Key stats

• The total number of videos uploaded between January and March 2023 was approximately 14,449,842,100. That’s 14.4 billion videos.
  
• The biggest jump in revenue growth for TikTok came between 2019 and 2020, at 654.3%.
  
• TikTok is now the most common (55.5%) channel used by brands for influencer marketing.
  
• A Capterra survey of small businesses using TikTok advertising found 78% of them realized a positive ROI; for three-quarters of them, that happened within six months.
  
• TikTok’s US average monthly Average Revenue Per Unit (ARPU) is $0.85 per user.

TikTok user statistics

The figures in this section (particularly the demographic statistics) can help you craft a customer/audience profile. Many of the statistics in this section come from the DataReportal Digital 2023 Global Overview Report.

Total number of TikTok users worldwide

TikTok has roughly 1.677 billion users as of Q1 2023 (Business of Apps).

How usage rates compare across countries

Data gathered by DataReportal suggests that Saudi Arabia has the highest TikTok reach, with virtually 110.7% of the population over the age of 18 using the app. In this case, a reach of over 100% suggests people in the country have multiple accounts (as well as fake accounts).

Other notable penetration stats per country include:

• Malaysia: 80.6%
• Mexico: 68.9%
• Indonesia: 58.3%
• Brazil: 51.5%
• Russia: 44.8%
• US: 43.9%
• UK: 37.9%
• Canada: 34.7%
• South Korea: 12.3%
• Worldwide average: 19.4%

It’s also worth noting that TikTok doesn’t operate in mainland China, so it’s excluded from this list (instead, Chinese internet users have Douyin, TikTok’s former parent company, for a similar experience).

How TikTok compares to other social media platforms

It may not be a surprise that Facebook is still the top social media app in terms of usage worldwide, but TikTok is sixth on the list of most popular social media platforms — despite being around a fraction as long.

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Following Facebook, in order, are YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, WeChat, then TikTok. However, it’s worth noting these figures only represent the number of users reachable via ads.

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Demographic breakdown of TikTok users (age, gender, location)

TikTok appears to be more popular with women across all age groups—20.9% of users are women aged between 18 and 24, while 17.5% are male in the same age group. From there, the share of TikTok usage diminishes for both genders and age groups:

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This data also shows that while TikTok is most popular with the younger generation and millennials, great TikTok videos aren’t just for Gen Z; you can target any generation and still find an audience.

The growth rate of TikTok users over the years

TikTok has grown rapidly since 2019, from 333 million users to 1.677 billion users in Q1 2023:

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With 2019 to 2020 representing the largest increase in growth (75%), another growth spike of 72.2% occurred between 2021 and 2022.

Top devices used for TikTok 

In the war between iOS and Android, Apple devices are the most popular devices for TikTok users, with 29.72 million daily active users (DAU) in 2022—whereas Android users represent 14.43 million DAU, according to data from Airnow (sourced via Statista).

Number of TikTok app downloads around the world

Using data from iOS and Android app stores combined, AppMagic calculated that TikTok downloads peaked in Q1 of 2020 at 313.53 million, when it was one of the most downloaded apps in the world.

Downloads have slowed since then, with a Q1 2023 result of 246.96 million downloads.

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As you can see from these statistics, TikTok is growing in popularity yearly all over the world. 

TikTok video statistics

In this section, we’ll look at statistics related to videos on the platform.

Total number of videos uploaded on TikTok

According to TikTok’s latest community guidelines enforcement page, removed videos represent 1% of all videos uploaded on TikTok. 

From the figure of 144,498,421 videos removed between January and March 2023, we can calculate that the total number of videos uploaded in this period was approximately 14,449,842,100. 

Average number of views per video

Average views per video was 30,115 for personal accounts, and 17,523 for business accounts on TikTok, according to Metricool.

Most viewed and liked videos on TikTok

The most liked video on TikTok as of March 2023 is @bellapoarch lip-syncing to Millie B’s “M to the B,” at 62.1 million likes. However, the video with the most views on the platform, at 2.1 billion views, is @zacking’s Harry Potter illusion. 

The average number of videos posted per user

On average, personal accounts post videos 16.1 times per month on TikTok, while business accounts post 13.4 times. 

TikTok engagement statistics

In this section, we’ll look at engagement metrics—which are critical for understanding what benchmarks you should aim to match or beat for your content on TikTok.

Average engagement rate per video

Metricool found some interesting insights where longer videos tend to get better engagement rates than shorter videos, e.g., videos of 54 seconds or more got 8.2% engagement, whereas videos of 0 to 9 seconds got 6.3% engagement.

Average time spent on TikTok per user

According to eMarketer, the average time US adults (18+ users) spent on TikTok daily in January 2023 was 58.4 minutes—which is quickly catching up to Netflix:

Engagement rate on TikTok

The default engagement rate metric is calculated using the sum of interactions / visits x 100. On TikTok, personal accounts get an average engagement rate of 7%, while business accounts get 6%.

Hours of content viewed daily on TikTok

We’ve already looked at each user’s average time spent on TikTok daily, but what about the whole platform? Reports from The Wall Street Journal suggest users watch 197.8 million hours of video on the platform daily.

Learn: 16 TikTok video ideas for when your creative well runs dry

TikTok revenue statistics

If you want to use TikTok as a primary platform to engage with your audience, it’s important to know the company is doing well financially (i.e., it isn’t going to go bankrupt anytime soon; the bigger risk by far is the US or other governments blocking the app; here’s how to prepare for that possibility).

Total revenue generated by TikTok

As TikTok grows as a platform, so does its revenue—the total revenue it generated in 2022 was approximately $9.4 billion, and in Q1 2023, it generated $2.475 billion.

Revenue breakdown by region

There hasn’t been any new data on regional revenue breakdowns, but in 2020, China (Douyin) accounted for 72.3% of total revenue, the US represented 19%, and the UK 2%—leaving the remaining 6.7% to the rest of the world, according to Sensor Tower.

Revenue sources for TikTok 

There are multiple channels that generated TikTok’s $9.4 billion revenue in 2022—with in-app advertising being the primary source. However, TikTok also makes money on in-app gift purchases, shop commissions, subscription fees, and music royalties.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) on TikTok

Data.ai’s State of Mobile 2023 report shows that TikTok’s US average monthly ARPU is $0.85 per user.

The growth rate of TikTok's revenue over the years

Using the revenue data from Business of Apps, we can calculate the revenue growth rate each year—the biggest jump in revenue growth came between 2019 and 2020, at 654.3%:

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Impact of TikTok's revenue on the platform's development and features

With increasing revenue, TikTok can work on and implement new features.

TechCrunch reported in March 2023 that the platform launched Branded Effects. This feature allows businesses to collaborate with creators to design custom effects such as AR and other interactive features.

TikTok also announced a new paywall feature called Series for creators in 2023, and in July 2023, it also announced a new text posting feature that functions similarly to Instagram Stories.

Comparison of TikTok's revenue to other social media platforms

Talking to Forbes, Adam Blacker, vice president at Apptopia, said, so far in 2023, TikTok has generated $205 million more than Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter combined, via in-app revenue.

Predictions for TikTok's future revenue and monetization strategies

Next, let’s look at a few predictions based on the data collected

• It’s easy to say TikTok’s revenue will continue to grow as its user base does. However, this might change if the US bans TikTok.
  
  
• TikTok will look to improve its in-app ecommerce experience via shopping displays, live streams, integrated promotions, etc.
  
  
• As existing new monetization features begin to perform well in selected countries, TikTok will likely roll them out to other markets to expand these channels.
  
  
• TikTok also announced a deal in July 2023 with Warner Music Group, giving both companies new revenue streams through music streaming and licensing fees.

TikTok trends and challenges

Now let’s dig into TikTok content—trends, challenges, and their impact on the wider world.

Popular trends and challenges on TikTok

• “What should you do when…” using the specific sound (more than 40,000 videos)
  
  
• The Barbie Dancing Dogs overlay as a meme (more than 700,000 videos)
  
  
• “Okay…You got me there” sound with relatable video (more than 70,000k videos)
  
  
• 2023 is a year of change and self-care for many TikTokers, with the hashtag #selfcare2023 challenging users to create and achieve new goals.
  
  
• Lip-syncing, as always, remains a popular challenge on TikTok—the only thing that changes regularly is the audio.

Viral videos and challenges that gained significant traction

• One of Shakira’s 2023 songs helped create a dancing trend, where creators came up with unique choreographies for the song—inspiring Shakira herself to recreate them (4.5 million videos using the sound).
  
  
• User @gracesplace’s viral video (50 million views and 3.2 million likes) has created a significant trend of using AI to generate “LinkedIn headshots.”
  
  
• Kylie Jenner posted a video in July 2023 with an original sound that’s gaining a lot of traction, with 34,000 videos using it in just two weeks.

Influential TikTok creators and their impact on trends

• As noted above, Kylie Jenner, with 54.2 million followers, often generates new trends (though sometimes not voluntarily, such as the “Kylie Jenner lips challenge,” flagged as potentially unsafe by TikTok).
  
  
• Influencer @lil.lilou.secret (670,000 followers) posted a video with an easy dance—which turned into a trend thanks to its simplicity.
  
  
• Popular user @chanwills0 (2.9 million followers) often stays on top of and helps fuel Harry Potter filter trends on the app. 

Impact of TikTok trends on popular culture

• Recent statistics on this topic are harder to pin down. Though in 2021 TikTok reported 75% of TikTok users discovered new music artists they didn’t hear anywhere else.
  
  
• A trend that has been popular since its inception, “#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt,” also significantly influences luxury fashion trends.
  
  
• Finally, the same TikTok report also showed that 43% of users try something or go somewhere new after seeing it on the platform.

TikTok advertising statistics

To inform your paid marketing strategy, we can turn toward TikTok’s advertising statistics.

Number of advertisers on TikTok

In 2023, TikTok announced there were five million businesses on the platform. However, it would be fair to assume that not all of them pay for advertising, and that not every advertiser has a TikTok-associated account, so this is a ballpark figure.

Top performing ad types on TikTok

• All ad types on TikTok show impressive results, for example, ManCave Skincare saw a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 64% while using in-feed ads. 
• A TopView ad campaign with LOOKFANTASTIC generated 13 million impressions and a payment completion rate of 22.16%.
• Using Spark Ads, 33mm Studio managed to increase their conversion rates by 142%, and increase overall sales 1.8 times.
• For smaller businesses, in-feed ads are the better choice as they cost less. But if you have the budget, branded missions can get you amazing results. 

Average view-through rate (VTR) for TikTok ads

According to the team at BeProfit (an ecommerce profit analysis tool), TopView ads generally get the best VTR/CTR (click-through rate), ranging from 12% to 16%, while takeovers get between 7% and 10%, and in-feed ads get between 1.5% and 3%.

Cost per view (CPV) for TikTok ads

TikTok ads start at $10 per CPM, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, with a minimum spend of $500. So with an estimated $10 CPM, each single view would cost around $0.01.

Return on investment (ROI) for TikTok advertising campaigns

A Capterra survey of small businesses using TikTok advertising found 78% of them realized a positive ROI, three-quarters of them within six months. However, the ROI of individual campaigns depend on lots of variables.

Influencer marketing on TikTok

Now let’s talk about influencer marketing.

The average engagement rate for TikTok influencers

In HypeAuditor’s 2023 State of Influencer Marketing report, nano- (1,000–10,000) and micro-influencers (10,000–50,000) saw the highest engagement rates of 15.2% and 12.4%, respectively.

Mid-tier influencers (50,000–500,000) had a 10.9% engagement rate, while macro-influencers (500,000–1 million) had 10.8%. Finally, mega-influencers (1 million+) saw engagement rates of 11.3%.

The average cost of partnering with TikTok influencers

In the same 2023 report, HypeAuditor found average prices for posts from influencers in each category:

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Prices range from $20 to $1,200 on average, however mega-influencers, such as Charli D’Amelio, have been known to charge several thousands per post.

ROI for influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok

Getting specific ROI data is difficult for influencer marketing. That said, Influencer Marketing Hub’s 2023 report states that TikTok is now the most common (55.5%) channel used by brands for influencer marketing—which suggests it generates good results.

Percentage of consumers influenced by TikTok influencers

According to a survey from IZEA research, 35% of customers say that influencer posts are the best way to get them to try new products. On top of that, 31% of 18- to 29-year-olds on the platform, 31% said TikTok was their preferred platform for influencers. 

Emerging TikTok predictions

TikTok marketing isn’t going to go away anytime soon—there’s always something new around the corner. So here are a few emerging trends and predictions for the platform.

Emerging trends in TikTok content

Emerging trends will all relate to TikTok’s newest features. For example, the introduction of text posts will likely create an immediate surge of this type of content, but whether it stays around is another question—social media users turn to other platforms primarily for text-based content, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Another trend we may see in the near future, for better or for worse, is AI-based content—where users harness AI to generate visual content (from LinkedIn headshots all the way to “deep fakes”). 

Predictions for the future of TikTok and its user base

With its new deal with Warner Music Group, TikTok may become even more influential in the music industry—with a TikTok music subscription clearly on its way.

We can also expect TikTok to ramp up its ecommerce efforts, especially with its plans to open fulfillment centers in the US.

We can also expect TikTok to bring more wellness-related features to the app to follow up its sleep reminder feature. 

Lastly, while TikTok has been the trendsetter for features in the past few years, it’s worth keeping an eye on other social media platforms in case they introduce any innovative new features that TikTok will want to replicate.

Final thoughts

TikTok is a great place for creators around the world to express themselves and build an audience. However, that’s not the easiest task in the world. With our TikTok tips and tricks for creators guide, you’ll get a strong start on building your TikTok community. And who knows, you could even go viral on TikTok, taking your brand to new heights (probably not though, if we’re being honest).

The statistics here show just how incredible TikTok is for creators—but it’s not a bulletproof place for growing an audience. With a potential TikTok ban in the US looming, creators should prepare themselves for that possibility to become a reality.

One of the best ways to protect yourself from losing your audience is to diversify your publishing so that you’re not only on one platform.