Hi, big spender!
If you found this article because you’re thinking of sending your favorite content creator a TikTok Universe, we’re guessing you have a decent amount of money to spend.
If you found it because you’ve just heard about a TikTok user gifting someone a TikTok Universe and aren’t quite sure what it means, get ready to be shocked.
Let’s start with the explanation before we explain the extravagant price of the gift.
All About TikTok Live
Several years after the social media platform was available to users in the Western world, live streaming capability was introduced on the app. It’s called TikTok Live, and most creators who are over 16 and have at least 1,000 followers can launch Live sessions whenever they’d like. Viewers can watch and participate via on-screen text chat.
Many power users run Live streams to boost engagement with and loyalty among their followers; tutorials, show-and-tells, and Q-and-A sessions are among the most popular formats. Others showcase products they promote or sell, or they run Lives to earn revenue another way: receiving gifts (essentially tips) from fans (fans have to be at least 18 to receive or give gifts).
Those watching a Live stream have hundreds of these “gifts” to choose from, ranging from roses worth about one cent to other items like planets and lions worth well over a hundred dollars. The gifts are purchased with TikTok coins, which are sold in several areas of the app including the chat itself, and the creators running Live streams can convert the coins into cash.
Every time a gift is given, a notification or icon appears on the screen for everyone watching to see. Many of the more expensive ones are accompanied by splashy video effects or graphic shows.
There’s an important fact to consider before you give a gift in a TikTok Live, though. Creators only receive about half the value of your gift, while the app keeps the rest as a “commission.” If you give a disco ball that costs you about $13, the person running the Live only gets about $6.50. And if you buy a creator a $400 lion, they’ll receive less than two hundred bucks.
That brings us to the TikTok Universe.
The Cost — and Value — of a TikTok Universe
A TikTok Universe is the most expensive gift you can buy for a TikTok Live creator. When you give it, a gorgeous graphic display of a universe plays out on everyone’s screen.
It’s certainly an expensive present. You’ll have to spend 44,999 coins, costing you about $562 to purchase, to buy a TikTok Universe for a creator. (The actual price of a coin varies depending on where you purchase the coins, whether you buy them in large packages, and the country you’re in.)
Once you’ve given the gift and watched the on-screen show, however, the recipient has only about $280 in credits they can redeem for cash. If your goal was to give them a donation of about $500, you’d have to spend well over a thousand bucks to give them two Universes.
You might think that your favorite content creator deserves a tip worth hundreds and hundreds of dollars, and if you can afford it, more power to you. Just remember that they’ll only be getting about 50% of what you’ve spent.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.