13 Best TikTok Alternatives That You Should Know About
Written by: Hrishikesh Pardeshi, Founder at Flexiple, buildd & Remote Tools.
Last updated: Sep 03, 2024
TLDR
Here's a list of 13 alternatives to the TikTok platform:
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YouTube Shorts
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Instagram Reels
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Triller
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Likee
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Lomotif
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Huddles
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Cheez
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Funimate
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Snapchat
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LetsChat
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Facebook Reels
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Video Star
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Vigo Video
Since launching the TikTok app and service in 2016, the platform has grown massively, having millions of monthly active users from diverse backgrounds.
TikTok primarily provides video editing and video-sharing features. Short videos, called TikToks, can be quickly created, edited and shared with a global audience.
Numerous TikTokers use the app to showcase their talents, such as singing, dancing, acting, and video creation. The app is also popular for pranks, weekly video challenges, comedy videos, and other forms of entertainment.
Different developers have also copied TikTok's formula to develop funny and entertaining applications that share certain functionalities with the app but are still unique and distinct. If TikTok's servers are shut down, the app is banned, or you simply want to try a different platform, you may consider these other apps.
This article highlights other apps like TikTok and outlines their core features.
Table of Contents
YouTube Shorts
YouTube shorts is the short form section of the popular video-sharing platform.
Launched in August 2020, Shorts lets users create music videos with a maximum length of 60 seconds, which is similar to how TikTok started.
Shorts isn't a separate app from YouTube but rather an in-app service. To watch videos on it, you may open the YouTube app on your iPhone and Android and tap Shorts at the lower left corner.
To create a YouTube Shorts video, you can tap the camera icon at the top right corner of your screen to open the video recording and editing tab.
Shorts synchronizes seamlessly with your main YouTube account, so you always see video suggestions based on what you watch on your YouTube feed. The platform also employs vertical videos that play automatically once you scroll through them to create an enjoyable experience for you.
Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels is Instagram's entry into vertical video editing and sharing. To access Instagram Reels, you may first open the app and tap on the Reels tab at the lower middle of your screen.
The length of Reels on Instagram varies depending on how you create and share the video. If you create the Reel in the Instagram reels tool app from the Instagram app, the length is typically up to 90 seconds. If the video is created using the IG camera on the regular Instagram app, the video is often 15 seconds long.
Reels lengths can be extended to up to 15 minutes in one of two ways. Firstly, you may adjust the settings by recording the Reel via the in-app camera. You may also upload the video as a regular Instagram post and share it later as a Reel.
YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are free to use but contain in-app purchases. Instagram Reels is also a way to get more followers to your main Instagram account, similar to how YouTube Shorts can help you get more YouTube subscribers.
Triller
Triller was launched in 2015 before the TikTok app and is one of TikTok's most popular competitors or alternatives. Its interface is similar to Tiktok, making the experience using both apps almost identical.
On Triller, you can easily edit and create short videos, watch popular videos or access the latest content from your friends.
Unlike TikTok, Triller is primarily a music video app that allows you to choose a song snippet and record a video to it.
The app was originally marketed as a platform that democratized the video creation process. You can create high-quality music videos on the app to share on other social media platforms.
As it increased in popularity and its number of users grew, the developers added a feed similar to TikTok's for you page for creators to find other users, follow them and watch their videos.
Likee
Likee is a free short video maker and sharing platform available worldwide. With a blend of TikTok and YouTube, the app lets you create short-form videos to share for people's entertainment or go live with long-form content.
Likee contains a large library of sounds and music that users can easily pick, lip sync to and share with the thousands of users available on the app. It also has a Music Magic filter that applies effects to videos depending on music volume or intonation changes.
Other app features include a vast filter collection, creator tools to speed up and slow down video footage and the ability to combine multiple videos into a single clip.
Likee is free to use but may contain in-app purchases for certain features or services.
Lomotif
Lomotif is another great app you can use to create and edit awesome short videos and share them on your social media platforms.
The app contains different in-built features, such as a music library, multiple expressive stickers, and various editing tools and filters to make great content for your audience.
Lomotif has a collaboration feature, similar to TikTok duet, that helps you feature in videos from your friends or other creators. The Lomotif community is also growing rapidly, with various channels and over one million accounts currently on the platform.
Huddles
Before TikTok, Vine was the most popular platform for creating and editing short videos. Launched officially in January 2013, Vine allowed users to create short, six-second long looping video clips that could be shared with various users.
In 2017, Vine was shut down, and a new service called Byte was released in its place. Byte acted as a strong competitor to apps like TikTok and Likee, focusing on creativity as its core value.
Byte was later acquired by another short video app, Clash, with both apps merging into one platform called Clash.
Huddles is the current name of the app, and it offers various video-creating and editing features. Videos are typically two to 16 seconds long and may be captured through the app or be previously stored on a device.
Huddles enables creators to generate revenue directly from fans, viral videos and brand deals. The community is also friendly and inclusive, and you can quickly build a follower base by sharing high-quality videos.
Cheez
Like TikTok, you can edit videos within the Cheez app and add funny filters and background music to engage more with your audience. Cheez also has vlogging features beyond singing, fashion and comedy, meaning creators can share conversational pieces of content with their followers.
The developers also incorporate a reward system into the app, where users can earn prizes on their viral posts if they get a certain number of followers.
Cheez allows you to participate in challenges and battles to test your talent against other users. You may also try the in-app DanceOff game to have more fun within the app.
Funimate
If you like TikTok's interface and features, consider giving Funimate a chance. This app lets you create video loops, add slow-motion effects and make compilation videos using multiple clips.
This app has a vast music and sound library, making it very effective for lip-syncing. There are also numerous video effects to choose from, and you can decorate your videos with text, stickers, and emojis to make them more appealing to your audience.
Funimate also lets you collaborate with other users, but in a manner different from TikTok's duet, which happens in real time.
You may pick a song and merge different videos from you and your friend to make a single clip. Collaborations may help you build followers and drive more people to your profile.
For extra fun activities, you may join contests, challenges, and special events that are regularly held within the app. You can access most of the app's features for free but may pay a certain fee to use advanced features.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a multimedia messaging app rather than a short video-sharing app and has been around long before the launching of TikTok. Its service offerings are more expansive, allowing content beyond videos, such as photo sharing.
Snapchat contents are typically called snaps and can be videos with sound, videos without sounds or text messages. These contents are short-lived and disappear after a particular time. This makes it harder to have viral content on Snapchat compared to TikTok.
Snapchat lets you create an avatar that can be featured in your short videos and provides numerous video editing tools and effects. The number of users also exceeds that of TikTok, giving creators a wide reach and making it a go-to app for marketing and advertising by famous brands.
LetsChat
LetsChat is a social media platform that lets you connect with your close friends and stay updated on their activities.
Its defining feature is the Lifie, which is a dual camera that simultaneously captures your device's front and rear cameras. With Lifie, you can capture a photo or record a short-form video and share it on the app for your family and friends to understand what you're currently doing.
LetsChat also has an explore page to discover users and moments worldwide and connect with previously unknown individuals.
The app also has a feature called Mood, which operates similarly to TikTok. You can record your life moments, add emojis and songs and share them directly with your network.
Facebook Reels
While Facebook is old and well-known in the social media world, the app keeps ensuring its relevance by adding new features to compete with other recent social media applications.
Meta added Reels to Facebook in 2021 as a platform for creators and other Facebook users to share short-form videos.
Reels offers all the conventional features in other short video platforms, such as music, audio, AR effects, and text overlays, but isn't a standalone app.
Reels is generally accessible from the profile page of your Facebook app, and you can create videos by tapping the camera that appears when watching Reels.
Meta also allows creators to monetize their Reels if they can get at least 1,000 views over a 30-day period.
Video Star
Video Star's massive library of popular songs enables you to create fun and engaging videos as if you starred in them. The app also has various effects that make your videos more interesting.
For example, you may add slow-motion effects or play the entire video in reverse.
You may also find some of the features that make TikTok popular in this app, such as green screen, cloning and frame freezing.
While the app generally gets favorable reviews, it only supports music videos and doesn't support vlogging and other video formats.
Vigo Video
Vigo Video is an excellent TikTok alternative by Indian developers. The majority of the users are also Indians, which means you may expect to find many Hollywood music and dialogues.
This app allows you to post videos that are 15 seconds long videos, which means it's essential that you quickly communicate your messages.
The app has various features, such as lip-syncing, motion filters, beauty filters and text fonts. When you get many likes, shares, and comments on your videos, you may win cash prizes to withdraw and spend.
Where do you download Tik Tok alternative apps?
As these apps are generally mobile, you can download them from either the Apple App Store for an iPhone or the Google Play Store for an Android phone.
Some apps, such as Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts, and Facebook Reels, are also accessible through websites so that you may use them from your Mac or Windows PC.