TikTok isn’t just about viral dances and catchy memes – it’s also a platform where creators can earn real money. However, monetizing on TikTok works a bit differently than on YouTube or other platforms, and the number of views you need to make money can vary widely depending on how you’re making money. Here, we’ll cover the main monetization methods on TikTok – the TikTok Creator Fund, brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and other avenues – and give some insights into view counts and earnings for each.

TikTok Creator Fund: Earnings per View

The TikTok Creator Fund is the primary way TikTok pays creators directly for their content. Launched in 2021, the fund set aside a pool of money (initially around $300 million) to distribute to eligible creators based on their video views and engagement​. To join the Creator Fund, you need to meet a few criteria: you must be at least 18, have at least 10,000 followers, have accrued at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days, and adhere to TikTok’s content guidelines​. If you satisfy those, you can apply in the app and, once accepted, start earning from your videos’ views.

So, how much does TikTok pay per view? Reports from creators suggest roughly $0.02 to $0.04 per 1,000 views from the Creator Fund​. In practical terms, that means a video that blows up with 1 million views might earn on the order of only $20 to $50 from the fund​. This is a very low RPM (revenue per mille) compared to platforms like YouTube. A thousand views on TikTok literally might fetch just a few cents​. Creators have indeed shared examples like earning a couple of dollars for tens of thousands of views. For instance, a single video with 100,000 views could bring in just about $2–$5 from the Creator Fund​. In one Reddit discussion, a TikToker mentioned receiving around $50 from the Creator Fund for over 2 million cumulative views in a month​, which aligns with those per-view estimates.

Why is the payout so low? TikTok’s fund is a fixed pool divided among creators, so the more viral videos overall, the thinner the slices of pie for each view. Also, TikTok videos are short, and the platform’s monetization via ads isn’t as developed as YouTube’s. TikTok has been experimenting with ad revenue-sharing (more on that later), but the Creator Fund remains a relatively small income stream unless you regularly pull in massive views. Bottom line: if you’re aiming to “live off” TikTok’s Creator Fund, you’d likely need millions of views on every video, consistently. A few viral hits alone won’t pay the bills. Creators who do succeed with the fund usually post very frequently and rack up hundreds of millions of views over time – and even then, many treat it as supplemental income.

One thing to note is that Creator Fund earnings can depend on factors beyond just the raw view count. TikTok’s payout formula is not public, but creators have observed that it takes into account engagement and watch time to some extent​. Views that come from real, engaged users (as opposed to bot views or quick swipes) are likely weighted more. So, a video that gets people watching till the end or repeatedly might earn a bit more than a video with the same number of quick, low-engagement views. TikTok also currently only pays for views from certain regions (originally US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain – the countries where the fund was launched). Views outside those regions might not count toward earnings. All this means the revenue per view is not a strict fixed rate, but $0.02–$0.04 per 1k is a good ballpark based on many creators’ reports​.

Brand Sponsorships and Influencer Partnerships

While the Creator Fund might buy you a coffee here and there, the real money on TikTok often comes from brand deals and sponsorships. Brands are eager to tap into TikTok’s huge user base, and they partner with popular creators to do so. If you scroll through TikTok, you’ll often see influencers promoting products – from wearing a certain fashion brand, to doing a challenge sponsored by a company, to outright ads where they talk about a service. These are typically paid collaborations.

The amount you can earn from a brand sponsorship scales with your follower count and average views. There’s no set rate card across the board; it’s negotiated between the creator and the brand (or via influencer marketplaces). As a rough guideline, micro-influencers (say ~10k followers) might earn tens to a couple of hundred dollars per sponsored post, mid-level influencers (hundreds of thousands of followers) might earn a few hundred to a few thousand dollars for a campaign, and top-tier TikTokers with millions of followers can command $5,000, $10,000, or far more for a single promotional video​. In fact, the highest-paid TikTok stars earn millions annually primarily from brand partnerships. Charli D’Amelio, for example, was estimated to have earned about $17.5 million in 2021 from various deals and ventures​ – a large chunk of that is from sponsorships and her own product lines, not from TikTok’s internal monetization. Another TikToker, Addison Rae, reportedly made around $5 million in a year through brand deals, music, and other projects. These numbers are outliers for celebrity creators, but they illustrate that sponsorship money vastly exceeds Creator Fund payouts for those who attain TikTok fame.

Even if you’re not a megastar, brand deals can be lucrative. Many companies will pay smaller creators in the range of $100 to $1000 per post if they have a decent niche following. For example, a fitness gear company might pay a fitness TikToker with 50k followers a few hundred dollars to feature their product in a workout video. Some reports suggest that a good rule of thumb is about $0.01 to $0.02 per follower for a sponsored TikTok post as a starting point for negotiation (so an account with 100k followers might ask for ~$1,000 per post). But again, actual fees can vary. Engagement rate matters too – if your videos regularly get a very high number of likes, comments, and shares, you can charge more because your audience is clearly tuned-in. Brands sometimes care more about views per video than follower count. For instance, if you “only” have 50k followers but reliably get 1 million views on videos via the For You Page virality, you’re delivering reach beyond your follower number and can price accordingly.

One more avenue under the brand partnership umbrella is using TikTok’s Creator Marketplace, a platform TikTok itself provides to connect brands with creators. This can simplify the process and also gives you an idea of what brands are willing to pay for certain deliverables. It’s worth building a media kit as you grow – basically a resume for your TikTok that highlights your stats (follower count, average views, audience demographics, engagement rate) and any past brand work, which you can show to potential sponsors.

In terms of views needed: there’s no strict view threshold to get a brand deal – it’s more about having a convincing case that you can reach and influence an audience. Some creators with only a few viral videos and modest follower counts have gotten one-off deals because a brand wanted to ride the wave of a specific trend. However, sustained partnerships usually come once you’ve established at least a mid-sized following and consistent view counts. If you are consistently hitting hundreds of thousands of views, brands will be coming to you. Even at 100k views per video, you become attractive for smaller-scale endorsements, which could net say $50–$500 a post as mentioned​. At the multi-million view level, you’re looking at much bigger potential paychecks – a creator with a 10 million view viral hit could land sponsorships in the thousands of dollars range for follow-up content​.

Affiliate Marketing on TikTok

Affiliate marketing is another popular way to monetize TikTok content, and it doesn’t necessarily require joining official programs or having a huge follower count – just the ability to persuade viewers to take action. Affiliate marketing means you, as the creator, promote a product or service and provide a special link or code. When someone uses your link to make a purchase, you earn a commission from the sale. Many companies have affiliate programs, and there are networks like Amazon Associates, CJ, or ShareASale where you can find products to promote that fit your niche​.

On TikTok, affiliate marketing often takes the form of product recommendation videos. For example, a beauty influencer might do a makeup tutorial and include a link in their bio or a link-in-bio tool (like Linktree) where viewers can buy the featured products. If viewers buy, the influencer gets a cut. TikTok even introduced a feature called TikTok Shop in some regions, allowing direct affiliate product links on videos, making it easier to shop right inside the app. There’s also the TikTok “Shop” affiliate program where creators can partner with sellers to showcase products in exchange for commissions.

The revenue from affiliate marketing is not directly tied to view count in a linear way, but obviously more views can mean more potential buyers. What matters is the conversion rate – how many of those viewers actually click your link and purchase. This depends on how compelling your content and recommendation are, and whether the product is a good fit for the audience. You could have a video with 1 million views that earns nothing if nobody is interested in buying the product you pitched. Conversely, a video with just 5,000 targeted views (say, a niche gadget review) could net hundreds of dollars in affiliate commissions if, for example, 100 people decide to buy a $50 gadget and you get a 10% commission on each (that would be $5 * 100 = $500).

To give a sense of numbers: many affiliate programs offer anywhere from 5% to 30% commission on a sale, depending on the product’s profit margins. Some high-priced items or services (like online courses or software subscriptions) might give a fixed bounty, like $20 per sign-up. Let’s say you promote a product with a $10 commission per sale. If 1% of viewers of a TikTok video end up buying (which is a fairly decent conversion rate on a viral social video), then:

  • 10,000 views -> 100 buyers -> $1,000
  • 100,000 views -> 1,000 buyers -> $10,000
    These are very rough and optimistic calculations, but they illustrate that affiliate earnings can scale with views but are heavily influenced by engagement and audience targeting. In reality, conversion rates might be much lower than 1% for cold traffic, but smart creators often funnel truly interested followers to their affiliate links (for example, by responding to comments asking “where do I get this?” with the link, etc.).

Real-world examples: A TikTok creator in the tech gadget space might earn a few hundred dollars a month recommending items from Amazon (many such anecdotes exist on forums, with some saying a single viral product video gave them a $300-$500 Amazon affiliate bump). Another example is in fashion/beauty, where creators use affiliate links via LiketoKnowIt (LTK) or similar platforms – a fashion try-on haul that gets, say, 50k views could drive a few dozen sales of various clothing items, earning the creator maybe $100-$200 in commissions. Over multiple videos, this adds up. Some dedicated affiliate marketers on TikTok share their earnings journeys; for instance, one might report “$~240 earned in the first week of trying TikTok affiliate marketing”​, while others have hit figures like $10k in a month through a combination of high volume content and savvy product selection​.

The upshot: you don’t necessarily need millions of views to make money with affiliate marketing, but you do need an audience that trusts your recommendations. Often, this method works hand-in-hand with having a focused niche. If your TikTok account is all about home cooking and you routinely get, say, 20k-30k views on recipe videos, you might do well promoting a particular blender or kitchen tool – even a modest view count can convert to sales because your viewers are interested in cooking. On the other hand, if you just randomly promote a product that has nothing to do with your 100k-view comedy skit, you might hear crickets. Successful TikTok affiliate marketers tailor the products to their content theme and audience interests.

Other Monetization Methods (Live Gifting, Merch, and More)

Beyond the Creator Fund, sponsorships, and affiliate links, TikTok creators have a few other avenues to monetize their presence:

  • TikTok LIVE Gifts (Diamonds): When you go live on TikTok, viewers can send you virtual gifts (stickers of varying coin values that cost real money to purchase). TikTok converts these gifts into Diamonds in your account. You can then redeem Diamonds for cash. The conversion rate as of now is such that each Diamond is worth $0.05 USD​. TikTok takes a cut (they keep roughly 50% of the gift’s face value; that’s why if someone spends 500 coins on you, you get 250 coins worth, which equals $12.50)​. The minimum threshold to withdraw is $100 (so you’d need 2,000 Diamonds). Live gifting can be quite lucrative if you have devoted fans – some users report making a few hundred dollars during a single live session when they have a few thousand viewers actively gifting. However, it greatly depends on the generosity of your audience. Typically, creators who do well with LIVE gifts are those who interact a lot on live streams (chatting, doing Q&As, or talents like singing) and often encourage viewers to send gifts for shoutouts or milestones. It’s somewhat akin to how Twitch streamers earn with donations and subscriptions.
  • Creator Next and Tips: TikTok has the Creator Next program which, once you’re eligible (1,000 followers and other criteria), opens up features like direct tipping on your profile and video gifts (people can gift Diamonds on regular videos, not just lives). Direct tips allow followers to send money to creators (via services like Stripe) in small amounts as appreciation. This is not based on views at all – it’s more like Patreon-style support or just one-off tips. It’s a newer feature and how much you make depends solely on your fans’ willingness to tip.
  • TikTok Pulse (Ad Revenue Sharing): In 2022, TikTok introduced Pulse, an advertising program that shares revenue with creators. Pulse places ads next to the top 4% of videos on TikTok (sort of like YouTube’s Partner Program but much more limited so far). To be eligible, you need at least 100k followers and consistently high-performing videos. If you’re in Pulse, you get a 50% cut of ad revenue for ads shown adjacent to your videos. Some creators have shared their Pulse earnings – and they tend to be relatively modest unless you rack up tens of millions of views. For example, one creator mentioned earning around $300 from 3 million views via Pulse (this can fluctuate). It’s still rolling out and not everyone can join, but it’s something that might expand in the future, making TikTok more like YouTube in terms of paying for ad views. If Pulse becomes widely available, then view counts will matter more directly for income (through ad CPMs).
  • Selling Merchandise or Services: Many TikTokers leverage their fame to sell things off TikTok. This isn’t an in-app feature, but you can promote your own merchandise (T-shirts, hats, custom products, etc.) or drive traffic to an Etsy shop, online course, or any business you run. For instance, a comedian on TikTok might sell a line of funny merch with their catchphrases, or a music artist might promote their songs on Spotify/Apple (earning streaming revenue indirectly from TikTok exposure). If you have, say, 10,000 highly engaged followers, you might not make much from the Creator Fund, but if even 100 of them buy a $25 T-shirt you designed, that’s $2,500 in revenue (minus costs) – which dwarfs what 10k followers would get you via TikTok’s built-in monetization. Many creators open online storefronts or use print-on-demand services to sell merch once they have a dedicated fan base.
  • Cross-Platform Monetization: TikTok can also serve as a springboard to grow audiences on other platforms that are easier to monetize. A lot of TikTok creators will link their YouTube or Twitch in their bio. For example, a DIY crafts TikToker might use their TikTok virals to funnel subscribers to their YouTube channel, where even a few thousand views can earn ad revenue. Or a comedy skit creator might plug their Instagram for branded content deals there, or get listeners to a podcast they host (which could have sponsorships). In these cases, the “views needed” on TikTok is just enough to attract people to those other channels. Essentially, you monetize the fame, not the TikTok views themselves.

In conclusion, the number of views you need to make money on TikTok depends on the monetization strategy. If we talk strictly the TikTok Creator Fund – you need a lot of views (think in the millions per month) to see significant income, since it pays only a few cents per thousand views​. But TikTok’s real money-making potential comes with leverage: leveraging your audience for brand deals, affiliate sales, fan support, or external opportunities. A creator with moderate views but strong influence can earn more through a single sponsorship or product launch than through months of Creator Fund payouts. On the flip side, a creator with massive viral reach can monetize in multiple ways in parallel – for example, a TikTok with 10 million views might earn $300 from the Creator Fund, but also lead to $5,000 in a sponsorship, $1,000 in affiliate sales, and some merch buys on top, which suddenly makes that viral video extremely valuable when you add it all up.

So, if you’re aiming to make money on TikTok, focus less on hitting an arbitrary view count and more on building an engaged community and diversified income streams. Generally, reaching that first 100k follower milestone (and correspondingly a few million total likes) is a good indicator that you have enough of an audience to start monetizing seriously. But even before that, you can earn in small ways (maybe a $50 affiliate commission here, a $20 Live gift there). Every bit can add up as you grow. And importantly, success on TikTok can be fickle – one month you could get 5 million views, the next month 50k – so sustainable monetization often means converting fleeting virality into something more consistent (like long-term brand partnerships or cross-platform followers).