Since launching in 2018, TikTok has racked up millions of downloads globally. It can also be a bit of a mystery since TikTok doesn’t always disclose key app metrics.

As someone who’s gotten sucked into the app, hearted hundreds of posts, and even made a few videos, I’m fairly certain that this platform will stick around for quite some time.

To help you make informed decisions about your strategy, we’ll cover key TikTok statistics and facts to know.

Already know what stats you’re looking for? Jump there with this table of contents:

TikTok Stats for Marketers
Userbase, Downloads, and Growth
Demographics
User Behavior
Viral Trends and Influencers on TikTok
Business, Revenue, and Competition
Where to Find TikTok Stats

57 TikTok Stats to Know in 2024

TikTok Stats for Marketers

Before we jump into overall TikTok stats, let’s review some key figures and best practices for marketers to know when using the app.

TikTok usage among social media marketers has increased 15% year over year. (HubSpot Blog Research)
27% of marketers surveyed plan to use TikTok for the first time in 2024. Ahead of TikTok is Facebook (40%), YouTube (45%), and Instagram (39%). (HubSpot Blog Research)
Marketers say that TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook have the biggest potential to grow in 2024, and 60% of marketers will increase their investment in these apps. (HubSpot Blog Research)
The best times to post on the app are 6-9 p.m., 3-6 p.m., and 12-3 p.m., and the best day is Friday. (HubSpot Blog Research)
According to a study, one in ten Gen-Zers is more likely to rely on TikTok than Google. (Adobe)
TikTok has the third-best engagement rate, according to marketers. Of marketers surveyed, 13% said that TikTok has the highest engagement rate. Ahead of TikTok is Facebook (22%), YouTube (23%), and Instagram (23%). (HubSpot Blog Research)
TikTok video downloads were as high as 2,733,100 in quarter three of 2023. (Statista)
TikTok says that a few U.S.-based employees can “heat” videos, which means they can intervene to increase their viewership. (Forbes, eMarketer)
TikTok’s CPM is half the cost of Instagram, a third of the cost of Twitter, and 62% less than Snapchat. (eMarketer)

Userbase, Downloads, and Growth

Within TikTok’s first year, it reportedly reached 500 million monthly active users. While once considered a fluke, TikTok’s growth has only skyrocketed since then.

In September 2021, TikTok celebrated reaching 1 billion monthly active users. (TikTok)
Douyin, TikTok’s original standalone app in China, had 300 million users when Musical.ly merged with TikTok. (The Verge)
In 2022, TikTok was the most downloaded app globally (850 million downloads), followed by Instagram and WhatsApp. (Statista)
In 2024, TikTok was the third most downloaded app with 128 million downloads, after Temu (132 million downloads), and interestingly, Capcut, TikTok’s video editing app. (Business of Apps)

Demographics

Here’s a breakdown of TikTok’s major demographics. Please note that audience data for individuals who do not identify within the binary are not reported.

TikTok’s largest age group is between the ages of 18 and 24. (Statista)
54.1% of global TikTok users are female, and 45.9% are male. (Data Reportal)
70% of U.S. TikTok users identify as sports fans. (TikTok)
92% of Gen Z users aged between 16 and 25 years use YouTube. Instagram and TikTok follow, with 85% and 78% of U.S. Gen Z users. (Statista)
Among social media marketers who build social media communities, 28% say that TikTok is the most effective platform for building an active community on social media. (HubSpot Blog Research).
The United States, Indonesia, and Brazil have the largest audiences on TikTok as of January 2024. (Statista)
TikTok is now available in more than 200 countries. (Oberlo)

User Behavior

TikTok is a fast-paced app. The second you log in, you see a video at the top of a feed that’s algorithmically curated around your interests.

From my own experience, TikTok can easily cause you to spend more time than expected watching an endless stream of often comedic videos. Since these videos can be anywhere from 6 seconds to 10 minutes, the app is ideal for people seeking quick entertainment or longer-form content.

Because of TikTok’s quick pace and entertainment factor, the stats below aren’t that surprising:

The average user spends 95 minutes per day on the app, according to DataProt. (DataProt)
TikTok was downloaded 767 million times worldwide in 2023. (The Guardian)
TikTok is more popular than Facebook for Gen Z in every country, with the Czech Republic being the only exception. (Klarna)
90% of TikTok users think sound is vital for the TikTok user experience. (Shoplus)
After seeing an ad on TikTok, viewers trust the brand 41% more and are 31% more likely to be loyal to the brand. (TikTok)
Users are 1.8x more likely to agree that TikTok introduces them to new topics they didn’t even know they liked. (TikTok)
A quarter of U.S. adults under 30 regularly get news on TikTok. (Pew Research Center)
40% of users say that their For You Page (FYP) is either extremely or very interesting to them. (Pew Research Center)
52% of U.S. adults on TikTok have never posted a video on the platform. (Pew Research Center)

The Impact of TikTok

Ads on TikTok viewed for less than six seconds still produce a stronger impact compared to ads viewed for 20 seconds or more. (TikTok)
71% of TikTok users who take action off the platform say that TikTok shows them exactly what they are looking for. (Market Cast)
67% of female shoppers rely on creator recommendations before making a purchase. (TikTok)
57% of brands now leverage short-form videos (TikTok, IG Reels, etc.) as part of their social media strategy. (HubSpot Blog Research)
TikTok users are 1.8x more likely to convince their family and friends to buy the item they purchased previously (versus non-TikTok users). (TikTok)
44% of Gen X TikTok users say the platform helps them discover new things. (TikTok)
TikTok users are 1.4x more likely to buy a new tech product in the next six months (versus non-TikTok users). (TikTok)

Shopping on TikTok

37% of TikTok users in the United States made purchases either through links on the app or directly on the platform. (Statista)
TikTok users are 1.4x more likely to order more food or grocery deliveries during festive seasons (versus non-TikTok users). (TikTok)
TikTok users are 1.3x more likely than other platform users to purchase a product to lift their spirits. (TikTok)
Millennial TikTok users are 2.9x more likely than other platform users to make a tutorial about a product after buying it. (TikTok)
50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching TikTok LIVE. (The Drum)

Viral Trends and Influencers on TikTok

TikTok has opened doors for influencers, comedians, meme creators, and even some brands. Here are a few interesting tidbits about viral trends and influencers on the app:

The most followed creator on TikTok is Khaby Lame, with 161.4 million followers. Following close behind is Charlie D’Amelio, with 152 million. (Wikipedia)
67% of marketers who work with influencers/creators work with micro-influencers (10,000-99,999 followers/subscribers). Only 17% work with mega influencers (over 1 million followers/subscribers). (HubSpot Blog Research)
47% of marketers value the quality of an influencer’s content when deciding who to work with. (HubSpot Blog Research)
90% of marketers will maintain or increase investment in influencer marketing in 2024. (HubSpot Blog Research)
The United States has a large pool of influencers, with 10M individuals considered as such. (Influencity)
In the U.S., the number of female influencers reaches 4.7M. Male influencers, on the other hand, make up only 2.8M influencers. Lastly, neutral-gender influencers follow with 2.5M. (Influencity)
Warner Music Group teamed up with six TikTok influencers and received over 1.5M likes, an average engagement rate of 17%, and 13.4K user-generated videos. (The Influencer Marketing Factory)

Here‘s a compilation of TikTok’s #CowboyChallenge where people wearing normal clothing cut to themselves in cowboy costumes to the song “Old Town Road.”

[Video: https://youtu.be/LxwpKKK3P4s]

Business, Revenue, and Competition

The launch of TikTok not only put its parent company, ByteDance, on the map, but it also resulted in competition from apps like Facebook, which launched a very similar app called Lasso shortly after TikTok went viral. While TikTok and ByteDance are less transparent about revenue and other major details, here’s what we know:

TikTok is the top global app for consumer spending. (data.ai)
TikTok has a 4.7-star rating in the Apple App Store and 4.3 in the Google Play Store. (Apple App Store, Google Play Store)
Bytedance, TikTok’s parent company, is valued at $268 billion, making it the world’s most valuable startup. (China Money Network)
In the first three quarters of 2023, TikTok registered a revenue of about $9.4 billion. (What’s The Big Data)
TikTok generated an estimated $14.3 billion in revenue during 2023, a 52% increase year-on-year. (Business of Apps)
TikTok was on track to amass around $20 billion in global gross merchandise value last year. (TechCrunch)

The Mysteries of TikTok

Although TikTok is a top social platform and is ramping up its options for advertisers, it’s still rather new. When a company or startup is new, it’s not uncommon for leadership to hide early numbers, even when a brand is successful. In fact, we’ve seen this with other major companies like Snapchat and Netflix.

Despite the launch of TikTok For Business in mid-2020, there’s still a lot more to learn as TikTok’s global teams and ByteDance continue to remain hush-hush about major metrics. In the coming years, as TikTok continues to draw in more advertisers, it wouldn’t be surprising if we started to see more transparent information about the app and its user base.

Where to Find TikTok Stats

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about TikTok, you can read up on its short history and early success in this post, or click here to find a how-to guide for using the app. In addition, you can discover important TikTok facts app on various websites:

TikTok’s Blog
HubSpot Blog
Statista
Business of Apps
Global Web Index
Pew Research Center
eMarketer

Want to see what other businesses are doing on TikTok? Check out this roundup of brands on TikTok.

TikTok is an essential part of marketers’ strategy. These stats show how wide-reaching the platform is and the power of crafting the right message. Start experimenting with TikTok today, find the right strategy for you, and grow.

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