Following the explosion of TikTok in recent years, the market has seen an explosion of new apps like TikTok launching to compete for their share of the market. These TikTok alternatives are still nowhere near TikTok itself, regardless of whether we compare their revenue, active user number, or amount of engagement. For now, TikTok is the leading short video posting app, but even so, somewhere in these TikTok alternatives might lie a worthy challenger.

More than that, TikTok still has flaws and is unavailable everywhere. With that being the case, lesser-known TikTok alternatives might be a good option for users in some parts of the world where TikTok itself is banned.

TikTok Stats and Figures:

TikTok is a mobile app for posting short videos. However, unlike YouTube, which lets you post hours-long videos, TikTok has limitations, allowing users to post videos that are only a few minutes long, at maximum. This made it perfect for short videos such as sketches, short clips of longer videos, tips and tricks videos, various short trends, and alike. Essentially, it offers videos on pretty much any engaging topic that fits short attention spans within reason.

It is also extremely easy to use, both as a publisher and a viewer, so it quickly attracted the attention of social media-hungry consumers. The easier it is to use the app, the more people will create videos, creating more chances of great content that can be selected by the algorithm and shown to millions of users.

The platform was created in 2016 by a tech firm from China called ByteDance. TikTok blew up in a few short years, especially after adding features such as filters, effects, live streaming, donations, and in-app purchases.

TikTok Users worldwid

Source: Statista

In fact, the platform became so popular and competitive that many other social media platforms started copying it. This is not surprising, as social networks have a long history of lifting ideas from one another. Whenever one comes up with a feature, and that feature becomes popular, it quickly spreads to every other competitive platform on the market.

They adopted TikTok’s recommended For You Page, its endless scrolling video format, short videos, sometimes called Reels, Shorts, or otherwise. Instagram even redesigned itself to resemble TikTok and its short videos, as video content started attracting more attention than photos, a field which Instagram was dominating at the time. Entrenched social media apps aren’t the only ones copying TikTok either. Entirely new apps built on the same concepts are being released all the time. Some turn out to be great apps that bring in an audience while others are so great or are just lazy copies.

Benefits of Using TikTok Alternatives

Not all TikTok alternatives are inferior to to TikTok in every way. Many bring some benefits which is why they are worth considering if you are thinking of switching platforms whether TikTok isn’t available in your region or if you’re just sick of it.

For example, many are concerned about privacy when using TikTok. TikTok is made by ByteDance, a Chinese company, which means that China’s government has tremendous power over it. If the country’s government ordered the company to surrender user data, there is little if anything that the app could do. TikTok alternatives often do not have that problem, as they are often not made by Chinese companies.

Those that are launched in more privacy-friendly countries are likely at less of a risk of secretly using your private data. This doesn’t mean that they can’t have privacy issues, however.

TikTok alternatives have also become popular among those who cannot access the platform because it is banned in their region. Governments around the world, especially those that aren’t always too friendly with China, have considered implementing bans of some sort. India, for example, has completely banned the app, even though it had 150 million TikTok users. For the time being, the platform is still allowed in the US, but this might not be the case forever. Montana passed a TikTok ban in 2023 but it doesn’t go into affect until January 1st 2024 and it may be struck down by US courts before it is implemented.

It is also worth noting that TikTok alternatives might have unique features and benefits, which can further improve the concept — something that even TikTok itself has not yet created. Furthermore, apps like TikTok might be more or less restrictive in terms of content moderation than TikTok , which may fit your needs and wants better.

Downsides of Using TikTok Alternatives

Of course, there are also certain downsides to using apps like TikTok. With TikTok being the dominant platform of this kind, and by a wide margin, these alternatives are only sought after by smaller groups of people, as mentioned earlier. Those who cannot access TikTok, are banned from the platform, simply don’t like it, or worry about privacy have likely joined one of these alternative platforms but are a minority.

As a result, the content that you will find on these other apps will likely not be as good as what you can find on TikTok simply because there is less for the algorithm to choose from. These algorithms may be worse than TikTok’s at finding content that you like too.

And, if you join such platforms as a content creator, it will likely not be very easy to go viral, no matter how good your content is. This is not your fault, of course, but simply the fact that there are fewer viewers there, and your content won’t be seen by many people, even if everyone on the platform happens to see it.

Best Apps Like TikTok

Whether you are looking for apps like TikTok because you can’t access TikTok or are simply curious to see what they offer, we have prepared a list of several apps similar to TikTok for you to explore.

1. Instagram Reels

We already mentioned that large, established platforms have copied some of TikTok’s features, and Instagram is a prime example of this. It introduced its Instagram Reels in August 2020, just around the time when TikTok started exploding on the global stage. Instagram realized that TikTok’s short video format was attracting users, and it came up with its own version of it.

But, due to its own pre-established popularity, today, many TikTok creators also double as Instagram Reels posters. This is why some Instagram fans don’t even own TikTok accounts, even in regions where they have access to the app — Instagram is able to satisfy their demand for short videos, which are the same as the ones that other people see on TikTok. Reels is the only one to come close to competing with TikTok as it actually beats the app in median (not total) reach, views, and engagement.

2. YouTube Shorts

Only a month after Instagram launched Reels, YouTube came up with its own version of short videos, simply naming the feature YouTube Shorts.

Like on TikTok and Instagram, Shorts offered short videos with features such as likes, comments, and the ability to scroll to the next one simply. And as the name suggests, they are different from a typical YouTube video, as they are short and allow users to add effects as they are creating the videos themselves. Shorts can be quite profitable for creators, much more so than TikTok, making it a top choice for influencers.

3. Likee

Next, we have a lesser-known app called Likee, which is actually a rather decent alternative to TikTok. It allows users to create, edit, and share videos with numerous personalized tools available. The entire process is fairly simple and doesn’t differ much from what you can find on TikTok. You can also find categories such as viral videos, live streams, captured shorts, and a built-in set of social features, including community pages, group chats, and alike.

Also, like TikTok, it offers filters, stickers, special effects, and similar tools to make your videos more fun and engaging. All in all, Likee allows you rather similar creative freedoms, and it might even become a serious contender to TikTok someday. The only thing to watch out for is the fact that the platform also allows graphic and mature content, so it is not a good alternative to TikTok for children.

4. Triller

Triller, a video-sharing app even older than TikTok, launched in 2015, is another relatively popular TikTok alternative. As such, it had more than enough time to gain some followers, and it was TikTok’s largest competitor for a while. Triller has pretty much the same interface as TikTok, to the point where the two are almost identical. It even has features like For You Page that lets you watch popular clips and a separate page where you can only watch videos of the people you followed.

The content is diverse, and the number of videos you can watch is endless. Plus, its music gallery has over a million popular songs, so it serves as a mix of TikTok and Spotify. Video creation is easy here as well, and it has over 100 filters to let you get creative and mix things up a bit. It is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for apps like TikTok.

5. Funimate

Another short-form video creation and editing app that you might want to consider is Funimate. Rich with effects and filters, transitions, overlays, keyframes, and more, this app might offer additional benefits that TikTok doesn’t have. It has made video creation into art to the point where you can now simply select one of the built-in video templates, add music of your choice from its ever-growing library, and create a viral video in a matter of minutes.

One thing to note is that the platform has a free and paid plan, and if you choose the free version, your videos will have a watermark on them. Still, TikTok does a similar thing for its own videos, so this won’t be much different. Once you create a video, you can have it on Funimate’s platform or share it to other platforms, including Instagram or even TikTok itself. As such, it is great for multi-platform creators but it isn’t the best to use on its own.

6. Zoomerang

Most TikTok-like platforms target Gen Z and younger millennials and this TikTok alternative, Zoomerang, isn’t so shy about it. Zoomerang has its own style, which it extends to its users who wish to become content creators. It features more direction and structure, which makes it easier to make cool, trendy videos. It is rich with tutorials if you need help figuring it out, which explain how to use its many filters, effects, fonts, and it even lets you add gifs and stickers.

All of it is meant to spice up your videos and make them more enjoyable to watch. With that being the case, you will likely not run out of styling tools, and you definitely won’t be left without ideas anytime soon. Zoomerang is not only a platform that is a good candidate for replacing TikTok but also a platform that might rival TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, and others.

7. Huddles

Last but not least, we have Huddles. This is a platform that has been around for a while, although it changed several names before the current one. Initially, it was called Byte, and then it rebranded to Clash. Eventually, it became Huddles. It was created by Dom Hofmann, the co-founder of the app that started the short-form video craze, Vine.Vine was a massive success in its day (the mid 2010s), producing stars like the Paul brothers, who later went on to become highly successful (if controversial) YouTubers.

In terms of what it has to offer, Hurdles has a similar interface as TikTok, but there are no editing and filtering capabilities. You can only add text and music to your videos, but once the clip is created, that is pretty much it. This may be preferable for those who like to keep their videos straight to the point and don’t wish to spend too much time adding effects and other extra content.

Is It Worth Downloading Any Other Apps Like TikTok?

As we have seen, plenty of TikTok alternatives are out there, and the ones mentioned above are only the biggest and most popular ones. So, if you are looking for something to replace TikTok for any reason, there is quite a selection for you to choose from.

Some offer greater customization capabilities than even TikTok, while others are simpler and more straightforward. Meanwhile, some might endanger TikTok’s position as the top-ranking short-video platform. In the end, it all depends on you as the viewer or content creator. Your preferences will decide which platform you are going to use. If you are more interested in building or joining communities, Likee might be perfect for you. Zoomerang might be a great option if you want to turn your videos into a masterpiece by adding tons of effects.

In the end, all of these platforms have potential in their own way. It is up to you to decide which one works best for you, specifically. Luckily, all 7 of these apps are free to download so there is no harm in trying them out.

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