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What Are TikTok Coins

Published March 12, 2025

If you’re a regular user of TikTok, you have likely come across your Balance section within the Settings area of your account. In here, you can find TikTok coins. However, what are TikTok coins? We will explain everything you need to know about these virtual coins and whether they are worth getting.

What Are TikTok Coins?

In simple terms, TikTok coins are a virtual currency within TikTok. These digital coins can be swapped for real money and used to make in-app purchases.

The following are the main ways that TikTok coins are used:

Virtual Gifts

It has become very popular to send TikTok creators different kinds of virtual gifts to show their support and appreciation. Everything from roses to galaxies are sent to content creators during TikTok Live livestreams.

The appeal of these virtual stickers also includes feeling excitement whenever a gift shows up superimposed on the screen during a livestream. It is a great way to engage with creators who get to receive gifts that can be exchanged for real money later on.

Note: TikTok takes up to 66% of the money that these virtual gifts are worth.

Content Promotion

Besides virtual gifts, TikTok coins are also used to promote content. Creators have the option to get their videos in front of more eyes by paying with these virtual coins.

Generally-speaking, a creator can expect to receive around 10 new followers for every $1 in TikTok coins they spend on content promotion. However, this figure will vary depending on the kind of content being posted.

Creators have noticed that TikTok will promote content paid for with TikTok coins to users who are within the region a creator is located, as well as those who follow many accounts. The downside of this is that these are generally lower quality followers, and they may not actively contribute to a creator enjoying a higher engagement rate. However, creators will still get a noticeable and worthwhile boost from using TikTok coins to promote their videos.

TikTok Coins Vs Diamonds

Besides TikTok coins there are also diamonds. You may be confused as to the difference between coins and diamonds. If so, you’re not alone. It can be a bit confusing because they are interrelated.

Here is how the sequence goes:

  1. TikTok users buy the app’s virtual coins.
  2. They then use those coins to buy virtual gifts to send to creators.
  3. These gifts, in turn, earn creators diamonds.
  4. A creator can then swap those diamonds for real money that can be cashed out to their bank account through Paypal.

There is no direct way to swap coins for real money. This means you should think about how many coins you get before you purchase them, because your money will be making a one-way trip. However, the good news is the TikTok coins never expire. This means you can hold onto them for as long as you’d like without worrying about them becoming useless.

Convert Coins Into Diamonds

As mentioned earlier, TikTok coins can be converted into diamonds, but before creators get any money, the app takes over half of the total value of the coins. We can take a look at an example for perspective:

A lion virtual gift costs 29,999 coins. In US dollars, this means it costs $419.99 to the gift buyer. After the lion gift is converted into diamonds, the cashout value is 66% less, or $138.60. This is a striking difference from what a creator could have received if they were given the full value of the virtual gift.

How Much TikTok Coins Are Worth

Besides wanting to know the answer to the question, “What are TikTok coins?” you probably are also wondering how much these digital coins are worth.

At the moment, 100 TikTok coins = $1.05

At around $0.01 each in value, the math will be easy to do when deciding what kind of virtual gifts to buy or how much diamonds are worth.

Note: The larger quantity of coins you purchase, the lower the unit price for the coins.

Given that the price of TikTok coins is subject to change, it is a good idea to check on their latest values within the app’s coins section.

Conclusion

TikTok coins are a highly popular in-app feature of the popular social media platform. They are used both by users to buy virtual gifts for their favorite creators, as well as by creators to promote their videos. They enable both users and creators to interact and engage with one another more, and have proven themselves to be an effective tool by creators and fans alike. While not a requirement, they can help you either support your favorite creators or get your content in front of more people.

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Written By:
AUTHOR & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jessica is a consultant, researcher, and the editor-in-chief of the Buzzoid blog, who specializes in social media, marketing, and digital strategy. She is a graduate of Antioch College and earned her MBA at Boston College’s Carroll Graduate School of Management, specializing in STEM Management.

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