We’ve all seen those videos of TikTokers talking about making thousands of dollars a month. Influencers constantly make the news for earning hundreds of thousands of dollars a year (sometimes more) just from their social accounts and brand deals. But how much of this is true? How much money can you make on TikTok really?
The answer may surprise you.
How Much Money Can You Make on TikTok?
How much money can you make on TikTok? Let’s look at the raw data. According to ZipRecruiter, the average annual pay for a TikTok influencer in the US is $131,874 per year.
Their data also shows that salaries can reach as high as $228,500 per year or as low as $68,500 annually. But most earn somewhere between $117,500 and $145,000.
But data from other sources tell a different story. For example, NeoReach’s Creator Earnings and Industry Report show the following:
- 50.7% earned less than $15,000
- 13.51% earned between $50,000 and $75,000
- 9.72% earned between $100,000 and $150,000
- 5.69% earned $200,000 or more
The numbers are all over the place when it comes to TikTok earnings. But that’s because influencer pay varies from one creator to the next and one month to the next.
But generally, TikTok can be a highly lucrative way to make money online, especially if you have multiple streams of income.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “But how do creators get paid?”
How Creators Get Paid on TikTok
There are multiple ways for creators to build income streams from their TikTok presence. Here are the top avenues.
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The Creator Rewards Program
Whenever you see posts answering the question “how much money can you make on TikTok?,” they usually focus on the Creator Rewards Program.
Under this program, eligible creators can earn rewards. Here’s what you need to know about this program:
- RPMs commonly hit $0.40-$1 per 1,000 views
- Only videos that are at least 1 minute long qualify, and they must hit 1,000 valid views on the For You feed to start earning
- Videos must be viewed for at least five seconds for it to count
- Only videos that are truly unique get rewarded
To be eligible, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Have an account in good standing
- Have at least 10k followers and a minimum of 100k video views in the past 30 days
Many creators report making $2,000-$3,000+ per month from the Creator Rewards Program. But it’s important to note that this program is just one of many income streams creators have.
Going Live
Along with the Creator Rewards Program, you can also make money by going live on TikTok. If your account is eligible, viewers can gift you Diamonds during your lifestream, which you can trade in for coins and then real money.
If you have an engaged audience, going live can easily become a lucrative monetization method.
TikTok says you can get $1 for every 100 Diamonds you exchange.
But to qualify, you must be 18+ years old and have:
- 1,000+ followers
- Videos that pass safety moderation
- An account that has been active for at least 30 days and has no political ties
Sell Merchandise as a TikTok Shop Affiliate
The TikTok Shop affiliate program is quickly becoming one of the top ways to make money on this social platform.
In fact, this one creator sells $750k worth of merchandise every month on TikTok and clears around $100k+ from her sales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viUC0oKOsDM&pp=0gcJCRMMAYcqIYzv
TikTokers can make money this way by adding product links to their videos and promoting these products either through livestreams or in their video content. Each time someone purchases a product from your content, you earn commissions.
To succeed with this revenue stream, you need to have the right product and an engaged audience.
Beauty products and apparel are routinely top sellers.
To be eligible, you need to:
- Have at least 1,000 followers
- Be at least 18 years old and based in the US
- Have no prior record of having e-commerce permissions revoked
- Pass the Creator Identity Verification process
TikTok Go
TikTok Go is a new way to earn money from TikTok, especially if you’re a travel creator. TikTok Go is a discovery and booking feature that’s built directly into the app. People can browse experiences, check availability and then complete their bookings without leaving the app.
How can TikTokers capitalize on this feature? By creating videos about these types of businesses and adding a location tag. When a viewer books through a link in your clip, you earn commission.
Right now, the feature is only available to US users and official booking partners are Booking.com, Expedia, Viator, GetYourGuide, Trip.com and Tiqets.
There are no restrictions on this one. You just have to be at least 18 years old and not have any violations on the app’s community guidelines.
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Brand Sponsorships
Influencer marketing helps you earn a lot of money, if you can land a deal. For example, you’ll see that some of the top paid TikTokers make $50,000 starting for each post for a brand. Sponsored collaborations and brand deals are landed in a few ways:
- Reach out to brand
- Grow your following and receive offers
You may be required to create a video about the product or service. Sponsorships rely heavily on the number of followers that you have and the level of engagement. Consider adding terms into your contract that give you a larger payout if certain milestones are met, such as making X sales or having X% of engagement.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliates earn a lot of money by promoting products through their own custom links. For example, let’s assume that you’re a fitness influencer and you promote a $500 set of adjustable dumbbells via a link.
You might even create a video where you promote the dumbbell and give your followers a discount.
Hypothetically, the company offers you 5% to 10% of each sale, or $25 to $50.
Of course, your commissions may be much lower, but it is niche dependent. TikTok makes it easy to earn affiliate income via the platform’s in-shopping features. But you can also post external links in your profile, like to Amazon for example, and earn money that way.
I recommend adding affiliate marketing to your overall income streams because it adds an additional layer of protection to your finances. Some industries perform better than others, with top options including:
- Beauty
- Fashion
- Gadgets
- Tech
But you’ll find affiliate marketing options in almost every niche.
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Real-World Examples: How Much Top TikTokers Make
TikTokers make around $0.40 to $1 per 1k views, which is much higher than in the past when payouts were a maximum of $0.04 for the same number of views. If you add in a high number of followers, partnerships and brand deals, on top of the creator program, you can make a lot of money.
Here are a few real-world examples of TikTokers and just how much money they earn:
A heaping 162+ million followers have helped Khaby become a household name. Earnings per video with brand collaborations are up to $750,000, with partnerships including State Farm and Hugo Boss.
Earnings each year are around $16 – $20 million, according to most estimates.
In January 2026, he received over $975 million in stock, which skyrocketed to over $6 billion before the stock went on a downward trend. While Khaby’s success is hard to replicate, it shows the possibility of building a brand online.
Charli is on top of the world with over 159 million followers and a name known across the world. She is estimated to earn $17.5 million a year with brand deals, her own brand and a reality television show.
Earnings per sponsored post start at a minimum of $100,000.
Jimmy Donaldson is already a household name, and while he is not the largest TikToker in the world, he is the world’s most popular YouTuber. His cross-platform success has led to 96.5 million followers on TikTok with monthly earnings of $175,000 to $240,000.
But when you add in his investments, merchandise, YouTube earnings and other income streams, Forbes estimates that he earns $85 million annually and takes less than $1 million for himself.
His money is tied into the equity of his personal brand and company, which is estimated to be worth $5 billion.
Addison has 87.8 million followers, down over 600,000 from just a few years ago. Brand deals make her a lot of money, with annual earnings estimated at $3.4 million. Rae has done a lot more than just build a TikTok following.
Once she started to gain fame, she transitioned to:
- Acting
- Singing
- Social media personality
Adding to her income is an estimated $52,000 to $88,000+ per post she makes on TikTok.
TikTokers who just post content and don’t pursue other income streams still make a lot of money. Earning $50,000+ per post would be life-changing money for many people, but the real wealth comes from your brand.
Transition from TikToker to business owner with a brand that sponsors are more than happy to pay for their own promotions.
