
How many TikTok followers you need to start making money
TikTok has exploded in popularity and some users are looking for ways to cash in.- Creators turn to TikTok's built-in monetization tools, brand deals, and song promos to make money.
TikTok has grown dramatically over the past few years, crossing one billion monthly active users in 2021.
Along the way, it's created a new generation of digital stars like Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae Easterling who converted their TikTok fame into lucrative business empires.
But you don't need to have millions of fans to start making money on TikTok. There are myriad ways that users of the app can get paid, from using built-in monetization features to joining promotional campaigns for brands and music marketers.
For example, TikToker Lucy Davis, who has around 578,000 followers, told Insider she earns between $20 and $300 each time she livestreams on the app. (Read more about how much Davis earns.)
Making money directly from TikTok
TikTok offers built-in monetization tools for
TikTok requires that creators have a certain number of followers and views to access these features:
- To join TikTok's creator fund: a creator must be 18 years or older, have at least 10,000 followers, and have achieved at least 100,000 video views in a 30-day period.
- To receive virtual "gifts" during a livestream: a creator must be 18 years or older and have at least 1,000 followers.
- To receive "gifts" on other videos: a creator must be at least 18 years old and have at least 100,000 followers.
- To receive "tips": a creator must be at least 18 years old and have at least 100,000 followers.
The amount that an influencer can earn from each feature is unpredictable.
For payments from TikTok's creator fund, the company takes into account a variety of factors, such as video views, video engagement, the location in which a video was seen, and total participants in its program.
Some creators who have disclosed their TikTok creator fund earnings, including Hank Green, said they were paid a few cents for every one thousand views they generated on the app.
Read more about what creators are saying about TikTok's creator fund payouts
"When I saw such a low amount of money generated, it really made me feel less about myself," TikTok creator Kevin Yatsushiro told Insider. "It was a huge blow to my mental health ... it made me not want to create content anymore."
When asked about creators' concerns around low fund payouts, a TikTok spokesperson said the company understood "how important it is that our creators are appreciated for their work and look to our creator community for valuable feedback to better serve their needs." They pointed to other monetization features like live subscriptions that are available to users.
- Jakey Boehm (680,000 followers) explains how he makes money by sleeping on TikTok livestreams
- Vi Luong (1 million followers) shares her monthly earnings from TikTok's Creator Fund
- Lifestyle influencer Victoria Paris (1.4 million followers) shares her earnings from the Creator Fund
- Personal finance influencer Preston Seo (around 2.3 million followers) shares his Creator Fund earnings
- MrBeast (40.2 million followers), Hank Green (6.8 million followers), and other top creators share pay rates from the Creator Fund
- ASMR creator Lucy Davis (around 607,000 followers) shares how much she earns from TikTok livestreams
Making money by working with brands, marketers, and tech platforms
TikTok creators with just a few thousand followers can also make money by working directly with brands.
Jalyn Baiden, an Instagram and TikTok influencer with around 19,000 followers on TikTok, told Insider that she's earned over $26,000 from sponsorships, commissioned content for brands, and affiliate marketing.
- Jalyn Baiden (19,400 followers) shares her rate for TikTok sponsored videos
- Tejas Hullur (585,000 followers) on the six revenue streams he set up after growing on TikTok
- Tbe Jikaria sisters (627,000 followers) explain how much they've earned through sponsorships
- Harry Raftus (1.4 million followers) on how beer-chugging videos helped him win alcohol-related brand deals
- Deanna Giulietti (1.7 million followers) signs an average of 10 to 15 sponsored deals a month, depending on time of year

Making money through sponsored song challenges
Other TikTok influencers can earn money by participating in sponsored challenges, an
Preffy and Pearpop pay users on a sliding scale based on the number of views and "likes" they drive to a video featuring a song or brand, rather than offering an upfront flat fee to a single influencer. TikTok has been testing its own version of challenges that it's dubbed "Branded Missions." The company told Insider it's experimenting with different payment models and that "boosted traffic" will also be considered a form of compensation.
"The initial way influencer marketing would work would be you would go and pay a few people with big followings, but it would be like throwing a few big logs onto a non-existent fire," Pearpop's cofounder Cole Mason told Insider. "With challenges, there's a way to actually start the fire."
Read more about how TikTok creators make money from song promotions:
- Music marketers are using a new TikTok strategy to make song 'challenges' go viral
- Influencers and marketers share rates for song promotions on TikTok
- Why hydraulic press videos and DIY slime posts are useful for promoting music on TikTok
- Music marketers are increasingly turning to micro influencers over big stars to promote tracks
- 2 music marketers discuss how much TikTok influencers can earn from song promotions