Find out how much you could earn from sponsored TikTok videos and the Creator Fund — based on your real followers and engagement rate.
Each follower tier unlocks significantly higher brand deal rates. Growing to the next level can double your earning potential.
TikTok earnings vary hugely depending on follower count, engagement rate, niche, and how you sell yourself to brands. Unlike YouTube, TikTok itself pays creators very little directly — the Creator Fund pays roughly £0.02–£0.04 per 1,000 views, so even a viral video with a million views might earn just £20–£40. The real money is in brand and sponsored deals, where a common starting benchmark is £50–£150 per 10,000 followers for a single video — and high-engagement accounts regularly command several times that rate.
| Tier | Followers | Sponsored video | 3-video deal | Creator Fund / 1M views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano | 1k–10k | £25–£250 | £60–£600 | £20–£40 |
| Micro | 10k–100k | £200–£1,500 | £500–£3,800 | £20–£40 |
| Mid-tier | 100k–500k | £1,500–£6,000 | £3,800–£15,000 | £20–£40 |
| Macro | 500k–1M | £6,000–£12,000 | £15,000–£30,000 | £20–£40 |
| Mega | 1M+ | £12,000+ | £30,000+ | £20–£40 |
The Creator Fund is the worst-paying way to earn on TikTok. It pays per view, but at a tiny rate — most creators report £0.02–£0.04 per 1,000 views. To even qualify you typically need 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last 30 days. Treat it as a small bonus, not income. The newer Creativity Program Beta pays more for longer videos, but still far less than a single brand deal.
Brand deals are where TikTok money actually comes from. A brand pays you a flat fee to feature their product in a video. Because that fee is negotiated rather than tied to a per-view rate, it scales with your audience size and — crucially — your engagement. A creator with a smaller but highly engaged audience can out-earn a much larger account with passive followers.
Engagement rate is more important than follower count. Because TikTok's For You Page pushes content beyond your followers, brands look closely at how your videos actually perform. A 20k account averaging 10% engagement can charge more than a 100k account stuck at 1% — the smaller creator simply delivers more real attention per pound.
Niche matters enormously. Finance, tech, beauty, and B2B audiences command much higher rates than general entertainment or comedy, because their viewers convert into customers. A 30k finance creator can charge what a 150k general-lifestyle creator charges.
Watch time and saves count. TikTok rewards videos people watch to the end, rewatch, and save. Strong completion rates feed the algorithm, lift your organic reach, and make your media kit more attractive to brands paying for exposure.
Audience quality and location. A UK or US audience is typically worth 2–3× a non-English-speaking audience of the same size, and a real, active follower base is worth far more than an inflated one. Brands increasingly vet engagement before signing anything — check yours with the TikTok engagement calculator before you pitch.
1. Grow to the next follower tier. Each tier jump — 10k, 100k, 500k — roughly doubles what brands will pay per video. If you're close to a threshold, getting over it can meaningfully change your rate card. You can grow your TikTok followers to reach the next milestone faster and unlock higher-paying deals.
2. Lift your engagement rate. Hook viewers in the first two seconds, use ascending trending sounds, and reply to comments in the first hour to signal conversation to the algorithm. Higher engagement lets you charge a premium for the same audience size.
3. Build a media kit. A one-page PDF with your follower count, engagement rate, audience demographics and best-performing videos is what brands expect before any conversation. It's the difference between getting ghosted and getting paid.
4. Diversify beyond the Creator Fund. Stack income streams: brand deals, affiliate links, TikTok Shop commissions, live gifts, and selling your own digital products. The most successful creators rarely rely on any single source — and almost never on the Creator Fund alone. Compare your potential with the Instagram money calculator to see where your audience is worth the most.
