TikTok Creator Fund vs Shop: Which Makes More Money?

The "Views vs. Sales" Debate

For years, creators chased views. But with the Creator Fund paying roughly $0.02 to $0.04 per 1,000 views, a million views might only net you $40.

Meanwhile, TikTok Shop affiliates are making $5-$20 per sale.

In this guide, we'll build a Revenue Estimator that compares:

1. Ad Revenue: Based on video views.
2. Shop Revenue: Based on product sales data.

The Tech Stack

We'll use the SociaVault API to fetch both video stats and shop data.

Prerequisites

• Node.js installed
• A SociaVault API Key
• axios for API requests

Step 1: Estimating Ad Revenue

First, let's calculate the "Vanity Metrics" revenue.

const axios = require('axios');

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_SOCIAVAULT_API_KEY';
const BASE_URL = 'https://api.sociavault.com/v1/scrape';

// Conservative estimate: $0.03 RPM (Revenue Per Mille)
const RPM = 0.03; 

async function getAdRevenue(handle) {
  try {
    const response = await axios.get(`${BASE_URL}/tiktok/videos`, {
      params: { handle, amount: 30 }, // Last 30 videos
      headers: { 'x-api-key': API_KEY }
    });

    const videos = response.data.data.videos || [];
    let totalViews = 0;

    videos.forEach(v => totalViews += v.stats.playCount);

    const estimatedEarnings = (totalViews / 1000) * RPM;

    return {
      totalViews,
      estimatedEarnings
    };
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error fetching videos:', error.message);
    return { totalViews: 0, estimatedEarnings: 0 };
  }
}

Step 2: Estimating Shop Revenue

Now, let's look at the real money. We'll fetch the products they are selling.

async function getShopRevenue(handle) {
  try {
    // Note: You need the shop URL, which is often linked in bio or accessible via handle
    const shopUrl = `https://www.tiktok.com/@${handle}`; 
    
    const response = await axios.get(`${BASE_URL}/tiktok-shop/products`, {
      params: { url: shopUrl, amount: 30 },
      headers: { 'x-api-key': API_KEY }
    });

    const products = response.data.data.products || [];
    let totalSales = 0;
    let estimatedCommission = 0;

    products.forEach(p => {
      // 'sales' is often total historical sales of the product
      // We'll assume a 10% commission rate for affiliates
      const price = parseFloat(p.price.replace('$', ''));
      const sales = p.sales || 0;
      
      totalSales += sales;
      estimatedCommission += (sales * price) * 0.10; 
    });

    return {
      productsCount: products.length,
      totalSales,
      estimatedCommission
    };
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error fetching shop:', error.message);
    return { productsCount: 0, totalSales: 0, estimatedCommission: 0 };
  }
}

Step 3: The Comparison

Let's run the numbers for a creator.

async function compareRevenue(handle) {
  console.log(`\n💰 Analyzing Revenue for @${handle}...`);

  const adStats = await getAdRevenue(handle);
  const shopStats = await getShopRevenue(handle);

  console.log(`\n📺 Creator Fund (Last 30 Videos)`);
  console.log(`Views: ${adStats.totalViews.toLocaleString()}`);
  console.log(`Est. Earnings: $${adStats.estimatedEarnings.toFixed(2)}`);

  console.log(`\n🛍️ TikTok Shop (Top Products)`);
  console.log(`Products Listed: ${shopStats.productsCount}`);
  console.log(`Est. Commission: $${shopStats.estimatedCommission.toFixed(2)}`);

  if (shopStats.estimatedCommission > adStats.estimatedEarnings) {
    const multiplier = (shopStats.estimatedCommission / adStats.estimatedEarnings).toFixed(1);
    console.log(`\n✅ CONCLUSION: Shop pays ${multiplier}x more than views.`);
  } else {
    console.log(`\n✅ CONCLUSION: Views are still the main earner.`);
  }
}

// Example: Analyze a creator known for shop content
compareRevenue('mikaylanogueira');

Why This Matters in 2025

The era of "getting famous to get rich" is over. Now, you get rich by selling. The data proves that a creator with 100k followers selling products often out-earns a creator with 1M followers just dancing.

Next Steps

Pivot your strategy. Start selling.

Get Your API Key →