As a TikTok-obsessed creator, it’s hard to ignore the news about the potential TikTok ban in the United States. We’ve been hearing whispers about this for a year or so. Still, unless ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, sells the app to a non-Chinese company by January 19th, 2025, the ban hammer will come down. If TikTok is banned, it’s time to look for TikTok alternatives.
While there’s still a chance that the Supreme Court will rule against this ban or that President-elect Donald Trump will reverse the ban, a lot of content creators, including myself, are planning for the worst.
If the app becomes a thing of the past, here are four other TikTok alternatives to consider if TikTok is banned in the US.
Four TikTok Alternatives If TikTok Gets Banned
TikTok vs Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels is the platform most similar to TikTok and the best TikTok alternative to consider.
Both platforms celebrate short-form videos. However, Instagram Reels has a few differences that can’t be overlooked.
For starters, TikTok is known for its raw and unpolished video content. On the other hand, Instagram Reels often have a more stylized aesthetic. For example, this popular Instagram Reel hit over seven million views. It’s well-edited, shot in high-definition, and serves as eye candy on the platform.
It’s also worth noting that the platform’s algorithms are seemingly different. TikTok’s algorithm is known to favor engaging videos. Instagram’s algorithm is usually heavy on showing videos that align with people’s interests or are similar to previous videos they’ve watched on the platform.
Instagram Reels’ Max Video Length
One of the most significant differences between Instagram and TikTok comes into play when discussing video lengths. On TikTok, videos can be up to 10 minutes long. Instagram Reels are way shorter. The max video length of an Instagram Reel is only 90 seconds.
What’s Great About Instagram Reels as a TikTok Alternative
On TikTok, the audience for your videos is mostly out of your hands. Once you post, the videos live on your feed and enter the For Your Page algorithm. Instagram makes it easy to share your reels and cross-promote them within the platform.
For example, after posting an Instagram Reel, you can share it to your story as many times as you’d like. This helps get more of your existing follower’s eyes on the content. You can tag brands or other users in the Reel and make them collaborators so the video shows up on their page and feed. These tools make it easier to rack up engagement and views on content you create on the platform.
What You’ll Miss About TikTok if You Switch to Instagram Reels
The switch to Instagram might cause you to miss some key TikTok features. TikTok has more robust in-app editing tools than Instagram, so you should consider a third-party video editor like CapCut.
But the biggest miss might be the video lengths. If you like creating longer-form content, Instagram Reels won’t work in your favor.
Does Instagram Reels Have Affiliate Options?
If you’ve been earning income as a TikTok creator and sharing affiliate links in your videos when promoting products, you can do something similar with Instagram Reels.
If you switch to a creator account on Instagram, you can tag products you want to promote in your Reels and earn commission from sales.
TikTok vs YouTube Shorts
While TikTok and YouTube Shorts look stylistically the same, both platforms have pros and cons that make each one stand out for different reasons.
TikTok’s algorithm focuses more on the content than how established the creator is on the platform in terms of followers. YouTube Shorts tends to help existing creators reach their regular YouTube audience with the short-form videos they post.
YouTube Shorts Max Video Length
With YouTube Shorts creators can post videos up to three-minutes in length, significantly shorter than TikTok’s 10-minute max video length. However, if you’re creating long-form YouTube videos, you can use YouTube Shorts to clip segments from that video and promote them on the platform.
What’s Great About YouTube Shorts as a TikTok Alternative
One of the biggest perks of using YouTube Shorts, especially if you’re a YouTube creator already, is that you can quickly turn long-form content into short-form Shorts on the platform. You can use YouTube Short’s Remix feature to clip these videos, and it links back to your original content so users can watch more if they’d like.
This helps you cross-promote videos on the platform, which could help with reach, views, and engagement.
What You’ll Miss About TikTok if You Switch to YouTube Shorts
While YouTube Shorts allows creators to post short-form videos, the algorithm isn’t as beneficial for creators, especially when starting. On TikTok, their videos are more likely to be discovered, and it could be easier for them to build an initial following. YouTube Shorts might take longer to grow, especially if they are new to the platform.
Does YouTube Shorts Have Affiliate Options?
From a money-making perspective, YouTube Shorts is an excellent way for creators to earn extra income. They can add affiliate links to their video caption and tag a product to earn affiliate commission.
TikTok vs Twitter Video
When comparing TikTok to Twitter (X), it’s important to note that users flock to those platforms for different reasons.
TikTok is known for self-expression and creativity, whereas Twitter is where people share news, views, and opinions.
From a video perspective, the content shared on Twitter might be more strategic and less on-trend than it would be on TikTok.
Twitter Video Max Video Length
Since Twitter has different tiers of users, from free to paid, the length of videos creators can post varies. Free Twitter users can post 2 minutes and 20 seconds long videos. Twitter Blue Subscribers can post videos up to 10 minutes, and Twitter Premium subscribers can post videos that are 2 hours in length.
What’s Great About Twitter Video as a TikTok Alternative
If you’re eager to post more straightforward content that focuses more on updates, reactions, and newsworthy topics, a Twitter video would be a good TikTok alternative for you to try.
What You’ll Miss About TikTok if You Switch to Twitter Video
Switching over to Twitter video from TikTok, you might miss the highly curated For You Page you’ll find on the platform, making it easy to find trends and video styles as inspiration for your content.
TikTok also has a suite of video editing tools that aren’t as robust as the ones offered on Twitter. Plus, TikTok has music options for videos you won’t find on Twitter.
Does Twitter Video Have Affiliate Options?
While Twitter video doesn’t have the affiliate integration other social media platforms have, there are still ways to monetize your videos. You can share affiliate links in your or the text of your tweets sharing your video.
TikTok vs Twitch Shorts
TikTok and Twitch Shorts offer the same short-form video capabilities. However, the usage and audience for the platforms are quite different.
TikTok is more general, and many different types of creators flock to the platform. However, gamers and other live streams often use Twitch Shorts to share clips from their live streams.
Twitch Shorts Max Video Length
While you can live stream on Twitch for up to 48 hours, a Twitch Short can only be 60 seconds. Remember that these Twitch Shorts are meant to highlight and promote existing Twitch content.
What’s Great About Twitch Shorts as a TikTok Alternative
If you’re already a Twitch user and often doing live streams, these Twitch Shorts are the most premium way to highlight and promote your existing live streaming content to followers and other users on the platform. The editing tools on Twitch make this easy to do.
What You’ll Miss About TikTok if You Switch to Twitch Shorts
However, if you’re looking to reach a more general audience or create more diverse content, TikTok is the best place to help you accomplish that. You might not find the trends, the music sounds, or the For You Page discoverability TikTok offers on Twitch Shorts.
Does Twitch Shorts Have Affiliate Options?
While Twitch Shorts does not have an affiliate program for creators, the platform has different ways for users to monetize their live streams through their Twitch Partner Program.
The Bottom Line: TikTok Alternative Options Are Worthwhile to Try
It’s still unknown whether the TikTok ban will officially happen in January. But before the news breaks, exploring different TikTok alternatives could be a good idea. That way, you’re prepared as a creator to make moves and change income streams if TikTok is no longer viable.
