Over the past couple of years a new social media app has risen to the challenge the stalwarts of Twitter, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and that app is TikTok.
While Twitter focuses on words, Instagram focuses on images and Facebook focuses on both, TikTok is all about videos.
It’s hard to imagine that there are any apps out there that provide a similar function to TikTok, especially since Vine went off the grid over five years ago, and the truth is there currently isn’t any that could be called ‘like for like’ alternatives.
However, there are a few apps available to us that provide us with functionality similar to that of sections of TikTok.
In this article, we are going to focus on these types of apps and look at how they stand up to TikTok. Let’s get cracking.
Apps like TikTok – The top three alternatives
Lomotif
Lomotif is an app that provides users with the ability to edit, filter and publish short form videos, much in the same way TikTok does.
You can follow your favourite accounts on the app or simply use the ‘for you’ section, which is another major similarity between the app and TikTok.
While you don’t need an account to access the app, it handy to have one for this part of the app alone.
Once you’ve signed up to Lomotif your home screen will automatically start playing the first video on your ‘for you’ section.
Once it’s finished, the video will start playing again with users needing to swipe up on the video to get to the next one.
By liking, watching and saving certain videos, Lomotif will gain an understanding of the type of content you like watching and will start displaying more of these types of videos.
One particularly cool feature on Lomotif is the discover section. To access this section, you will need to select the circular on the bottom left hand side of the home screen, next to the home icon.
The discover section allows users to browse the app via a search bar, hashtags, and featured content.
If you discover a certain hashtag that you like, then you are then able to follow it, ensuring that you keep up to date with all videos uploaded that are tagged with that hashtag.
For those of you who want to create videos on Lomotif, the process couldn’t be any easier. All you need to do is select the ‘+’ icon in the centre of the bottom menu bar and select which videos/images on your device you would like to edit.
You can then add in some Lomotif’s clips and overlay the video with music to complete your clip. Once you are happy with the product, you can publish it either publicly or privately.
Triller
Triller is an up and coming TikTok alternative that is proving to be popular with celebrities such as Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber.
It is certainly one to keep an eye on and therefore joining now ahead of its potential boom could make you look edgy and different. The interface of the app is very similar to TikTok, however that doesn’t mean it’s a rip off – far from it.
The best bit about Triller is its video editing software. To record and edit a video on Triller, you need to select the ‘+’ icon on the centre of the bottom menu bar. From here you can then record whatever you want to record using your phone’s camera.
You can choose to either add filters in for recording or do after you’ve finished recording. The app simply lets you to record multiple different clips and ties them together nicely to make one, longer, combined video.
On top of the filters which you can add to your video, you can also add text and music to your video to enhance it further.
Before publishing, Triller will let you view a preview of your video to ensure that you are happy with the final product before sharing it with the world. Don’t worry though, if you don’t want to do that, you can save the video privately to your Triller account where only you can view it.
For non-creators, the app works in a similar way to both TikTok and Lomotif with its ‘for you’ page containing videos that the app’s algorithm has decided you will like.
Something that is different about the app when compared to other competitors is its music section. This is basically a tab that allows users to discover new music – pretty cool, eh?
You can check out our direct comparison of TikTok and Triller here, which compares the two video creation platforms in a little more detail.
Video Star
When TikTok first exploded on to the scene, it was mainly thanks to small, gimmicky dance routines which anyone could take part in.
While those sorts of videos are still popular on the app, there is now a wide variety of video genre’s covered in the world of TikTok.
One app that has decided to focus its sole attention on these music/dance type of videos is Video Star. Essentially, Video Star is a place for users to create their own music videos for their favourite songs.
To create a video all users need to do is to select a song and then to hit record. Users can then add filters to their video create the perfect end product.
One cool feature of Video Star is the fact that it provides users with the full lyrics for each and every song on the app.
This means that users can create a lip syncing video, something that has become hugely popular amongst teens on the internet.
Once the editing process is complete, users can then either save the video privately or share it across various social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Conclusion
All in all, if you are looking for a TikTok alternative then you are going to be sadly disappointed when you realise there is nothing out there that quite reaches the same heights as the current king of social media.
Various competitors have popped up over the years but have slowly fizzed out. An example of this is Dubsmash, which has since been acquired. And other potential TikTok alternatives like Byte, which switched it’s name to Clash and then Huddles – but none have really taken off in terms of popularity.
However, what you may find by downloading the apps we’ve suggested above are aspects of TikTok done better. There is only one way to find out!
