New data analysis shows TikTok takes 77% cut of Gift payments sent to creators

• New data analysis from FXC Intelligence, the leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence, shows that Tiktok takes 77% of Gifts users send to creators.
• FXC Intelligence conservatively estimates that in 2023, users in Europe alone sent Gifts worth $1.8bn-2.2bn to creators, who would have received around $418m-511m.
• Using FXC Intelligence’s lowest estimates for TikTok Europe’s live streaming revenue for 2023, it is likely that the total global revenue for livestreaming gifts sits at around $5bn. This means that users sent Gifts worth $6.5bn to creators, who would have received $1.5bn.

 TikTok takes a 77% cut of Gift payments users send to creators according to new analysis from FXC Intelligence, the leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence. This margin is significantly higher than any platform whose primary focus is sending money directly to creators.

In 2022, TikTok Europe, a rare part of the business that regularly reports revenue due to local market requirements, reported $790m in revenue from Gifts to creators. However, in 2023 TikTok Europe opted not to report its revenue segmentations by business type or geographical segment, arguing that “it would be seriously prejudicial to the interests of the company to do so”.

FXC Intelligence conservatively estimates Tiktok Europe’s livestreaming Gifts revenue for 2023 sits between $1.4bn and $1.7bn, or 31-38% of total revenue. Based on these estimates, it is likely that users sent between $1.8bn and $2.2bn to creators, who would have received around $418m-511m.

Using FXC Intelligence’s lowest estimates for TikTok Europe’s livestreaming revenue for 2023, it is likely that the total global revenue for livestreaming gifts sits at around $5bn. This means that users sent Gifts worth $6.5bn to creators, who would have received $1.5bn. However, given estimates here were conservative, this may be an underestimation.

Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Content at FXC Intelligence, said:

“TikTok handles well over $1bn in estimated payment flows year-on-year, making it tempting to think of it as a serious player in the global payments ecosystem. However, the margin TikTok charges would be unthinkable for any company overtly promoting itself as a payments provider and it is not realistic to consider it a payment company in the truest sense of the term.

“Its huge take rate on Gifts sent to creators also undermines the idea of TikTok being an effective way to reward creators. Ultimately, livestreaming gifts are another way for the social media giant to significantly boost its revenue. It’s not surprising, therefore, to see a growing number of creators on the platform advertise alternative payment methods for users that want to ‘tip’ or financially acknowledge their favourite creators.”

Read more about FXC Intelligence’s analysis of TikTok in the report: ‘Do TikTok’s gifting flows make it a global payments company?’.

Further information

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Kezia Johnson
External Communications and Branding Manager
kjohnson@fxcintel.com