Want to score a fat TikTok salary? You’re not alone. With over 1 billion active users, TikTok has created a new breed of celebrities and influencers.
Teenagers like Charli D’Amelio and Khaby Lame have gone from total obscurity to making millions on TikTok. But how much can the average person expect to make on TikTok? Is hitting it big on the platform a total pipe dream?
In this guide, I’ll break down exactly how much top TikTokers make… and what it takes to start earning a real income on the app.
How the Top TikTokers Earn Their Millions
Let’s kick things off with some real-world examples. Here’s how much money some of TikTok’s biggest stars make per year:
- Charli D’Amelio: $17.5 million
- Khaby Lame: $10 million
- Addison Rae: $8.5 million
- Bella Poarch: $5 million
- Spencer X: $3.9 million
As you can see, the TikTok elite bring in staggering amounts of money from the platform. And that’s just from TikTok alone— not including their other revenue streams.
But here’s the catch: the top 5-10 TikTokers are huge outliers. For everyone else trying to make a living on the app, the financial reality is very different.
The 3 Main Ways TikTokers Make Money
TikTok has two main revenue streams built into the app: The Creator Fund and LIVE Gifts. But most successful TikTokers actually make the bulk of their income a third way: through sponsorships and brand deals.
Let’s break these down one-by-one:
1. The TikTok Creator Fund
The Creator Fund is TikTok’s way of sharing ad revenue with popular creators. The more views your videos get from users that interact with ads, the bigger your cut from the Creator Fund.
Sounds good, right? Not so fast.
The Creator Fund has fairly steep eligibility requirements:
- You need 100,000 followers
- You need 100,000 authentic video views in the last 30 days
- You need to be based in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy
- Your videos need to follow TikTok’s policies
And even if you manage to check those boxes, the Creator Fund payouts are fairly low: around 2-4 cents per 1,000 views. So while the Creator Fund is a nice bonus revenue stream, it’s not enough to live on for most creators.
2. LIVE Gifting
Another way for TikTokers to earn money is through LIVE gifting. This is where fans purchase virtual “Gifts” to send creators during their live streams. TikTok takes a cut (usually around 50%), and the creator pockets the rest.
During my research, I found several TikTokers claiming to make anywhere from $200 to $10,000 per livestream from gifting. Not bad for streaming from your living room.
The catch? Only TikTok’s biggest stars are able to command gifts at that level. For smaller creators, LIVE gifting likely amounts to a nice bonus… but not enough for a full-time TikTok salary.
3. Sponsorships and Brand Deals
This brings us to sponsorships and brand deals: by far the most lucrative income stream for TikTokers. The basic idea is brands pay creators to promote their products and services.
For example, Dunkin’ Donuts might pay a popular TikToker $100,000 to create a funny video featuring one of their coffee drinks.
Unlike the Creator Fund, there’s no income cap or eligibility requirements for sponsorships. As long as a brand thinks you’re a good fit for their product or service, you can start making money.
Star creators like Addison Rae make a reported $1 million per sponsored post. But even nano-influencers with under 10,000 followers can score brand deals worth hundreds of dollars.
Clearly, brand sponsorships open up some serious earning potential for ambitious TikTokers.
How Much Money Can You Make On TikTok?
Now that we’ve covered how TikTok’s monetization system works, let’s break down the actual income potential at different creator levels:
Nano-Influencers (<10,000 followers): At this stage, your income potential is limited to:
- Occasional brand deals ($100-500 per sponsored post)
- The TikTok Creator Fund (likely pennies)
Micro-Influencers (10,000-100,000 followers): More monetization opportunities open up, including:
- More brand sponsorships ($500-$5,000 per post)
- Affiliate marketing commissions (likely low revenue to start)
- LIVE gifting (a few hundred per month)
Macro-Influencers (100,000-500,000 followers): Macro-influencers have the potential to start earning a solid income from TikTok:
- $10,000-$30,000 per sponsored post
- $1,000+ per LIVE stream
- Affiliate commissions ($1,000-$10,000 per month)
- The Creator Fund ($1,000+ per month)
Mega-Influencers (500,000+ followers): At this stage, content creators become TikTok’s elite. Their income potential includes:
- $100K+ for sponsored posts
- Tens of thousands per LIVE stream
- Creator Fund ($10,000+ per month)
- Merchandise sales
- Book deals, TV/movie opportunities, and more
For reference, top TikToker Khaby Lame makes around $750,000 per sponsored video.
Not too shabby for a day of filming and editing. That’s $9 million per year from sponsored posts alone.
How to Maximize Your TikTok Income
Based on the numbers, here’s my advice for maximizing your TikTok earnings:
Focus on Building an Audience First
You can’t score brand deals and sponsorships without a decent audience. So your top priority should be gaining more followers and views.
For example, Addison Rae (@addisonre) had over 80 million TikTok followers when she signed a multi-movie deal with Netflix.Takeaway? Grow your account before chasing the big bucks.
Build Multiple Income Streams
Don’t rely solely on the Creator Fund or LIVE gifts. Diversify with brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, merchandise, and more.
Khaby Lame is the perfect example. With $20 million from TikTok and other opportunities, his income streams extend far beyond the app.
Stay Consistent
Viral fame on TikTok is fleeting. To turn a real TikTok salary, you need to consistently post great content over months and years. Successful creator Brittany Broski has shared that consistency was key to her multi-million dollar income.
Start Growing Your TikTok Salary Today
There’s a lot of money to be made on TikTok… but also a lot of competition. The key is treating your TikTok presence like a real business from day one.
Stay consistent, diversify your income streams, and focus on gaining a loyal following. Do that, and you’ll have a real shot at turning TikTok into a career.
