Instagram beats TikTok in app downloads in race for new users

Last year, Instagram surpassed TikTok in new app downloads, fueled by the US photo-sharing platform’s emulation of its Chinese counterpart’s success with short-form videos.

In 2023, Instagram’s total app downloads grew by 20%, reaching 768 million compared to the previous year, making it the world’s most downloaded app. Meanwhile, TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, experienced a modest 4% increase in downloads to 733 million during the same period.

Instagram is effectively attracting new users

These statistics indicate that Meta’s photo-sharing platform is effectively attracting new users, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg recognizing TikTok’s growth as one of the major threats to his social media empire.

In 2020, Instagram introduced “reels,” a feature enabling users to share short clips, essentially replicating the viral video features of TikTok that had captivated millions of Gen Z consumers. Instagram has outperformed TikTok in adoption over the past few years, driven by the popularity of its reels feature along with legacy social media features and functions.

Indicators suggest that TikTok’s growth has started to level off, marking a departure from its rapid ascent since its launch in 2016.

In the final quarter of 2023, Instagram saw its monthly active users rise to 1.47 billion, an increase of 13 million. Conversely, TikTok experienced a decline of 12 million active users in the last three months of the previous year, bringing its total to 1.12 billion.

TikTok maintains stronger user engagement globally

Despite this, TikTok maintains stronger user engagement globally, with users spending an average of 95 minutes on the platform in the fourth quarter of the previous year. In comparison, Instagram recorded 62 minutes, while X and Snapchat reported 30 and 19 minutes, respectively.

Tech analysts observed a growing attraction of influencers to Instagram, explaining that while TikTok is preferred for achieving rapid viral success, Instagram is considered a superior platform for monetizing a follower base. While TikTok’s growth has been accelerated by its algorithm delivering tailored content to users, Meta invested heavily in artificial intelligence last year to enhance its recommendations system.

Instagram has also profited from ByteDance’s strategy of permitting users to download TikTok-watermarked videos for sharing on various social media platforms, initially intended to enhance the visibility of the Chinese-owned app.

ByteDance has experienced increasing success in ecommerce, particularly through TikTok Shop, facilitating the sale of products promoted via short videos. TikTok amassed over $4 billion in revenues from in-app purchases last year, a stark contrast to Instagram’s $143 million.