TikTok has a four-stage internal economy: (1) users can buy “coins” in exchange for real money, (2) users can spend their coins to buy & send virtual gifts (e.g. TikTok roses) to other TikTok users, (3) the TikTok users who received those virtual gifts can then trade those gifts for some quantity of “diamonds”, and (4) TikTok users who own diamonds can trade them for real money that is deposited to a bank or PayPal account.
TikTok uses this complexity to obscure the fact that most of the money spent on a virtual gift goes to TikTok rather than the content creator who received the gift. Depending on whether coins are bought in-app or on the TikTok website and also depending on whether virtual gifts are purchased and gifted on a Live stream or on a standard short-form video, each $1 of coins purchased can be worth anywhere from $0.35 to $0.94 to the creator who receives virtual gifts purchased with those coins.
In the most common situation where coins are purchased in-app and gifts are purchased during Live streams, $1 of coins will end up as only $0.35 of value to the gift-receiving content creator.
How much are TikTok coins worth?
Each TikTok coin is worth about 1.4 cents. However, the exact cost to buy a coin depends on how many coins you buy at a time and whether or not you buy coins through the normal TikTok mobile app or through the TikTok website.
The most common way to buy coins is through the “recharge” option built into the app. The recharge pricing for each package of coins is summarized in the table below.
| Number of Coins | Price | Price per Coin |
| 5 | $0.07 | 1.4000 ¢ |
| 70 | $0.99 | 1.4143 ¢ |
| 350 | $4.99 | 1.4257 ¢ |
| 700 | $9.99 | 1.4271 ¢ |
| 1,400 | $19.99 | 1.4279 ¢ |
| 3,500 | $49.99 | 1.4283 ¢ |
| 7,000 | $99.99 | 1.4284 ¢ |
| 17,500 | $249.99 | 1.4285 ¢ |
As you can see, TikTok actually offers a reverse bulk discount (i.e. they charge you slightly more per coin when you buy more coins at a time) which is definitely unusual.
Another thing that is unusual is that TikTok offers substantially cheaper pricing when you log into TikTok through a web browser on your laptop or desktop computer to buy coins rather than buying coins directly on the mobile app. Those cheaper prices are summarized in the next table:
| Number of Coins | Price | Price per Coin |
| 70 | $0.74 | 1.0571 ¢ |
| 350 | $3.70 | 1.0571 ¢ |
| 700 | $7.40 | 1.0571 ¢ |
| 1,400 | $14.80 | 1.0571 ¢ |
| 3,500 | $37 | 1.0571 ¢ |
| 7,000 | $74 | 1.0571 ¢ |
| 17,500 | $185 | 1.0571 ¢ |
How much is a Diamond on TikTok?
TikTok actually has two types of Diamonds. Diamonds received during a Live stream are redeemable for half a cent while Diamonds received on a standard video are redeemable for a full cent.
However, ByteDance (the company that owns & controls TikTok) has included in their terms of service that they are free to change the exchange rate between Diamonds and dollars as they see fit, and they have already used this power to change the value of Diamonds from what they were in the past.
How much is a rose on TikTok worth?
It costs 1 coin to buy & send a TikTok rose to someone. If that coin is bought in-app, it will cost about 1.4 cents. Once the rose is received by someone, it converts into 1 diamond which can be redeemed for either 0.5 cent if the rose was received during a Live stream or 1 cent if the rose was received on a standard video.
In other words, a TikTok rose costs 1.4 cents to the person who gifts it but is only worth 0.5 cent or 1 cent (depending on whether it was received on a Live stream or a standard video) to the person who receives it.
How much is a TikTok Universe?
It costs 34,999 coins to buy & send a TikTok Universe virtual gift to someone. If you buy coins at the bulk “recharge” rate within the TikTok app, that equates to a cost of $499.97.
However, if you instead buy coins at the much cheaper rate available through the TikTok website, those 34,999 coins would only cost you $369.99.
Either way, the TikTok Universe is still one of the most expensive virtual gifts available in the app. There is also a “Soccer Universe” gift which also costs 34,999 coins and a “Holiday Universe” gift which costs even more at 41,999 coins.
How much is a TikTok Lion?
It costs 29,999 coins to buy & send a TikTok Lion virtual gift to someone. If you buy coins at the standard recharge rate of 1.4 cents per coin, then the cost of a TikTok Lion is equivalent to $419.99.
However, if you buy coins at the discounted rate available through the TikTok website, then the cost of those 29,999 coins is only $317.13.
There is also a “Winter Lion” virtual gift available, and the Winter Lion also costs 29,999 coins.
How many followers do you need to receive gifts?
You need 1,000 followers on TikTok to be able to receive gifts on your Live streams, but you need 100,000 followers to be able to receive gifts to your standard videos.
References
- TikTok Support: Send a Gift to a TikTok Video
- TikTok Support: Send a Gift during a LIVE on TikTok
- TikTok Support: Gifts (what they are and how they work)
- TikTok Virtual Items Policy
How much do TikTok virtual gifts cost?
You can find the cost (in coins) to purchase any virtual gift by navigating to any TikTok LIVE, clicking on the “gifts” icon, and then scrolling through the gifts until you find the one you are looking for.
Once you find the cost of that gift in coins, multiply by 1.4 and then divide by 100 to get the cost in dollars.
How much does it cost to buy 1 million coins on TikTok?
If you buy coins in bulk inside the TikTok app, then it would cost $14,285 to buy 1 million coins. However, if you buy coins on the TikTok website, then it would only cost $10,571 to buy 1 million coins.
How much are 1 million coins worth to a TikToker receiving gifts?
If a TikToker’s fans buy them 1 million coins worth of virtual gifts during a LIVE, then that TikToker’s gifts will be converted into diamonds that can be redeemed for $5,000.
If a TikToker’s fans buy them 1 million coins worth of virtual gifts on a standard video, then that TikToker’s gifts will be converted into diamonds that can be redeemed for $10,000.
How much are 10,000 diamonds worth on TikTok?
If you receive 10,000 diamonds during a TikTok Livestream, then you can redeem those diamonds for $50. However, if you receive 10,000 diamonds on a standard TikTok video, then you can redeem those diamonds for $100.
How much is a rocket on TikTok?
There are currently two types of rocket virtual gifts on TikTok: The “Shuttle” and the “Spaceship”.
The TikTok Shuttle gift costs 20,000 coins ($280.00), and the TikTok Spaceship costs 13,999 coins ($195.99).
The parenthetical dollar amounts shown are calculated using the in-app exchange rate of 1.4 cents per coin.
How much is a TikTok galaxy worth?
There is no virtual gift called a “Galaxy”, but there is an “Interstellar” gift that costs 10,000 coins ($140), a “Planet” gift that costs 15,000 coins ($210), and a “TikTok Universe” gift that costs 34,999 coins ($489.99).
The parenthetical dollar amounts are again calculated using the exchange rate of 1.4 cents per coin. As such, the actual dollar costs of those gifts could be higher or lower depending on whether the coins are purchased in bulk or not and whether the coins are purchased in-app or on the TikTok website.