How many followers do you need to make money on Instagram and TikTok?

Both apps lock their money features behind follower counts. Here is every threshold from Meta's and TikTok's own pages, and what you can do before you reach them.

By Josh Wade, co-founder of SpoiletUpdated October 21, 20266 min read

The short answer

Instagram Gifts on Reels unlock at 500 followers. Instagram Subscriptions need 10,000.
TikTok needs 1,000 followers before you can go LIVE and receive gifts, and 1,000 before you can add a bio link.
TikTok's Creator Rewards Program needs 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in 30 days, and runs in 8 countries.
Instagram lets any account add up to 5 links to its profile, so a tip link works from your first follower.

Most answers to “how many followers do you need” give one number, but Instagram and TikTok each run several money features, and each feature has its own follower minimum, age rule and country list. The lowest bar is 500 followers for Instagram Gifts. The highest common one is 10,000, where both apps put subscriptions.

Below are the real thresholds, taken from Meta's and TikTok's help centers and terms in October 2026. Every feature on both apps also requires you to be 18 or older.

The follower ladder at a glance

What each follower count unlocks

FollowersInstagramTikTok

0
Instagram
- Up to 5 links in your profile
TikTokNothing new
500
Instagram
- Gifts on Reels
TikTokNothing new
1,000
Instagram
- Going Live, for Badges
- Creator Marketplace
TikTok
- LIVE and LIVE Gifts
- A link in your bio
- Shop affiliate (30-day pilot)
5,000
InstagramNothing new
TikTok
- Shop affiliate, full access
10,000
Instagram
- Subscriptions
TikTok
- Creator Rewards
- Subscription
- Video Gifts
- Series

Instagram opens money features earlier: a profile link from day one and Gifts at 500. TikTok holds almost everything until 1,000, including the bio link, and its bigger programs until 10,000.

Instagram: Gifts at 500, Subscriptions at 10,000

Instagram's creator tools need a professional account and the same three policy checks: Partner Monetization Policies, Community Standards and Content Monetization Policies. Gifts and Subscriptions run in the same 49 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil and most of the EU.

Instagram money features and their minimums
Feature	Followers	Other rules	What you get
Gifts on Reels	500	Payout account set up, 49 countries	$0.01 per Star a fan sends
Badges in Live	1,000 to go Live	Public account	Instagram's share is "currently" 0%, app stores take 30%
Creator Marketplace	1,000	Public professional account	Brand deals at the brand's rate
Subscriptions	10,000	49 countries	Instagram's share is "currently" 0%, app stores take 30%
Bonuses	Invite only	Test countries, no public list	Paid by Instagram

Instagram pays every tool together, around the 21st of each month, once you pass $5 in the US. Without a payout account you can earn up to $500 per tool, and you lose those earnings if you don't add one within 6 months.

TikTok: 1,000 to go LIVE, 10,000 for the rest

TikTok's first gate is 1,000 followers. That's what it takes to go LIVE, and receiving LIVE Gifts needs both LIVE access and an 18+ account. It's also the minimum for putting a website in your bio, unless you have a Verified Business Account.

TikTok money features and their minimums
Feature	Followers	Other rules	What you get
LIVE Gifts	1,000 (to go LIVE)	Not for government or political accounts	Diamonds, cashed out as a reward payment
Shop affiliate (US)	1,000, full access at 5,000	US-based, identity check	The seller's commission rate
Creator Rewards	10,000	100,000 views in 30 days, videos over 1 minute, 8 countries	Paid by TikTok, criteria not published
Subscription	10,000	100,000 views last month	70% after app store fees, up to 90% with a bonus
Video Gifts	10,000	Account at least 30 days old	Diamonds, no share published
Series	10,000	Account at least 30 days old, recent public posts	Price set from TikTok's options

Creator Rewards runs in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, Mexico and Brazil. If you live anywhere else, the 10,000-follower programs that remain are Subscription, Video Gifts and Series, where available.

What the built-in programs pay

Neither app makes the per-view math easy. TikTok doesn't publish a rate for Creator Rewards, and its terms say rewards follow “Rewards Criteria” it doesn't disclose. What is published:

$0.01
Per Star on Instagram Gifts
Instagram's share of the Stars a fan buys isn't published
70%
TikTok Subscription payout
After app store fees. A bonus can raise it to 90%
$50
TikTok's US payout minimum
For Creator Rewards and Series, paid on the 15th

For LIVE Gifts, the most recent split TikTok published is from its LIVE Creator Hub in December 2022: creators get 50% of TikTok's net revenue from gifts, after app store and payment fees. TikTok's 2026 terms don't restate a percentage.

How to earn before you hit the numbers

The thresholds decide when Instagram or TikTok will pay you. They don't decide when your fans can. A fan who likes your work can send money the day you give them a way to, whether you have 300 followers or 30,000.

Put a tip link in your Instagram profile now. Instagram allows up to 5 links on any account, with no follower minimum.
On TikTok, use your Instagram or YouTube profile to hold the link until you reach 1,000 followers and can add one to your bio.
Ask at the moment fans are happiest: after a finished piece, a big stream or a milestone. One clear ask beats a link in every caption.
Use a tip page that doesn't make fans sign up. Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee and Spoilet all take payment from guests. See how to set up a virtual tip jar.

The rules for tip links on each app

Neither app bans a tip link in your bio. Both have rules about how you push it.

What Meta and TikTok say about outside links
App	Rule	What it means for a tip link
Instagram	Up to 5 profile links, visible to anyone	Allowed from your first follower
Instagram	Engagement bait can't be monetized	"Like this to see my link" can cost a Reel its Gifts or bonus
TikTok	Bio link from 1,000 followers or a Verified Business Account	Small accounts can't link in their bio yet
TikTok	LIVEs can be demonetized for repeatedly directing viewers off-platform	Mention your link once, not on a loop
TikTok Shop	Shop content can be removed for linking to other websites	Keep tip links out of shoppable videos and Shop LIVEs
TikTok	Profiles with contact info can make videos ineligible for Creator Rewards	TikTok doesn't say whether a tip link counts, so treat it as a risk

Questions creators ask

Can you make money on Instagram with 500 followers?

Yes. 500 followers is the minimum for Gifts on Reels, which pay $0.01 per Star, if you're 18 or older, on a professional account and in one of 49 countries. A tip link in your bio has no follower minimum at all.

How many followers do you need to get paid on TikTok?

1,000 to go LIVE and receive gifts, and you have to be 18 or older. Creator Rewards, Subscription, Video Gifts and Series all need 10,000.

Does TikTok pay $1 per 1,000 views?

TikTok doesn't publish a per-view rate. Creator Rewards pays from TikTok's own funds using criteria it doesn't disclose, and joining takes 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days.

Can I put a tip link in my Instagram bio?

Yes. Instagram allows up to 5 links on a profile, and Meta's rules don't ban tip or payment links. Skip engagement bait like "like this to see the link", which can cost a Reel its monetization.

Can I put a tip link in my TikTok bio?

Once you have 1,000 followers or a Verified Business Account. During a LIVE, mention it sparingly: TikTok can demonetize a LIVE for repeatedly directing viewers off the platform.

From the Spoilet team

Let fans spoil you with one link

On Spoilet, fans tap a fixed-price Spoil, from a $5 Coffee to a $100 Golden, and pay without an account. Spoilet is in an invite-only beta, so claim your name and we'll hold it while we send invites.

Sources

Every fee and rule above comes from these pages, read on October 21, 2026. Platforms change their terms, so check the page before you decide.