How to Make Money on TikTok: 6 Ways and What Each One Needs

There are six main ways to make money on TikTok: the Creator Rewards Program, LIVE gifts, LIVE subscriptions, TikTok Shop affiliate commissions, brand deals, and sending viewers to something you sell off the app. Most of them have a follower minimum, and the one people hear about first (getting paid per view) has the highest bar of all. If you're figuring out how to make money on TikTok from zero, the affiliate and brand routes usually pay before the view-based ones do.

Below is what each option needs, where the numbers come from, and how TikTok compares with YouTube if you're deciding where to spend your time.

How to make money on TikTok: quick comparison

TikTok changes these rules often and the details differ by country, so check the current requirements in TikTok Studio before you plan around any of them.

1. The Creator Rewards Program

This is TikTok's pay-per-view program. It replaced the older Creativity Program Beta, which TikTok ended on March 19, 2024, according to Gigazine's report on the change. The same report says the payout formula looks at four things: originality, playback time, search value, and viewer engagement, and that only original videos longer than one minute qualify.

The entry bar was set when the program first launched. As TechCrunch reported in September 2023, creators had to be "at least 18 years of age and have at least 10,000 followers and at least 100,000 views in the last 30 days." It's also limited to certain countries.

Two things to know before you chase it:

• The one-minute rule changes how you make videos. Short clips under a minute don't earn here at all. If your content is naturally 15 seconds long, Creator Rewards isn't your income source.
• TikTok doesn't publish a fixed rate. What you earn per 1,000 views moves with the factors above, so be wary of anyone who quotes you an exact number.

2. LIVE gifts

During a LIVE, viewers can buy coins and send you virtual gifts, which TikTok converts into money you can withdraw after it takes its share. When TikTok launched LIVE subscriptions in 2022, it said that "users must be over 18 to purchase a subscription and to send or receive Coins and Gifts" (Small Business Trends).

Gifts reward people who are good at live interaction: Q&As, games, music, study-with-me streams, or crafting while you chat. If you freeze up on camera, this is a hard one.

3. LIVE subscriptions

Subscriptions are a monthly payment from viewers who want more than a free follow. The same 2022 announcement says creators need to be 18 and have at least 1,000 followers to access the feature (Small Business Trends). Subscribers get a badge, custom emotes, and access to a subscriber-only chat when you turn it on.

This only works once you go live on a regular schedule. People don't pay monthly for a creator who streams twice a year.

4. TikTok Shop affiliate

This is the method that pays earliest for most people. You tag products from TikTok Shop in your videos, and you earn a commission when viewers buy. According to Shopify's guide to TikTok affiliate marketing, the US requirements are being at least 18, following TikTok's community guidelines, and having 1,000 followers. The same guide says sellers can set affiliate commission rates anywhere between 1% and 80%, so what you earn depends heavily on which products you pick.

What works: short demos of a product you actually use, before-and-after results, and "things I bought this month" videos. What doesn't: tagging random trending products you've never touched. Viewers can tell, and the FTC has rules about it (more on that below).

5. Brand deals

Brands pay creators to feature a product in a video. There is no official follower minimum. A creator with 5,000 followers in a narrow niche, like home espresso or budget travel, can be more useful to the right brand than a general account with ten times the reach.

Rates vary too much to quote a fair number, so price your first deals by asking what the brand's budget is, then counter. TikTok also runs its own marketplace where brands look for creators, but plenty of deals start with a simple email to a brand you already post about.

If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.

If you take a deal, you have to disclose it. The FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers says to disclose any financial, employment, personal, or family relationship with a brand, and free products count. For video, the disclosure should be in the video itself, not only in the caption. Words like "ad" or "sponsored" work. Vague tags like "sp" or "collab" don't.

6. Send viewers to something you own

TikTok can be the top of the funnel for something else: a digital product, a coaching offer, a newsletter, a local service, or a YouTube channel. This needs no follower count at all. A bookkeeper who posts tax tips, a baker who films orders, or a tutor who explains one math trick per video can all get paying customers with a small account.

The weak spot is that the For You feed is unpredictable, and you don't control the account rules. Build something you own (an email list, a website, a channel) so a bad month on TikTok doesn't wipe you out.

How TikTok compares with YouTube

If you're deciding between the two, the big difference is what each platform pays for.

YouTube's Partner Program needs 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days (YouTube Help). Once you're in, long-form videos earn from ads that play on them, and the creator keeps 55% of that revenue. We put real per-view numbers by niche in how much YouTube pays per view, and the full requirements are in how to get monetized on YouTube.

TikTok's per-view program has a higher follower bar (10,000 versus 1,000), and TikTok doesn't publish its rate. On the other hand, TikTok Shop affiliate and LIVE subscriptions open at 1,000 followers, and a single video can reach a lot of people on a new account.

Many people do both: short videos on TikTok to test ideas and find an audience, and longer videos on YouTube where each view keeps earning from ads for years. If you'd rather not be on camera for the long-form side, tools like VidPuff turn a title into a long-form 16:9 video with a script, narration, visuals, music, and captions, and you review and edit each stage before you upload. It doesn't make vertical TikTok videos, so it fits the YouTube half of that plan, not the TikTok half. For every way a channel earns, see how to make money on YouTube.

Scams to watch for

Once your account starts growing, you'll get messages offering paid brand partnerships. Some are real. Some are not. The FTC describes a job scam targeting influencers where a "recruiter" contacts you out of the blue, claims to work for a brand you know, offers free products and good pay, then pushes you to sign up fast and hand over personal and banking details.

Warning signs from the FTC's write-up:

• Unsolicited contact from a brand "recruiter"
• Pressure to sign before you can ask questions
• Requests for your bank details or personal information up front
• A personal email, account, or phone number that isn't tied to the company

Contact the brand yourself through its official website before you agree to anything. Also skip any service selling followers or views. The FTC took action against Devumi for selling fake followers and engagement, and fake followers won't buy anything you promote anyway.

Taxes

Money from TikTok is taxable income. In the US, if your net self-employment earnings are $400 or more in a year, you owe self-employment tax, which the IRS puts at 15.3%. Keep records of what you earn and spend from the start.

FAQ

How many followers do you need to make money on TikTok?

It depends on the method. The Creator Rewards Program needs 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days. LIVE subscriptions and TikTok Shop affiliate (in the US) open at 1,000 followers. Brand deals and selling your own product have no minimum.

How much does TikTok pay per view?

TikTok doesn't publish a fixed rate for the Creator Rewards Program. Pay depends on originality, watch time, search value, and engagement, and only videos longer than one minute qualify.

What is the fastest way to make money on TikTok as a beginner?

Selling your own product or service, because it needs no follower minimum. Once you reach 1,000 followers in the US, TikTok Shop affiliate is usually the next quickest.

Is it easier to make money on TikTok or YouTube?

TikTok can grow an audience faster, but its per-view program needs 10,000 followers. YouTube needs 1,000 subscribers plus watch hours or Shorts views, and long-form videos keep earning ad revenue long after they're posted. Many creators use both.