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Apps Like TikTok: Discover the Best 20 Alternatives
Are you tired of scrolling TikTok? Want to try something new? You can check out this guide to find out the best top 20 TikTok alternative apps in 2025!
In just a few years, TikTok has grown from an emerging short video platform to one of the most popular apps in the world. According to Statista, it was downloaded 186 million times in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, with about 41% of its users being teenagers and young people aged 16 to 24. However, with rising geopolitical tensions and growing concerns about data security, TikTok's future has become uncertain. Thus, trying to find apps like TikTok is hard.
Against this backdrop, more and more users are looking for TikTok alternatives. Apps such as RedNote and Lemon8 have risen rapidly, occupying part of the attention and market share that originally belonged to TikTok. At the same time, major technology companies are also scrambling to launch their own short video features, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity.
So, if TikTok really reaches the end, who will be the next "next TikTok"? In this article, we will take stock of 20 free apps like TikTok that are worth paying attention to in 2025. These platforms not only continue the creativity and vitality of short videos but also provide new ways of interaction, content formats, and monetization paths. Whether you are a content creator, brand owner, or ordinary audience member, you can find your ideal place.
TikTok's popularity and limitations
TikTok has developed rapidly and emerged as a short video leader overnight. The recommendation system of TikTok, favorable music collections, and simple tools for creating videos have revolutionized how one consumes content and how social media operates. According to data, nowadays TikTok has positioned itself as the world's fifth-largest social media platform with 1.582 billion users and over 135 million users in the United States. Roughly 44.3% of users are female, indicating its appeal to a broad audience. Nevertheless, there are issues associated with the usage of TikTok. The more users it acquires, the more its subtle problems reveal themselves.
Algorithmic control
One of the most popular aspects of TikTok and one of the reasons for its enormous success is its recommendation system. The algorithm takes into account how users behave and recommends content based on what a user likes, thereby keeping users on the app for a longer duration. This "smart" algorithm makes content creators feel like the app controls them. The reach of content can be altered in a very short time, and the algorithm never explains why certain content will be displayed over others. It's quite challenging for most content creators to get their content in front of users and even more challenging to create a consistent fanbase. Due to this, users search for alternative apps like TikTok that don't possess this controlling type of algorithm.
Privacy issues
Like many large social platforms, TikTok has also aroused widespread doubts about the handling of user data. In particular, TikTok faces tremendous pressure on issues such as whether the data is stored on Chinese servers and whether it is shared with third parties. For privacy-sensitive users, TikTok's extensive access to device permissions (especially on the Android platform) is also considered a potential risk.
Monetization restrictions
Although TikTok has launched a variety of monetization methods, it is still a challenge for most creators to achieve stable monetization on TikTok. The platform has a low payment rate per view, and it is difficult for small creators to obtain brand cooperation opportunities. In addition, the monetization function is restricted in some regions, further exacerbating the income imbalance among creators. It has forced many content creators to consider turning to other platforms to find more diverse and fairer sources of income.
Although TikTok has brought unprecedented convenience and vitality to content creation and consumption, the controversy surrounding algorithm transparency, user privacy, and creator rights is pushing more people to re-evaluate their dependence on the platform. This is why more and more users are starting to pay attention to TikTok alternatives. They hope to find a more open, controllable, and sustainable short video platform.
Image by Canva
Top 20 TikTok Alternatives in 2025
1. RedNote
As TikTok's global reach faces uncertainty, RedNote is rapidly rising to the forefront of content creators and brands. This Chinese-born social platform currently has more than 300 million monthly active users. It is positioned at the intersection of lifestyle, product recommendations, and e-commerce. RedNote is often compared to a combination of Instagram + Pinterest + Amazon reviews and is particularly popular among Gen Z and millennial women. It seamlessly integrates short videos, pictures, live broadcasts, and shopping functions to create a unique content + consumption ecosystem. It is one of the amazing free apps like TikTok.
2. Lemon8
Lemon8 is an innovative social platform that combines visual beauty with lifestyle content and is also owned by ByteDance. Although its interface and user experience are closer to Pinterest, it also supports short video functions, so it is regarded as a powerful alternative to TikTok. The platform focuses on vertical fields. Such as, beauty, fashion, health, and travel. It encourages users to record and share life inspiration through pictures, texts, and videos. With its fresh and neat interface design, powerful content creation tools, and keen capture of trends, Lemon8 has attracted more and more young users who pursue high-quality lifestyle content.
3. Likee
Likee is a dynamic short video app that is popular for its rich visual effects and simple and intuitive interface. As a powerful TikTok alternative, Likee has added a lot of creative tools in short video creation to make the content more entertaining and interactive. It is one of the best apps like TikTok.
Image by Likee
4. Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels is a feature built into Instagram that is designed for short-form video content and aims to provide users with a content creation and viewing experience similar to TikTok. If you are already active on Instagram, Reels is an ideal tool to attract more fans and increase interaction. It is a good TikTok alternative.
5. Facebook Reels
Facebook Reels is a short video feature launched by Meta. It is intended to compete directly with TikTok and take full advantage of Facebook's huge social base and algorithmic recommendation mechanism. It provides users with a fast and easy way to create, share, and discover popular short video content on a familiar platform. If you are already active on Facebook or want to spread short video content to a wider audience. Facebook Reels is one of the most powerful and easy-to-use apps like TikTok. It is particularly suitable for creators or brand operators who want to achieve synergy between social content and video creation.
6. YouTube Shorts
YouTube Shorts is integrated directly into the main YouTube app, allowing users to easily create and browse vertical videos without downloading additional applications. It has a seamless experience and relies on powerful platform resources. Users only need to click the "Shorts" label on YouTube to immerse themselves in a large amount of personalized short video content. YouTube will accurately push Short content that you are interested in based on your usual long video viewing habits, providing a highly relevant viewing experience. It is one of the best free apps like TikTok.
7. Twitch
Twitch is the world's leading live streaming platform, with 240 million monthly active users. Although it was originally known for game live streaming, it has now expanded to a variety of content types such as music, art, technology, fitness, education, and "just chatting," attracting many diverse creators and viewers. It is a good TikTok alternative.
8. Discord
Discord was originally born out of the need for instant communication between gamers and has now grown into a multi-field community gathering place with 200 million active users per month. Whether it is a startup team, cryptocurrency enthusiasts, educational institutions, or content creators. Discord provides powerful real-time messaging, voice, and video call functions to help brands build deep connections with users.
9. Tumblr
Tumblr is a long-established microblogging platform known for its creative freedom and highly engaged subculture communities. With approximately 191 million site visits per month, it attracts a large number of artists, writers, fan groups, and young users looking for a personalized online space. It is one of the best apps like TikTok that are suitable for young people.
10. Bluesky
Bluesky is a decentralized social platform incubated by Twitter and launched independently in 2023. It emphasizes user autonomy over data and algorithms. By the end of 2024, the total number of users exceeded 30 million, attracting a large number of technical experts, developers, and community builders.
11. Yubo
Yubo is a French social app launched in 2015, a TikTok alternative in France, designed for Generation Z to help young people make new friends with similar interests and relax. The platform now has more than 80 million users, and removing the like and follow functions encourages users to show their true selves and establish more genuine connections. Yubo attaches great importance to safety, using facial recognition and age estimation technology to ensure the purity of the community, creating a relaxed, authentic, and safe social environment for young people.
Image by Yubo
12. Neptune
Neptune is a TikTok alternative founded by an American woman. It emphasizes sincere interaction and the uniqueness of creators. The app combines the advantages of TikTok's short videos and YouTube's long videos, supporting a variety of content formats.
13. Snapchat Spotlights
Spotlight is Snapchat's response to TikTok, featuring entertaining short videos, popular content sections, and keyword-based search functions. It is popular among young users, especially Generation Z, but has less appeal to older users. It is one of the good free apps, like TikTok, for the young generation.
14. Fanbase
It was founded in 2020 in the United States. Fanbase is a platform that calls itself the next generation of social creators' hub, committed to enabling users to monetize their content from day one. The platform pays special attention to Black creators and addresses the problem of their content being underestimated on traditional social media.
15. Tango
Tango is one of the best apps like TikTok. It focuses on live streaming and real-time interaction and is committed to creating a unique creator interaction space for users. It provides opportunities for collaborative videos and live performances. And it emphasises a real and instant communication experience. Tango's main features include real-time streaming, convenient audience interaction features, creator collaboration tools, and a community-centred connection environment.
16. Triller
Triller started out as an AI-powered video editing app and has since grown into a full-featured social media platform that is particularly popular with musicians and influencers. It puts music at its core and provides a wealth of creative tools to help users easily create engaging video content.
17. Chingari
Chingari is a popular short video social media app in India. Users can upload videos and add special effects and music, with similar functions to TikTok. Since TikTok was banned in India, Chingari has become a popular alternative in the region. It has a simple and clean interface and focuses on real interactions between creators and fans rather than simply chasing virality. Chingari features rich visuals and a community-driven engagement model while not relying on advertising revenue, making it suitable for creators who want to accumulate loyal fans and provide high-quality content.
Image by Chingari
18. Lomotif
Lomotif is a popular short video-sharing app similar to TikTok. It is popular for its built-in video editing tools and simple and easy-to-use interface. Users can easily add music, text, filters, and various effects to videos, collaborate with friends. And share their works in the active Lomotif community to show creativity and discover new content. Lomotif has a similar interface to TikTok, which makes it easy for users to follow trending topics and challenges. At the same time, the community competition is lower, which is suitable for users who want to create engaging content but do not want to face overly fierce competition. It is a good TikTok alternative.
19. Snapchat
Although Snapchat is not the first TikTok alternative that comes to mind. It provides a wealth of short video content from friends and influencers. Users can browse wonderful videos through Spotlight and can also view the dynamics of their favourite creators in the "Stories" tab. For users who are accustomed to TikTok, Snapchat's interface may take some time to adapt to, but its style is cute, interesting, and rich in content. And it is well worth a try.
20. Zigazoo
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in the United States, Zigazoo was founded by a group of educators and is committed to providing children with a safe, positive, and bullying-free social media environment. The platform uses manual review and strictly controls content. Users mainly interact with celebrities, brands, and other small creators by participating in video challenges. Unlike traditional social platforms, Zigazoo prohibits text comments and encourages children to respond through emoticons, stickers, or videos to create a more loving interactive atmosphere.
Conclusion
Whether you are a content creator or an audience who is keen on short videos and social interactions, the above 20 apps like TikTok, provide you with a rich and diverse choice. Each app has its own unique functions and positioning. Whether it focuses on live interaction, music creation, decentralized communities, or even focuses on specific regions or groups. You can find the platform that suits you best. With the increasing diversification of social media today, exploring these alternative applications can not only broaden your horizons but also help you discover more creativity and opportunities. Choose one now and start your new journey of short videos!
Written by
Kimmy
Published on
Jun 18, 2025
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