TikTok Creator Rewards Program
Originally known as the Creator Fund, TikTok revamped its Creator rewards program. During its remodel, the program was temporarily called the ‘Creativity Program Beta’ before switching to the Creator Rewards Program. This was an initiative to improve its monetization action by rewarding creators for original, authentic content.
This post explains how the Creator Rewards program works, and how eligible participants can sign up to earn money through their content.
What is the TikTok Creator Fund?
The TikTok Creator Fund was launched in 2020 and has allowed certain viral TikTok creators to earn money through their content. The fund is designed to support creators in producing high-quality content and to incentivize them to continue creating engaging videos for their audience.
It took three whole years and enough backlash from a pool of TikTok content creators for them to end the program completely. On top of several other unclear guidelines, monetizing content impossible but performance was based merely on view count.
TikTok released longer videos in 2022, accommodating for longer-form storytelling. The TikTok community now spends 50% of their time watching videos longer than a minute. The Creator Rewards Program is designed to encourage user engagement through original, long-form video content.
This program is a revenue-sharing program, that rewards high-quality, longer-form content. TikTok commits to rewarding creators up to 20 times more than the previous Creator Fund. Instead of just views, your earning potential is an accumulation off engagement practices.
Who can join the TikTok Creator Rewards Program?
Any account that has access to the creator fund program should be able to easily turn on the TikTok Creator Rewards Program. Go to Profile → ≡ (menu). Look for “Creator Fund” in Creator tools. Follow prompts to activate if available in your region.
Source: Social Media Today
How to Join the TikTok Creator Rewards Program
What countries are eligible for TikTok Creator Rewards Program?
The Creator Rewards Program is only available for creators in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, and Brazil. For TikToker’s in countries like Canada and Australia, there is no such incentive program. Even the insanely viral video by Leah Halton, now with over 1 billion views, didn’t even earn her a penny. Creators in ineligible countries can only make money by doing Lives, posting affiliate content, or receiving gifts from followers.
Account requirements for the TikTok Creator Rewards Program
- Location: Must live in United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, or Brazil
- Account Status: Must have a good standing account that adheres to the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
- Account Type: Only Personal accounts are eligible. Business accounts do not qualify.
- Age: Must be at least 18 years old. (South Korea is age 19)
- Followers and Views: Must have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
- Behavior: Participants must not tamper with the program or violate the Community Guidelines.
- Content: The creator must post high-quality, original content that is at least one minute long.
How to apply
- Open TikTok app
- Go to Profile → Settings and Privacy
- Tap “Creator Tools”
- Select “Creator Rewards”
- Review eligibility requirements
- Complete application if eligible
What makes content eligible for the TikTok Creator Rewards Program
For videos to be eligible, they must be original, high-quality content over one minute. In addition, videos should receive at least 1,000 views on the For You feed. These videos cannot include watermarks, a Duet or Stitch option or are created using the app’s Photo Mode.
Ads, paid promotions, or sponsored content are not eligible for the Creator Rewards Program.
Requirements for a qualified view
- Minimum Watch Time: Viewers must watch for at least 5 seconds.
- Authenticity Requirements: Must be genuine views. Cannot be fraudulent activity. Cannot be paid views. Cannot be disliked views.
- Unique Viewer Rules: Only one view counts per account. Multiple views from the same account are counted as one unique view
What doesn’t count as a view
- Views from ads
- Paid promotions
- Sponsored content
- Views from View Boost Benefit
- Views less than 5 seconds
- Fraudulent views
How Does the TikTok Video Review Process Work?
As part of the Creator Rewards Program, videos go through a review process to determine if they qualify for earning rewards.
If your video is approved
Your video now becomes eligible to earn rewards! However, it’s important to note that your video could still be taken down in the future if it’s reported or flagged for breaking TikTok’s rules.
If your video is denied
This seems to happen more often than not. Your video can be flagged due to issues like unoriginal or poor-quality content, dangerous activities, spam, or misleading practices. If the video violates the TikTok Community Guidelines, it will be removed and any rewards you’ve already earned from that video will be subtracted from your balance.
If you receive a notice stating that your video doesn’t qualify, you have up to 30 days to file an appeal. Rest assured, filing an appeal won’t affect your account status.
How the TikTok Creator Rewards Program Works
The Creator Rewards Program isn’t just about posting videos – it’s about creating quality, original content that make you hit the like, share, and follow buttons. TikTok evaluates rewards from four core metrics: originality, play duration, search value, and audience engagement. TikTok defines these metrics as the following:
- Originality: Showcasing the creator’s original point of view and authentic content, in a way that resonates with their community.
- Play duration: ‘Quality views’ are calculated by views of at least five seconds. However, play duration factors in both watch time and finish rate. The purpose of this is to reward engaging content.
- Audience engagement: This includes likes, comments, and shares, contributing to the creators’ content value.
- Search value: Ensuring the content aligns with popular search terms to increase its discoverability.
Source: TikTok
What’s New in the TikTok Creator Rewards Dashboard
TikTok has completely revamped its creator dashboard, offering unprecedented insights into content performance. The new system provides detailed analytics, including RPM metrics, qualified video views, and comprehensive earnings tracking. Creators now have access to the TikTok Creator Academy, a multilingual education hub offering courses, resources, and expert guidance.
The platform’s improved Monetization module serves as a centralized hub for revenue management. Creators can track earnings across different tools, access personalized recommendations, and study successful case studies from top performers. The following is an updated and more in-depth overview of the new dashboard.
Enhanced tracking & analytics
- Clearer reward tracking with separate breakdowns for Standard Rewards and Additional Rewards
- Improved payout section showing past payments, upcoming payouts, and expected credit dates
- Monthly estimated reward charts that better align with the payout schedule
- Rewards trends monitoring to help identify what content performs best
Creator support features
- Revamped in-app appeals process for contesting videos that have been denied
- Tips and showcase pages featuring inspiration and examples from successful creators
- Content inspiration resources to help improve content quality
Detailed video analytics
Dedicated pages for each video with metrics on:
- RPM (Revenue Per Mille)
- Qualified video views
- Additional Reward details
- Total video views
- Boosted views
- Watch time statistics (including watch time less than 5 seconds)
- User dislikes
- Views from Ad Traffic
Performance analysis
- Diagnosis tips based on rewards criteria to help improve future content
- In-depth performance analysis for each video
- Additional customization options for deeper data analysis
How Much Does TikTok Pay Creators in 2025?
The Creator Rewards Program has replaced the old Creator Fund, offering significantly higher payouts to creators. With this program, creators can earn between $0.40 and $1.00 per 1,000 views, a substantial increase from the $0.02-$0.04 offered by the old Creator Fund. To put this into perspective, 1 million views can generate $400-$1,000.
Videos are rewarded by RPMs and “quality views”. These can be described as views of at least five seconds, not including views with dislikes, multiple views from the same accounts, ads, paid promotions, or sponsored content.
TikTok LIVE Gifts allows viewers to send virtual gifts to creators, which can be converted into Diamonds and eventually into real money. While TikTok takes a 50% cut of earnings, dedicated streamers can earn between $200 and $5,000 per session. Gift values range from $0.01 to $500+, categorized into Small, Medium, and Large gifts.
Brand sponsorships offer the most lucrative income stream for established creators. Rates vary based on follower count, with the following estimates:
- Nano (1K-10K followers): $50-$200 per post
- Micro (10K-100K followers): $200-$1,000 per post
- Mid-tier (100K-1M followers): $1,000-$10,000 per post
- Mega (1M+ followers): $10,000-$100,000+ per post
Merchandise and affiliate marketing offer additional revenue streams for accounts in the TikTok Creator Rewards Program. Estimated earnings for merchandise sales are:
- Small creators: $500-$5,000/month
- Larger influencers: $10,000-$50,000+/month
For affiliate marketing, estimated earnings are:
- Small creators: $5-$500/month
- Larger influencers: $1,000-$10,000/month
Realistic monthly earnings
To give you a better understanding of the earning potential on TikTok, here’s a breakdown of realistic monthly earnings based on follower count:
- Small creators (10K-50K followers): $100-$1,000
- Mid-level creators (50K-500K followers): $1,000-$10,000
- High-level creators (500K-1M+ followers): $10,000-$100,000+
The most successful TikTok creators don’t rely solely on TikTok’s native monetization programs but combine multiple revenue streams including brand deals, merchandise, and affiliate marketing.
This updated rewards program encourages creators to share authentic, engaging content with their audiences. However, this is easier said than done. If you are not eligible for this program or are looking for other ways to earn money on TikTok, this guide has the ultimate list of ways to generate cash from the app:
