TikTok monetisation requirements (2026)
TikTok monetisation requirements depend on which route you use. The Creator Rewards Program needs 10,000 followers, 100,000 video views in the last 30 days and an age of 18 or over, while TikTok Shop’s UK affiliate programme needs only 500 followers. Every route TikTok pays through starts at 18.
- Creator Rewards Program: 10,000 followers, 100,000 views in the last 30 days, 18+, videos over one minute
- TikTok Shop affiliate (UK): 500 followers, 18+
- Subscription: 10,000 followers and 100,000 views last month, or LIVE eligibility, 18+
- LIVE and Gifts: 18+; TikTok publishes no fixed follower number
TikTok monetisation requirements are the eligibility rules (age, followers, recent views, country and account standing) that decide which of TikTok’s paid features an account can switch on. There is no single monetised status. Each route has its own gate.
The rule that matters most is the one for TikTok’s per-view payments. TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program launch post sets it at 18 or over, at least 10,000 followers, at least 100,000 views in the last 30 days, and a personal account in good standing. Only videos over a minute long earn.
Under 10,000 followers, start with TikTok Shop, which opens at 500 followers in the UK, and build towards the Creator Rewards Program from there.
What are TikTok’s monetisation requirements in 2026?
Five routes pay creators on TikTok, and each sets its own bar. Here they are side by side, checked against TikTok’s own pages on 7 October 2026.
| Route | How you earn | Age | Followers | Other conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator Rewards Program | Paid on qualifying views | 18+ | 10,000 | 100,000 views in the last 30 days; videos over one minute; personal account in good standing | TikTok Newsroom, March 2024 |
| Subscription | Monthly payments from fans | 18+ | 10,000 | 100,000 views in the past calendar month, or LIVE eligibility; select regions | TikTok Newsroom, September 2024 |
| LIVE Gifts | Gifts from viewers during a LIVE | 18+ | Not published | “Follower requirements” apply; viewers must be 18+ to send Gifts | TikTok Newsroom, May 2024 |
| TikTok Shop affiliate (UK) | Commission on products you promote | 18+ | 500 | Community Guidelines; account risk evaluation | TikTok Shop UK creator page, undated |
| TikTok One | Paid brand campaigns | 18+ | 1,000+ for most projects | Launched in your region; Branded Content Policy | TikTok Ads Help Centre, July 2026 |
Read across the table and the pattern is plain. Age is fixed at 18 on every route. Followers run from 500 to 10,000, and the two routes tied to your video performance, Creator Rewards and Subscription, sit at the top.
How does each route work?
Creator Rewards Program
The Creator Rewards Program pays for views on videos longer than one minute. TikTok’s launch post names four things that set the value of each view: originality, play duration, search value and audience engagement. It also rewards an account’s “ad value”, worked out from how long your audience watches ads.
The programme runs in eight markets. Bloomberg Línea’s report on the Mexico launch, published on 1 October 2025, lists the others as the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France and Brazil, with the same 10,000-follower and 100,000-view gates. Government, media and business accounts cannot join.
What each view is worth is a separate question, covered in our guide to how much TikTok pays. The full rulebook for this one programme sits in our guide to the TikTok Creator Rewards Program.
LIVE and Gifts
TikTok’s LIVE explainer, published in May 2024, says creators must be 18 or over before they can go LIVE. Accounts must also meet other criteria, “including follower requirements”, and TikTok gives no number. Content that is graphic, inauthentic or low quality cannot earn on LIVE.
The same rules apply on the other side of the screen: viewers must be 18 or over to buy coins or send Gifts. Turning Gifts into money is its own process, explained in our guide to cashing out TikTok LIVE gifts.
Subscription
TikTok’s expanded Subscription announcement of September 2024 opened monthly fan subscriptions to creators aged 18 or over, in good standing, with at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the past calendar month. Creators who meet TikTok’s LIVE eligibility rules can qualify that way instead.
You get three tiers to fill with perks such as private chats, badges and exclusive videos. TikTok rolled it out region by region, so the feature appearing in your account is the final word.
TikTok Shop affiliate
TikTok’s UK Shop creator page lists four conditions: follow the Community Guidelines, be at least 18, have at least 500 followers and pass an account risk evaluation. The page carries no date, so we checked it on 7 October 2026. Affiliates earn commission on sales of the products they feature.
That 500-follower gate is the lowest on TikTok. It is why Shop leads our guide to making money on TikTok with 1,000 followers.
TikTok One
TikTok’s TikTok One sign-up guide, updated in July 2026, asks creators to be 18 or over, live where TikTok One has launched, and follow the Community Guidelines and Branded Content Policy. Individual brand projects then need 1,000 or more followers. Each project can add its own requirements on top.
Which TikTok requirements do other guides get wrong?
We read the top-ranking guides for this question in October 2026. None of them linked to a TikTok page, and three figures kept appearing that TikTok’s own pages do not support.
- “You need 1,000 followers to go LIVE.” TikTok’s LIVE explainer says follower requirements exist and stops there. TikTok has not published a number.
- “TikTok Shop needs 1,000 or 5,000 followers.” Not in the UK. TikTok’s UK creator page says 500.
- “Subscription opens at 1,000 followers.” TikTok’s September 2024 Subscription post sets 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly views, or LIVE eligibility.
If a TikTok threshold on another site has no link to a TikTok page, treat it as a rumour until you find one.
What does it cost, and what does TikTok keep?
None of the TikTok pages behind this guide lists a fee to join any route. The cost shows up later, in the share TikTok keeps.
On Subscription, Social Media Today’s report on the payout change, published on 5 October 2025, puts the creator share outside the US and Canada at 50%. A 20-point bonus for creators who hit follower and view milestones lifts it to 70%. In the US and Canada the base is 70% after app store fees, rising to 90%.
On LIVE Gifts, TikTok does not publish the share of a Gift’s value that reaches the creator. Any exact percentage you read elsewhere is an estimate.
What should you do next?
- Find the highest gate you already clear in the table above.
- Switch that route on in the app before chasing the next one.
- If Creator Rewards is the goal, post videos over one minute. Shorter ones will not earn from it.
- Check this page again when you cross 500, 1,000 and 10,000 followers.
Every way TikTok creators earn, route by route, is in our guide to how TikTok creators make money. For the wider picture beyond TikTok, start with our guide for content creators.
Frequently asked questions
Did the Creator Rewards Program replace the Creator Fund?
Yes. TikTok’s Creativity Program update says the Creativity Program fully replaced the Creator Fund in the US, UK, France and Germany from 16 December 2023. TikTok then launched the Creativity Program officially as the Creator Rewards Program in March 2024.
Can you make money on TikTok with 1,000 followers?
Yes. At 1,000 followers a UK creator clears TikTok Shop’s 500-follower gate and the 1,000-follower floor for most TikTok One brand projects. The Creator Rewards Program and Subscription stay closed until 10,000.
Can UK creators join the Creator Rewards Program?
Yes. The UK is one of the eight markets where it runs, with the same gates as everywhere else: 18 or over, 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
Can under-18s earn money on TikTok?
No. Every route on this page needs the creator to be 18 or over, and so does going LIVE.
Do TikTok videos have to be over a minute to earn?
For the Creator Rewards Program, yes: only videos over one minute long earn. None of TikTok’s published requirements for Shop, Subscription, LIVE or TikTok One sets a video length.