Platform Events & Programs

LIVE Fest (annual)

TikTok LIVE's flagship annual global creator celebration. The 2026 edition was held Feb 12 at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas (hosted by Keke Palmer, with a Demi Lovato performance).

Guardian Pledge

Level 25+ Gifters (and Level 10+ community members) compete weekly to become a creator's sole 'Guardian'. The Guardian Pledge gift costs 4,999 Coins (18+). Perks: Rank Boost, Rank Anchor (free shield), Radiant Autograph, and a Guardian badge.

Creator Rewards Program

Replaces the old Creator Fund — pays per qualified video view on longer (1min+) original content. Reported to pay materially more per view than the legacy fund.

Requirement: 10,000 followers + 100,000 video views in the last 30 days

LIVE Gifts & Diamonds

Viewers buy Coins and send gifts during your LIVE; gifts convert to Diamonds you can cash out. The earliest monetization to unlock.

Requirement: 1,000 followers (18+) to go LIVE and receive gifts

LIVE Super Fan & Subscription

Restructured Sep 2025 — Super Fan ($9.99/mo) is the LIVE-exclusive tier with subscriber-only perks, badges and emotes; a separate Subscription tier covers non-LIVE exclusive content. Both provide recurring revenue.

Gifter Level Up

Cumulative Coins spent across all the LIVEs a viewer gifts in unlock gifter levels — each with a unique badge, glowing chat color, and an entry effect. A retention lever that makes top supporters more visible to creators.

Cameo on TikTok

TikTok's March 2026 partnership with Cameo lets U.S. creators offer personalized Cameo videos without leaving the app — sign up for Cameo in-app, add a request button to your content, and earn through Cameo's marketplace.

Requirement: U.S.-based creators; sign up for Cameo in the TikTok app

Video posts (the main feed)

Short videos posted to your profile are TikTok's core discovery surface and the eligibility base for the Creator Rewards Program. 1min+ original videos qualify for per-view payouts.

Requirement: Public account; 1min+ original videos for Creator Rewards

YouTube Partner Program

Unlocks ads, channel memberships, Super Chat / Super Thanks and Shorts revenue sharing. The core YouTube monetization gateway.

Requirement: 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 public watch hours (or 10M Shorts views in 90 days)

YouTube Hype

Viewers Hype your videos to boost discovery for smaller channels. 'Hype at no cost' expanded to 39 countries; Paid Hype is testing (e.g. Brazil, Turkey). Top supporters earn a Hype Star badge in comments.

Super Thanks & Channel Quests

Super Thanks now sends animated, interactive gifts during premieres or on-demand videos that trigger on-screen effects. Channel Quests let you set a community funding goal with a progress bar that fills as viewers contribute.

Partner Program 2027 Updates

Announced Aug 2026 (effective Feb 1, 2027) — the first major YouTube Partner Program overhaul since 2018. Premium Lite expands to all Premium countries with creators earning 60% of net Premium Lite subscription revenue; new incentives arrive (YouTube Shopping bonuses, brand-deal and trend-growth boosts); and entry thresholds rise to 8,000 watch hours in 365 days or 20M Shorts views in 90 days for new applicants.

Shorts, long-form & Community posts

Upload Shorts and long-form videos plus text/image Community posts to your channel. Shorts share ad revenue and long-form monetizes through the Partner Program; Community posts drive engagement between uploads.

Requirement: Community posts unlock for channels in good standing (historically 500+ subscribers)

Hype Train (Mythic & Community)

Community contribution events that unlock shared rewards. The new Mythic Train grants a bonus golden emote usable across Twitch for 24h; Community Trains reward non-spending viewers too and were found to earn ~2x standard trains.

Affiliate & Partner Program

Since May 2026 Bits, subs, emotes and Channel Points are open to all streamers; Affiliate is what unlocks payouts. Partner adds a higher revenue share and priority support.

Requirement: Affiliate (since Jun 2026): 25 followers + 4 hours streamed + 4 broadcast days + 3 avg concurrent viewers on 4 days (30 days)

Monetization for All

May 2026 rollout opening core monetization — Bits, subs, emotes, badges and Channel Points — to all eligible streamers worldwide, not just Affiliates and Partners. A 'Spendable Balance' (U.S. first, global later in 2026) lets you buy Bits or gift subs before reaching the $50 payout threshold.

Custom Power-Ups

Viewers spend Bits to trigger creator-defined on-stream effects — you set the effects and Bit cost, giving chat a direct way to shape the live content (announced at TwitchCon Rotterdam 2026).

Creator Badge Drops

Design custom chat badges that commemorate stream moments (subathons, milestones, Partnerversaries); viewers unlock them for a limited time by watching or gifting. Testing showed up to 50% more gift-sub revenue on day one.

Sponsorships for Affiliates

Brand-deal sponsorships — previously Partner-only — opened to Affiliates on Aug 20, 2026. Run campaigns end-to-end through the in-app Sponsorship Dashboard (with Wehype surfacing more deals) and get paid directly by brands.

Requirement: Affiliate status + 'Creator Sponsorship Certified' (a Creator Camp course)

Creator Program (95/5 split)

Kick's headline differentiator — creators keep 95% of subscription revenue (vs the industry-standard 50%), plus Kicks tipping.

Live Host Program

Viewers send Beans-based gifts during streams; hosts convert earnings via the host/agency program. Strong in SEA and MENA markets.

Reels, feed posts & carousels

Reels are the main reach driver; feed photos/carousels and Stories round out the profile. Monetize via brand partnerships, Gifts/Stars on Reels (where available) and shopping.

Creator Fast Track

Meta's new program paying $1K–$3K/month for 3 months to creators with 100K+ followers on other platforms, plus boosted reach. Designed to attract established creators from TikTok, YouTube and Instagram to Facebook.

Requirement: 100K+ followers on another platform (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, etc.)

Reels & feed posts

Facebook Reels and feed posts can earn through Stars, in-stream ads and performance bonuses (where available). Reels cross-post easily from Instagram via Meta's shared tools.

Requirement: Meta monetization eligibility varies by region and follower count