How to Get Free TikTok Ads? 5 Strategies & Who Should Use

If you’re wondering how to get free TikTok Ads, you’re not alone. While most brands assume TikTok Ads require a big budget, there are now practical ways to promote your business on TikTok with little to no cost. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to get FREE TikTok Ads.

Quick Summary:

• “Free TikTok Ads” in 2025 means leveraging credits, affiliates, creator programs, and UGC to promote without upfront spend — not running unlimited free paid ads.
• You can advertise at zero cost through promo credits, TikTok Shop Affiliate, creator incentive programs, product gifting, or agency partner benefits.
• These methods are ideal for new advertisers, SMBs, TikTok Shop sellers, creators, product-testing brands, and agencies wanting low-risk promotion.
• Use credits + UGC + affiliate partnerships to gain reach, validate demand, and scale before investing in full paid campaigns.

What “Free TikTok Ads” Really Means in 2025

When people search for “how to get free TikTok ads,” they often expect a way to run real, paid campaigns without spending anything. In reality, TikTok does not offer completely free ads, but in 2025, there are several legitimate ways to promote your business on TikTok without paying upfront.

That’s why understanding what “free” truly means is essential before choosing a strategy. Here are the four scenarios where TikTok advertising can feel “free” or close to zero cost:

Free TikTok Ad Credits (Zero Upfront Spend)

TikTok regularly provides promo credits to encourage new advertisers. This includes offers such as:

• Spend $X, get $X in ad credits
• Bonus credits for your first campaign
• Higher-tier credits unlocked through TikTok Agency Partners

These credits allow you to test real TikTok Ads without using your own money at the beginning.

Commission-Based Promotion via TikTok Shop Affiliate

If you sell products, TikTok Shop Affiliate lets creators promote your items with no upfront advertising cost.
Here’s how it works:

• Creators review or feature your product
• You only pay a commission after they generate a sale
• No ad budget is required

This is one of the most popular “zero-risk” advertising methods on TikTok today, especially for new sellers.

Creator Incentive Programs That Boost Reach for Free

TikTok’s incentive programs reward creators for producing high-quality content. These include:

• Creativity Program
• Creator Rewards Program (for long-form videos)
• TikTok Pulse

When creators earn money through these programs, they naturally create more engaging content — often featuring brands or products — which TikTok may push to more viewers without any ad spend from you.

Free Exposure Through Gifting or Low-Cost UGC

Sending your product to micro-creators (10K–100K followers) can generate:

• Free product reviews
• Authentic UGC
• Organic visibility
• Lower acquisition costs compared to ads

While not traditional “ads,” these videos often perform like paid promotions — at zero or near-zero cost.

So… can TikTok Ads be truly free?

Yes — but only when you rely on:

• Free ad credits
• Affiliate-based promotions
• Creator incentive amplification
• Product gifting or UGC seeding
• Agency partner benefits (e.g., bonus credits, referral commissions)

“Free TikTok Ads” doesn’t mean TikTok gives unlimited free impressions. It means you can advertise effectively without paying upfront, depending on the method you choose.

Can You Actually Run TikTok Ads for Free?

The short answer: Yes — but not in the way most people expect.

TikTok does not offer a built-in feature that lets anyone run unlimited ads for free. If you open TikTok Ads Manager today, you’ll still see the standard minimum requirements, such as:

• $50 minimum daily budget at the campaign level
• $20 minimum daily budget at the ad group level
• Optional: higher budgets depending on your bidding strategy

So, if you set up a traditional paid campaign, you can’t avoid these minimum spends.

However, there are specific situations where you can run TikTok ads without spending your own money upfront — and this is where the idea of “free TikTok ads” becomes realistic. Here are the only scenarios where TikTok Ads can effectively be “free”:

You use TikTok Ad Credits instead of your own budget

If you receive promo credits (through TikTok or a partner agency), the cost of your first campaigns is covered by credits, not your wallet.

For example:

• Spend $100 → Get $100 in ad credits
• Or through an agency: spend $100 → get $200 total value

Credits apply directly inside Ads Manager, allowing your campaigns to run without personal spending.

You promote products through TikTok Shop Affiliate

If you’re a seller with TikTok Shop:

• Creators promote your product
• You pay 0% upfront
• You only pay a commission after the sale happens

This is effectively performance-based advertising — no starting budget required.

You let creators or UGC partners generate the reach for you

If creators post about your product via gifting or commission deals, you get exposure that functions like paid advertising but costs you no money in Ads Manager. Many small brands use this method to build the initial momentum before investing in ads.

You work with a TikTok Agency Partner that unlocks free credits

TikTok Agency Partners often offer:

• Exclusive credit packages
• Referral bonuses
• Free account setup
• Access to high-trust agency accounts

This helps you reduce or fully offset your ad spend during the first campaigns — sometimes making your ad cost effectively $0.

Organic reach replaces paid reach (in certain cases)

TikTok’s algorithm still gives strong organic reach to accounts that know how to:

• Optimize for TikTok SEO
• Use searchable keywords
• Follow trending formats
• Spark Ads (using ad credits)

While this is not Ads Manager advertising, it is still a free way to reach thousands of users.

5 Proven strategies to get FREE TikTok Ads

Now that we’ve cleared up what “free” really means on TikTok, let’s dive into the five most effective ways to get started, without needing a big advertising budget. Each method here either gives you free access to TikTok’s ad tools or helps you promote effectively without paying out of pocket.

1. Claim TikTok Ad Credits via Referral or Agency Support

If you’re new to TikTok Ads, here’s some good news: you can actually start advertising without spending your own money, thanks to TikTok ad credits.

These promo credits are TikTok’s way of encouraging new advertisers like you to test the platform. And they’re not just limited to small amounts either.

You might have seen offers like: “Spend $100, get $100 in ad credit.” or “Get up to $500 in bonus credits when you create your first campaign.”

If you sign up directly through TikTok’s self-serve platform, you may already be eligible for these promotions. But here’s the catch: those are just the basic offers.

To unlock even more value, you can work with an official TikTok Agency Partner like Mega Digital. Partner agencies often give you access to higher-tier credits, along with hands-on support for setup, tracking, and performance optimization.

For example, when you sign up through Mega Digital, you might get something like: “Spend $100, get $100 in TikTok ad credits—plus a free strategy call and campaign audit.”

That means instead of burning your budget on trial and error, you’ll be backed by expert guidance and double the ad spend to work with.

2. Join the TikTok Affiliate Program

One possible way that any advertiser can take advantage of is affiliate marketing. TikTok Affiliate marketing is the method by which an affiliate earns a commission for promoting the products of another individual or company. The affiliate simply finds a product they like, promotes it, and earns a percentage of the profit from each transaction. 

Affiliate marketing is an excellent technique to increase sales and create significant online profit. The increasing trend toward less traditional marketing strategies has paid off for both businesses and affiliate marketers.

There are 2 criteria you need to remember to get affiliates to promote TikTok videos for free.

• Find the appropriate influencers in your niche market.
• Negotiate for a better result of advertising for FREE.

3. Use TikTok Rewards & Creator Incentive Programs

If you want to promote on TikTok without paying for ads, don’t overlook TikTok’s built-in reward and incentive programs. These aren’t traditional ad campaigns, but they can drive reach, visibility, and even traffic to your product or profile for free.

Let’s break down two key options:

TikTok Rewards (Referral Program)

If you’re a regular TikTok user (not necessarily a creator), you can invite new users to join TikTok through your unique referral link. When they sign up and stay active, you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for real rewards, sometimes even cash or gift cards.

Some brands use this program to drive new traffic by encouraging existing users to spread the word for free.

While this doesn’t give you traditional ad impressions, it helps increase your reach organically and costs nothing to participate.

TikTok Creator Programs (e.g., Creativity Program, TikTok Pulse)

If you’re a content creator, TikTok offers several programs where you can monetize your videos or get featured in premium placements, such as:

• TikTok Creativity Program Beta: Get paid based on qualified video views (especially long-form content).
• TikTok Pulse: If you qualify, your content can be placed next to top-performing videos, with TikTok sharing a cut of ad revenue.

So, what is the real benefit here? These programs incentivize you to create high-quality, engaging videos, which TikTok may help amplify, without you spending a single dollar on ads.

4. Collaborate with Creators via Product Gifting or Commission Deals

If you don’t have the budget for paid ads, let creators promote for you.

Instead of spending on TikTok Ads Manager, many brands are now turning to creator collaborations, which can cost little to nothing upfront, especially if you offer products, samples, or commission-based deals.

Product Seeding (a.k.a. Gifting)

You send your product to a relevant TikTok creator, and in return, they create content about it.
There’s no guarantee they’ll post, unless agreed upon, but when they do, it’s free exposure to their audience.

Tip: Choose micro-creators (10K–100K followers). They’re usually more open to gifting deals and have better engagement rates than mega influencers.

Affiliate or Commission-Based Deals

Thanks to TikTok Shop Affiliate, you can invite creators to promote your product through their own channels.
You only pay them a commission when they generate sales, which means no upfront cost at all.

This setup works well if:

• You want creators to help you scale without ad spend.
• You have a TikTok Shop set up
• Your margins can handle a 10–30% commission

5. Become a Partner with a TikTok Agency

I bet some of you guys haven’t heard of the TikTok Agency account! Some of TikTok’s top agencies get priority in distributing agency accounts for advertisers to get full access to ad formats and have credit lines in their payment method. They also provide many beneficial programs that help you get more out of our solutions as you expand your network.

As a TikTok agency, Mega Digital also works to give our clients a referral program that can support advertisers in lowering their ad costs. With Mega Digital’s Referral Program, we give out TikTok Ads Commission when you advise and onboard clients. As a result, advertisers will receive a commission on the referred client’s total ad spend until they discontinue utilizing our ad account.

Moreover, you can receive the commission in whatever way you wish. Earn commissions credited immediately to your ad account balance or your chosen payment method. With our referral program, advertisers will have the chance to decrease their ad spend or even increase their ad budget if they have many networks to refer to. Don’t stay limited, become our partner now!

Who Should Use “Free TikTok Ads” Methods?

“Free TikTok Ads” strategies aren’t just for beginners. In 2025, these methods are valuable for several types of advertisers — especially those who want to test, scale, or validate TikTok as a channel without taking unnecessary financial risks.

1. New Advertisers Testing TikTok for the First Time

If you’re just getting started with TikTok Ads, free ad credits and low-risk methods help you:

• Experiment with ad formats
• Test audiences and creatives
• Understand performance trends
• Avoid losing money during the learning curve

New advertisers often get the highest promo credit offers, making this the perfect starting point.

2. Small and Medium Businesses With Limited Budgets

SMBs typically face tight cash flow and can’t afford to burn money on untested ads. Free methods allow them to:

• Launch campaigns without upfront costs
• Use credits to offset budget
• Combine organic + paid strategies
• Collaborate with creators instead of paying for ads

This reduces financial pressure while still generating reach and sales.

3. TikTok Shop Sellers & eCommerce Brands

If you’re selling through TikTok Shop, the “free” ecosystem is even stronger:

• The Affiliate Program brings creators to promote your products
• You only pay commission after a sale
• Gifting and UGC is extremely cost-effective
• You can reinvest profits before spending on ads

Many successful TikTok Shop brands start with zero ad budget.

4. Creators and Personal Brands

Creators who want to grow faster can use free TikTok methods to:

• Boost their videos through organic reach
• Join incentive programs to increase visibility
• Leverage collabs instead of ad spend

This helps them build credibility before investing in paid promotion.

5. Brands Wanting to Validate Product-Market Fit First

If you’re launching a new product and want to confirm that TikTok is the right channel, free methods let you:

• Collect early feedback
• Measure engagement
• Test creative angles
• Confirm demand before scaling paid ads

Zero-upfront strategies prevent unnecessary waste during the validation phase.

6. Agencies or Freelancers Managing Multiple Client Accounts

Marketers working across multiple clients can use free TikTok methods to:

• Reduce client acquisition costs
• Deliver results before clients commit to paid ads
• Use agency ad credits to unlock higher performance
• Increase client retention through low-cost wins

TikTok Agency Partners (like Mega Digital) can also give access to referral bonuses that offset ad spend even further.

Frequently Asked Questions about getting free TikTok ads

Final Word

It’s possible to promote free TikTok Ads with our above tips! You can do it in any way that suits your desire, or connect us to get a coffee talk and find the most effective method. We’re free to talk! Let’s exchange ideas!