How to Change a TikTok Business Account to a Creator Account

Thinking about switching your TikTok from a Business Account to a Creator Account? You’re in the right place. This guide walks you through the entire process, explaining what you gain, what you might lose, and how to make the change in just a few taps.

Why Switch from a Business to a Creator Account?

The number one reason creators and brands make this switch comes down to one thing: music. Business Accounts on TikTok are limited to the Commercial Music Library - a collection of royalty-free tracks that are safe for advertising. While useful, this library is a fraction of the size a standard Creator Account has access to.

If you've ever had a trending sound in mind for your next video only to discover it’s “not available for business use,” you’ve run into this wall. It’s a frustrating roadblock, especially on a platform where audio is the driving force behind trends and virality. By switching to a Creator Account, you unlock the entire music library, allowing you to use virtually any trending sound, song clip, or popular audio that’s taking over the For You Page.

Beyond music, a Creator Account also opens the door to monetization features specifically designed for individual creators, such as eligibility for the TikTok Creator Fund and access to the Creator Marketplace, where brands connect with influencers for paid partnerships.

A Creator Account can also feel more authentic to your audience. The "Business" label is helpful for shops and service providers, but if you're building a personal brand, a "Creator" label often aligns better with your content strategy and community perception.

Creator vs. Business Account: The Main Differences

While the change is simple to make, the two account types have distinct features tailored to different goals. Understanding these differences beforehand is important for making the right choice for your brand or profile.

1. The Music Library: The Game Changer

• Creator Account: You get access to the entire music and sounds library. This includes millions of commercially licensed popular songs, trending audio clips, and dialogues from movies and TV shows. This is your ticket to participate in almost any viral trend without restrictions.
• Business Account: Access is restricted to the Commercial Music Library. This library contains over a million pre-cleared, royalty-free songs and sounds designed for marketing and promotional content. While it’s grown over time, it lacks the chart-topping hits and quirky, user-generated sounds that fuel TikTok’s culture.

2. Monetization Opportunities

• Creator Account: Designed with creators in mind, this account type is your gateway to TikTok’s specific monetization tools. A Creator Account is required to apply for the TikTok Creator Marketplace (for brand deals) and, where available, the TikTok Creator Fund (which pays creators based on video views). You can also access features like an Artist profile (if you’re a musician) and platform-native tipping or gifting features when eligible.
• Business Account: Monetization is more traditional and business-focused. While you don’t get access to the Creator Fund, you can integrate your brand’s products with TikTok Shop, run advertisements through the TikTok Ads Manager, and add a link in your bio to drive traffic to an external website or online store from day one.

3. Analytics and Insights

Both account types offer robust analytics, but they are framed slightly differently to serve distinct purposes. They both give you access to data on your followers, content performance, and profile views.

• Creator Account Analytics: The creator dashboard tends to emphasize metrics that are valuable for personal brand growth and brand partnerships. This includes detailed follower demographics (age, gender, location), follower activity patterns, specific sound performance, and individual video performance metrics that help you understand what content resonates with your community.
• Business Account Analytics: The data here is geared more towards business performance and ROI. While you get similar audience insights, there's more of a focus on conversion-based metrics like clicks on your website link, reach from promoted posts, and performance over time related to business objectives. The “Business Suite” provides tools for analyzing traffic and lead generation.

4. Profile Features

Both account types allow for a link in the bio once you reach a certain follower count (or immediately for registered businesses). However, a Business Account offers a few additional features:

• Business Category: You can display your business type (e.g., "Clothing," "Restaurant," "Consulting") directly on your profile.
• Email Button: Business Accounts have the option to add a clickable email button, making it easier for customers to contact them directly.
• Auto-Messaging: Business accounts have access to automated message replies which helps with customer service.

A Quick Checklist Before You Make the Switch

Ready to make the jump? Hold on for just a moment. Running through this quick checklist can save you a headache later.

✅ Download Your Business Analytics

When you switch account types, your analytics dashboard will reset. While TikTok stores your historical data, the view of that data can change, and sometimes older, business-specific metrics might not transfer over cleanly. To be safe, screen-record or export key performance data from your Business Suite. Pay attention to website click trends, post reach for the last 90 days, and demographic information you rely on. This gives you a baseline to compare against once you're on a Creator Account.

✅ Finish or Pause Active Ad Campaigns

If you're currently running any Spark Ads or other promotions through the TikTok Ads Manager, it’s best to let them finish or pause them before switching. Changing your account type can sometimes interrupt ongoing paid campaigns, affecting their delivery and reporting. Give them a clean slate to avoid any technical glitches.

✅ Confirm Your "Why"

Why are you switching? If the answer is purely "to access trending music," you're on the right track. But if your main goal is to drive sales through TikTok Shop or use the platform as a direct customer service channel, staying with a Business Account might be the better choice. Reconfirming that your reason aligns with the benefits of a Creator Account ensures you won't immediately regret the decision.

Step-by-Step Guide: Changing to a Creator Account

Once you’ve done your prep, the process itself is incredibly simple and takes less than a minute. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open TikTok and go to your profile. Launch the app and tap the "Profile" icon in the bottom-right corner.
2. Access the Settings menu. Tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu) at the top-right of your screen.
3. Navigate to "Settings and privacy." A menu will pop up from the bottom, select "Settings and privacy."
4. Select "Account." This is usually the first option at the top of the list.
5. Tap "Switch to Creator Account." You'll see this option listed under "Account control." If you have a personal account, you will see “Switch to Business Account,” and if you have a Business account, you will see “Switch to Creator Account.”
6. Confirm the switch. TikTok will present a summary screen outlining the benefits of a Creator Account, like analytics and creative tools. Read it over and tap the "Switch" button at the bottom.
7. Choose your category. You may be prompted to select a category that best describes your content (e.g., Vlogger, Musician, Artist, Gamer). This helps TikTok better understand your profile, but it isn’t displayed publicly in the same way a business category is. Choose the closest fit.

That's it! Your account has been successfully converted to a Creator Account. You'll immediately regain access to the full music library. Go ahead and try making a new video - you should see all the trending sounds are now available to you.

Can You Switch Back to a Business Account?

Yes, absolutely. One of the best parts about this change is that it’s not permanent. If you decide the Creator Account isn’t a good fit, or if your goals shift and you need access to business-specific tools like the email button or TikTok Shop integrations, you can switch back at any time. The process is nearly identical:

1. Go to Settings and privacy > Account.
2. Tap "Switch to Business Account."
3. Follow the on-screen prompts to confirm and select your business category.

Keep in mind that when you switch back to Business, you will once again lose access to the wider music library, and any videos you posted with sounds not in the commercial library may be muted. Analytics will also reset their view again.

Final Thoughts

Switching from a Business to a Creator Account on TikTok is a quick and reversible process that primarily unlocks access to a massive library of trending sounds. This single change can fundamentally improve your ability to create relevant, engaging content that taps into the platform's culture, while also making you eligible for creator-centric monetization features.

Whether you’re a creator, a business, or somewhere in between, the real work lies in consistently planning and scheduling compelling content that resonates. At Postbase, we built our platform to simplify that exact process for today's visual, short-form video world. Instead of feeling like you're fighting an outdated tool, we provide a clean, visual calendar to plan your TikToks and Reels, scheduling that actually posts reliably every time, and a unified inbox for all your comments so you never miss an engagement opportunity. If you're looking for a modern way to manage your social media strategy, you should check out what we've built at Postbase.