Symphony Clarke
TikTok has created a new generation of digital stars who have built massive audiences on the app.
But many creators are still experimenting with how to make money.
Here’s how much TikTokers earn from brand deals, song promotions, livestreams, and its Creator Fund.
TikTok ushered in a new generation of digital stars. But for many creators, it can be difficult to make money from TikTok alone.
Unlike YouTube, which has a well-established ads program where it shares a percentage of ad revenue with qualifying users, TikTok has only recently begun experimenting with splitting dollars with some of its influencers.
The company has several built-in monetization tools like virtual “gifts,” as well as a Creator Fund to pay users with at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in a 30-day period for their videos. The company has also recently begun trialing a subscriber program for some of its live streamers.
How much TikTokers make from the Creator Fund and other in-app monetization features
While Creator Fund payments aren’t calculated based on just views, the effective payouts for videos have amounted to a few pennies for every one thousand video plays, some TikTokers told Insider. Top TikTok creators like Hank Green and MrBeast have spoken out about the low payouts, with Green revealing in a January YouTube video that he was paid what amounted to between $0.02 and $0.03 for every one thousand views on TikTok.
Personal finance influencer Preston Seo, who now has 2.3 million TikTok followers, earned a total of about $1,664 from the Creator Fund between January 2021 to May 2021, according to documentation he shared with Insider. His TikTok account earns between $9 to $38 a day on average. Other creators who shared their fund earnings with Insider reported similar daily payouts.
The Creator Fund isn’t the only in-app monetization tool for TikTok creators.
Some TikTokers also make money by receiving virtual “gifts” during livestreams, which can be converted into cash. ASMR content creator Lucy Davis told Insider she earns between $20 and $300 each time she goes live, for example. (The company recently began testing its gifts feature in other parts of the app.)
Jakey Boehm, an Australian creator who live streams on TikTok while he sleeps, earned $34,000 from TikTok Live in a single month.
“It’s seriously life-changing money,” he told Insider. “The first week I made about $5,000 dollars, and that’s where I thought ‘This is big, I can do something really crazy here.'”
Read more about how creators are making money from TikTok’s built-in monetization features:
Jakey Boehm (about 819,000 followers) explains how he makes money by sleeping while going live on TikTokVi Luong (about 994,000 followers) shares her monthly earnings from the Creator Fund and brand deals ASMR creator Lucy Davis (over 608,000 followers) discusses how much she earns from TikTok livestreams6 TikTok creators told Insider how much they’ve earned from the Creator FundHank Green (6.5 million followers) and MrBeast (34.4 million followers) share how much they’ve earned from the Creator FundPersonal finance influencer Preston Seo (around 2.3 million followers) on Creator Fund earnings, affiliate revenue, and sponsorships Lifestyle influencer Victoria Paris (about 1.4 million followers) discloses her monthly Creator Fund earnings from February to December 2021
How TikTok creators make money from brand sponsorships
Because Creator Fund payments don’t pay the bills on their own, many influencers turn to brand deals to earn money from TikTok. Rates for a sponsored post can vary widely depending on a creator’s follower count and content niche.
Seo, for example, said he charged about $600 per sponsored post on TikTok.
Symphony Clarke, an Atlanta-based TikTok creator with about 200,000 fans, told Insider that she charged between $350 and $600 for a sponsored post.
Alex Ojeda, who has around 8 million TikTok followers, has a starting rate of $20,000 for a sponsored video on the app.
Other TikTok influencers earn money by making content for companies to use on a brand’s own TikTok account. Fitness creator Salha Aziz, for instance, charges hundreds of dollars to create UGC content for brands to use in marketing campaigns.
Here’s how much creators are earning from brand deals:
Alex Ojeda (about 8 million followers) shares his sponsored content rates for his water-park themed videosPersonal finance influencer Erin Confortini (around 187,000 followers) lists out her earnings from brand deals, UGC, and affiliatesJalyn Baiden (about 20,000 followers) is a TikTok nano influencer who charges around $1,000 for a sponsored postTejas Hullur (around 593,000 followers) said his fee for a sponsored TikTok post starts at $3,000 Salha Aziz (about 6,400 followers) charges brands $160 for a single videoDeanna Giulietti (around 1.7 million followers) made over $500,000 from brand partnerships across TikTok and Instagram in 2021College influencer Harry Raftus (about 1.4 million followers) explains how much he earns from song promos and alcohol-related brand dealsSymphony Clarke (about 200,000 followers), who makes videos about thrift shopping, shares her rates for brand sponsorshipsFashion creator Carolina Freixa (around 700,000 followers) tells us how much money she makes from brand campaignsSkincare influencer Young Yuh (about 1.7 million followers) shares how he calculates his pay rateDana Hasson (around 2 .8 million followers), who posts recipes and lifestyle videos, explains how much she makes from brand dealsTikTok family The McFarlands (about 3.6 million followers) on how much they earn from brand deals
How TikTok creators make money from song promotions
One of the most popular ways to earn money as a TikToker is by promoting songs in videos. Music marketers and record labels regularly pay TikTok users to post on the app in an attempt to make a new track go viral.
TikTok creator trio Nicole, Natalie, and Nika Taylor, who have over 11 million followers on the app, told Insider they charge $750 to promote a song in a single video, $1,400 for two videos, and $2,000 for three videos.
For micro influencers with fewer followers, rates are more variable, but can fall anywhere from $20 to $150, said Austin Georgas, a former senior account manager focused on music marketing at the Gen-Z media company Flighthouse.
Read more about how much creators get paid to promote new tracks on TikTok:
Creators and marketers share how much song promotions cost on TikTokWhy creators who make hydraulic press videos and DIY slime posts are getting paid to post songsWhy TikTok music marketers are hiring micro influencers over superstars2 music marketers discuss how much TikTok influencers can earn from song promotions