TikTok's rivals in the US are slowly catching up to the app

As TikTok's future in the US remains uncertain, its competitors now occupy 44% market share in the video-sharing app category.

TikTok ban in the US. (Bloomberg)

TikTok's ban in India boosted homegrown alternatives which saw massive spikes in the country. There's still no TikTok replacement but other apps still offer alternatives to users. A similar trend was seen in the US where TikTok is facing a potential ban. TikTok alternatives garnered 44% share in the video-sharing app market last month according to Sensor Tower's latest data.

TikTok's competitors combined represented 24% of the video-sharing app market in January. TikTok alone occupied 76% of the total market share in this category. August was a different month though especially with the US government signing an executive order on banning TikTok in the country. Last month, the total market share of TikTok's competitors increased to 44% while TikTok dropped by 20%. In July, these apps combined had increased by 12% and in comparison to January it was a 49% increase altogether.

“If TikTok's competitors can claim even a portion of ByteDance's sizable user base, they stand to gain access to a massive audience and the opportunity to advertise to them,” Sensor Tower said in a blog post.

In addition to gaining more users, Sensor Tower estimates these apps can also get a portion of the revenue share. Just this year, consumer spending on TikTok including Duoyin reached $592 million in the App Store. This amount takes up a staggering one-fifth of the $3 billion revenue generated by entertainment apps in the App Store.

Among TikTok's competitors, the closest ones are Triller and Likee. Users have other options as well such as Instagram's Reels. Sensor Tower however pointed out that the launch of Reels hasn't led to an increase in Instagram's installs although its average weekly active users did see a slight increase.