How agency commission works on TikTok LIVE

Four steps from a gift to a split

Whatever the contract says, the arithmetic behind an agency split has the same four steps: diamonds are credited to the host, diamonds are turned into dollars, the agency's percentage is applied to some base, and the remainder goes to the host before fees and taxes. Most confusion comes from two of the steps — which exchange rate is used, and what the percentage is applied to.

This guide is about the calculation. For the kinds of deals agencies offer (percentage, salary, bonuses) and the questions to ask before you sign, read how TikTok LIVE agencies get paid; for what a diamond is worth in general, read the diamonds guide.

Steps 1 and 2: diamonds, then dollars

Viewers send gifts during a LIVE and the host is credited in diamonds. TikTok's Virtual Items Policy says diamonds are based on the gifts a creator receives, at a conversion rate that TikTok decides and may change from time to time, and that diamonds can be withdrawn for money denominated in US dollars, subject to daily limits and the withdrawal instructions. It gives no number. (Source: TikTok Virtual Items Policy, tiktok.com/legal/page/global/virtual-items/en, checked 4 October 2026; the page states it was last updated in December 2019 for most regions.)

Because TikTok publishes no rate, every dollar figure you see elsewhere is an estimate. Toktik's calculator uses about $0.005 per diamond as a rough value to the creator before any agency split. It is Toktik's own estimate, not a TikTok figure, and the real rate can differ. The agency's statement may use a different rate, and the difference can matter as much as a few points of commission.

Step 3: the agency's percentage, and what it is applied to

The percentage is only half of the term. The other half is the base: the amount the percentage is multiplied by. It could be the dollar value of all diamonds the host received, the amount after TikTok's own deductions, or the amount after the agency has subtracted fees. The same percentage on different bases gives different results, so the contract should name the base in words, not only the number.

TikTok's Creator Networks page says networks can follow metrics such as diamonds and active hours in LIVE Backstage, and can manage contracts and review monthly bonuses and payouts there. It does not say how a network's commission is set or what it is applied to (checked 4 October 2026).

A worked example with invented numbers

Everything in this example is made up for the sum. Suppose a host received 250,000 diamonds in a month. At Toktik's estimate of $0.005 per diamond that is $1,250. The three percentages below are arbitrary so you can see the mechanics; they are not typical, average or recommended rates, and no agency is known to use them.

Step 4 is simple subtraction: the host's remainder is the total minus the agency's share, so the two always add back to $1,250 before fees and taxes. If you want to try your own diamonds and your own percentage, the agency commission calculator does exactly this sum in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.

Why the base matters as much as the percentage

Take the 25% row. If the agreement applies it to the full $1,250, the agency's share is $312.50. If, again purely for the sum, $50 of fees come off first and the percentage applies to the remaining $1,200, the share is $300. Neither version is wrong; they are different deals that look identical when only the percentage is quoted. Ask which base the agency uses and whether it can change:

• The gross dollar value of all diamonds, before anything is deducted.
• The amount after TikTok's deductions or fees, which TikTok does not itemise publicly.
• The amount after the agency's own deductions, such as charges for services or equipment.

What reaches the host after the split

The remainder in the table is still not the amount in a bank account. Several things sit between the two, and a clear statement lists each of them:

• Currency conversion, if the host is paid in a currency other than US dollars.
• Fees from a payment provider or bank, and which side pays them.
• Taxes, which depend on where the host lives and are the host's responsibility.
• Timing: diamonds credited in one month may be paid in a later one, so the numbers for a month rarely line up with a single payment.

Why the percentage is not on TikTok's pages

The split between an agency and a host is a private agreement between those two parties. We read TikTok's Creator Networks page and Virtual Items Policy on 4 October 2026 and neither publishes a commission rate, a range or a standard split, so Toktik does not state one either. If a site or a message tells you what agencies normally take, ask who published it, when, and on what evidence.

Toktik also cannot see payments. It reads public leaderboards and the public agency catalog, so it can show diamonds that creators received on those boards and what agencies publish about themselves, but never a contract or a payment.

Check a statement against your own numbers

A monthly statement is easiest to check if you keep a small record of your own. Do this before the first statement arrives, not after a disagreement:

• Note your diamonds and active hours for the month from your own app.
• Ask which dollar rate per diamond the agency used and write it next to the statement.
• Redo the sum: diamonds times the rate, then the percentage on the base your agreement names.
• If your figure and theirs differ, ask in writing which step differs, and keep the reply.