan's agency fee above the talent rate, so include both amounts in your comparison.

Do I need a contract when I book a model online?

Yes, use a written contract and a model release for a paid commercial booking. Record the rate, hours, usage rights, payment terms, cancellation conditions and overtime arrangements before the shoot. ModelContracts includes a standard booking agreement and release on every booking, with custom usage riders available from Studio upward.