How Much Does Tiktok Pay (Likes, Views & Followers) (2024)

The Social Media Geeks at Demandsage explored the web and helped to reveal how much does TikTok pay. TikTok official guides, YouTube videos, announcements, news articles, and real-life experiences of TikTok creators; we left nothing!

For creators and influencers, the money is BIG! Our research statistics show that over 1 billion videos are viewed on TikTok every day, with 1.677 billion users globally.

With such a large market and potential, penetrating the user’s mind and boosting your payment, you need to understand the fundamentals of TikTok and its payment methods.

I’ve broken down all that you need to know about TikTok, how much the official funds pay, and some bonus ways and strategies to boost your income from TikTok.

Stay tuned and let’s understand the TikTok payment methods in detail.

How Much Does TikTok Pay – Overview

One of the common misconceptions people have is that TikTok pays per view. However, that’s not the case. TikTok doesn’t pay per view. Instead, TikTok pays between 2-4 cents per 1000 views on your video.

TikTok has been actively launching programs to boost the earnings of the creators and the influencers on TikTok. The two main programs offered by TikTok are:

1. The Creators Fund – announced in late 2020
2. The Creativity Program (Beta) – announced in May 2023

Both these funds are aimed at identifying the organic contributions of creators and influencers to engage and attract users to keep using TikTok (more on this further in the article).

However, the payment slab differs for different users and as per their “influencer stage” and popularity.

Let’s unpack all of it gradually.

Did you know? – TikTok has the highest number of users in the USA, and the highest penetration rate is in Saudi Arabia, with a 110.7% rate. Get more valuable insights on TikTok, which you can use to your advantage from our statistical study on TikTok.

How Many Likes Do You Need on TikTok to Get Paid?

If you’re wondering how much does TikTok pays for likes, it does not. TikTok does not pay for likes but pays per view instead. If you were running after likes before this, then this might be bad news for you.

But look at it this way, a higher number of likes = a higher number of views because a user that has liked a video has definitely watched the video and has added to the view count.

Yet, this is not a universal standard, and the amount earned by each creator will be different as no two accounts are the same. From data collected from top TikTok influencers, for 1,000 views, TikTok roughly pays 2 – 4 cents.

To understand the demographics further, let’s first understand how the number of likes and engagement acts as a factor in the earning potential.

TikTok Payment Calculation: By Followers, Likes and Engagement Rate

Our research tells us that although it would be wrong to say the exact amount each like or view would fetch, looking at the video analytics vs payment history, some dots can be connected for TikTok payment calculation.

Below is a table explaining the earning potential through likes on TikTok:

Source: Influencer Marketing Hub

Quite evidently, the engagement of a video plays an important role in deciding the TikTok payout.

Note that our research was based on the performance of a single video. We believe that with the increase in the number of videos, the engagement rate per video may decline – and so does the earnings.

For instance, here is a screenshot of @richardsalesofficial’s success story displayed on TikTok. Here the sales value, followers, and likes are shown, which has to be a factor that affects the earnings of a creator in some or the other way.

Let’s talk about the views next.

How Much Money Does TikTok Pay For 1 Million Views?

Considering the TikTok payment of 2 to 4 cents per 1,000 views, one can calculate how much money you get on TikTok might pay for 1 million views –between $20 to $40 for one million views on TikTok.

These returns are disappointing when compared to the other social media platforms, which offer way more for a million views.

But, if this is imagined on a wider scale, a mega-influencer will be earning way more than what a micro-influencer would make.

If a micro-influencer is getting 2 million views a month and earns $60 per video (considering $30 earned per million), a mega-influencer that has 100 million views would instead earn $600.

How Much Does TikTok Pay Through the Creator Fund?

In 2020, TikTok launched its highly anticipated Creator Fund to encourage and reward creators.

This fund is calculated based on the views that a creator is getting on a video, their engagement, and their adherence to the community guidelines and terms of services. Not all videos will be considered for the creator fund. Videos before the pre-acceptance, livestreams, duets, or stitches.

Note – The TikTok Creator Fund is no longer available to sign up for as new. And if you wish to switch to Creativity Program Beta, you will no longer be enrolled in the Creator Fund.

Although a secretive algorithm goes behind the calculation of TikTok payment under this fund, many experts speculate that the TikTok Creator Fund pays between 2 to 4 cents for every 1,000 views. Or, only $20 to $40 dollars for a million views!

Not much!

Still, a significant number of creators welcomed this move because this way TikTok enabled them to make money off their platform without third-party involvement.

In addition, it’s pretty easy as once your earnings reach a minimum of $10, you can withdraw your payout using services such as PayPal or Zelle.

How Much Does TikTok Pay Through the Creativity Program Beta?

Noting the lukewarm response to the low payouts of Creator Fund, TikTok has been experimenting with a “Creativity Program Beta” since May 2023. Per TikTok itself, this program has been introduced to generate higher revenue potential for creators of all types.

Aimed towards longer TikTok videos, this beta program has similar eligibility criteria to the creator fund with some minor changes.

Eligibility criteria for the creativity program beta:

1. You must have a U.S.-based account.
2. Should be at least 18 years old.
3. Have at least 10,000 followers.
4. Have at least 100,000 video views in the past 30 days.

However, since this program is new and still in beta, not much can be said about its payment matric. Only time will tell.

To join a TikTok creativity beta program, you can follow the steps given below.

1. If you are enrolled in the creator fund
   

• Open TikTok app and click profile.
• Tap the hamburger button, then settings.
• Click the “creator tools” and then “creator fund.”
• Tap “switch” at the bottom of the page.
  

2. If you are not enrolled in the creator fund
   

• Open the TikTok app and click profile.
• Tap the hamburger button, then settings.
• Click the “creator tools” and then “creator fund.”
• You will get a notification whether your application is through within three days.

Creativity Program Beta – How is it better than the Creator fund?

This new fund offers an opportunity to earn up to 20X more than the amount offered earlier. The new program has been favoring the creators that post one-minute plus content with the original short-form content with a significant rise in engagement and discoverability.

Who are the Richest TikTokers in 2023?

Although TikTok, in general, is not known for its payouts, the big creators of the TikTok world are raking in millions!

Of course, their source of earnings is diverse and doesn’t come just from the Creators’ Fund.

It might be that you already follow them or are hearing them for the first time, but their Follower v/s Income (estimated) should give a further idea about TikTok’s earning potential.

Creators Case Studies From TikTok

TikTok has given a lot of importance to the creators and encourages them to create new content. Here are a few case studies by TikTok on how different creators collaborated with brands and helped them.

1. Benefit Cosmetics X @millet24

The collaboration between the creator and the cosmetic brand boosted the brand’s engagement.

2. Wanna Kicks X @Josephwsj

The fashion brand collaborated with a TikTok creator. The content was created not by directly promoting the brand but with a blend of informative and educational content. The subtle promotion of Wanna Kicks with the creator enabled the app to see a significant increase in their downloads.

You can also view other case studies here.

Factors That May Affect Your TikTok Views

Summarizing both the funds offered by TikTok, some factors influencing the amount an influencer earns are:

1. The influencer type.
2. The country and the penetration rate of it.
3. Type of the TikTok fund that you enrolled in.
4. The time that you post your video on TikTok.

Did you know? – The best time to post on TikTok is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Check out this detailed guide for the best time to post on TikTok.

6 Backup Ways To Make Money on TikTok

Firstly, if you are part of the Creator Fund, you have a direct way to get paid for your content. However, for the low payout, relying only on this is not enough. Especially given the strict eligibility to qualify for the Creator Fund:

• Must be 18 years or older
• Have at least 10,000 followers
• 100,000 views in 30 days before applying for it.

Considering these, actually, even before Creator Fund and Creativity Program Beta came, TikTokers had found ways to make money on the platform by either brand promotion or user engagement.

Some of the most practical and lucrative ways to earn money from TikTok are discussed below.

1. Get Sponsors

Sponsors are one of the easiest tickets to earn a significant amount. TikTok influencers like Charli D’Amelio charge $100,000 to endorse a product in their TikTok videos.

You can easily charge $5-$25 to endorse a product or service if you have less than 10k followers. Similarly, you can charge $20-$125 per post with 10k-50k followers and $125-$1000 per post with 50k-500k followers.

You can reach out to brands and initiate a conversation about how you can bring potential buyers or add value to their brand. The cold-pitching method will work if your profile is attractive and engaging. So, ensure your engagement is excellent enough to attract sponsors to your profile.

2. Sell Your Product

You can sell your products and services globally with TikTok to earn a considerable profit. Many TikTok businesses have successfully set up their e-commerce store on the platform to expand their business reach.

You can start by posting quirky videos about your product to attract users.

Preferred by brands, this way, you not only have full control over content output and strategy but also can directly sell your products to users – without spending a single penny!

To make your choice easier, we have researched the best products to sell online that you can check and get quick help from!

3. Collaborations

Another popular way that helps you earn on TikTok is through collaborating with brands. With the increase in digitalization and the use of social media, brands are keener to create a solid social media presence.

Doing brand collaborations can help you make anywhere between $50k-$150k or even higher, depending on your engagement and followers.

Another way of earning money through TikTok is getting live gifts and money directly from fans. Most of the fans on TikTok do not hesitate to transfer hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to their ideal influencer!

4. Live Gifts

Another way of earning money through TikTok is getting live gifts and money directly from fans as part of their LIVE Gifting feature. By activating this feature, content creators can receive virtual gifts from fans, including TikTok Diamonds, which can be converted into real money.

5. Offer Consulting Services

People do not hesitate to invest in learning something, especially when they can learn directly from someone expert in the field. ‘If you are good at something, never do it for free.’ This is the quote that you may have heard.

By selling your expertise, you can conduct consultation calls if you are good at something and believe you can guide others to become better in a specific field. Many consultants charge around $100-$500 per session.

6. Affiliate Marketing

TikTok runs an affiliate marketing program from within its app. With access to over 10,000 products in TikTok’s marketplace, you can request samples from brands and showcase your favorite items in your videos and live streams.

When someone makes a purchase through your affiliate link, you’ll receive a percentage in commission from the sale. TikTok has a separate helpful resource section for affiliate marketing that you can read in detail here.

5 Strategies To Boost Your TikTok Views

Knowing the potential of TikTok payments and ways in which to make money on TikTok is one thing — but going out there and actually doing it is another. We’re here to help out with the latter as well.

Over the years, social media experts and TikTok influencers have experimented, overserved, and collated insights that are widely used as best practices.

While content remains the undisputed king, below are some actionable to help you boost your TikTok profile.

1. Optimize your Profile

To boost your TikTok presence and follower count, optimize your profile with relevant hashtags, keywords in your bio, and links to other social channels. This will help you get discovered by more users on the platform.

2. Post Consistently

The time you post on TikTok influences the performance of the clip. Setting up a regular posting schedule and being consistent with it indicates your diligence and can help tap into the audience’s routine. If you’re having trouble being consistent, you can create a content calendar to keep yourself on track.

3. Implement The Three Second Rule

The first three seconds of your video must be captivating to hold viewers’ attention and prevent them from swiping past. These moments also influence the TikTok algorithm’s promotion of your content to more “For You” pages if viewers watch for more than three seconds. Make those first seconds count!

4. Reply with a video

Responding with a new video to comments is essential, and goes the extra mile. It shows your engagement with the audience, making them feel heard and appreciated. Additionally, it helps reach more viewers who scroll through the comments and want to see your response.

5. Use the Q&A feature

TikTok’s Q&A feature, launched in March 2021, allows creators to add question-and-answer sections to their profiles. Generally, the more questions answered, the more engagement they can expect, making it essential to reply to as many as possible.

Check out this official TikTok guide that covers in-depth articles for anywhere you get stuck.

Suggested Reading on TikTok:

TikTok Trends in 2023

Is TikTok Worth for Monetization – Verdict

TikTok offers both direct and indirect ways to make money. You get paid $0.20 -$0.04 per 1,000 views.

You can make $100-$500 if you consistently make your videos go viral on TikTok. However, some might feel that it’s not good enough or takes more effort than other social media platforms.

But with the new creativity beta program, you can now earn up to 20X more if you are willing to adapt to the content of one minute+.

Also, you can create multiple sources of income streams, like collaborations, affiliate marketing, lives, etc., to boost your earnings from TikTok.

Remember, in order for you to monetize TikTok, you need to put in constant effort.

We can help you with tips and assistance to understand the potential and build the right strategy. Make sure to leave your query in the comments below!

Frequently Asked Questions