TikTok vs. Instagram – The Battle of the Biggest Social Apps!

TikTok and Instagram are the world’s biggest social media platforms. Worldwide, users find these two apps as major sources of online entertainment, even consulting certain accounts they follow on what to purchase! Let’s compare the two in terms of stats to know which can be crowned as the #1 social media app.

Number of Users
In 2021, a study published in October revealed that TikTok had 1.2 billion active users, while Instagram had 1.3 billion users worldwide. In April 2022, Instagram reported 1.45 billion users worldwide, while TikTok is expected to reach the 1.8 billion active users mark.

Type of Users
According to CNBC, 57% of the USA Instagram users in 2021 were aged between 12 and 17 who used the app weekly. In contrast, 63% of the same age group used TikTok weekly. TikTok took the lead here, with stats showing that 50% of kids used the app in 2020.

Revenue in 2021
TikTok racked up a 4.6-billion USD revenue in the first eleven months of 2021. It is an almost 142% increase year-on-year. In contrast, Instagram made 47.6 billion USD in revenue in 2021. That is simply insane.

Number of Downloads in 2021
Instagram was downloaded almost 545 million times in 2021, while TikTok was downloaded 745 million times. This made TikTok the most downloaded app in 2021. TikTok had the most downloads, with 94 million from USA users, while Instagram had 64 million downloads.

Millennials Preference
Users aged 25 to 34 have reported that they prefer Instagram to TikTok. 76.2% of millennials prefer Instagram, whereas 44.6% prefer spending time on TikTok. Users have also reported the support for each app is lacking.

Marketers Preference
When compared for marketing purposes, marketers prefer Instagram to TikTok. According to stats, Instagram made more than 26 billion USD from advertisements. Plus, the Influencer Marketing Hub revealed that only 6.8% of marketers used TikTok for brand campaigns, while 96% used Instagram.

So, who won?
It boils down to every user’s personal preference and the reason for using the app. While marketers prefer Instagram for business growth, normal users prefer TikTok for entertainment purposes.