How Much Is A Galaxy On TikTok?

Most TikTok influencers make a good living on the platform from sponsorships, partnerships, and product marketing. Many casual content creators earn extra pocket money the same way. And there’s another revenue stream available to all of them.

TikTok Live Gifts

Almost any TikTok user with more than 1,000 followers can conduct TikTok Live streams — in which fans may give them gifts redeemable for cash. (Users must be 18 or older to receive gifts.)

Since we’re talking about TikTok, though, these gifts are much more elaborate and fun than simply leaving a tip. First, viewers purchase TikTok coins for real money, and then they can choose from dozens of “gifts” ranging from a rose (which costs a little more than a penny) to a universe (worth a whopping $562).

Small gifts appear on the screen as an image during the live stream, along with the giver’s username. More expensive ones, however, trigger gaudy screen displays which add extra excitement to the TikTok Live session.

One of the most popular TikTok gifts you can give is a Galaxy.

All About TikTok Galaxies

It costs 1,000 TikTok coins to buy and donate a Galaxy to a creator. You’ll have to pay about $13.50 to purchase those coins (depending on the size of the coin bundle you purchase).

That’s one reason why Galaxies are such a popular gift. They’re not just one-cent tokens of appreciation like roses or seven-cent tips like pandas, but they’re not extremely expensive like universes or gorillas (the latter cost almost $400). A galaxy is a significant show of support for a creator, but it’s not going to break the bank for most people.

There’s another cool attribute of a TikTok galaxy that makes it so popular: the way it shows up on the screen. When you donate a galaxy, you, the recipient, and everyone else in the chat see a large, swirling, glowing galaxy image (along with your username) that dominates the Live stream for a short time.

Before you decide to gift a TikTok content creator with a galaxy (or anything else), though, there’s one important thing to understand.

What Happens to Your Gift?

Just because you donate a tip worth about $13.50, that doesn’t mean the recipient gets $13.50 in cash.

The system converts gifts given in TikTok Live sessions into a different type of currency. The value (in coins) of all gifts is turned into “diamonds,” which creators can combine and redeem whenever they’d like.

Here’s the catch, though. TikTok takes a 50% commission when gifts are converted into diamonds (that’s in addition to the money the app makes selling coins to users). In other words, the $13.50 galaxy you donate to your favorite creator doesn’t wind up as a $13.50 tip. They collect only $6.75 when they redeem it.

When you’re having a great time in a TikTok Live stream and want to reward the user who is running it, they’ll certainly appreciate any gift you may give them. Just realize that much less than the amount you spend on the galaxy (or any other gift) will end up in the creator’s pocket.