TikTok gives you the option to exchange real-world money for its in-app currency of TikTok coins. But you don't always get the same prices.

Next time you go to purchase coins for your TikTok account, purchase them on your desktop to get the cheapest prices. Here's why...

What Are TikTok Coins?

Coins are the in-app currency of TikTok and you can use TikTok coins in a few different ways. You can use TikTok coins to buy gifts for your favorite creators or purchase promotions for your own TikTok videos.

To buy these items, you must first purchase coins, and then use them to make in-app purchases.

TikTok coins can be purchased within the TikTok app. But what you might not know is that you can get a better deal if you purchase coins on your desktop. According to the TikTok website, you can save up to 31% when you do this.

Why Are TikTok Coins Cheaper on Desktop?

You can save up to 31% when you purchase TikTok coins on your desktop, rather than in the app. This is because app stores charge a commission fee for payments made to app companies through the store's payment processes.

For large companies, like the creators of TikTok, the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store take a 30% commission fee from in-app purchases. Instead of simply letting the app stores take a cut, TikTok takes this fee into account and charges higher prices within the app, making the customer pay the extra fee.

But since TikTok's website doesn't need to be hosted on an app store, payments through the desktop website don't have a commission fee attached as they do with mobile app storefronts.

How to Buy TikTok Coins on Your Desktop

If you want to buy coins from the TikTok website instead of the app, you will need to log into your account on your web browser.

One this is done, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the TikTok Coin purchase page.
    TikTok Coins desktop webpage
  2. Select the number of coins you would like to purchase. Note that you can choose a custom amount, which allows you to purchase more coins than you would be able to within the TikTok app.
  3. Click Recharge.
  4. Fill in a payment method, if you have not already done so.
    TikTok Coins desktop checkout
  5. Click Confirm.
    Screenshot of desktop page showing that your TikTok coin purchase is complete

Once you have purchased TikTok coins you can choose to switch back over to the app to spend them, or you can continue using the desktop version of TikTok.

Why Should You Buy TikTok Coins on a Desktop?

You can save almost a third of the price when purchasing TikTok coins on your desktop, because you avoid paying the app store channel fee.

You can also purchase a much larger amount of coins on the desktop than you can in the app with the custom coin amount option.

So if you want a better deal on your coins, you now know where to get it and why that's the case.