# How TikTok video data is billed: quoted before the run, charged per video

TikTok data through RouterGrowth is billed per run, not per month. inspect shows the TikTok rate (a small base per call plus a rate per video), the run reserves that quote under your max_cost, and the charge settles on the videos returned. Below: a real run on the Scrub Daddy account and its charge.

HTML page: https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/api-pricing
Part of: [TikTok tools](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok.md)

## The call

[`social.posts`](https://www.routergrowth.com/catalog/social.posts): Recent public posts for a social handle.

Price on this network: $0.00525 per post plus $0.00175 per call, $0.002 minimum a call. The exact quote is shown before every run.

## What a real run returned

Run on 2026-10-19: 5 records in 55.8 s for $0.028. Personal fields are masked. Five recent Scrub Daddy videos, billed as one call of five results. Its charge is the cost shown on this page.

| created_at | text | views | likes | reposts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-16 | @Dunkin' D stands for scrub DADDY babe… 💅 | 8774 | 396 | 105 |
| 2026-10-09 | Name a cooler CEO, we’ll wait… @Duolingo ? @Harry's ? @Dunkin' ? @Wendy’s ? @Slim Jim ? Anybody??? #scrubdaddy #CEObattle | 10600 | 340 | 4 |
| 2026-10-11 | Keep your eyes peeled on 10/12… 👀 #scrubdaddy | 11400 | 408 | 12 |

## How to do it

1. **Read the rate.** inspect -c social.posts lists the TikTok base and per video rate, free of charge.
2. **Choose the limit.** The limit is the most videos you pay for. Five is enough to check the account.
3. **Cap the run.** max_cost refuses any quote above it before a cent is charged, and limits which fallbacks may run.
4. **Check the charge.** billing.charged is in every run response, and routergrowth runs lists them all.

## Ask it like this

- Quote what 20 videos from each of these 30 TikTok brands would cost, then run it if it stays under $3. (`social.posts`)
- Search TikTok for "cleaning hacks", keep 10 videos, and tell me what the search cost. (`social.search`)

## Connect

MCP server: `https://api.routergrowth.com/mcp`

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http routergrowth https://api.routergrowth.com/mcp
```

```bash
npm install -g routergrowth && routergrowth setup
routergrowth run -c social.posts -i '{"platform": "tiktok", "handle": "scrubdaddy", "limit": 5}'
```

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.routergrowth.com/v1/run \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ROUTERGROWTH_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"capability": "social.posts", "input": {"platform": "tiktok", "handle": "scrubdaddy", "limit": 5}}'
```

## Worth knowing

- **No plan to pick.** There are no tiers or monthly quotas. A prepaid wallet pays for each run.
- **Billed per result.** The charge follows the number of videos returned, up to the limit you set.
- **Nothing for a miss.** The catalog marks social.posts as not billed on no match. A handle with no public videos costs nothing.

## Questions

### Is TikTok data priced per month?

No. Each run is priced on its own, from the quote inspect shows.

### Why does a TikTok run have a base amount?

The TikTok route has a small charge per call on top of the rate per video. inspect shows both before you run.

### Are these TikTok's own API prices?

No. RouterGrowth is independent of TikTok; these are RouterGrowth's rates for public data.

### What if the run fails?

A failed run is not charged. Fix the input and run again.

## Related

- [Read a TikTok account's recent videos through one REST or MCP call](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/api.md)
- [Scrape the recent videos of a TikTok account, with their numbers](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/video-scraper.md)
- [Search TikTok for a keyword and get the videos back as rows](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/scraper.md)
- [Research a topic on TikTok without applying for the Research API](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/research-api.md)
- [Scrape a brand's TikTok profile into one record your agent can use](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/profile-scraper.md)
- [Scrape the comments under a TikTok video and read what viewers ask](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/comments-scraper.md)
- [Search TikTok from a Python script and get videos back as JSON](https://www.routergrowth.com/tools/tiktok/api-python.md)