How to Make Money on TikTok Legally in 2025 (A Complete Guide for Beginners)
Summary of the App
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Name of the app: TikTok | |
| Goal | A platform for making, sharing, and making money from short videos. |
| Main Appeal | Creative expression, trends that go viral, and a wide range of ways to make money. |
| Target Audience | Gen Z, Millennials, content creators, and businesses that want to reach younger people. |
| Unique Selling Point | Creators can make money in many ways and be found by algorithms. |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, and the web. |
| Monetization Options | Creator Rewards, the TikTok Shop, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and more. |
Beginning
Imagine being able to make money from your love of making short, funny videos—all from your phone. Welcome to TikTok, the worldwide hit that has grown beyond just dance challenges and lip syncing. In 2025, TikTok has grown into a huge platform for creators, giving them a lot of fun and legal ways to make money. TikTok’s unique algorithm and monetization tools make it easier than ever to get started, whether you want to become famous overnight or promote a side business. This guide goes into great detail about how to legally make money on TikTok in 2025. It tells you everything you need to know to turn your creative ideas into cash. Let’s find out how to play TikTok’s game to make money and win!
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media site where people can make, share, and find short videos that are usually between 15 seconds and 3 minutes long, but longer videos are becoming more popular. ByteDance started TikTok in 2016, and by 2025, it will have over a billion active users every month around the world. The main idea is to create short, interesting content that appeals to a wide range of people. This could be dance routines, comedy skits, tutorials, or stories. TikTok’s algorithm is what makes it so great for new creators. It ranks content based on how much people interact with it instead of how many followers it has. Gen Z and Millennials like the platform, but businesses, influencers, and hobbyists also want to use it because it has so many users. TikTok is a great place to make money because it’s easy to use and you can show off your skills or sell something.
Main Features
TikTok is a one-of-a-kind platform for both creativity and making money because of its unique features. Here’s what makes it different:
Creator Rewards Program: This feature lets creators with at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in 30 days make money based on how many people watch their videos. It works best with videos that are longer than a minute and pays creators more than the Creator Fund, which paid creators about $0.40 to $1 for every 1,000 views.
Shop on TikTok: TikTok Shop is a game-changer for online shopping because it lets creators sell things right in the app. You don’t need a lot of followers to link your Shopify or Etsy stores, show off your products in videos, or host live shopping events.
LIVE Gifts and Tips: Creators with at least 1,000 followers can go live and get virtual gifts from viewers, like digital roses or disco balls. These gifts can be turned into real money through sites like PayPal.
Affiliate Marketing: Creators can make money by promoting products with special links or codes through TikTok’s Creator Marketplace or other programs like Amazon Associates.
Brands pay creators to make videos that show off their products. Micro-influencers with 10,000 followers can charge $100 to $300 for each post, while bigger creators can make thousands.
Creators can offer premium content through TikTok Series, where fans pay for exclusive videos, or they can let fans subscribe to get behind-the-scenes content every month.
These features make TikTok a lively place where creativity and business meet. In 2025, there will be many legal ways to make money from content on the site.
Pros and Cons
Pros
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Easy to Make Money: TikTok is easier for beginners to use than YouTube because it has low follower thresholds (for example, 1,000 for LIVE gifts).
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Strong Algorithm: Content can go viral no matter how many followers it has, so new creators have a good chance of being seen.
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Different Ways to Make Money: Creators can use a variety of methods, like Creator Rewards and TikTok Shop, to make the most money.
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Engaging Community: TikTok’s interactive features, such as duets and stitches, help people connect with each other, which increases engagement.
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Global Reach: TikTok has more than a billion users, which gives creators and businesses more exposure than any other platform.
Disadvantages
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Earnings that aren’t always the same: Creator Rewards payouts depend on how much people interact with them, and LIVE gifts can be hard to predict.
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High Competition: Because the platform is so popular, you need to make sure your content is always high-quality to stand out.
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Platform Fees: TikTok Shop takes a cut of sales, which lowers the profits for creators who sell things.
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Time-Consuming: To build an audience and make interesting content, you need to post regularly and keep up with trends.
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Changes to Policy: TikTok’s rules about making money change all the time, so creators need to stay on top of things to avoid problems.
How to Use TikTok
It’s easy to start using TikTok and making money legally in 2025, even if you’re a beginner. Here is a step-by-step plan to get you started:
Get the newest version of TikTok from the App Store or Google Play and set it up. Make a personal account (business accounts may not be able to make as much money) and fill out your profile with a catchy bio and picture.
Find Your Place: Find a niche that fits with your interests, like cooking, fitness, comedy, or lifestyle, and make content that feels real. Being consistent in your niche helps you get more followers.
Make content that people want to read: Start posting 1 to 3 videos every week, each one lasting 15 to 30 seconds to get the most views. Use popular sounds, hashtags, and eye-catching images to grab people’s attention right away. Try using text overlays and captions to make things easier to read.
Engage with your followers by responding to comments and joining trends to grow your audience. To stay on the For You page, you need to post regularly (3–5 times a week). Use TikTok Analytics to see what people like.
Once you have 1,000 followers, turn on LIVE gifts to start making money. If you have 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in 30 days, you can apply for the Creator Rewards Program in the app’s Creator Tools. You can make more money by using TikTok Shop or affiliate marketing.
Make money by hosting live streams for gifts, making long-form content for Creator Rewards, or pitching brands for sponsorships. Use TikTok’s Creator Marketplace to find businesses that want to work with you on affiliate or sponsored deals.
You can make money with your TikTok account by being consistent and using the platform’s tools.
The five best competitors
YouTube Shorts: YouTube’s short-form video platform lets you make money through ads and channel memberships, but you need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time, which is more than TikTok’s. It’s not as easy for beginners, but it’s great for promoting longer content across platforms.
Instagram Reels is a feature that lets you post short videos and do affiliate marketing and sponsored posts. But its algorithm favors established accounts, which makes it harder for new creators to get noticed than TikTok’s discoverability.
Snapchat Spotlight: Snapchat pays creators for viral Spotlight videos, but the payments are less reliable, and the platform doesn’t have TikTok’s e-commerce features like TikTok Shop.
Triller is a platform for making music and videos. It lets you make money through brand deals, but it doesn’t have as many users as TikTok, so it doesn’t reach as many people.
Likee: Like TikTok, Likee lets you live stream and send virtual gifts, but it has fewer ways to make money and a less powerful algorithm for finding new content.
TikTok is a great choice for new creators because it has a powerful algorithm and makes it easy to make money.
What I Think
I have used TikTok a little bit, and I’m really impressed by how easy it is for beginners to start making money. The algorithm on the platform makes it seem like everyone has an equal chance. My first video, a funny cooking hack, got 5,000 views even though I only had 50 followers! It’s a game-changer that you can go live and get gifts with only 1,000 followers, but I found that the money I made from LIVE gifts was a bit hit-or-miss. TikTok Shop is a great feature. It was easy to link my Etsy store, and showing off products in videos felt natural. But it can be hard to keep up with trends and feel like you have to post all the time. TikTok is fun because it lets people be creative and make money, but it’s not a way to get rich quickly; you have to be dedicated and honest to get rewards.
The End
In 2025, TikTok is more than just a place to watch viral dances; it’s also a legal way for both new and experienced creators to make money. TikTok has a lot of features that can help you promote a business or build your own brand. These include the Creator Rewards Program, the TikTok Shop, and affiliate marketing. There are problems like competition and platform fees, but TikTok’s algorithm and many ways to make money make it a great place for content creators. If you learn how to play TikTok’s monetization game and stick with it, you can turn your creativity into a steady stream of income. Get the newest version of TikTok today and start looking into how you can make money with it!
Q1: How many people do I need to follow on TikTok to make money?
With just 1,000 followers, you can start making money with LIVE gifts. To be eligible for the Creator Rewards Program, you need to have 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days. There aren’t strict rules about how many followers you need for affiliate marketing or sponsored posts.
Q2: Should beginners use TikTok Shop?
Yes, TikTok Shop is easy for beginners to use because you don’t need a lot of followers. You can sell things directly or as an affiliate, but keep in mind that the platform may charge you fees that will lower your profits.
Q3: How much money can I make through TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program?
Creators usually make between $0.40 and $1 for every 1,000 views on eligible videos, but this can change. Depending on how many people watch it, a video with a million views could make $400 to $1,000.
Q4: Is it possible to make money on TikTok without showing my face?
Yes, of course! You can make money off of faceless content like animations, text-based videos, or voice-overs through Creator Rewards, TikTok Shop, or affiliate marketing, as long as it keeps people interested.
Q5: How often should I post on TikTok to make the most money?
To stay on the For You page, you should post 3 to 5 times a week. Consistency increases engagement, which is important for monetization features like Creator Rewards and sponsored posts.