TikTok continues to lead the creator economy, boasting over 1.7 billion active users and offering a rapidly expanding range of monetization tools. Its original content drives engagement with users spending an average of 95 minutes a day on TikTok, going way beyond daily time on other social media networks, like Instagram or Facebook.
Whether you're chasing your first viral hit or managing a full-time content strategy, you need to understand TikTok’s payout structure, TikTok Creator Rewards Program, TikTok LIVE gifting, brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and the booming TikTok Shop, and any other ways to earn income on the platform. But how much does TikTok actually pay per view, and what can creators with 1 million followers expect to earn?
In this article, we’ll break down how TikTok pays creators in 2025, what affects your earnings, and how to turn your passion into sustainable revenue!
The way creators can earn money directly from TikTok is through The Creator Rewards Program.
Under this system, creators get from $0.40 up to $1.00 per 1,000 views depending on video performance.
CPM, or Cost Per Mille, refers to the amount creators earn per 1,000 views on their content. For example, if you have 1,000 views and your CPM is $0.70, you would earn $0.70 for those 1,000 views. If one of your videos gets a million views, you can earn from $400 to over $1,000.
The Creator Fund was the original paying system in place to give money to the creators for their videos. Launched in 2020, the earnings range between $0.02 to $0.04 per 1,000 views, an amount that many creators found underwhelming and not enough for the effort put into every TikTok.
In order to make the creators happy, TikTok reinvented their monetization system and launched the Creator Rewards Program designed to better recognize creativity, effort and engagement on the platform.
RPM, or Revenue Per Mille, is similar to CPM but is often used to describe how much creators earn from various monetization sources, including views, brand deals, and affiliate marketing. It’s the total revenue a creator earns per 1,000 views, which often includes multiple revenue streams.
The best thing about the new system is that it holds a higher RPM, which means that creators get to earn more for 1,000 views. With the RPM between $0.40 and $1.00, earnings can fluctuate.
With the lowest average RPM, if a creator gets 1 million views with an RPM of $0.40, the earnings from the video would be:
With the highest average RPM, the earnings would be higher:
TikTok does a great job of sharing your content with more than just your followers. It also recognizes good authentic videos and lets you monetize based on your content.
The TikTok Creator Rewards Program is currently the main way to earn money directly from TikTok.
Not every TokToker can be a part of the program, in order to qualify you must meet the following:
If you do, you can go to TikTok Studio, apply and once approved, start making money out of the platform.
Once you are inside the Program you can start making money. However, not every video is eligible for monetization. You need to have:
There are several ways to make money out of the content you create on TikTok.
As previously mentioned, by joining this program you can make money directly from TikTok. Just upload your content, making sure you are aligned with every requirement, and make money based on the number of views your video gets.
Remember that typically TikTokers earn from $0.40 up to $1.000 per 1,000 views. And in order to withdraw your money you must have at least $100 of earnings.
Besides uploading videos on TikTok you can also stream live content for your audience. The Live section of the platform is loaded with TikTokers streaming and interacting with viewers.
Viewers have the possibility to send their favorite TikTokers gifts during these sessions. These virtual gifs can later be converted into real money.
How Gifting Works? Viewers can purchase TikTok coins (the platform currency) and use them to send different types of fun animations like roses, crowns or lions, as a way to support the creator. Depending on the type of gift, the value. Typically they range from 1 TikTok Coin ($0.01) to 34,999 TikTok coins ($350+).
For example, sending a crown gift costs 1,000 TikTok coins (around $10). As a creator, you'd receive 500 Diamonds, which would equate to $2.50 (at $0.005 per Diamond).
Note: TikTok typically takes around 50% of the value, so creators earn roughly half of what the viewer spends.
For each gift sent, the creator receives Diamonds. Diamonds represent your actual earnings.
How does it work? TikTok takes your gifts and converts them into Diamonds at a 50% exchange rate. Meaning that if you have 1,000 coins in gifts, you get 500 diamonds. Each diamond is $0.005. So with 500 diamonds you have $2,5.
To withdraw your money, you need to get at least $10. Once you hit this mark, you can go to your Profile and in the 3 line menu at the top click on “Creator Tools”. Then go to “Balance” and tap on “Live Gifts”. Finally tap on the “Withdraw” option.
Quick note: TikTok may take up to 15 business days to process your withdrawal, and local taxes or fees may apply depending on your country.
As a TikToker you can partner up with brands to promote their products and services on your videos. Depending on the type of agreement, the term to fulfill and the type of content to produce.
If the brand deal becomes regular over time, it can lead to a sponsorship or an ambassador role that implies a more serious relationship.
Charli D'Amelio, a prominent TikTok personality, has partnered with skincare brand CeraVe in a series of creative marketing campaigns. On a series of videos she shows different products for the brand as long as listing all their benefits for your hair, skin and body.
As a TikToker you can join different affiliate programs and promote a series of products by sharing a unique discount code with a tracking link added in your video.
You can also create your own personalized storefronts on platforms like Creator Hero to showcase recommended products. Storefronts are online platforms or designated sections of e-commerce websites where creators can showcase and recommend products to their viewers.
Your earnings with affiliate marketing highly depend on conversion rates. For every purchase made throughout your link, you’ll get a commission previously fixed by the brand or website. Depending on your engagement rate and the prices of the products you are promoting, the revenue you can make.
With affiliate marketing, you can also create your own personalized storefront on platforms like Creator Hero to showcase recommended products. Storefronts are online platforms or designated sections of e-commerce websites where creators can showcase and recommend products to their viewers. This way you can make your recommendations more personal and have them all in one place!
Khably Lane, one of the most famous TikTokers on the platform made a collaboration with the Screen Breakz collection, a lifestyle product line aimed at promoting time away from screens and encouraging real-world connection.
He shared a personalized link, allowing fans to purchase the products he recommended, while also earning a commission on each sale made through his link.
Subscribers have the possibility of paying monthly fees for exclusive perks and content. Memberships vary from $2.99 to $99.99 per month, depending on the value you provide.
You can go to TikTok Studio and then click on Subscription to start your own. You can fix the monthly subscription price based on the material you are willing to create for your viewers: behind the scenes, special live sessions or exclusive content.
Channel memberships can become a sustainable revenue stream that enhances your overall content strategy.
Quick note: TikTok keeps 50% of the subscription fees.
Tiktok Shop is a feature that allows creators to sell products within the Tiktok app. Instead of using links on your bio, you can offer products and your viewers get to buy them without leaving TikTok.
This not only works as another revenue stream but also enhances the user experience by ensuring a safe and straightforward buying experience.
You just need to go to the TikTok Shop Seller Center and sign up as a seller. Then you’ll be able to connect your account to an existing ecommerce site or create your own catalog from scratch. If you want all the details, go check our article on How To Become a TikTok Shop Affiliate!
You can set up a TikTok shop on your videos, live sessions and also on your profile.
TikTok Pulse Program is the platform's most recent feature to allow creators to make money from ad revenue.
TikTok Pulse is a revenue sharing model where the platform places an ad right after trending videos and TikTokers get a percentage based on the views that ad gets. While the exact terms can vary, creators generally keep 55% of the earnings, while TikTok retains 45%.
How does it work?
This feature is mainly designed to reward creators whose videos are driving the most conversations and visibility across TikTok.
TikTokers with 1 million followers can earn anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000+ per month, depending on how many ways they choose to include it into their monetization strategy.
If their content consistently gets high views and qualifies for the Creator Rewards Program, they can earn between $400 to $1,000 per million views, based on RPM rates. However, most of the time the real income comes from brand deals, sponsorships, affiliate links, and TikTok Shop commissions.
For instance, a mid-tier brand deal for a creator with 1M followers might pay $2,000–$5,000 per post, while top-performing creators who diversify with live gifts, subscriptions, and merchandise can build six-figure incomes. Ultimately, how much a TikToker makes with 1M followers depends on their engagement rate, niche and content style.
The amount of money you can make out of the platform is going to be determined by a series of factors that influence TikTok algorithm:
Curious about how much you can actually make? You should use our TikTok Money Calculator to estimate your potential earnings based on your follower count, engagement rate, and more. Try it out and plan your monetization strategy with real numbers!
TikTok’s algorithm determines the visibility of the different videos on the platform. Videos with high engagement (comments, saves and likes) and longer watch time are more likely to appear on the “For You Page” (FYP) leading to higher discoverability, more views and better results on the Creator Rewards Program
TikTok rewards content that keeps people watching. So the longer viewers stick to your videos, the better for your monetization opportunities.
Strong retention tells TikTok your content is engaging. Besides views, what really counts is getting people to watch your full videos and not having them dropping out after a few seconds. Whatever you do, just find ways to keep them watching, keep them entertained or intrigued.
The way your audience interacts with your videos says a lot about your content. The more likes, comments, shares, saves or reactions your tiktok has, the better.
100% original content is the key to success on TikTok. Any re-post, lip-sync battle or duo can’t qualify to the Creator Rewards Program as TikTok wants brand new material, great ideas presented in high quality videos.
Where your viewers are watching matters. Views from countries like the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia tend to generate higher payouts compared to regions with lower advertising spend and not so strong economies.
Creators in the U.S. or UK tend to earn more through brand partnerships compared to those in developing countries, even with the same follower count.
Not all niches earn equally. Entertainment and comedy can go viral easily but videos about finance, tech, skincare or fitness attract better brand deals and affiliate opportunities because they gathered real high value audiences.
Followers don’t directly impact your earnings but you do need them to be able to monetize your videos at the Creator Reward Program (a minimum of 10,000 is required to apply). Besides, the more followers you hold, the better possibilities at brand deals, sponsorships and affiliate marketing.
To make money out of the Creator Rewards Program your videos need to be at least 1 minute long. Shorter videos might go viral, but won’t earn you any money.
Besides, in order for your videos to succeed you need to deliver high quality content to make yourself stand out. Well produced content with clean visuals and solid audio is going to attract more viewers.
If you want to learn more about your possibilities on the platform, check our article on Most popular TikTok Categories: A Deep Dive Into Trends!
If you are focused enough you can really make a living out of the content you share on TikTok. If you love what you do and have the consistency necessary to commit to a posting schedule and post videos accordingly, chances of success are great.
Here are some ways you can explore to increase your visibility on the platform and unlock better monetization opportunities along the way.
Use every video as an opportunity to capture new viewers. TikTok is a really good platform for showing your content to people who are not following you. So find ways to elaborate appealing videos to grow.
Think of your audience as the strength behind your monetization possibilities. Building a strong connection with your viewers is going to be a key factor in your TikTok journey. The more you interact, the more likely your content is going to appear in the For You Feed, enhancing your discoverability chances.
Reply to comments, organize Q&A sessions, host lives and always thank your community for their support.
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. In other words, don’t only rely on the revenue you can generate from the Creator Rewards Program, use any other monetization stream as best for your account and content.
You can create your own monetization strategy combining revenue coming from:
Working with other creators on the platform can really help with the reach of your videos. Working with brands can also expand your discoverability while giving you another source of income.
In most cases, the honey generated from a brand deal is way more than the revenue at the Creator Rewards Program, so don’t ever underestimate the power of a partnership.
TikTok values good content. Viewers look for authenticity. Whatever you create, is going to be better if you are into it, if you are convinced of what you are talking about. When you love what you do, that shows and viewers pick on that and enjoy authenticity.
If you want to explore further, go check our article on How To Get Famous On TikTok for better tips!
As a creator you probably consider sharing content across platforms and not just on TikTok.
In order to know which social platform to add into your revenue strategy as an online creator, here are the top platforms main information you need to know before making a decision to add one of them into your strategy.
YouTube offers higher revenue potential than TikTok. This is mainly because the YouTube Partner Program is more established and organized than TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program. While on TikTok the Creator Reward Program relies on views and engagement only, on YouTube creators can access the Partner Program and make money through ads, channel memberships and fun support.
Creators often report that TikTok's payouts are quite modest. With 1,000 views on YouTube you can make from $2 up to $12 on average and the same amount of views on TikTok is only a couple of cents up to a dollar. YouTube Shorts, however, fall somewhere in between, with CPMs closer to TikTok's range, but still provide an entry point into the broader YouTube Partner Program.
However, remember that these figures can vary depending on content type, niche and audience demographics and there are also different additional monetization opportunities to be pursued on each platform. Affiliate marketing, merchandise sales and brand partnerships can significantly increase your revenue.
Even though TikTok pays less than YouTube at first sight, you can explore more revenue possibilities on the platform. YouTube may lead in direct payouts, TikTok and Shorts can still be powerful tools, especially when paired with a strong community and smart monetization strategy.
TikTok offers a more structured revenue model that allows direct earnings from the platform.
TikTok pays its creators based on views while Instagram and Facebook rely more on brand deals, bonuses and in-stream ads making the total earnings less predictable.
This table only reflects how much each platform is paying for your content but leaves out the money you can make in different ways. Always remember that these figures can vary depending on content type, niche and audience demographics and there are also different additional monetization opportunities to be pursued on each platform.
Instagram may not have the higher CPM but there and tons of brands are willing to advertise their products to that audience therefore will be more open to brand partnerships and promoted posts.
The main difference between TikTok and Twitch is that Twitch is centered around live streaming. Both platforms provide multiple revenue streams. TikTok revenue model is based on video views but also has subscriptions, affiliate marketing, TikTok Shop and brand deals into account. On the other hand, Twitch earnings are determined by subscriptions, fan support and ad revenue.
These figures can vary depending on content type, niche and audience demographics. Also, there are multiple monetization opportunities to be pursued on each platform. Affiliate marketing, merchandise sales and brand partnerships can significantly increase your revenue.
On Twitch subscriptions are the first revenue source. With options going from $4.99, $9.99, and $24.99 per month, creators get from 50% up to %70 of this revenue.
Choosing the right platform to make the most out of your content is something worth thinking about! Once you decide which type of content you want to create, explore the platforms that align best with your goals and start sharing videos, photos, or even streaming.
If you want to learn more about monetization opportunities for creators, go read our guide Influencer Pricing By Platform!
TikTok is a great platform for creators willing to explore different ways to create attractive videos. The possibilities of growth are tremendous as TikTok really pushes videos to new audiences to discover you and your profile.
While the earnings made directly from the platform may not seem like a lot, TikTok is still a great place to develop different monetization strategies such as fan support, TikTok Shop, affiliate marketing and brand deals to make the most money out of the content you create.
The possibilities are endless and out there. You just need to take the first step, upload that video, build your audience and start combining different income streams as needed o turn your passion into profit!
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