Tipping Culture Is Surprisingly Big on TikTok

If you ever considered showing off your skills on TikTok, here's a little incentive. MarketWatch says that users are shelling out a collective $11 million per day in tips. Now the app is "poised to become the highest earning mobile app ever—approaching the $15 billion milestone in 2024," according to Lexi Sydow of Data.ai. The company's consumer report notes that TikTok is the first non-gaming app to reach that gross-revenue milestone, putting them in a class with top mobile apps Candy Crush Saga, Honor of Kings, Monster Strike, and Clash of Clans. Tipping on the app is a relatively new feature, launching in 2021, but users jumped on board quickly. Tipping on the app is up 22% from 2022, when the daily average was $9 million.

So how exactly does tipping work? Users purchase digital coins, which they can then pass on to their favorite creators directly. Buying gifts like roses, another form of virtual currency, is another option (per Screen Rant, the going rate for coins is about 1.5 cents, and roses cost one coin). Not everyone can receive tips—TikTok limits the feature to users over 17 who have 100,000 or more followers, and who live in the US, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain. While tipping is an easy way to show appreciation to your favorite TikTokker, etiquette expert Diane Gottsman tells TickerTV that it's by no means mandatory. (More TikTok stories).