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As TikTok has exploded into the mainstream, top creators on the platform have found ways to generate lucrative incomes through their large, influential follower bases. But how much are the highest paid TikTokers actually making?
In this 2,000+ word guide as a social media marketing expert, I‘ll analyze exactly how much money the top TikTok stars are earning per year and how they monetize their audience across income streams like sponsorships, live streams, merchandising and more. You‘ll learn:
- How much the highest paid TikTokers like Charli D‘Amelio, Addison Rae and others earn per year
- What a typical payout looks like per sponsored TikTok post
- How much certain creators are making from TikTok LIVE per broadcast
- Other monetization strategies beyond brand sponsorships
- Estimates of the platform‘s overall ad and creator economy value
Let‘s get right into the numbers!
Just How Much Are Top Creators Earning?
The highest paid TikTok creators are easily clearing millions of dollars per year from their various income channels fuelled by their viewership and influence. But what do some of those top creator annual earnings look like specifically?
According to calculations based on follower counts, average views and estimated sponsorship payouts, here‘s what major TikTok stars stand to earn per year:
| Creator | Followers | Estimated Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Charli D‘Amelio | 70M | $4-9 million |
| Addison Rae | 50M | $3-6 million |
| Zach King | 45M | $2-4 million |
| Loren Gray | 45M | $2-3 million |
These estimates indicate that the very top creators are making multi-million dollar incomes from their channels and influence. Even creators in the mid-upper follower count tiers of 5-20 million followers have the potential to earn hundreds of thousands to millions per year as well.
But just how do TikTok creators convert their audience reach into so much money? What do those revenue channels look like?
Breaking Down Top Creators‘ Revenue Streams
While TikTok itself does not have a partner program for sharing ad revenue with creators like YouTube does, there are a variety of income stream opportunities for personalities to leverage their follower bases:
1. Sponsored TikTok Posts
This remains one of the top money makers for leading creators on the platform.
For sponsored posts, brands will typically pay creators based on Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM), which means how much the brand will pay per 1000 views on the content. Average CPMs on platforms like Instagram tend to run $5-$10 for influencers, but TikTok‘s CPMs tend to be much lower since it is still an emerging platform.
Even with lower CPMs, creators with over 10 million followers can still easily charge over $30,000 per post, sometimes even up to $100,000+.
To break this down, if we assume an average CPM of $3 and a creator has 10 million followers and averages 10 million video views, that‘s:
10,000,000 (views) / 1000 x $3 (CPM) = $30,000 per sponsored post
And the more followers and engagement a creator has, the higher those payouts climb.
2. TikTok LIVE Revenue
TikTok LIVE allows creators to earn revenue when fans purchase and gift virtual "coins" during their broadcasts, which can then be exchanged for cash.
Payouts per LIVE session vary based on follower counts and engagement, but based on estimates, here is what major stars can expect to earn:
- Charli D‘Amelio – With 70M+ highly engaged followers, Charli likely earns $15,000-$30,000 per TikTok LIVE session through gifted coins and donations
- Addison Rae – Given her similar level of followers and engagement, Addison likely earns around $10,000-$25,000 per broadcast
- Zach King – Earning slightly less but still sizeable sums, Zach likely takes home $5,000-$15,000 per LIVE video
As you can see, top creators are making an enormous supplemental income through TikTok LIVE alone, even if they only go live 1-2 times per week.
3. Merchandise Sales
Another way personalities are able to generate sizeable revenues is through merchandise sales. Many top creators like Charli and Addison have launched their own merch lines selling hoodies, t-shirts, phone cases and other products.
Profit margins on owned merchandise tends to be much higher than on sponsored content. Even with moderate sales volumes across their vast follower bases, top personalities earn enormous supplemental incomes from eCommerce merchandising.
Additionally, whenever new merch drops occur, creators will promote the new gear across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other channels which drives massive bursts of sales activity and revenue.
4. YouTube Ad Revenue
Lastly, for top creators who also have major YouTube subscriber bases in the millions, they are able to drive traffic from TikTok over to their YouTube channels. There, they can earn 55% revenue share payouts from YouTube ads running against their content.
With over 1 million YouTube subscribers and high view counts, creators can easily earn over $60,000 per month just from YouTube ads. TikTok fame is the perfect way to fuel YouTube creator incomes.
Total Annual Earnings in the Millions
Combining income from all of these sources – sponsored content, TikTok LIVE gifting, merch sales, YouTube ad share – it‘s evident how top personalities can grow vast earnings empires leveraging their follower bases across multiple platforms and income streams.
This is how the very top creators are able to scale their annual incomes up into the millions of dollars per year. But even those with more modest yet sizeable followings of hundreds of thousands to a few million can earn great livings as full-time creators as well.
You Don‘t Need Millions To Start Making Money
While it‘s certainly alluring to imagine having Charli and Addison levels of income with tens of millions of followers, it is still possible to earn great money from TikTok without such a massive user base.
Creators looking to start making supplemental or even full-time incomes from TikTok should focus on these key strategies:
Go LIVE Frequently
As noted earlier, TikTok LIVE enables creators to earn revenue through virtual gifts and tips from viewers. While payouts likely won‘t be as high without millions of followers, consistent LIVE broadcasting to even a small dedicated follower base of low thousands can drive nice side revenue.
I‘ve seen examples of creators with just ~5,000 truly dedicated followers making ~$400 per week from going live daily. It adds up, and gifts tend to snowball the longer you broadcast as peer pressure sets in!
Offer Shoutouts to Followers
Offer custom video shoutouts to followers for tips of $5-20+. The key is having niche interests/personality that followers will pay a bit extra to get noticed by. You likely won‘t make a full-time income from shoutouts, but it can make solid supplementary money.
Promote Affiliate Links
If you have a reasonably engaged, targeted audience in the low thousands, you can recommend relevant affiliate products, courses or services and earn commissions from clicks. These small affiliate income streams collectively can drive nice revenues.
Sell Custom Merchandise
Having your own merch line likely won‘t work without a larger following, but you can potentially offer small batch drops of gear customized to a niche tribe. Think meme shirts for groups obsessed with internet culture as an example.
Cross-Promote Other Channels
This remains one of the best strategies – drive audiences from TikTok over to other monetized channels whether YouTube, Instagram, websites, etc. Building assets across multiple platforms boosts money-making capabilities.
Ultimately, while striking it rich with millions of TikTok followers provides the best income upside, creators can absolutely start building real revenue streams in the hundreds to low thousands of dollars per month range by applying some hustle and tactics.
The Rapid Growth of TikTok‘s Ad Economy
Stepping back beyond just creator incomes, it‘s also important to examine the massive gains being made in TikTok‘s overall advertising business. This wider ad growth also continues expanding opportunities for creators.
As per reports, TikTok generated $3 billion in ad revenue in 2021. While dwarfed by other major platforms, TikTok‘s momentum here is notable as the platform continues surging in broader user counts.
Additionally, Sensor Tower estimates suggest TikTok users spent approximately $2.3 billion in-app in 2021 as well, primarily driven by creators‘ LIVE video gifts noted earlier.
As TikTok further commercializes and rolls out additional ad products like brand sponsorships, branded AR lenses/filters and more, its ad business is projected to grow to over $12 billion+ by 2024.
And the benefits of this ad economy expansion translates into more campaigns, brand interest andCreator Fund funding looking to tap into TikTok‘s vibrant creator scene. Top personalities stand to earn even higher incomes as investment grows.
So for creators and influencers, this is welcome news as TikTok continues its meteoric rise to seriously challenge the likes of Instagram, YouTube and more for video dominance. The money-making landscape on TikTok will only continue improving in coming years.
Final Thoughts
As TikTok cements itself as a pillar of the social video ecosystem, the opportunity for creators to build viewer followings and monetize them into lucrative revenue channels grows exponentially. While striking it ultra rich like Charli and Addison with tens of millions of engaged followers would be an incredible feat, the platform offers real income-generating potential for creators at all audience sizes.
Between TikTok LIVE gifting, smart cross-channel promotion, niche merchandise plays, affiliate promotions and potentially viral hits that boost visibility, determined creators have found proven formulas to extract incomes in the hundreds to thousands+ per month from their viewer bases.
And as TikTok continues maturing its advertisement network, Creator Fund incentives and overall commercial opportunities, its money-making prospects will only keep improving.
The key is putting in the hard work upfront to build that initial viewer base through consistently entertaining, engaging content. But once a creator starts actively accumulating followers in the thousands and tens of thousands ranges, small businesses can be built upon those tribe foundations.
