The TikTok creator economy reached an estimated $15.5 billion in total creator earnings in 2025, encompassing direct platform payouts, brand deal revenue, live gifting, and TikTok Shop commissions paid to creators globally. This figure represents approximately 28% year-over-year growth from $12.1 billion in 2024, driven primarily by the rapid expansion of TikTok Shop and increasing advertiser spend on the platform. With over 2 million active monetizing creators worldwide, TikTok now commands the second-largest creator economy behind YouTube and is projected to surpass $24 billion by 2028.
Key Findings
Our analysis of the TikTok creator economy draws on platform disclosures, advertiser spend data, creator surveys, and third-party market research to paint a comprehensive picture of how large the TikTok creator ecosystem has become — and where it is headed.
Total creator earnings on TikTok have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42% from 2021 to 2025. The earliest phase of the creator economy on TikTok (2020-2021) was dominated by the original Creator Fund, which distributed a fixed $200 million annual pool across all eligible creators. By 2025, direct platform payouts through the Creator Rewards Program alone reached an estimated $2.8 billion, and when brand deal spending, live gifting, and TikTok Shop commissions are added, the total creator economy figure surpasses $15 billion.
Brand deal spending on TikTok influencers now accounts for the largest single revenue category, estimated at $7.2 billion in 2025. This exceeds Instagram influencer spending ($6.8 billion) for the first time, driven by TikTok's superior engagement rates and the shift of advertising budgets toward short-form video content.
The number of creators earning $100,000 or more annually on TikTok has grown from approximately 8,000 in 2022 to an estimated 28,000 in 2025. While still a small percentage of total active creators, this 3.5x increase signals that the platform's monetization tools are maturing rapidly.
TikTok Shop is the fastest-growing component of the creator economy, with creator commissions growing from approximately $400 million in 2023 to an estimated $3.2 billion in 2025. The integration of commerce directly into the content feed has created a revenue stream that did not meaningfully exist three years ago.
Despite this growth, the income distribution across creators remains highly skewed. The top 1% of monetizing creators earn approximately 35% of all creator revenue on the platform, while the bottom 50% of monetizing creators earn less than 4% of the total.
TikTok Creator Economy Size — Primary Data
The table below presents the estimated size of the TikTok creator economy from 2020 through 2025, with projections through 2028, broken down by revenue category.
| Year | Creator Rewards / Fund | Brand Deals | Live Gifting | TikTok Shop | Other | Total | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $200M | $800M | $300M | $0 | $100M | $1.4B | — |
| 2021 | $350M | $1.8B | $600M | $0 | $200M | $2.95B | +111% |
| 2022 | $600M | $3.2B | $1.1B | $150M | $350M | $5.4B | +83% |
| 2023 | $1.2B | $4.5B | $1.5B | $400M | $500M | $8.1B | +50% |
| 2024 | $2.0B | $5.8B | $1.8B | $1.8B | $700M | $12.1B | +49% |
| 2025 | $2.8B | $7.2B | $2.0B | $3.2B | $800M | $15.5B* | +28%* |
| 2026 (proj.) | $3.5B | $8.8B | $2.3B | $4.8B | $1.0B | $20.4B | +32% |
| 2027 (proj.) | $4.0B | $10.2B | $2.5B | $5.8B | $1.2B | $23.7B | +16% |
| 2028 (proj.) | $4.3B | $11.0B | $2.6B | $6.5B | $1.3B | $25.7B | +8% |
*2025 figures are estimates based on available data through Q4 2025. Projections for 2026-2028 assume no major regulatory disruptions and continued global expansion of TikTok Shop.
The "Other" category includes revenue from creator-led courses, Patreon-style subscriptions, appearance fees, and licensing income that originates from the creator's TikTok audience but is transacted off-platform.
Total Payouts
TikTok's direct creator payouts — money paid by the platform itself through the Creator Rewards Program (formerly the Creator Fund), LIVE subscription revenue shares, and Series (paid content) — reached an estimated $2.8 billion in 2025. This number represents only 18% of total creator economy value but is the most visible metric because it comes directly from TikTok's own finances.
The shift from the fixed-pool Creator Fund to the performance-based Creator Rewards Program in 2023-2024 was the single largest structural change in TikTok's direct payout model. Under the old fund, payouts were limited to a $200-300 million annual pool regardless of how many creators participated. The Rewards Program uncapped payouts and tied compensation to individual video performance, advertiser demand, and content quality signals.
| Metric | Creator Fund (2020-2023) | Creator Rewards (2024-2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Payout Model | Fixed pool, shared | Performance-based, uncapped |
| Avg. RPM (US) | $0.02 – $0.03 per 1K views | $0.03 – $0.05 per 1K views |
| Minimum Video Length | None | 1 minute recommended |
| Quality Threshold | Low | Originality + search value scoring |
| Est. Annual Pool | $200M – $300M | $2.8B+ (2025) |
This restructuring nearly doubled per-view rates for qualifying creators and incentivized the production of longer, higher-quality content. However, creators posting primarily short-form videos (under 60 seconds) saw little benefit, as the Rewards Program heavily favors content over one minute in length.
For context, YouTube paid creators approximately $16.5 billion through its Partner Program in 2025, while Instagram's creator payouts (bonuses, subscriptions, and Reels incentives) totaled an estimated $1.5 billion. TikTok's $2.8 billion in direct payouts places it firmly between these two platforms.
Creator Count
The number of active monetizing creators on TikTok has grown dramatically as the platform expanded its eligibility requirements and launched new monetization programs.
| Year | Total TikTok Users | Active Creators (posting weekly) | Monetizing Creators | Creators Earning $100K+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 689M | 30M | 200K | 2,000 |
| 2021 | 1.0B | 55M | 500K | 4,500 |
| 2022 | 1.2B | 70M | 800K | 8,000 |
| 2023 | 1.4B | 85M | 1.2M | 14,000 |
| 2024 | 1.6B | 100M | 1.6M | 21,000 |
| 2025 | 1.8B | 110M | 2.0M | 28,000 |
"Monetizing creators" is defined as accounts that earned at least $100 in a calendar year from any TikTok monetization program (Creator Rewards, Live gifts, TikTok Shop commissions, or Series). This includes both full-time and part-time creators.
The ratio of monetizing creators to total active creators (approximately 1.8% in 2025) is lower than YouTube's ratio (~3.5%) but higher than Instagram's (~0.8%). This gap reflects TikTok's younger monetization infrastructure and the relatively recent introduction of programs like TikTok Shop that expand who can earn.
The average annual earnings per monetizing creator was approximately $7,750 in 2025 ($15.5B total divided by 2M monetizing creators). However, this average is misleading because of extreme skew at the top. The median monetizing creator earned an estimated $800 to $1,500 annually, while the top creators earned millions.
TikTok Creator Economy Size — Extended Data
Comparing TikTok's creator economy to other platforms provides essential context for understanding its trajectory and relative maturity.
Platform comparison — total creator economy size (2025 estimates):
| Platform | Total Creator Economy | Direct Platform Payouts | Brand Deal Spend | Commerce Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | $35B | $16.5B | $12B | $6.5B |
| TikTok | $15.5B | $2.8B | $7.2B | $3.2B |
| $14B | $1.5B | $8.5B | $4B | |
| Twitch | $4.5B | $2.0B | $1.5B | $1.0B |
| X (Twitter) | $1.2B | $300M | $700M | $200M |
TikTok's creator economy is approximately 44% the size of YouTube's but growing more than twice as fast. At current growth rates, TikTok is on pace to match or exceed YouTube's total creator economy by 2030-2031, assuming no major regulatory action limits the platform's operations in key markets.
Geographic distribution of TikTok creator revenue is concentrated in a handful of markets. The United States generates approximately 35% of total TikTok creator revenue despite representing only 9% of the platform's user base. This disparity is driven by higher advertising rates and more active brand deal markets in the US.
| Region | Share of Users | Share of Creator Revenue | Avg. Revenue per Monetizing Creator |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 9% | 35% | $18,200 |
| Southeast Asia | 28% | 18% | $3,100 |
| Europe | 15% | 20% | $8,400 |
| Latin America | 12% | 8% | $3,800 |
| Middle East / Africa | 10% | 5% | $2,900 |
| Other Asia Pacific | 18% | 10% | $3,500 |
| Other | 8% | 4% | $2,800 |
Year-over-year growth rates are decelerating but remain strong. The 111% growth from 2020 to 2021 reflected TikTok's explosive early monetization adoption. Growth has steadily moderated to 28% in 2025 as the base increases. Projected growth of 32% in 2026 reflects the expected continued expansion of TikTok Shop into new markets, which should temporarily accelerate growth before settling into a 10-15% annual growth range by 2028.
Creator professionalization is accelerating. The number of full-time TikTok creators (defined as individuals earning at least 75% of their income from TikTok-related activities) grew from approximately 50,000 globally in 2022 to an estimated 175,000 in 2025. This professionalization trend is a leading indicator of the creator economy's maturity and is driving demand for monetization tools and financial planning resources.
The growth in TikTok Shop has been the most significant structural change to the creator economy since brand deals became widespread. By enabling creators to earn commissions on product sales directly within the app, TikTok created a revenue stream that scales with audience purchasing behavior rather than just views or engagement. Our analysis of TikTok Shop GMV growth provides detailed quarterly data on this trend.
Methodology
The market sizing estimates in this article are compiled from multiple primary and secondary sources. Given that TikTok (ByteDance) does not publicly report granular creator payout data, all figures should be treated as informed estimates with inherent uncertainty margins.
Direct platform payout estimates are derived from TikTok's publicly disclosed Creator Fund allocation ($200M in 2020), scaled forward using announced rate increases associated with the Creator Rewards Program transition, estimated qualified view volumes based on aggregate analytics data, and per-view rate ranges confirmed by our creator survey panel of 3,200+ participants.
Brand deal spending estimates are sourced from aggregated campaign data across 14 influencer marketing platforms, published advertiser spend reports from GroupM, Dentsu, and Publicis, and rate card data from 18 talent management agencies. We cross-reference these figures against the Interactive Advertising Bureau's annual influencer marketing spend reports.
TikTok Shop commission estimates are based on TikTok's published commission rate structures (10-20% depending on category), multiplied by estimated total GMV figures derived from transaction volume data, third-party e-commerce analytics, and publicly reported regional GMV milestones.
Live gifting estimates use average gift-per-viewer rates from our tracked live session database, multiplied by estimated total live streaming hours and average viewership data sourced from analytics platforms.
Projection methodology. Forward-looking estimates (2026-2028) are modeled using historical growth rates, planned platform feature launches announced by TikTok, consensus advertising market growth forecasts, and geographic expansion timelines for TikTok Shop. Projections assume no major regulatory disruptions (such as a US ban or forced sale of TikTok's US operations).
Limitations. ByteDance does not publish audited creator economy data. Brand deal revenue is the most difficult category to estimate precisely because deals are negotiated privately and many include non-disclosure provisions. The figures in this article should be used as directional market sizing rather than exact financial data. Our methodology documentation is available to researchers upon request. All figures are in USD and reflect calendar-year estimates. For a guide to making money on TikTok using these monetization programs, see our detailed breakdown.