TikTok’s subscription bonus can lift a US or Canadian creator’s cut to 90% of what’s left after app-store fees — but only for the months you pass a fresh test. If you qualify, you keep 90%. If you have a quiet month, you drop back to 70% for that month. That monthly re-check is the part most creators miss, and it’s the difference between planning around 90% income and being surprised by a smaller payout.
Here’s the short version: the base share for creators in the United States and Canada is 70% of subscription revenue after Apple or Google takes its store fee. A 20% bonus, available since October 1, 2025, can bring that total to 90%. Outside the US and Canada, the base is 50%, rising to 70% with the bonus. The bonus is not permanent once you earn it. TikTok re-tests you every single month, and the test looks at your followers, your recent views, your standing on the platform, and whether you posted enough subscriber-only videos.
How the 90% actually works
Let’s clear up the biggest misunderstanding first. The 90% is not 90% of what your fan pays. It is 90% of what remains after the app store takes its cut.
When someone subscribes inside the TikTok app on an iPhone or Android phone, Apple or Google processes that payment and keeps a store fee first. TikTok then splits what is left with you. Your 70% base share, or your 90% share with the bonus, applies to that remainder. Any guide that multiplies 90% by the full subscription price is overstating what you will actually receive.
For creators in the US and Canada, the structure is:
- Base share: 70% of revenue after app-store fees
- Bonus: an extra 20 percentage points
- Total with bonus: 90% of revenue after app-store fees
- Bonus start date: October 1, 2025
For creators outside the US and Canada, the same bonus adds 20 points to a lower base: 50% rising to 70% with the bonus. That geographic split matters if your audience is spread across countries, because your payout rate follows where you are as a creator, not where each subscriber lives. The rest of this article focuses on the US picture, since that is where the 90% figure applies.
One more distinction: this subscription program is separate from TikTok LIVE subscriptions. LIVE has its own “Super Fan” style subscription for live viewers. The program covered here is the regular creator subscription — the one tied to subscriber-only videos, badges, and stickers on your profile and feed content. Qualifying for one does not automatically qualify you for the other.
What you actually keep: the dollar math
Illustrative math helps here, as long as we are honest about what is illustrative and what is fixed. The 70% and 90% rates are the program’s stated shares. The store fee is the variable. Apple and Google store fees commonly run around 30%, though small-business programs and other arrangements can lower that rate. Your own payout report is the only number that tells you exactly what TikTok and the store kept on your subscriptions.
With that caveat, here is the illustrative math at the $5.99 default tier, assuming a 30% store fee. These figures are illustrative only, not a promise of what any individual creator will earn.
At $5.99 per subscriber per month, a 30% store fee leaves about $4.19. At the 70% base share, you keep about $2.93 per subscriber per month. At the 90% bonus share, you keep about $3.77 per subscriber per month. That is a difference of roughly $0.84 per subscriber per month — small per person, meaningful once you have hundreds of subscribers.
Scale that up:
| Subscribers | At 70% (base) | At 90% (with bonus) | Monthly bonus difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | about $293 | about $377 | about $84 |
| 500 | about $1,465 | about $1,885 | about $420 |
| 1,000 | about $2,930 | about $3,770 | about $840 |
All of those figures are before income tax. Subscription revenue is income, and you will owe tax on it like other creator earnings. This article is not tax advice, and your situation will depend on your total income, your state, and whether you treat creator work as a business. Set money aside for taxes as you go, rather than discovering the bill at filing time. If your subscription income grows into real money, a short conversation with a tax professional who understands creator income is money well spent.
The monthly test: you re-qualify every month
This is the core of the program, and the part that deserves the most attention. The bonus is not a badge you earn once and keep forever. TikTok re-tests your eligibility every month.
Under the current rule, as set out in TikTok’s Creator Academy guidance last updated August 18, 2026, and reflected in November 2026 guides, you must meet all of these conditions in the relevant calendar month to receive the bonus for that month:
- 10,000 or more followers. Your follower count must stay at or above this threshold.
- 100,000 or more video views in the last calendar month. This is the views test, and it uses the prior calendar month’s views, which we map out below.
- Good standing. You must follow TikTok’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. Violations can cost you eligibility.
- Subscriber-only content. You must post at least 3 valid subscriber-only videos in the calendar month — or, if you have never posted a subscriber-only video before, your first subscriber-only video counts toward getting started.
Miss any one of those in a given month, and you fall back to the 70% base share for that month. You do not lose your subscription program entirely because of one quiet month. You simply do not get the extra 20 points for that month. Pass the test again the next month, and the bonus returns.
For a fuller walkthrough of how TikTok counts views for creator payouts in a related program, see TikTok Creator Rewards: RPM and qualified views explained. The programs are different, but the habit that matters is the same: consistent posting that keeps your monthly view total healthy.
The monthly-qualification calendar, month by month
The calendar is where creators get confused, so let’s lay it out plainly.
TikTok looks at a calendar month as a unit. Your views in one calendar month determine whether you clear the views bar for the bonus, and your subscriber-only videos in a calendar month count toward that month’s content requirement. You cannot coast on a big month and expect the bonus to carry forward indefinitely. Each month starts a new test.
A practical way to run this is to treat the first week of each month as a check-in. Look at last month’s view total. If it cleared 100,000, that part of the test is in good shape. Then look at this month’s plan: do you have three subscriber-only videos scheduled before month-end? If not, schedule them now, not in the last three days of the month when a busy week or a sick day could knock them out.
What happens if you dip mid-month? This is the question creators ask most, and the answer is reassuring in one way and strict in another. A mid-month dip does not kick you out of the subscription program on the spot, and it does not retroactively claw back a bonus you already earned for a prior month. But the bonus applies per month, so a dip that leaves you short on the month’s test costs you that month’s 20 points. You drop to 70% for that month. The next month is a fresh test, and if you clear it, you are back to 90%.
The stale 1-million-view figure you will still find online
If you search for this bonus, you will find older guides that say something different. Several reports from October 2025, including coverage from Influencer Marketing Hub and Social Media Today, described the bonus as requiring 1 million monthly views. That figure was widely repeated at launch, and it still shows up in search results and in articles that have not been updated.
Do not plan around the 1-million figure. The current Creator Academy guidance, last updated August 18, 2026, puts the views bar at 100,000 views in the last calendar month, plus the three subscriber-only videos described above. That is a much lower bar, and it changes who should consider subscriptions. A creator with 15,000 followers and steady 150,000-view months can realistically chase the bonus under the current rule. Under the old 1-million figure, that same creator would have assumed the bonus was out of reach.
For context on how subscription payouts compare across platforms, an independent walkthrough of TikTok’s subscription mechanics is available at Lilach Bullock’s TikTok subscription guide, and the original expansion coverage is preserved at Social Media Today’s report on the expanded payouts. Both are useful background, but for the current monthly test, the Creator Academy guidance described above is the rule to plan around.
Who can join, and what subscribers get
Before the bonus question even arises, you have to be eligible for subscriptions at all. The entry requirements are straightforward: age 18 or older, an account in good standing, 10,000 or more followers, and 100,000 or more video views in the last calendar month, or LIVE eligibility. If you qualify through LIVE, that path is separate from the regular video-views path, so check which route applies to your account.
If you meet those, you can set up subscriptions and choose your tiers. Remember that TikTok has the final say on prices, so your tier list must fit within the $2.99 to $99.99 range. The $5.99 default is a sensible starting point for many creators: low enough to convert curious fans, high enough to produce meaningful income at scale.
Eligibility is not the same as income. Getting into the program gives you the ability to charge subscribers. It does not give you subscribers. Fans subscribe because they want more of you, more access, or more of a specific kind of content they cannot get elsewhere. If your public content is already everything you make, there is little reason to pay.
Subscribers pay for perks, and TikTok gives creators a toolkit to build them. The core perks include subscriber-only videos, a subscriber badge that marks someone as your subscriber in comments and live chats, custom stickers, and extra perks you design yourself: early access, an exclusive series, polls that shape your next video, or shout-outs, as long as they stay within the rules.
Design perks you can actually deliver every month. A perk that sounds exciting at launch and then never appears is worse than a modest perk delivered reliably. Subscribers churn quietly. They do not usually announce that they are leaving. They just do not renew. The three subscriber-only videos per month are a floor, not a ceiling, and creators who treat them as a minimum tend to hold subscribers longer.
How TikTok compares with YouTube and Twitch
Subscriptions do not exist in a vacuum. Many creators earn on more than one platform, and the payout split is one factor — not the only factor — in deciding where to invest time.
YouTube channel memberships give creators 70% of membership revenue after store fees. That matches TikTok’s base share, but it sits below TikTok’s 90% bonus share. If you already have a YouTube audience, memberships remain a solid option, and YouTube’s longer-form content suits a different kind of subscriber perk, like members-only videos and community posts.
Twitch standard subscriptions give creators 50% as the standard split. That is below both TikTok’s base and bonus shares. Twitch has other strengths — live community, longer watch sessions, and a culture where subscribing is deeply normal — but on pure split percentage, TikTok’s subscription program is more generous to the creator, especially with the bonus.
For a broader comparison of what creators keep after platform fees, see Creator subscription fees compared: what $100 really pays. It puts TikTok’s numbers alongside other platforms so you can see the full picture before you commit to one home for subscriptions.
A pre-launch checklist
Before you turn subscriptions on, run through this checklist. It covers the practical steps that decide whether your first months go smoothly.
1. Confirm your eligibility numbers. Check that you are 18 or older, in good standing, above 10,000 followers, and above 100,000 video views in the last calendar month (or LIVE-eligible). Note those numbers for your own records, so you can spot a dip early.
2. Set up payouts before you launch. Make sure your payout method and tax information are complete in TikTok’s creator tools. You do not want your first subscriber payments held up by missing payout details. This is also the time to confirm how payout reports show the store fee and your share, so you can verify the 70% or 90% math on real numbers, not just illustrative ones.
3. Choose your tiers deliberately. Start with one or two tiers, not five. A $5.99 default tier plus one higher tier for your most dedicated fans is plenty at launch. You can add tiers later once you know what subscribers actually want. Keep the price list simple enough that a fan can decide in under a minute.
4. Plan your first three subscriber-only videos before month-end. Do not launch and hope inspiration strikes. Outline three subscriber-only videos in advance: for example, a behind-the-scenes video, an extended tutorial or story, and a subscriber Q\&A. Having them planned means you clear the content part of the monthly test even if the rest of the month gets busy.
5. Design perks you can sustain. Write down exactly what subscribers get each month, in one paragraph a fan can understand. If you cannot deliver that paragraph every month for six months, simplify it now.
6. Announce subscriptions with specifics. Tell your existing fans what subscriptions include, why you created them, and what the first subscriber-only videos will be. A vague “subscribe to support me” converts far worse than a specific pitch like “subscribers get the extended cut every Friday plus a monthly Q\&A.”
7. Build a monthly routine. Put a recurring reminder in your calendar for the first week of each month: check last month’s views, check your follower count, confirm this month’s three subscriber-only videos are scheduled, and review your payout report from the prior month. That ten-minute routine is what keeps the bonus alive.
8. Keep a simple earnings tracker. Each month, record your subscriber count, your tier mix, your payout, and whether you received the 70% or 90% share. Over a few months, that tracker tells you more than any guide can: which tier sells, when subscribers churn, and whether the bonus months line up with your busiest posting months.
If you work through that list honestly and find that you cannot commit to three subscriber-only videos a month, that is useful information. It does not mean subscriptions are wrong for you forever. It means you should either simplify your subscriber-only format until three a month is easy, or wait until your content rhythm supports it. Launching and then missing the content bar month after month frustrates subscribers and forfeits the bonus. Waiting a month to launch properly costs little by comparison.
Honest gaps: what TikTok does not publish
A guide that only lists the good news would mislead you, so here are the gaps worth knowing.
First, TikTok does not publish how many creators actually clear the bonus bar each month. We know the rule, but we do not know the pass rate. That means you cannot look up whether most creators get 90% or whether only a small share do. Plan your budget around the 70% base, and treat the bonus as upside. If you build a budget that only works at 90%, a single quiet month will break it.
Second, no payout minimum for Subscription is published in the sources checked for this guide. Other TikTok programs publish minimums, but for subscriptions, the sources reviewed did not state one. Check your payout settings and reports for the current minimum that applies to your account, rather than assuming a figure from another program.
Third, the store-fee percentage is not fixed for everyone. The 30% illustration used above is common, but small-business rates and platform arrangements can change it. Your payout report is the authority. If your report shows a different effective store fee, your per-subscriber math will differ from the illustrative table, even though the 70% and 90% shares still apply to the remainder.
Fourth, TikTok can change these rules. The shift from the October 2025 reporting to the August 2026 Creator Academy guidance is proof of that. A rule that is current today may be revised next year. That is another reason to build the monthly check-in habit: it catches rule changes early, before they cost you a month of bonus pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get the TikTok subscription 90% bonus?
You qualify for the bonus month by month. For creators in the US and Canada, the base share is 70% of revenue after app-store fees. The bonus adds 20 points, bringing you to 90%, when you meet the monthly test: 10,000 or more followers, 100,000 or more video views in the last calendar month, good standing under TikTok’s Terms and Community Guidelines, and at least 3 valid subscriber-only videos in the calendar month (or your first subscriber-only video if you have never posted one). Meet all four, and you receive 90% for that month.
Is the 90% calculated on the full subscription price?
No. The 90% applies to what remains after Apple or Google takes its app-store fee. At the $5.99 default tier with an illustrative 30% store fee, about $4.19 remains, and 90% of that is about $3.77 per subscriber per month. Your actual store fee may differ, so check your payout reports for your exact numbers.
What happens if I miss the monthly test?
You drop back to the 70% base share for that month. You do not lose your place in the subscription program because of one quiet month, and a prior month’s bonus is not taken back. Pass the test again the following month, and the bonus returns. A mid-month dip therefore costs you that month’s 20 points, not your long-term eligibility, as long as you still meet the basic program requirements.
Do I really need 1 million monthly views for the bonus?
No, not under the current guidance. Older October 2025 reports described a 1-million-view requirement, and that figure still appears in outdated guides. The current Creator Academy guidance, last updated August 18, 2026, sets the bar at 100,000 video views in the last calendar month, plus the follower, standing, and subscriber-only video requirements. Use the current rule for planning, and check the Creator Academy page if you see conflicting figures elsewhere.
How much can I earn with 500 subscribers?
Using the illustrative math at the $5.99 tier with a 30% store fee, 500 subscribers pay roughly $1,465 per month at the 70% base share, or roughly $1,885 per month at the 90% bonus share, before income tax. Those figures assume every subscriber is on the $5.99 tier and the store fee is 30%. Your real earnings will vary with your tier mix, your actual store fee, churn, and whether you clear the bonus test each month.
What should subscribers get for their money?
At minimum, subscriber-only videos, a subscriber badge, and custom stickers, plus whatever extra perks you design. The most successful perk packages are specific and sustainable: a clear monthly set of subscriber-only videos, early access, or a subscriber Q\&A. Plan at least three subscriber-only videos per month anyway, since that count is part of the bonus test, and make them content your public audience cannot get elsewhere.