I recently hit the milestone of 100k followers on TikTok after 8 months of hard work and learning. Along the way, I discovered some valuable insights on how much you can earn and the best ways to monetize your TikTok account.

TikTok Creator Fund Calculator

You may have come across various websites claiming to have calculators that estimate your earnings on TikTok. However, based on my experience, these calculators are far from accurate. They are designed to generate ad revenue for the websites themselves, rather than providing you with reliable information. Once you start earning on TikTok, it becomes much easier to gauge how much you will actually earn.

How much can you really earn on TikTok?

Contrary to popular belief, the number of followers you have on TikTok does not necessarily determine your income. Your earnings depend on your video views and engagement, primarily views. TikTok’s unique platform operates differently from other major players like YouTube and Instagram. When you follow someone on TikTok, their videos may not always appear at the top of your feed (although they might occasionally appear on your “For You” page).

This means that TikTok is a highly competitive platform, offering ample opportunities for content creators with relatively low follower counts to gain views and followers. While followers do contribute to your success, they have relatively little impact on your income.

Generally, TikTok pays creators between 0.01 and 0.04 per 1000 views. In other words, for one million views, the average creator will earn approximately £25 / $30. I have extensively tested this and found it to be the most accurate data, although it’s worth mentioning that viral videos sometimes earn significantly less. This decrease can be attributed to a drop in engagement as your content reaches a wider audience, which may not be as interested in your specific niche.

How to monetize your TikTok account

Now that you have a better understanding of how much you can earn on TikTok, let’s explore how to actually make money on the platform. To start generating revenue, you need to reach a minimum of 10,000 followers. While it may seem challenging, it’s definitely attainable with the right strategies. Personally, my first viral video boosted my follower count from 200 to 6000 within just two days. In addition to video views, you can also earn money from live gifts, and once you reach 100k followers, you can earn through video gifts (although I haven’t received any yet).

How to land on the “For You” page

The “For You” page is the homepage where users land when they open the TikTok app. It contains a continuous stream of videos that users can swipe through without needing to follow anyone. The videos shown on this page are selected based on users’ previous interactions, such as likes, comments, and shares.

To have your videos featured on the “For You” page and potentially go viral, you need to create content with excellent watch time. The more users watch your videos in their entirety, the higher the likelihood of your content being showcased and gaining massive views. On the other hand, if your videos have a poor watch completion rate, they will not land on the “For You” page, and views will mostly come from your own profile views and followers.

Videos that are between 1 to 21 seconds long are expected to have near 100% watch time to secure a spot on the “For You” page. The first 2 seconds of your video are crucial, as they determine whether a user will continue watching or scroll past. In my experience, videos lasting between 7 to 11 seconds tend to perform the best. On the contrary, videos longer than 20 seconds rarely perform well.

TikTok vs. YouTube: How do they compare in terms of earnings?

Comparing earnings on YouTube to TikTok can be misleading, as they are fundamentally different platforms. YouTube has been around for a much longer time, making it challenging to grow a following. However, once you do establish a substantial audience, the difference in income between the two platforms becomes quite significant. YouTube heavily relies on ad revenue, with most videos featuring at least two ads, enabling them to offer creators greater earnings.

On the other hand, TikTok has fewer ads and is generally easier to grow on. It provides an equal opportunity for all creators, unlike YouTube. YouTube creators can expect to earn around £4/$3 per thousand views, while TikTok creators make approximately 0.01 – 0.04 per 1000 views. Additionally, to start earning on YouTube, creators need to amass at least 1000 subscribers, a feat that can take a considerable amount of time, even for experienced content creators.

How much can you make with 100K followers on TikTok?

Based on basic calculations, you can expect to earn around $500 per month with 100k followers, as long as you achieve approximately 18 million views monthly. This translates to an average of around 650k views per day. To put this into perspective, if you were to accumulate 18 million views on YouTube, you could expect to earn around £80,000 / $100,000.

Many creators now opt to start on TikTok to build an audience and eventually expand to both platforms. By leveraging TikTok’s growing popularity and then transitioning to YouTube, content creators can maximize their earning potential and reach a wider audience.

So, if you’ve been wondering how much you can earn with 100K followers on TikTok, keep in mind that your income is heavily influenced by video views and engagement, rather than simply the number of followers you have. With dedication, strategic content creation, and effective monetization techniques, you can unlock the earning potential of TikTok and turn your passion into profit.

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